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Post by momof3boys on Mar 17, 2018 13:02:28 GMT -5
I'm starting over today and then planning on maintaining my 3 boxes. I bought 2 jugs of cat litter and will becompletely dumping out and putting in fresh new litter. I also need to sweep around said boxes.
Happy scooping everyone!
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Post by momof3boys on Mar 17, 2018 13:24:00 GMT -5
Okay 3 boxes completely dumped out and fresh new litter to replace it! I swept around boxes too. Now the hardest part to me is carrying the garbage bags full of used litter down the stairs and put into the plastic empty cat litter containers we store it in until hubby takes it to work and throws it out. Whew! Cat litter is heavy!
On a side note I will probably not scoop today since the litter is completely clean.
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Post by Unswamping on Mar 17, 2018 13:36:28 GMT -5
sweetsunshower sounds like a great plan to deal with the carpet. I did that at my old house and it worked out well. I was very ill physically when i did that and it was the only way it would get done. The upside is its alot easier to take up small areas and to dispose of it. Just watch the cut edges, i would tape them down. My kitties liked to pull the padding out and shred it. Plus you dont want to trip. Even putting a small area rug would work. Baby steps. Great job on keeping up with the daily scoop/sweep. Dont beat yourself up over a skipped day, just get back up on the horse.
phoebepj welcome to the thread.
I didnt scoop/sweep yesterday. I had a doctor appointment and i didnt have time before i had to leave. I was too exhausted when i came home. This is usually the case, i see this doc once a month. So im thinking that the day before my next appointment i will scoop twice, once in the morning (preferred scooping time) and once at night. I did scoop/sweep today. Ive been keeping up with washing out the litter pans too. Tomorrow i will do a big litter change over. This means no scooping, just dumping all the contents of the litter pan and starting over with fresh litter. There are always little bits that scooping doesnt catch so its a good idea to do that every now and then. I think im going to put that on the calendar as a scheduled task.
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Post by momof3boys on Mar 17, 2018 13:43:46 GMT -5
Unswamping sorry to hear about the bag of cat litter falling out into the street. How do you wash the litter boxes?
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Post by Unswamping on Mar 17, 2018 13:55:28 GMT -5
momof3boys we cross posted. Great job on doing a total changeover. im planning on doing the same thing tomorrow. Yes, cat litter is heavy! I dont know what brand you are using. There are some lighter litters out there. I think wheat scoop is one. Is cost an issue? I use feline pine in 20 pound bags. It weighs about half of what clay litter weighs. I was using the generic version until it was discontinued. Now im ordering it from target online. Two 20 pound bags delivered to my front door for $17.17. Thats a better deal than the $9.99 + tax a bag that it cost at the grocery store, which i then have to schlep home. Plus it wasnt feline pine, its was natures promise, which was not as good. I think im going to stick with target and starting next month, i will do a subscription and save an additional 5%. For staples like this, i find it pays to shop around and find the best price. I love my dollar store but its not always the cheapest. Figuring out the unit cost, in this case, price per pound is an eye opener. When i priced cat food, walmart with its "always low prices" was the most expensive, more expensive than the local pet store!
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Post by Unswamping on Mar 17, 2018 14:11:31 GMT -5
momof3boys crossposted again! I wash the litter pans in the tub (i dont have a utility sink and its too cold to use the outside hose). I put it in the tub, squirt a little dish soap and a sprinkle of baking soda, then fill with hot water. I let it soak for a bit. Time varies but usually my next trip into the bathroom, i rinse them out. I have a sponge i keep by the tub just for wiping the litter pans. Above my tub, i have three tension shower rods spaced evenly across the top of the shower/tub. High enough that i dont hit my head when i shower, low enough (i have very low ceilings) that i can get stuff up there. I rest the clean, wet litter pans upside down on top of the shower rods. I let them drip/air dry. I had at one point, six cats so i had seven litter pans. So now that im down to four cats, i have five pans in use. I wash two litter pans a day. I wrote the days of the week on mine but numbers would work just as well. So when i go to change the litter, i take the clean, dry pans from the bathroom, make a mental note of what days they are (ie sat and sun), then as i scoop, i take the next two pans out (ie mon and tues) and side them aside. The two new pans get filled and out into use, the ones i set aside go into tub to get washed. I find washing the pans like this cuts down on odor and i think makes them last a bit longer. Eventually the plastic does absorb odors and no amount of cleaning will help, they just need to be replaced. You probably could wash the pan and dry it with a rag but i have an aversion to drying things so i left mine air dry.
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Post by sweetsunshower on Mar 17, 2018 19:03:57 GMT -5
Hi Unswamping, thanks for the great tips about carpet removal.
I made a start in the dining room by moving all the chairs and a wine rack out to the porch to take to dump, wiping down then moving Christmas storage boxes that were on the table, and putting dining room table on side so I can figure out how to take it apart. It was heavy and that was probably not smart. I also swept up all the loose dried poop. That was major.
This was a lot. Unfortunately I pulled something in my back when I went upstairs. Silly, just when bending over. Ended up laying on heating pad and took a nap!
So I will see how scooping goes later. No more physical stuff for tonight.
So, making progress but have to take a break. Hoping I can scoop tonight.
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Post by hannah on Mar 17, 2018 19:17:55 GMT -5
I am thinking of the movie Shawshank Redemption, how the main character chipped away at the cement wall every evening, and carried the debris out to the prison yard in his pants pockets, every day for years until voila, he broke free. It's a good lesson for me that progress is possible. I love that movie! I don't know why I haven't noticed the comparison between Andy's wall and my house before. Anyhoo, I don't have a cat---I had to put my 16-year-old dog down back in November, and I'm starting to think about getting another one. I was reading this thread to remind myself how much work an animal is---I loved my crazy little dog and I miss her, but I want to make sure I'm totally ready to handle the responsibility before I get another one.
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Post by sweetsunshower on Mar 17, 2018 20:16:48 GMT -5
Hi Hannah! You are right, pets are wonderful, but a lot of work, and in my case, I feel I trade some freedom for having them. In some ways I feel stuck in my housing situation since where else can I live with four cats? Then there's all the complicating factors with my tendency to squalor - that is, when I travel, I have to board them, since I am too embarrassed to have someone come in to feed them. My guys are litter mates, as their mom was a stray who "adopted" me in 2007. When she had the kittens, I just could not part with them. Now 11 years later, they are still my buddies but as you said it is a big responsibility. Actually, there is even more to it, in that I have a long distance SO who lives in another country and I often think if it wasn't for the cost prohibitive nature of relocating 4 cats, I might be over there right now! Of course, this is just my personal experience - and part of it is having 4. I think one pet sounds much more manageable.
I am sorry for your loss and I am sure you will know when the time is right to get a new furry friend.
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Post by sweetsunshower on Mar 17, 2018 20:20:36 GMT -5
Just reporting in, I did scoop. Yay.
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Post by sweetsunshower on Mar 18, 2018 23:56:22 GMT -5
I scooped, swept and changed liner today. Yesterday I moved furniture/stuff out of dining room to access old messes, and cleaned up the loose stuff. Cleaned new vomit and a wayward poop as soon as I found them.
Back to work tomorrow, so going to do the scoop/sweep as part of morning routine and see how that works out.
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
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Post by momof3boys on Mar 19, 2018 13:05:06 GMT -5
I'm still waiting to scoop my boxes. I'm waiting for the oil man. I threw away 2 of the 3 bags of used litter. I had forgotten I didnt throw them all away.
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Post by momof3boys on Mar 19, 2018 18:01:37 GMT -5
I scooped today! This cat litter has a finer texture than what I'm use to. I have never found a cat litter I really love. I think scoop away was pretty good.
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Post by Unswamping on Mar 20, 2018 16:52:19 GMT -5
Great job on scooping ladies! Sweetsunshower, please dont overdo! When i did my carpet, i only moved what i absolutely needed to to remove a small square at a time. It took me weeks to remove all the carpet, which was good because i could fill one or two trash bags a week and put it out with my regular trash pickup.
scooped/sweep the litter, swept and washed litter pans today. Yesterday i did the total changeover, dumping all the litter pan contents and refilling with fresh. Missed scooping on sunday. Battling a stomach bug so i just couldnt manage even the changeover. Dirty litter has been taken out to trash can.
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Post by Unswamping on Mar 20, 2018 16:54:26 GMT -5
hannah, im sorry about your dog. I know that was a tremendous loss.
Swetsunshower, funny about your four being litter mates. Mine are the mom and her three kittens. Same as you, i couldnt bear to part with the kittens.
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