Litter Box

[andrewharperyachts]

We've just added a new member to the family, and will need to put a litter box on the boat. Looking for innovative ideas, or someone with experience.

 

[magna 6882]

We have a box we have used for years with motor homing and boating. It is a box that is not real wide but is tall. There is a hole on the top for the cat to drop down and do there stuff then when exiting the top is screened thereby letting any litter come off there feet and not tracking it around. In the camper we keep it in the shower but on the boat we have room to keep it in the stateroom.

 

[andrewharperyachts]

looks good, manufacturer?

 

[HopCar]

Don’t know about cats on boats but I do scoop a lot of litter. This is my scoop of choice. It holds the clumps and drains the loose litter very quickly.
https://smile.amazon.com/BasicForm-...qid=1616212164&sprefix=Litter,aps,251&sr=8-31

 

[magna 6882]

looks good, manufacturer?

Im not sure, My wife bought it . I copied a picture from the internet to show what it looks like so type should be easy to find. With the normal box we would have litter on the floors. With tile in the camper and wood on the boat it was noticeable and annoying. This style helped with that and we also dont have any smells. Surprisingly the cats go into the hole just fine. Perhaps they like a little privacy.

 

[BruceK]

Litter Box(for Aussies & NZers)

In New Zealand, people would post letters in it.

 

[Simi 60]

We just use the 3 inch deep tray that we bought that came with a free cat

Recently we added a large plastic oil drip tray under the tray to catch litter when shes digging to China and stray piss.
She's a cat, I am not foolish enough to try and modify her ways.

Scoop is a cut down chip basket, $2 from Kmart
https://www.kmart.com.au/product/mini-serving-basket/584815

 

[slowgoesit]

She's a cat, I am not foolish enough to try and modify her ways.

YOU Sir, are a wise man in the way of cats!

 

[PM]

One piece of advice.

Empty it often, at east once a day, maybe more. If you empty it twice a day there is no real need for expensive cat liter.

Also get, and use an adhesive tape roller to keep the hair off everything.

pete (I dislike cats)

 

[Tator]

We kept ours in the covered cockpit after adding a cat door to the back salon door. Boogaloo cruised with us for 15 years and was featured and photographed in an early story on boat pets in Passagemaker Magazine.

Tator

 

[CompuNerd]

We are total converts to the Breeze system. The pellets don't get tracked throughout the boat like any granular litter does, the pee pads are easy to remove and have no "cat pee" smell, and our girl had no problems switching to it from the regular stuff. Definitely a game changer!

 

[bgillroy]

Ditto on breeze system far and away best we've found after many cat years....

 

[Spinner]

Second ditto on the Breeze system!!

 

[ScottC]

We've just added a new member to the family, and will need to put a litter box on the boat. Looking for innovative ideas, or someone with experience.

You said you wanted innovative ideas!

What's pictured below is really possible. We have stowed a small bag of litter to use in case we're in a situation where the weather is rough and Donatello has to go, but can't because of the wave motion. He is 11.5 years old now and in 10 years of cruising, we've never had to resort to using that emergency cat litter. He seems to have developed a travel routine of using the toilet just after eating his breakfast in the morning, but before we get under way (which is rarely before 11:00). He's then good for the next 5-8 hours of travel. As soon as we dock, he finds his way to the toilet again.

We may find, as he gets further on in years, that we'll have to switch to a litter box. Cats become less agile with age and can develop kidney issues that require more frequent urination. Our last cat lived to be 23.5 yrs and, thankfully, was able to use the toilet up to age 22. Then we had to switch to a litter box.

So, with the pictured method, there is no litter tracked around and there is no smell. Best of all, no litter box to clean out every day. There's a tradeoff, however. It's about like having another human passenger on board, as it generates more flushes -> more frequent pumpouts.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Toilet-T...o+toilet+train+your+cat&qid=1616403477&sr=8-1

We first trained our previous cat (the one that lived to 23.5) at 6 yrs of age. Our current cat, Donatello (the one in the picture) we started training at about 6 months. The book does a very good job at explaining the process. The best scenario for training is at home (and hopefully your home has two bathrooms, which makes the process less inconvenient for humans during the training period). Once training has been completed at home, we've found that the skills are portable. Hotel = no problem. Boat = no problem. At first, we were not expecting the cat would ever adapt to a marine toilet situation - and we were pleasantly amazed when he did.

 

[Brisyboy]

In New Zealand, people would post letters in it.

Oh Bruce, thats sad- but you are right though - you need to live in this neck of the woods to understand

 

[tisado]

We are total converts to the Breeze system. The pellets don't get tracked throughout the boat like any granular litter does, the pee pads are easy to remove and have no "cat pee" smell, and our girl had no problems switching to it from the regular stuff. Definitely a game changer!

Well, we just ordered the Breeze System. Fingers crossed.
Lots of the reviewers talked about using beans or air soft pellets . Are you cats happy with the pellets that are sold for the system?

 

[BobMc]

We did all of our 45K miles of cruising with two cats - not always the same two cats, but always had two. They readily adapt to the boating life. We put a liter box in the forward head when we didn't have guests aboard (most of the time just the two of us) and when guests arrived we put the same box in our aft cabin. Not a big deal. The cats will find it no matter where it is. We also kept a 2.5 gallon of water topped off on the aft deck where they could drink whenever they wanted, in addition to the small bowl of water in the forward head.

We anchored out most of the time and for years kept the cabin doors open so the cats could run around at night. Never had a problem until one of them fell overboard jumping from the stern to the dinghy on davits at a time, fortunately, when we were anchored on a lake in Cananda with no current and in daylight when we were awake and heard the splash. We kept a "cat net" onboard just in case, but this time my wife got down on the swim platform and pulled the cat back onto the boat. After that we kept them locked in at night!

We've just added a new member to the family, and will need to put a litter box on the boat. Looking for innovative ideas, or someone with experience.

 

[docvchulek]

We are using disposable little boxes since we are usually not out more than a month at a time. These are great at absorbing the smell for a week with one cat. We don't scoop any poop so it may last longer if you do. When you are done it folds up to the small box size and we put it in a plastic bag. Easy Peasy.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/scoop-free-disposable-cat-litter-box

 

[KnottyGuy]

Congratulations! I have used the Purina Tidy Cats Breeze Litter System on my yacht for one cat for 9 months now with great success. I have found there is no urine oder when pad is changed regularly. Using pellets significantly reduces tracking. Wish you much happiness and joy with your new addition.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/purina-tidy-cats-breeze-cat-litter-box

 

[amapola]

If you're on FaceBook, look at our group Gatos del Mar (cats who sail/navigate). Do a search and you'll find lots of information.

 

[BrianSmith]

Well, we just ordered the Breeze System. Fingers crossed.
Lots of the reviewers talked about using beans or air soft pellets . Are you cats happy with the pellets that are sold for the system?

We brought our little old lady cat onboard when she was 14 and introduced her to the Breeze system. No problems at all. And I can't imagine a neater, cleaner, less odorous system. The fact that the supplies take up so little storage place is a great added bonus.

 

[BruceK]

Oh Bruce, thats sad- but you are right though - you need to live in this neck of the woods to understand

Yes, a tad obscure unless you live west of "The Ditch"(The Tasman Sea separating Aust. and NZ.) To the east, it would be correct pronunciation.

 

[Circumnavigator]

A Google search on the first image brings up:


Frisco Top Entry Cat Litter Box, Gray, Large 23-in


A search on that yields vendor(s).


Jim

 

[tisado]

The cats have voted and prefer to use the old box. Even when full. One has used breeze but not on a regular basis. This has been almost 3 weeks. We are currently in dirt home.
Old box going outside now. Will keep you updated

Obviously the cats are smarter than us. And yes, we did read instructions.[emoji250]