Below are some tips that will help users of crystal cat litter -- no matter what brand you choose. Please scroll down to find these topics:
The biggest variable in odor control in cat litter is your choice of crystal litter. Using a premium crystal such as Just the Crystals and doing an occasional "rake and stir" will extend the life of your litter and reduce odor noticeably. This is a very important point that can make a huge difference in both extending the life of your crystals and in reducing odors -- so important that it is emphasized on the side panel of every top quality crystal supplier. Stirring them around will allow them to release moisture to the air (not urine.....but water vapor) and will generally allow them to then be able to absorb more, smell less. "Reality vs. advertising" While crystal litter is very, very good -- the best way to get the most of it is to do an occasional stir of the litter and to rake out excess poops. Operative word is "occasional" -- maybe once every few days. It really helps, and is still worlds less trouble and smell than any other litter I've used. Cats tend to always urinate in the same spot, so what I mean by "stir" is to rake up the crystals from this dampest spot and distribute (really mix them in) with the dry crystals. This allows them to release moisture to the air, and extends crystal life significantly. With our two cats Jack and Stan I do a "rake and stir" once a week, usually on Wednesday. Then on Sunday morning (after my first cup of coffee) I do a complete litter change. Remember -- moisture is the enemy of your crystal cat litter. Placement of your litter box in a dry, well ventilated area will pay huge dividends in getting the most out of it.
A great tip from one of my customers to help you extend crystal life -- sent in by Chuck: "Tip on making the litter last longer: good air circulation. Silica gel absorbs liquid fairly quickly, and releases it as water vapor fairly slowly. When used as litter, it absorbs urine and dessicates solid waste. Unless the silica gel itself can dry out (by releasing water vapor), it won't last long at all in a litter box. So, it works better in the summer than in the winter, and better on dry days than rainy ones. If you can place the litter box where there's a breeze, the litter will last a lot longer. Or, you can try what I've recently done: put a small fan above the box, so that it constantly blows air down onto the litter. During the winter and spring, the litter has been lasting only 10 days with two cats (in the Summer, it was stretching out to 14 days). With the fan, in the Spring, the litter was still OK after 15 days. The litter still needs to be stirred every few days, especially towards the end of its useful life."
Contolling/Reducing Dust Sadly, dust seems to be a component of just about all cat litters -- some worse than others. Clay litter has a particularly bad reputation for dust, and crystal litter isn't completely immune from producing dust. There are several variables in what causes dust on crystal litter, the two chief ones being the manufacturing process and handling during shipping. Even the top premium brands (Just the Crystals included) if handled roughly will develop a certain amount of dust in the bag. (Just picture all those little crystals being jostled around and grinding against each other during transit......). The time when the dust is most noticeable is when pouring into the litter box or tray. The way you can significantly reduce this is to try the following:
What you'll find is that this will most significantly reduce dusting -- and after the litter is in the tray (and gets one or two "uses") dust won't be a problem!
Odor Control Tips A great deal of information about controlling litterbox ordor can be obtained from the great fellow cat owners at Litterbox Central (see below). My notes here are simply a condensation from that source. Food There are several factors that contribute to litterbox odor -- and probably the largest single component is what goes in to your cat. The right cat food can make a huge difference between a miserably stinky environment and one that's odor free. Jim from Hawaii dropped me an email with his solution for a bit more odor control: he sprinkles a light layer of baking soda in the box just before pouring the crystals in. (Thanks Jim) And Jenn from Litterbox-Central.com suggests another way to control the odor.......er..........from the "source." She's discovered that when her kitties have access to Vita-Greens that it most significantly reduces poo odors. Here's the link she suggested (thanks Jenn!!): http://www.petco.com/product/5430/Four-Paws-Vita-Greens.aspx
And from Bobbi in Virginia, some more helpful
tips for the environment! "BTW, since you’re an environmentally friendly
type of guy, you might appreciate this tip (like no one’s ever thought of it before?!?!?!). The boxes that the two
bags of crystals come in are the perfect size to collect and stash all of those catalogs, newspaper ad inserts, and
junk mail that are headed to the recycle bin. If your trash company is a bit more particular and wants cardboard
separated from paper, then it doesn’t take long to fill the box up with other cardboard (cracker and cereal boxes,
empty boxes of Fancy Feast, etc.). I even replaced the small wastepaper basket next to my recliner with the Just
the Crystals box for ease in recycling. And from Regina, who has 26 cats (!) some tips as to how she manages her litter boxes: "Here's how I do their 8 kitty boxes once a week. In addition I scoop the solids out every night and I mix the below litter combination around in each box while I'm there as mixing helps provide air for the crystals. Start with clean fresh kitty litter boxes (that means the boxes have been washed with water and Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner using a good squirt of the toilet bowl cleaner in each box as you wash with a toilet brush) then each pan is lined with liner (we like liners in this house) and in the winter that means washing the boxes inside either in the bathtub or the downstairs utility sink and putting them on the floor to dry this is a quick step, but so important! For our Booda litterboxes I put in 10 pounds of Feline Pine Original (also available on Amazon) and then smooth the top/surface, and then on top spread 3 cups of the "Just the Crystals". Do not mix -- the cats will do it for you. For the big litter box I use 20 lbs of the pine litter and about 3 pounds of the crystals and the kitties love this and it stays fresh for 10 days. Considering there are 26 cats using it that is pretty darn good! Cats like to dig and the Crystals alone do not allow much for this activity. Digging and having a substance to cover their wastes with is part of the history and behavior of all cats and this is a basic need. When you meet a cat's basic needs you will have a happy cat and when you do not meet the needs you will have an unhappy one. Many in our family here came from homes where they were labeled "a problem cat" I disagree and here they are happy cats. The problem was not the cat, but the family's inability or want to understand cats. But YOU MUST USE the 'Just the Crystals" in each litter box as stated above as the crystals do several essential things VERY WELL: odor control and drying the wet pee and the poop. Also, some of the cats love having the crystals in their boxes and they do not soil outside the box: prior to using the crystals these cats were soiling outside the box. The above works well for any house with multi-cats; you just use less boxes if you have less cats."
Another excellent resource for a broad range of information and tips can be found at Litterbox Central. I can't recommend this forum highly enough -- nice people and a wealth of info. |
