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January 23, 2010
Helpful Hints from joeeze: How to evaluate a cat litter scoop
A top-of-the-line scoop should require nothing from you but lifting the scoopful of litter — no shaking, no twisting, no other effort.
If its tines are artfully enough designed and carefully enough engineered — like those in the Litter-Lifter (above and below) — the litter should simply sift down between them with only gravity's assistance.
That's my opinion, anyway.
And it's worth precisely what you paid for it.
Wait a minute, joe....
January 23, 2010 at 04:01 PM | Permalink
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Comments
I believe I have the one mentioned in the article. Tough, sturdy. Works great for clumping litter. But not enough "flat shelf" at the tip for loose litter. In fact, there is nothing flat in the scoop part. After changing from clumping to non-clumping litter, I had to change to a cheapo scooper just for the little bit of flat surface I get on them. I had to change litter type because my cat somehow gets the clumping stuff on himself (he's getting old) and it sticks to him. The best litter box I've ever had is the Clevercat, which is basically a bucket. Wonderful. No more leaks.
Posted by: bubbub | Jan 26, 2010 12:08:33 AM
FYI: the wife and I have tried several(7?) automated versions of kitty litter boxes, and they are all crap.
Oh, and a tip for any of you that have cats that decide to stop using the litter box, try changing the type of litter. We've had one of our cats for 9 years with no potty problems, and a few months ago he started "going" near the litterbox but not in it.
We tried changing the type of litterbox (we had changed types a few months prior), changing his diet, etc, and never thought about the fact that maybe he was just sick of the litter, or maybe the manufacturer started adding or removed an ingredient that affected him.
Anyways, after several weeks of frustration coming home, we changed litter and have had no problems since! (The other cat didn't seem to care which litter was used, which is a plus)
Posted by: EEJ | Jan 25, 2010 3:14:48 PM
I bought a metal scoop (not one of the spoons, but an actual scoop), and man, I couldn't be happier.
If you ask me, the number one trait to look for is strength. If you can easily flex it, it's garbage.
Posted by: Rocketboy | Jan 24, 2010 6:47:07 PM
The grocery store sells great spoons of the kind I use & they're about 3 dollars cheaper than the Litter-Lifter. Also, a "smallish" scoop-head and a spoon with a "large" bowl are not contradictory - the bowl of the right kind of spoon is small compared to the business part of the litter scoop.
Posted by: Flautist | Jan 23, 2010 7:45:03 PM
Deciding factors will be the cat's pooping habits and where & how you deposit the poop.
If your feline enters, poops in one heap, then gives one half-assed, perfunctory litter-kick with a back leg before she walks out satisfied, and you're near the spot where you'll be dumping the littery poop, then that one is okay.
At this house, the two, being brother & sister, have nearly identical habits whilst making their toilettes: run around and squeal for five minutes in front of the litter box (no, nothing's wrong with them or their apparatus) to announce the event; enter and get to business; upon completion, spend the next thirty minutes entering and exiting the box, rearranging the turds in attempts to pile every ounce of litter on top; run around and squeal for five minutes to announce the end of the event.
The litter-covered turds will plug my toilet in a heartbeat, so they go into small Ziplock (how DO you spell that) bags which go sealed into the garbage, which means the head of the litter scoop must be smallish, and the slots big enough to get the excess litter off easily, and a long, extremely non-bendy and sturdy handle is necessary to rake around for the turds under the pounds (it seems) of piled-up litter. Best thing for all that, I've discovered, is a well-made long-handled slotted cooking spoon with a large, slightly flattened bowl. It fits into the plastic bag easily so that at no time is there any accidental touching of the turd.
Posted by: Flautist | Jan 23, 2010 7:38:30 PM
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