Beco Scoop

I know you guys have been on the edge of your seats waiting to find out what a BecoScoop is. The wait is over! A BecoScoop is just a regular litter scoop. Sorry.

"the eco-friendly litter scoop"

BUT! It's an environmentally friendly scoop and is made of the same material as the BecoTray, and I now own one. It's matchy matchy with our BecoTray, which makes scooping the litter box more fun, right? Right. That's what I keep telling myself. It's like when Mike bought me a tennis racquet and I was REALLY into tennis for about a day. It's starting to wear off. 

Out With The Old, In With The New

I could probably just start another blog all about litter boxes. Good grief. If you've been following my blog since the beginning, you know that I HATE litter boxes. In the last few years, we've been through more than a few boxes. We've also tried our fair share of types of litter: clay, s'wheat scoop, newspaper pellets, pine pellets, you name it. 

Our most recent acquisition was a litter mate automatic self-cleaning box. When we first brought it home, life was good. That little robot really knew it's stuff, and did its job well. Well, for the past month it's been slowly neglecting its duties. For the past week, it's been going back and forth with the idea of retiring altogether. I usually don't like to touch the littler box at all, but it seemed like every day I was scooping a box that was supposed to scoop itself. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DRIVE AND LOYALTY OF OUR ROBOT?! 

This time technology doesn't win. Buh-bye, robot. Your time with us is finito. In all honesty, even though it's labelled as suitable for multi-cat households, I think it would do better with a single cat, which is why it will get a second chance at my mom's house.

So, out with the old, and in with the new. Seeing how we were scopping the box everyday anyway, we decided to kick it old school and revert back to the good ol' days of a regular box with no robot required. In the past, we've usually had a covered box, but this time around we decided to be crazy and go with a regular pan, since we plan on scooping daily. 

Introducing our new litter box (isn't this blog exciting?), the BecoTray.

It's "the eco-friendly litter tray". From the label:

"becotrays are made from the natural plant fibres found in bamboo and rice husks. this makes them both sustainable to produce and biodegradable when finished with. so while they will last for years in the home, they are also completely eco-friendly. combine your becotray with a becoscoop, and keep your floor clean as well as the environment."

Anywho, the litter box has been setup and has been christened by Loki. While taking photos of it, he came to check it out. I put down the camera and filled it up when I realized that he actually needed to use it. It's a hit! Now I just need to find out what a becoscoop is.

Litter Box Blues

A new month, and new projects? Nope, still on the litter box. My hunt continues for the perfect piece of furniture to modify. If we had more space for it, it wouldn't be as tricky. I've checked thrift stores, and have been doing some window shopping online, but have come up with nothing so far. I'm thinking that doing some measuring and taking a road trip to Ikea might be in order. Until that happens, this project is moving to the back burner. 


The good news is that this project idea has worked for someone else! My friend Michelle, of Anderson Labour of Love, saw my original post and had a litter box concealer whipped up in no time. Instead of listening to me whinge about not being able to find furniture, go and read her success story here. Mady is a lucky cat. 

The Litter Saga Continues...

As I relax with a cup of tea, and an Odie burrowed in a blanket beside me, I'm googling cat litter boxes. Ahhhhh, my favourite pastime. 


I'm very happy to report that the automatic cat litter box I previously posted about actually works! I followed other's advice and used a cooking spray (canola oil to be exact) on the bottom, and didn't put too much litter in. The trouble with this otherwise amazing machine is that it doesn't have a lid. This means that litter goes everywhere. Also, we made the mistake of buying scented litter, which we normally don't do. Now the litter box is always clean, but we can smell the litter. I found a LitterMaid "Kitty Kabana Cover" for it, but I can still see litter escaping with it. 

Photo: Petco

Now I'm on the hunt for something that I can turn into litter box furniture. Didn't know that litter box furniture existed? Well let me enlighten you. Litter box furniture is basically just furniture that you can fit a litter box in, with a hole somewhere so your cat can get inside. 

Some are cute, and practical:

Photo: catsplay.com

Photo: catsplay.com

Some are crazy insane:

Photo: catsplay.com

I'm planning on going the more practical route. I really love the white one from catsplay, but our space will only work with one that opens from the top for cleaning. I'm a seasoned thrift store shopper, so I'm hoping i'll come across something that will work perfectly. Can't wait!


Drinking: Tetley Decaffeinated Earl Grey Tea. Classic.

Movin' On Up!

Litter boxes are a touchy subject in our household. I love our cats, but I hate litter boxes. Why? Because they're disgusting. Not only do they smell (unless you scoop a lot), but they're also hazardous to your health. Okay, it's not the box that's bad for you, but what's deposited into the box. Yes, I know that the risk is minimal, but if you're immune system is compromised in any way, you have no business being around a cat's business.


Did you know that up to 90% of cats are exposed to toxoplasma in their lives? That's how they get toxoplasmosis, and most mammals and birds can get it from them. If you get toxoplasmosis when you're pregnant, you baby has a very high chance of developing birth defects. I was just reading that information on the CDC's website, when I saw a link a page about "cat scratch disease". My God, these are vile creatures. Soooo, my immune system is just fine and I'm not pregnant. I just dislike cleaning the litter box.


When we had rats, the deal was that I would be the cage cleaner, and Mike would take care of the litter box. We share the bathroom responsibilities of Odie. Well, now our rats have sadly lived out their short rat lives, and are no more. Enter our new LitterMaid automatic self-cleaning litter box! I'm very excited. It has sensors that detect your cat doing its thing, and then 10 minutes after it does a sweep and puts the waste into a container. I decided to read some reviews before we went to purchase it today, and there's a huge mix of positives and negatives out there. After finding some "tricks" to help it do its job, we decided it would be worth it to try it out. We bought ours at Walmart for $99.

Odie and Loki "helping" me put it together

So we've only had it filled with litter for about an hour, so I'm in no position to be writing a review. However, before even using it, I can tell you one of the disadvantages. You have to use clumping litter, which makes sense considering how the mechanism works. So if you like using newspaper/wood pellets, or anything else earth-friendly, this litter box isn't for you. I'm not sure if swheat scoop (a natural wheat clumping litter) would work or not. Also, the receptacle that collects all the waste is plastic, and you're meant to throw this out and replace it when it's full. The box comes with 8 of these, and 8 carbon filters you stick to the inside of the receptacle lid. I'm considering just emptying the container out, and reusing it. They're obviously a health hazard and not recyclable once they're used. This doesn't bug me as much as litter boxes do in general though, so we're okay.

The LitterMaid all set up, next to the conveniently placed outlet.

So when I first turned it on, it was exciting! Haha. Seriously! It turned on and did a sweep, and my mind was blown. I really really really hope that it works! If I do just empty the receptacle and reuse it, I will empty it into our handy LitterLocker. You open the top and scoop the litter in, and then close the top and pull the grey handle out, and it deposits it into a plastic bag in the bottom. Voila!

I thought this was cool until I found a self-cleaning litter box.