Veterinary Medicine - March 2009 - (Page 142)

Litter box preferences PEER-REVIEWED 1. Litter boxes prepared for the odor-control study comparing activated carbon vs. sodium bicarbonate additives. The litter boxes were identical except for the litter odor-control additives. The litter boxes were rotated every 12 hours to remove location preference. two base litters that were identical except for the odor-control additives (Figure 1). Excrement was collected from the boxes each morning after four consecutive 12-hour overnight test periods. The amount of excrement was analyzed by using both parametric (analysis of variance [ANOVA]) and nonparametric (Friedman) tests, using a randomized block design. The cats showed significant (P < 0.05) increased usage of the litter box with the activated carbon additive, suggesting that the cats preferred activated carbon to sodium bicarbonate as an odor-control additive. A similarly designed study involving about 32 cats housed in four rooms and using two commercially available products, Fresh Step Scoopable (The Clorox Company) with activated carbon and Arm & Hammer Super Scoop (Church & Dwight) with sodium bicarbonate, was conducted (Figure 2). Unlike the previous study in which the base litter was identical, these two commercial products not only had different odor-controlling agents but also had different fragrances and fillers. More excrement was deposited in the litter box containing Fresh Step Scoopable litter, and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.031), suggesting that the cats preferred this litter product (Neilson J, Portland, Ore: Unpublished data, 2008). BOX SIZE 2. Litter boxes prepared for the Fresh Step Scoopable vs. Arm & Hammer Super Scoop study (one pair of boxes was not included in the study). The boxes were identical except for litter. rated into some litters in an attempt to reduce fecal odor. While people can readily appreciate the effectiveness of activated carbon in odor reduction, a study was conducted to see if cats preferred litter with activated carbon to litter without activated carbon. The results showed that cats preferentially used the litter with the activated carbon,12 suggesting that it may help in preventing and treating litter box problems. Another study was performed comparing two litter odor-control additives, activated carbon and sodium bicarbonate.13 These odor-control additives are used in two top-selling national litter brands. About 32 cats (the number of cats varied because of adoptions) housed in four colony rooms at a shelter were given access in each room to two litter boxes and It has been hypothesized that one cause of feline toileting problems is litter box aversion due to small box size. Some experts recommend that litter boxes should be 1 1/2 times the cat’s body length; however, to my knowledge, no evidence supports this claim aside from anecdotal reports and common sense. Consequently, I conducted a study to identify if cats had a preference for a certain box size when all other variables were equal.14 To determine litter box size preference, 32 cats housed in four colony rooms in a shelter were given access 142 March 2009 VETERINARY MEDICINE

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Veterinary Medicine - March 2009

Veterinary Medicine - March 2009 Contents Letters Correction Author Guidelines Hot Literature Idea Exchange A Challenging Case Local and Regional Anesthesia Techniques The Latest Scoop on Litter Product Preview CE Form/Advertiser Index Marketplace/Classifieds Mind Over Miller

Veterinary Medicine - March 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.