Tips for Cat Owners: How to Clean the Litter Box

Housecleaning Tips for Cleaning Outside the Box
People with cats are often in need of housecleaning tips when it comes to the litter box. Some cats are neater than others when using the privy. The neat ones saunter in, do their business, cover up and move on. The not-so-neat ones toss litter around until half of what was in the box is on the floor in front of the box. Older cats can be especially messy, as they often lose sight of the fact that while the head and paws are inside the box, the "business" end may not be.

To keep the area around the litter box clean, use a separate broom and dust pan to sweep wayward litter. (The broom you use to sweep cat litter and errant feces is NOT the broom you want to use in the kitchen, dining room or bedroom.) You can also use a handheld vacuum, but make sure there's no urine in the area. And, just as you wouldn't vacuum up a nail, screw or other heavy object, do not vacuum up cat poop.

Dog Haiku for September 29, 2010

As winter comes my
human needs the heavy coat
I use as a bed

Baron
Director of Dog Stuff
WhiskerGifters.com

Why Do Cats Shred Paper?

As an expert on cat behavior and lunacy, I am often asked why cats shred paper. Before I answer this question, let me just say that I, for one, have never engaged in this type of anti-social, psychotic behavior. I am extremely well-behaved. I never do anything that makes my humans mad, like sleeping on the kitchen counters or snatching a chicken leg off a dinner plate. Seriously. (I prefer white meat.)



My little brother, however, is another story. You may remember Sheppy J. from a previous post, A Cat's Fourth Amendment Rights. He is a very, very naughty cat. Not only does he lose his toys regularly, he shreds paper like it's going out of style. Paper towels, tissues, newspapers, magazines, even library books. Oops...maybe I shouldn't have written that. Scratch that. HA! No pun intended. Before our humans hid the toilet paper in the cabinet under the sink, he would unroll it, shred it and leave it all over the bathroom.

While humans are more focused on trying to understand why cats shred paper, I think it's more important to focus on why cats don't clean up the paper after they've shred it. The answer is so obvious it's painful: We have taken our cues from plumbers, painters and appliance installers. Let's look at the similarities: They track mud from room to room, we track cat litter from room to room. They leave giant gobs of caulk smack dab in the middle of the floor, we leave giant gobs of hairball barf smack dab in the middle of the floor.

If you want your cat to get a job, hire him out as a plumber, not a mouser. He's probably more than qualified.

Jester
Director of Cat Stuff
WhiskerGifters.com

How Much Does a Dog or Cat Weigh on Mars?

Has your human insinuated that you've put on a few lately? If so, move to Mars!

Let's say you're a dog of average weight, about 40lbs or so, right here on Earth. If you lived on Mars, you would only weigh 15lbs! How's that for a quick weight loss program? OK, so travel time might be a little more than four months, and no one's sure if there's water there, but isn't that better than snacking on carrots and celery indefinitely?

If you're a 12lb cat, which means you're probably big-boned, because it doesn't matter what planet a 12lb cat lives on, that's still a big cat, you would only weigh 4.5lbs on Mars.

Baron and I are both looking to book our flights soon.

To see how much you weigh on Mars, or any of the other planets, enter your weight in the Your Weight on Other Worlds calculator.

See you there. Or, maybe on Pluto, which is still a planet in my book.