Crystals - what am I doing wrong?

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Crystals - what am I doing wrong?

Postby tmn » Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:05 pm

I tried Dr. Elsey's crystal cat litter last week - supposed to last 1 cat 2 months. So i figured with 3 cats, at least 2 weeks, right? Well after 2 days, including removing some of the "slumps" where the crystals were saturated and adding new, and stirring 3-4 times a day, the litter reeked of urine on the 3rd day. I dumped it and saw that the crystals were totally saturated. My cats eat wet food only, but they don't have any medical conditions that cause increased urination. Is there another brand that works better or do crystals just not cut it for urine absorption?
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Re: Crystals - what am I doing wrong?

Postby eholling » Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:39 am

which dr. Elsey's crystals did you use? Was it the ones for Seniors, or something else? I use the stuff for seniors, and it seems work great in my LM and my SF both, and lasts for about 2-4 weeks in each. This is for 2 kitties, 2 auto boxes upstairs (though I think I can dump the LM now that it's got the same stuff as the SF) and one plain one downstairs.
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Re: Crystals - what am I doing wrong?

Postby tmn » Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:53 pm

It was the "senior" cat type. I think my cast just urinate too much and the crystals saturate fast. i am in CA and the air is very dry so it's not a huminity problem!
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Re: Crystals - what am I doing wrong?

Postby triciabsullivan » Thu Nov 27, 2008 1:29 pm

To prevent your crystal litter from becoming a soggy mush sprinkle Glade Carpet and Room Odor Eliminator in the tray before you add the crystals. When the powder gets wet it crystallizes. This will absorb excess urine that the crystals can’t handle. When I got my 2nd cat I started having this problem and my 1st cat refused to use the box. Now that the litter box isn’t a big soup of urine he has no problem. Skip the fruity smelling ones. They just create this nasty smell when it mixes with urine. The scent “Fresh Linen” is great and “Pet Odors” would be my 2nd choice. This is the only thing that prevented me from going back to clumping litter and cleaning the box every other day. I have to change the litter weekly now that I have the 2nd cat. I used to go a month because my 1st cat just doesn’t use the litter box as much as the 2nd one. He’s ALWAYS in there.
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Re: Crystals - what am I doing wrong?

Postby michaela1 » Fri May 22, 2009 11:36 am

I am using fresh step crystals but I hate how every time my cat urinates the pretty blue crystals turn an ugly yellow. Is this normal or does this mean every time I see yellow I should be scooping it out? I use the scoop free automatic litter box but I find it's always dirty unless I clean the yellow crystals out all the time and that is way too expensive. I just ordered the forever tray but if the crystals are about 8 lbs and one cartridge is about 4.5 is this that much cheaper and will the crystals last longer?
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Re: Crystals - what am I doing wrong?

Postby eholling » Fri May 22, 2009 11:43 am

The crystals won't last any longer with the forever tray, it'll just be cheaper to replace because you only have to buy the litter, not the ScoopFree tray system. It also lets you experiment with litters as well. I use the Dr. Elsey's Senior Crystals because my cats don't really like crystals very much. My one REALLY finicky cat only likes clay, but the Senior crystals are much smaller and more clay-like in their feel, so he accepts them. The crystals will yellow with use, but I go in about once a week per litter box and just stir the litter really good so there are not big yellow spots where the kids like to go over and over :). I get about 2-3 weeks out of each litterbox with 2 cats.
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