We hear you. Cleaning the litter box is often one more thing on the endless to-do list, and it’s certainly not a fun one.
But hear us out. If you’ve been less than consistent regarding your litter box cleanings, more frequent cleanings benefit you and your furry friend!
How? It turns out there are health threats to felines and owners if a litter box isn’t cleaned regularly. Here's how your cat can be affected.
Feline Illness
An unclean litter box can make your cat sick, with possible ailments including lower urinary tract diseases like kidney, bladder and urethra infections, along with parasites and bacteria. What’s worse, these illnesses often have few symptoms, so your cat could suffer in silence long before you realize there is a problem! A clean litter box will keep your kitty happy and healthy.
Respiratory Issues
The buildup of ammonia in a dirty litter box can make it hard for your cat to breathe, just like an overpowering scent affects humans. Asthma, allergies, and even pneumonia from this buildup can plague your cat.
Refusal to Eliminate
If you’ve ever experienced a less-than pristine restroom and been hesitant to use it – and who hasn’t? – consider that your cat’s sense of smell is 20 times better than your own. Cats do not like to eliminate in a dirty space any more than humans do! Refusal to eliminate can also cause a host of problems for your kitty, so make sure their litter box is the stuff clean dreams are made of.
Here are a few ways you and your home can be affected:
Disease
A dirty litter box poses a host of disease threats to you, too. Cat Scratch Fever – yep, it’s a real thing, not just a song title – along with salmonellosis, roundworms, and overexposure to ammonia can
adversely affect humans. Consider that even a clean litter box can cause illness in pregnant women, who should not even change a litter box due to the risk of toxoplasmosis, even in litter boxes that are well-maintained.
Respiratory Issues
Dirty litter boxes can cause asthma, headaches, pneumonia, and other respiratory ailments in humans. Those with weakened immune systems are most at risk, along with children.
Odor
We know you take pride in your home, and this is a great reason to regularly clean your litter box. The odors from a dirty litter box can permeate your home, making it unpleasant for you, your pets, and your visitors. If the smell has been lingering for some time, you may have become accustomed to it and not even notice. But your guests, neighbors, and landlord will definitely smell it – yikes!
How often should you be cleaning your litter box?
Cleaning your litter box daily is straightforward and simple, and we’re here to help you get in the routine:
- Clean the box on a regular schedule, perhaps first thing in the morning or right before bed.
- Set an alarm on your phone as a reminder.
- Recall how lovely a clean home feels and consider that your cats will feel the same about a fresh litter box!
The bottom line is that cleanliness is right up there with happiness...for you and your feline friends!
