Ⅰ. Regular and comprehensive change cat litter is the basic guarantee for healthy feeding of cats.
In the global pet breeding industry, cat litter is the most needed daily necessities for cats, and it is also the core product to protect cats’ toilet health and home environmental sanitation.
Many breeders have a serious misunderstanding in feeding: they only regularly clean up the urine balls and fecal lumps produced by cat excretion, and do not completely change cat litter in the basin for a long time, thinking that they can continue to use it as long as the lumps are cleaned up.
In fact, after repeated use for a long time, cat litter will permeate a lot of urine residues, bacterial eggs, dander impurities and moist water vapor that can’t be distinguished by naked eyes, and ordinary surface cleaning can’t completely remove deep pollution sources. Long-term not change cat litter will lead to a large number of bacteria, stubborn accumulation of odor, and mite breeding, which will not only pollute the living environment at home, but also directly endanger the cat’s skin health, respiratory health and gastrointestinal health, and cause various common pet diseases such as dermatosis, respiratory inflammation and intestinal discomfort.
Reasonably controlling the single use cycle of cat litter, regularly replacing the whole with new cat litter, and combining with daily fine cleaning, can not only prolong the service life of cat litter, control the consumption cost of feeding, but also protect the physical and mental health of cats in an all-round way, so as to meet the needs of family feeding, pet shops, large-scale basin breeding bases, overseas cross-border breeding and other full-scene use.
II. Five core factors affecting the replacement cycle of cat litter
2.1 Cat litter itself material category differences
Cat litter made of different raw materials has a great difference in water absorption, taste locking ability, durability and loss rate, which directly determines the replacement period of the foundation.
فضلات القطط التوفو has loose texture, fast water absorption loss and short service life; فضلات القطط البنتونيت has compact structure, stronger durability and longer overall service life; The comprehensive performance of mixed cat litter is balanced, and the replacement cycle is at a medium level; Crystal cat litter has a large adsorption capacity and the longest replacement cycle.
2.2 Number density of cats
In the independent feeding environment of single cat, the use frequency of cat litter is low, the pollution speed is slow, and the replacement cycle of the whole basin is longer;
In the environment where two cats and many cats live in groups, the daily use frequency of cat litter doubles, and the pollution speed, humidity speed and odor accumulation speed are greatly accelerated, so the overall replacement cycle must be shortened.
2.3 home environment temperature and humidity conditions
In the high temperature and humidity environment in summer, the air circulation is weak, and cat litter is easy to absorb moisture, mold and breed bacteria, so the service life needs to be shortened;
In the dry and ventilated environment in winter, cat litter is not easy to Deterioration due to moisture, and the normal service cycle can be appropriately extended after cleaning in place.
2.4 Daily cleaning frequency
The overall cleanliness of cat litter is higher and the replacement cycle can be prolonged in the feeding environment of cleaning urine and feces regularly and adding new sand regularly.
Daily neglect of cleaning, allowing excreta to remain and ferment for a long time, the pollution rate of cat litter is extremely accelerated, and the whole basin must be replaced in advance.
2.5 Cat Age and Health Status
Young cats excrete more times, have higher urine concentration, and pollute cat litter faster; The metabolism of old cats is slow and the excretion is less; Cats with skin inflammation and intestinal diseases carry more germs in their excrement, so it is necessary to shorten the replacement period of cat litter and reduce the probability of cross infection.
III. For different categories of cat litter, refer to the standard replacement time.
3.1 original/fragrant tofu cat litter
Single Cat Family Standard Replacement Cycle
Daily cleaning of caking, complete replacement cycle of the whole basin: 7-10 days.
Replacement cycle of multi-cat breeding base
Complete replacement cycle of the whole basin: 4-6 days.
Core usage characteristics
Made of food-grade plant raw materials, it can be used for flushing toilets, which is environmentally friendly, convenient and fast in water absorption. However, it is easy to powder and accumulate debris after long-term use, so it is recommended to replace it strictly according to the cycle to avoid the debris breeding bacteria.
3.2 natural bentonite cat litter
Single Cat Family Standard Replacement Cycle
Complete replacement cycle of the whole basin: 10-15 days.
Replacement cycle of multi-cat breeding base
Complete replacement cycle of the whole basin: 6-8 days.
Core usage characteristics
It has the advantages of fast agglomeration speed, strong ability to wrap peculiar smell, high cost performance, stable particles, difficult pulverization and durability far exceeding that of tofu sand, and is the first choice for large-scale breeding with high cost performance.
3.3 Multifunctional mixed cat litter
Single Cat Family Standard Replacement Cycle
Complete replacement cycle of the whole basin: 8-12 days.
Replacement cycle of multi-cat breeding base
Complete replacement cycle of the whole basin: 5-7 days.
Core usage characteristics
It combines the advantages of the two cat litter, gives consideration to foot feeling and practicality, has the strongest comprehensive adaptability, can be used in both domestic and commercial scenes, and has a moderate replacement cycle and is easy to control.
3.4 crystal silica gel adsorption cat litter
Single Cat Family Standard Replacement Cycle
Complete replacement cycle of the whole basin: 20-30 days.
Replacement cycle of multi-cat breeding base
Complete replacement cycle of the whole basin: 12-18 days.
Core usage characteristics
Relying on the crystal to absorb urine moisture, it has no agglomeration characteristics, and it can be replaced directly after adsorption saturation, with large adsorption capacity and lower cost for long-term feeding and use.
IV. When these signals appear, replace the cat litter immediately without waiting for the cycle.
4.1 Smell signal: The litter box emits stubborn pungent odor.
After daily simple cleaning, it still emits a strong and lingering fishy smell, which means that the deep layer of cat litter has been fully absorbed by urine and lost its ability to lock the smell, so it must be replaced immediately.
4.2 Visual signal: Cat litter is black, moist and caked in a large area.
The overall color of the cat litter in the basin is dull and black, with a large area of wet adhesion and a large number of finely pulverized residues, which intuitively shows that the cat litter has completely failed and can no longer meet the normal use requirements.
4.3 Behavior signal: The cat voluntarily refuses to enter the litter box to go to the toilet.
Cats deliberately stay away from the litter box, pull around everywhere, and jump out quickly after entering the litter box, which is a direct manifestation of the cat’s perception of dirty environment, giving priority to replacing the whole litter box with a new one.
4.4 Health signal: Cats frequently have itchy skin and sneeze.
Cats scratch their frequently bodies, their skin becomes inflamed with red spots, and they sneeze frequently every day. After eliminating the disease factors, it is highly probable that the old polluted cat litter breeds germ dust, so it is urgent to change cat litter.
4.5 Environmental signal: small flying insects and mold spots breed around cat litter.
In the humid and sultry environment, white mold grows on the surface of the old cat litter, and small flying insects and mosquitoes breed around it, which has serious health risks. Empty and disinfect it immediately.
V. Standard operating procedure for replacing cat litter in the whole basin
Prepare brand-new cat litter of the same category in advance, empty all the old and discarded cat litter in the cat litter basin, seal and package them for unified treatment;
Use special disinfectant for pets and warm water to comprehensively brush the cracks on the inner wall, edge and bottom of the cat litter box to thoroughly remove residual stains and bacteria;
Place the cleaned cat litter basin in a ventilated area and air dry naturally to prevent water stains from breeding mold;
After air-drying, pour brand-new cat litter into the floor, and the laying thickness is controlled at 5-8 cm, which is suitable for most cats’ sand shaving habits;
Put it back to its original fixed position to guide the cat to quickly adapt to the new clean toilet environment;
After the replacement is completed, the ground sanitation around the cat litter basin will be cleaned synchronously, and the environment in the toilet area will be optimized in all directions.
VI. Daily fine maintenance to prolong the overall service time of cat litter.
Adhere to the regular cleaning of urine and feces twice a day in the morning and evening to prevent excreta from being retained for a long time;
After the loss of cat litter is reduced, new sand of the same style should be replenished in time to maintain the standard laying thickness;
Keep good ventilation at home, reduce the environmental humidity in the cat litter area, and delay the deterioration rate of damp;
Regularly dry the area around the cat litter box to keep the environment dry and fresh;
A multi-cat family can add an independent cat litter basin to divert the use pressure and slow down the pollution speed of cat litter.
