My Laila is like your Fiona....she scratches down from up high like de-barking a tree.....if the box is anywhere near a rug or socks or towels she will drag that over into the box....cats definitely want to hide poop and pee clumps....sifting it out ASAP flushes the smell and tiny turds away faster than big people feces and pints of urine down the commode hole

Kiti is a Major digger ....1st to dig the deepest possible hole in a 4 inch deep pan then piling up all the litter she can over her droppings 7-8 inches high.....making their litter as clean as possible is the least I can do as a Mr Mom to my two 4paw girls Service Cats 5 years 7 months 20 days now on duty24/7 watching my sleep apnea and massaging the arthritis from my knees....Laila has 6 thumbs for that 26 toes in all

Man, either you are incredibly well trained or I'm a terrible mom. We have two cats, four boxes, and they only get scooped twice a week =/

@synergy one box 2 cats clean house....use plant based litter: corn cassava walnut shells wheat chaff pine et al but never clay or crystals.....no need to "scoop" find a 3 tray sifter system about ten buck$....you could make one with quarter inch square hole screen from hardware store ....moms were just as good with cloth diapers as with disposable diapers.....very few stores stock my suggestions so you are a victim of marketers....clay litter comes from Dick Cheney himself Halliburton companies US HWY 212 NE Wyoming dry lake bed cracks in those litter sized mud granules....but the dirt gets in tiny cat lungs.so keep loving your furr4paw family with better supplies

@GreenAtheist I'm gone three nights a week, I could scoop daily when I'm home but when I'm gone I go with the many boxes approach.

We used the wheat litter for a long time, used it to toilet train the last generation. Gotten away from it since. Which of the natural litters would you recommend for 72 hours of no maintenance?

@synergy Arm&Hammer probably has the most baking soda in natural litter to absorb most 3 day odors.....and use a sifter system of some kind to protect your hands from manual sifter scoops.....you obviously care so keep trying for our divine Bo Ha Ki ruling our homes

@synergy a 3 pan sifter system allows you to bleach and rinse dry the smell absorbed into the pans........put it all in a giant cardboard box to keep cats from tracking litter walking straight out of the pans onto the floor...newspapers spread out will leave wet foot prints .....a signal to wash their paws save them from licking so much

@GreenAtheist OK, I'm sold. My old boy (17!) has been having some hairball issues that brushing, specialty dry food, hairball greenies, and a little oil in his wet food isn't getting under control. Damn Canidae for discontinuing the best product we'd found!! Anyway, licking up clay can't possibly be helping, and I'll try anything I can before we resort to cutting his beautiful (warm!) long hair short.

Give me your four favorites, preferably that clump. Ideally available on Amazon, or widely available at the chain stores - I'll buy a bag of each and trial one in each box for a couple of weeks. If there is something you recommend so highly that it is worth ordering via a specialty source for a trial, send that along too. If it works out I'll rig up sifting trays. Thank you for getting me off my arse about this...

@synergy GARFIELD brand is made of cassava and is nearly pure white granules.....the great benefit of this brand litter is an older/sicker cat urine will turn the color of Garfield to red if he is bleeding and if ok now any changes in color will alert you to his changing health.....it's made in Florida....I bought mine in Iowa from Shopko.....it also mixed well with other plant based litter still disclosing urine color .....just stay away from crystal or clay or un-natural chemicals....paper pellets are too big to sift and only lasts a week or so while plant based litter lasts over a month per bag per cat....vets usually sent post operative cats home with paper pellet litter intended to be scooped after each use watching for diarrhea and keeping paws from absorbing ANYTHING out of any other kind of litter

@GreenAtheist thank you! I actually live in Florida, that one looks to be easily available here! He's in great health for his age, but he's suffered a little bit of weight loss since we had to find a new food and the hairballs returned. I would probably be willing to personally burn up an old wood forest for those boys, sustainability is just not my concern here - their health is my highest priority. I'm an easy sell when it comes to my cats <3

Could possibly only be zip tied on one side. That way it would stay in place, but open like hinges.

@Kynlei Ahhh yes - I could see how only having one side tied down would work - yes!

Yeah those doggies love their tootsie rolls.