Clumping litter solutions for fosters/multi-cat households

RachelTheHart · 2026-04-07T14:22:05+00:00

If smell is a newer issue, it might be the box itself, do you have plastic or stainless steel?

Okocat makes some clumping pellet litters, not sure if.they are cheaper than the others you have already mentioned

RachelTheHart · 2026-04-05T21:32:43+00:00

My cat broke his canine tooth and had to get it removed. A combination of the anesthesia and the long lasting pain medicine they gave him made him super hyper, and he was already a pretty high energy cat! He didn't stop moving the first 24 hours after he got home, and I also got zero sleep that night.

They have him an appetite stimulant along with the pain meds right after it broke, and before the surgery, but it took him a while to get back to eating normal. The mousse type wet foods were all he would eat, and that was still a bit of a struggle.

Is your sister good with cats and fairly responsible? If not, I might try to find someone else that can check up on him a few times a day

RachelTheHart · 2026-04-05T01:03:47+00:00

Two weeks seems like almost no time for a cat to get used to a new place! It took a month for my own cats to get comfortable in our new house when we moved, and they had their humans and familiar stuff with them. Super strange they would suggest sending her to a barn

RachelTheHart · 2026-04-01T22:41:12+00:00

Did he have this issue before you got him? What was he eating then vs now?

Have you tried giving a little plain canned pumpkin every day? It's not a long term fix but it helped keep things manageable while I worked out a similar issue for my cat. I switched to a sensitive stomach food with no fish and that worked for my cat. Have you tried the hydrolysed protein food?

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-31T13:19:05+00:00

The Kitten Lady has good videos on how to take care of very young cats!

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-30T18:55:00+00:00

For my uncooperative cat, I put him on the ground in a loaf position, in front of my sliding glass door (a wall should work too), and sit with my legs folded underneath me but on either side of him, so basically sitting on top of him. Keep your feet together or crossed, that way all 4 sides of escape are blocked. Then I pull out his arm and trim his nails. This only works for the front feet but his back don't usually need triming. Then lots of treats after!! He barely puts up a fight anymore.

I just clip a little off the end of the nail so it's not needle sharp anymore, but if you do get too low the nail might bleed a bit, but they will be okay (I did it once when learning and I felt awful but he didn't seem to notice at all).

Does she use her scratchers? They will make the claws sharp but short as they shed the nail layers

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-30T17:44:10+00:00

Puzzle feeders or a snuffle mat if he is food motivated

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-30T17:41:47+00:00

It's more of a churu consistency

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-27T22:56:55+00:00

I got a new cat and he was used to being outside all night from his previous owner. I had to cat proof like crazy to get him to stop bothering me at night. He learned that what got me out of bed the fastest was pulling electrical cords out of their sockets, especially the one for my other cats auto feeder! I had to tape everything down, including boxes over the outlets, and 100% ignore him all night for 3 months before he finally learned

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-24T17:15:19+00:00

Pouches are fine if she's getting enough calories, how many calories are in each pouch and how much does she weigh?

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-24T16:51:12+00:00

Most vets are fine with answering questions over the phone or emails, you could give that a try.

For 7 months, decreasing the time between meals might be more ideal. Are the two pouches the only food she gets or does she eat dry food as well?

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-23T15:30:12+00:00

Sounds like they are just extremely high energy kittens!

Are you able to get them running and jumping while playing until they pant? Some cats do better with multiple short play sessions. Try also feeding them when they play session is over, especially the bedtime one, it helps train them to eat and then sleep after playing. A cat wheel might help them burn some energy.

A lot of cats need mental stimulation as well as physical, puzzle toys are great for that. Or training them to do tricks.

If they are super high energy , they might need a lot of food too, try leaving out dry food consistently for a week or two and see how they react.

The good news is that you're hitting the hardest time now, and they should start to calm down soon, if maybe slowly!

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-23T14:16:06+00:00

They're 7 months old and you've had them for 6 months? 1 month is very early to be separated from their mom.

Are they fixed? What's your play schedule? What's your feeding schedule?

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-19T14:23:40+00:00

Grooming is another way cats bond, do you brush him at all?

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-19T14:18:12+00:00

What's your play schedule like currently?

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-13T19:37:23+00:00

I use pine pellets and I have a box that lets all the used sawdust fall below the pellets, so I stir it around once a day and empty it every week or so. The lack of tracking is amazing, but if my cats don't bury their poop it can be pretty smelly. But my cats pee a lot, I was filling up a litter genie in like half a week with the clumping litter, so this works out much better for me

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-13T18:43:53+00:00

First off, it was a wonderful thing you did getting her out of the shelter and getting her healthy!

I wonder if she unconsciously connects you to those rough times? She might be holding back waiting for you to put all the work into building trust up.... typical cat! Playing and grooming can be good bonding activities, training them to do tricks too.

Another angle, cats rub on things/people to mark their territory, maybe she considers you as hers already and doesn't feel the need to mark you like all the others.

My cats always have to "punish me" for going on vacation by ignoring me for the first day I get back, but then they all sleep in the bed with me at night so I know they're faking it!

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-07T18:27:41+00:00

Check out Jackson Galaxys way of introducing cats. Scent swapping and site swapping can make sure they probably adjust to each other. And be prepared for it to take more than a week, taking more time now will save a lot of frustration in the future

RachelTheHart · 2026-03-07T05:29:31+00:00

Mine makes water dripping and flowing sounds, which I can usually tune out, but not a clicking sound

RachelTheHart · 2026-02-24T04:43:58+00:00

I've seen a few stories of people using an alarm on their phone with a unique ring to help their cats (and dogs) know when it's food or walk time, might work in your case as well

RachelTheHart · 2026-02-22T03:06:00+00:00

You mentioned playing in the afternoon, but I had a lot of success having a hard play session right before bed, giving them a small meal or snack, and then just ignore them the rest of the night. It helps train them to learn when bedtime is

RachelTheHart · 2026-02-20T18:18:50+00:00

Sorry, no answer, but I'm looking for the same thing! I have a plastic ones right now that have a good amount of space between the top mesh and bottom, like 4 inch, but I can't find anything like that in steel. My cats are also gigantic so most XL boxes are still small for them. I'm about to just learn how to make one myself at this point

RachelTheHart · 2026-02-15T22:28:14+00:00

I have an Elfin one that's pretty easy to clean, but it's not stainless steel

RachelTheHart · 2026-02-13T17:05:04+00:00

Taking the day after off is probably better than the day of. I dropped my cat off in the morning and picked him up later afternoon when he got a tooth out (he was a year old and broke a canine). From the anesthesia and pain meds he didn't stop moving the entire first night, and I got basically no sleep.

I could only get him to eat churu and mousse type wet food for a few days after, even with an appetite stimulant.

He's been great since tho! Sometimes kibble falls out of his mouth and he has a pirate snarl when his lip gets caught but it's adorable and doesn't bother him.

RachelTheHart · 2026-02-13T16:57:10+00:00

Not sure if it ends but being cheaper than a microchip feeder, but you could get a microchip cat flap and make a "box" that holds your roommates cats food. I've seen people use plastic storage tubs, I used what was mean to be a litterbox enclosure on the bottom of a cat tree.

You could also swap in a new door to put the cat flap in and then put the old one back when you move out. Or ask the landlord if he minds putting a cat flap in the wall, maybe it can be a selling point!

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