PetMomma – Page 5

It’s here! Pretty Litter, and the New Fountain

My new CatLink Pro arrived yesterday. First impression? It’s BIG! The footprint is probably only 6″ bigger than a “regular” litter box, but it’s tall. Set up was a little finicky. We had to play with it a little to get it on our Wifi, but it wasn’t that bad. I read that any type of clumping litter works in it, but I don’t think the OXO Cat litter that I prefer is going to work out. It seems a little too light weight. The box is supposed to say when the litter is full, but ours kept saying it needed more litter. Eventually I realized I had over filled it, had to empty out some litter, reset it, and eventually we got it set up properly. I think a clay-based scooping litter will work better, and I plan to try that.

It has only been set up for one night. So far the cats haven’t used it. Bean is curious and stuck his head in, but that’s about it so far. I may spray a little catnip spray in there to encourage them. I’ll keep you all posted.

In other news, I’ve been using Pretty Litter for about a month. It definitely different than the traditional clumping litters I have been using.

I like how lightweight it is. Easy to fill and dump the box.

I’m not sure how well the “health monitoring” really works. My litter was just brown/yellow all month, so I guess that means regular healthy cats which is great. I don’t think my cats have any health problems, and nothing showed up with the litter, so I can’t tell you how well the health monitoring works or not, but I like the idea of it.

The cats took to it right away. We went from OXO Cat wood clumping litter to the Pretty Litter in one box. The cats had no hesitation in using it at all. They actually seemed to prefer it. I’ve got two boxes upstairs and tried the Pretty Litter in one box. While they continued to use both boxes, the Pretty Litter box definitely had more frequent visits.

As far as tracking, I do think it tracks less than regular litter, but I think part of that is because it is such tiny grains so it isn’t as noticeable. It did track some for me, but definitely less than my regular clumping litter. There was a little worry about my wood floors. The tiny grains of litter feel really gritty, and I’m not sure if they would actually scratch the floor or not, but I was careful to sweep it up and not find out.

Martin and Bean enjoy hanging out on the new rug

Odor control is good. It dries out the poop quickly so the smell doesn’t last. I definitely noticed when the litter box needed to be changed. Urine should get mixed in when you scoop the poop. Those urine spots dry out when they are mixed in with the litter again.

Pretty Litter lasts like they say it does. I have to say that I was impressed the litter went a full month before I felt like I had to change it. I was using it in one of my four boxes, so I wasn’t sure how long it would last. There wasn’t any doubt when it was time to change the litter box. The Pretty Litter was no longer white, it was yellow, and it started to smell. The urine spots no longer mixed in and they started sticking to the bottom of the box.

Positives – it definitely makes the box easier to clean than regular clumping litter. I only had to scoop the poop, and the litter is small, so I didn’t have to shake out the litter scoop forever. I can honestly say it probably took me less than half the time to clean this box versus regular clumping litter. Other positives, good odor control, less tracking, easy to maintain the box. Another positive is that the cats took to it right away. No transition stress. It’s also lightweight and easy to refill and dump the litter box.

Negatives – it’s gritty. I worry about it scratching wood floors. And my only other negative was the price. Two cats the cost is $44 per month. You can’t buy it on Amazon, and it seems like the only way to buy it is with a recurring subscription.

My take? Overall I like it. If I only had one or two cats, I’d probably keep using it. For me with four cats it isn’t economical. I do have a couple of bags left, so I’ll keep using it in one box, but I can’t use it in my new automatic box because it doesn’t clump. Anyone else tried it? What did you think? Leave me a comment and let me know.

I finally found a pet fountain that I LOVE! Review soon…

I bit the bullet!

It’s probably pretty obvious that I’ve been obsessing about cat litter and litter boxes for the last several months. With four cats in the house, I feel like I spend half my life scooping boxes and sweeping up litter.

After doing a lot of research on automatic boxes, Litter Robot often comes up at the top of the reviews, but they are expensive! Another brand that I’ve seen come up near the top of many review lists is the CatLink Pro. I’ve been keeping an eye on it, because it looks and sounds like it is very similar to the Litter Robot, but a bit less pricey. Today they sent me a Halloween offer I couldn’t refuse. I ordered the CatLink Pro!

If it works out, I’ll probably want/need a 2nd one, but even cutting my litter scooping in half would be huge! Of course I’ll be posting a review, or maybe even more than one as the cats and I acclimate to it. Wish me luck!

Upcoming Reviews

Happy Fall! The leaves are turning here in New England and it is so pretty out!

Lots of stuff coming up here on PetMomma soon!

I received my first shipment of Pretty Litter. I filled one of our four boxes with it yesterday. I didn’t bother doing a half and half kind of thing with our old litter because we have so many boxes. If the cats are hesitant to try it, they can use one of the other boxes, but within minutes of me putting it back, Martin (my son’s cat) had already tried it out.

This morning, it wasn’t tracked all over yet, so either they aren’t using it, or it really doesn’t track much. It’s very different than anything I’ve tried before.

I’ll be posting a full review in a week or two when the cats have really had a chance to check it out.

I’ll have another review coming soon… as you may know from reading here, I’m obsessed with pet fountains. I really think they encourage my pets to drink, and they have become mandatory around here.

This unit will be set up here soon and I’ll be posting the review. Curious to see how it compares to my current Pet Safe brand ceramic fountain.

Does anyone use a Pet Camera? New product to me, but I’ll be trying it out around here soon and of course posting a review when I get a feel for it. Puck and Bean are very curious to see if it will dispense cat treats as well as dog treats!

Happy Fall! Check back soon for the new reviews!

Fair season

Does anyone else have a love/hate relationship with fairs? I love to go, but I always end up in tears at some point! Every year, I try to plan a family fair day, and I always look forward to it. We try to explore fairs that we haven’t been to before, or sometimes we revisit an old favorite. The food, the rides, the sights and smells, I love it all.

But what about the animals? Walking through the barns, seeing all the cows, horses, sheep, llamas, bunnies, I absolutely love it, right up until I see the sign that the prize winning pig was sold to Hannaford, (a grocery chain). I grew up riding horses, but never lived on a farm. I know it is a different life style, and I know people depend on their animals for food and income. I’m not currently a vegetarian, although I have gone through years of giving up meat.

The cows have such sweet faces!

The day before we were at the fair, two twin baby lambs were born at the fair. They were so tiny and precious!

While we were looking at the new babies, a full grown sheep behind me nuzzled my back. I turned around to pat him, and he pushed into my hand and snuggled his head up to me. He raised his chin so I could give him some good scratches, so sweet and affectionate! When I stopped patting him, he bumped me with his nose to get my attention again.

We visited the horse barns. While I love and enjoy seeing the horses and can’t imagine going to the fair and not seeing them. It also makes me a little sad because it makes me miss riding and being around them. The smell of horses will always hold a special place in my heart.

We made our way around the fair through all the barns, but I hadn’t seen any bunnies! For a few years now I’ve had an obsession about angora bunnies. We found them, there were 8-10 at the fair, so pretty! I knit, and I’ve always thought it would be cool to have an Alpaca, or sheep that I could shear and go through the whole process of making my own yarn, but having a sheep requires more space and different zoning than our current home. Almost anyone can have pet bunnies! I spent a lot of time with a very kind woman who explained to me all about the angora bunnies, taking care of them, how she combs and shaves them for the wool. I can’t believe I didn’t take any pictures of them! There were a couple of white ones that I learned were ready to be combed/shaved. They looked huge, but when I touched them I realized it was all fluff. The woman told me the bunnies only weighed about 7 lbs and it was all the wool that made them look so big. If the husband wasn’t with me, I just might have come home with a bunny!

There wouldn’t have been any regrets if I had come home with a bunny, but I have to admit the house is pretty full right now. Four cats is a lot. The litter boxes are still making me crazy, the mess, the smell, the upkeep, yuck. Good thing I love and enjoy the cats! I almost gave in and bought a litter robot a couple of weeks ago, but I’m honestly not sure it will solve the problem.

The fair we went to had harness racing. I’ve never been a fan of racing. I’ve read too many stories about the rough handling of race horses. I hate that Thoroughbreds are started under saddle so young. We happened to be walking sort of near the track when a race was happening, so we watched for a second, but I had to turn around and leave. The poor horses all look so panicked.

So many conflicting emotions, the joy I felt scratching that sheep’s neck, and seeing those newborn baby lambs. The sadness I felt seeing the pigs that were sold to a grocery chain, and watching the harness horses run for their lives.

Even with the fleeting moments of sadness, I loved the fair. Maybe they are a good reminder of where food comes from for those of us who don’t see it all the time? Maybe they help promote better treatment of all animals?

One of these days, an angora bunny or two is definitely on my wish list! I really like the idea of having a pet with a purpose and being able to make my own angora yarn. Anyone else have a love/hate relationship with fairs?

Super Quick Review – Sift Ease

I’ve been searching local pet stores and of course Amazon lately in my quest for the perfect litter box. During one of my Amazon searches, I came across the SiftEase.

Seems like a really interesting product. You don’t need to use any special litter box, but in theory, it should help save time scooping.

Here’s the idea, a big scooping tray, with a bin underneath so that you just pick up your litter box and pour the litter through the sifter. The sifter catches the clumps (clumping litter obviously required) and you throw them away. The bin underneath catches the clean litter and you can just pour that back in the box.

Here’s the giant sifter. It sits on top of the grey bin shown in the first photo. I have to say that I really like the idea of this product. I’ve tried litter boxes with built in sifting devices and I’ve never had much luck with them.

Unfortunately, this product just didn’t work for me. First of all, dumping a litter box into the strainer/sifter is much harder than it seems. I tried to be careful, but litter spilled onto the floor. While I tried to scrape clumps loose in the pan before I dumped it, there were still clumps in the box after I dumped it into the sifter.

Next problem, the holes in the sifter didn’t let all the litter through. Maybe that’s my fault, and I’m sure there are other types of litter that might work better than the OxoCat litter that I prefer, but I have enough issues with litter boxes right now, and I’m not changing my litter.

So I have a sifter full of dirty cat litter. I tried shaking it, but it only helped a little. I had to get my litter scoop and push the litter around in the sifter until I could get most of the clean litter through the slats and dump the clumps. I ended up wasting a lot of litter between the spills on the floor, and the litter that was thrown out because it didn’t sift well.

Finally removed the sifter from the base and dumped the litter back into the box. Time to sweep up the giant mess before I was done. All this hassle, and I only cleaned one box. Four more to go? I don’t think so.

Once I finished sweeping, I cleaned out the SiftEase and folded it back up. I put it back in the box, and told Amazon to come pick it up. This is not a product for me. As much as I hate scooping. This product didn’t save me any time or hassle at all.

I’m going to continue my dreams of having a LitterRobot. There have been many times I’ve been tempted to just spend the money and try one out, but I know I would need at least two of them, and I’m not convinced it would work out for my big Maine Coon, or whichever cat likes to use two boxes to take care of business. I have heard they have a 90 day money back guarantee, so maybe I’ll give it a try one of these days. The joys of cat ownership do not include litter boxes!

Love Cats – HATE Litter Boxes

I’m still battling. I love my cats, but the litter box thing is just, UGH!

Fingers crossed, I think things may be settling in again. They seem to go in circles from OK, to we have a problem. It’s never great. We still have four cats here, our three, plus my son’s cat. As usual, lots of experimenting. I’m trying hard not to overdue the experiments and make things worse.

Litter first – I’ve made a lot of litter changes over the years, and I’m currently using OxoCat regular. It’s a wood based litter, and I’m mostly happy with it. It isn’t at all dusty which I really like. It absorbs smells well, and most importantly, the cats like it. The only downside is that it does spread around on the floors, but for now, I’ll deal with that.

I’ve currently got 5 separate boxes going for the four cats. Two upstairs, three downstairs.

Upstairs I have a standard covered box, and then this new Igloo-looking box I just set up last week called the Petmate Booda Dome.

Upstairs set up:

and the two boxes:

It took the cats a couple of days to give the dome a try. I kept seeing them poking their heads in then quickly backing out. It was day three before any of the cats actually used it, but now it is being used regularly.

My biggest problem lately has been cat poop on the floor. I’ve been switching mats, boxes, cleaning products, etc. Since I set up these two boxes upstairs, the problem hasn’t completely stopped, but it is much better. I was driving myself crazy, cleaning boxes every time I went upstairs, now I’m doing boxes once a day and that’s it. The cats need to figure this out. I won’t say I haven’t found any poop on the floor lately, but it’s down to about once every three or four days. I’m hoping as they continue to adjust to the new dome that we can finally eliminate this problem. I think I have a cat that pees in one box then poops in another. If the second box isn’t available, they poop on the floor rather than doing all their business in one box, you know, like a normal cat!

Downstairs, I’ve gone to three boxes. It honestly seems like too much, and I’m hoping to go back to two soon. Just trying out options.

The two open boxes are cement mixing trays from the hardware store. They have become my favorite litter boxes because they are cheap, usually about $8 each, and the inside edges are rounded so they are super easy to clean. With these trays being so inexpensive, I replace them every 4-5 months when they get stinky and I don’t have to worry about scrubbing them. They are also nice and big for my Maine Coon.

The covered box is a fairly new addition. I’m not sure it is necessary, but the cats are using all the boxes, so it works for now. The covered box is definitely the one being used the least. In the next week or so, I may get rid of the covered box and just go back to the two trays for downstairs. We’ll see how it goes!

Did you notice the plastic sheeting around the back? That’s my latest creation for trying to deal with cat urine. No matter what I do, no matter what type of box I use, there is always cat urine somewhere around the boxes. I think my boy cats don’t always hit the box. The plastic sheeting makes it super easy to wipe things up, and keeps the walls and floor from being damaged.

As always, I’m looking for feedback on the LitterRobot. Should I make the plunge? Is it worth the money?

September is Responsible Dog Ownership Month – ZuluTails Info

I’m not sure I’ve heard of “Responsible Dog Owner Month” before, but apparently that is what September is now. What do you think makes a responsible dog owner?

To me, it’s making sure your dog has everything it needs including food, water, exercise, proper vet care, training, and attention. Did I miss anything?

I received an article from ZuluTails, that I planned to skim and file, but it’s actually an interesting product. It’s a company that helps track your pet if they are lost. This one is only $19.99 per year for the first pet, with discounts for multiple pets. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

Many people have microchipped their pets these days, which is great, but you need a vet or shelter to read the microchip. Data can also be hard to update with a microchip service, so pet parents may move and forget that their pet’s chip lists an old address.

ZuluTails provides a collar or tag with a code called UPI – Universal Pet Identifier. Their embroidered collar has the ZuluTails website and the unique UPI for your pet. The tags come with the same information as the collar, but they also add a QR code that can be scanned with a phone if someone finds your pet.

If your pet is lost and someone finds it, they just go to the website and type in your pets UPI, or scan the QR code, and they can enter their contact info so that you are alerted they have your pet and then you can contact each other to get the pet home safely.

The thing I like about this system is there aren’t delays with getting vets, police, or shelters involved. It seems like this system would help get a lost pet back to its owners really quickly.

Here’s some more information directly from ZuluTails:

We have moved beyond the electronic age and now live in the virtual realm- and the pet industry is no exception. It’s crucial that we covet our personal and private information (PII) since perpetrators, phishing tactics and automated exploitations are always lurking, taking advantage of situations when we are distracted and motivated by emotion to care for our loved ones and our pets.

Health, safety and security are a top priority when it comes to owning a pet, and innovative company ZuluTails is revolutionizing the industry and celebrating responsible dog (and pet) ownership!

Cyber Security Expert, U.S. Navy Veteran and Founder of ZuluTails™(An official “Software As A Service” company and Pet Insight’s 2022 Vanguard Award for Best ID Tag) Pamela Fusco is on a mission to offer solutions for pet safety and owner security!

“The American Humane Association estimates over 10 million dogs and cats are lost in the U.S. alone each year, of which 85% of dogs and 98% of cats without an ID are NOT reunited with their families. Safety, security and privacy are essential when it comes to owning a pet”, says Fusco.

As a cybersecurity professional and a Cryptologist, Pamela’s expertise spans globally; leading special operations for national intelligence, advising U.S. White House and Fortune 500 corporations. She was imminently qualified to create ZuluTails, the newest disruptor in the Pet market that has changed the playing field with the first Smart Pet ID and technology that instantly and securely connects you with your pet. Unlike microchips, ZuluTails offers 24-hour perPETual global on-demand access, granting you the flexibility to update and modify your information and your pet’s without having to depend on any third parties or call centers.

What do you think makes a responsible dog/pet owner? Do you use a pet tag to ID your pet and help if it is lost?

Kitty Stuff

I love my kitties, but I definitely hate litter boxes. With four cats in the house, the little box seems like a constant struggle. I’ve been using cement mixing trays from the hardware store for two of my boxes. I like that they are big, cheap, and relatively easy to scoop because there are no hard edges in the box, the sides slope in.

Currently, I have two, double-sized (cement mixing trays) litter boxes downstairs, and one covered box upstairs. It had been working out pretty well for a while, but lately things have been messy. I have litter mats in front of all the boxes to help with tracking, but lately the cats have been using the mats as boxes. First there were random poops on the mats, now it has been getting more regular and I can’t stand it. I also found urine on the mats recently which is definitely NOT OK.

It seems I have to keep two litter boxes upstairs. I’m not happy about it, but I’ve just ordered another box to go there. I have a standard, front open box up there now, and I’m going to add a Petmate Booda box which is supposed to help with tracking. I’ll review it in a couple of weeks when I’ve had a chance to check it out.

For the downstairs boxes, I ordered another regular, front open, covered box. I’m hoping I can fit it in the space I have with the two cement mixing tray litter boxes.

I’m still happy with the OXO Cat regular litter I’ve been using. I go through a lot of scoopable litter, and I find this one does well controlling odors, scoops pretty easily, and while I don’t think I’ll ever find a little that doesn’t track at all, this one doesn’t spread around quite as badly as others I’ve used.

Puck trying to tell me the water fountain is low

I made a trip to PetCo today to look at litter boxes to see if I was missing anything, but came home to shop on Amazon. I just can’t beat the selection and pricing on Amazon. While I was searching for boxes, I came across a system to sift litter. It’s separate from the litter box, so it works with any scoopable litter and any box. It’s a container with a sifting top, so litter is poured from the box into the sifter, chunks caught in the sifter get dumped in the trash, and the clean litter that ends up in the bottom just gets poured back in the box. I hadn’t seen a system quite like it before, so I bought one to try and I’ll post a review. It’s called the SiftEase Litter Cleaner. I’ll post a review in the next couple of weeks. Has anyone tried this sifter or anything like it? Let me know! I’ve tried sifting litter boxes and had some luck with them, so I’m thinking that I might like this. I’ll let you know!

Someday I dream of a house full of self cleaning litter boxes, but I always see mixed reviews of them, even the fancy LitterRobots. I just saw a company called CatLink that has some interesting looking boxes and water fountains. I’d love to get one of their boxes to review. Has anyone here tried this brand?

Labor Day weekend is coming here in the US, a sign of the end of summer for a lot of us. The weather here is already cooling off, but it did mean we got to take Cali for a nice hike the other day. She even went for a little swim!

Someone left a little surprise in this tree!

Summer Heat and Summer Visitors

What’s everyone doing with their pets this summer? How are you keeping your pets cool? Does the heat make your pets feel as lazy as I do 😉 Anyone having any summer pet visitors?

A team of Budweiser Clydesdales came to visit at the University of New Hampshire. They had open barn hours where you could stop by and visit the horses, so of course I did! They are such gorgeous animals!

These horses are SO spoiled! The staff was constantly rotating them out of their stalls for baths to help keep them cool. Of course they also had multiple fans in their stalls to help with the heat.

When talking to one of the care givers, I learned some interesting things. Budweiser has it’s own breeding program, so the horses are born into the Budweiser life and don’t leave. They work from about 5 years old until about 15 and then they are retired. Budweiser retains the retired horses and they get to be turned out to relax and enjoy the rest of their days. The horses I was able to interact with all had super friendly and mellow personalities. They loved to have their giant heads scratched. I made a point of driving by the barns while they were there so I could see them turned out in their paddocks. So fun to see these giant creatures trotting around, nibbling each others’ necks, and enjoying the grass.

My own pets are enjoying the summer from the comfort of the air conditioned house.

Hector is really enjoying all the fresh fruit of summer. She particularly likes cherries this year!

We got a couple of kayaks, so of course Cali needed a life jacket. I haven’t brought her out on the water with me yet, hoping she likes it!

My son’s cat, Martin, is staying with us for the summer. He’s a really, really good cat. Super friendly – he actually demands to be patted all the time. If I walk into a room, he runs and throws himself on the floor at my feet. While I’m working, he will climb up my legs to get my attention and then throw himself on his back so I can rub his tummy.

Martin used to eat mostly dry food with some occasional canned food as a treat, but my cats get a little canned food every day and Martin has really learned to enjoy it! At first he had very little interest in any flavor of canned food, but now he starts howling and pacing the kitchen about 4pm every day waiting for it!

I’ve been doing some reorganizing and cleaning out, and this old desk chair is going away, but the cats thought it was the greatest thing ever when I moved it away from my desk. Can you find the three boy cats? Martin blends right in!

My old lady, Logan, mostly keeps to herself. I caught this rare moment of her and Puck snoozing together. I feel bad for Logan. She doesn’t really enjoy the chaos of the other cats, especially Martin who is young and has lots of energy, but she holds her own.

The new desk I set up is in front of a window, and Martin’s shelf has been in that window. Martin thinks it is fantastic that I moved a desk under the window. Anytime I go to sit at that desk, Martin jumps up, waits for pats, then purrs, and goes up to his shelf.

We set up a new patio this year and a few nights ago we were out enjoying it. Cali was outside with us, and suddenly this giant owl swooped right over my head! I think he was hunting Cali! We had a fire going in the fire pit, so I think he changed courses quickly when he saw the humans and the fire, but I didn’t waste any time getting Cali in the house. Poor pup wouldn’t have had a chance against this bird!

Cali enjoying the new patio during the day, without the owl!

Overall, the pets are having a pretty lazy summer:

Martin and Bean – they always chose the same spot on the cat tree!

Enjoy your summer and stay cool!

I can admit a failure…

Remember the online dog training course I posted about? I was going to try it with Cali, see if maybe I could teach an old dog new tricks. Well, I failed. Not because the program was bad, or Cali was a problem. I was the problem.

I couldn’t seem to be consistent. I’d work with her a couple of times one day, and then get busy and not try again for a few days. I’m not totally giving up. I do think a refresher would be a good thing for Cali. I have some training treats by my desk and anytime I think of it, I ask her to come, sit, stay, watch me, down, etc. I’m also working on recall when I put her outside. It’s better than nothing, but it also made me realize that the biggest problem with dog training is most likely the human and not the dog.

It’s so much easier to be consistent with a new puppy. You are excited to have them, you are still learning the routines of dealing with the puppy, and we all know house breaking is pretty mandatory training.

For now, Cali is super happy chilling on our new patio couch and continuing her old, lazy routines, but I do want to keep trying to be a little more consistent with training reminders for her.

Just a reminder that with the Fourth of July holiday coming up to please be careful with your pets. Fireworks, cook outs, parties, can all be upsetting to pets. Keep an eye on them, make sure they don’t overheat, and make sure they are safely contained during fireworks time. Happy Independence Day!