My cat Sammy was my first indoor cat. The kitten adoption agency, which was inside a pet store, helped me start off my life with my new kitty.
Sammy's foster mommy walked me around with the store aisles telling me about the products that she used with Sammy and how important it was to use the same products for the first couple of months.
I bought the essentials for her that were the same as her previous home, cat food, a couple of toys and of course kitty litter. As time went on, I learned from Sammy her preferences with her kitty litter, here's what she taught me:
Sammy was about 6 months old when I adopted her, at that point in her cat life she was already used to certain things being a certain way.
1. Brand of Kitty Litter - Sammy's previous owner used Green Tea Leaves Clumping Cat Litter. It sounded like a good idea at the time since I lived on the second floor of my apartment complex which had no elevators. This type of kitty litter weighed close to nothing. It did well for me because I could buy a couple of bags at a time and carry them up the stairs easily. As for Sammy, not so much. I'm not sure of the behavioral history with Sammy and her kitty litter but one day she decided she disliked the texture and began to be very sloppy with her litter. The litter would be scattered all around the bathroom floor everytime she'd use the litter. I then switched to a store brand kitty litter that was denser and a whole lot heavier to carry but that kept Sammy happy. Happy Kitty = Happy Home.
2. Level of the Kitty Litter - Rule of thumb, it's a good idea to make sure to have more than less litter in your pan. I talked about this with some girlfriends with indoor cats and that is how they put it and they were right. At least 3-4 inches of kitty litter in the pan is a good amount. Some cats are natural excavators and prefer to dig a hole as deep as the litter allows them. If they aren't given that luxury, "accidents" may happen. FYI...Cat accidents are the worst since their urine is oil based so it's tough to get the scent out of bedding spreads and furniture. To get rid of that, please come back to my site for future blogs. That's actually one of my to-do items to blog about.
3. Size of the pan, hooded or not hooded - Depending on the size of the cat depends on the size of the pan. To be on the safe side and economical, go larger. I went through a few kitty litter pans and I think I've bought every size there exists. The sizes available are Small through Jumbo. Jumbo is what I have, apparently Sammy thought Extra Large wasn't large enough. Also, I started with a medium sized hooded pan and did away with it not too long after Sammy started using it. Sammy's priorities were with the area of space the kitty litter pan provided not the privacy she had with the hood.
4. Location - A cat's personality will dictate where you are allowed to place the kitty litter pan. Some cats do not like high traffic areas because they appreciate their privacy, while other cats tend to be territorial and self-conscious when they cannot access their kitty litters. Sammy didn't care for the litter to be in the bathroom, she would meow excessively if she knew she didn't have access to the bathroom when someone was using the toilet. Instead she preferred her kitty litter in a room without a door like the kitchen or living room. I noticed her general behavior improved when I made the change of litter location in my apartment for her. It seemed to relieve a lot of stress from her.
Good luck and I wish you an "accident" free life with you and your kitty!!!
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