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What is the best sifting litter box for pine pellets?
Pine pellets are a great low-tracking litter choice but need a sifter to remove urine waste.
Sifting litter boxes separate the good from bad litter to give your cat a clean toilet experience.
In this article, I’ll go through the best sifting litter box for pine pellets.
My name is Derrick, and I write for Simply Cat Care.
My goal with this website is to help cat owners learn more about taking care of their cats
I am not a veterinarian and I recommend seeking the advice of a vet for any further questions.
In this article, I’ll give you product recommendations for sifting litter boxes. I’ll also provide a buying guide, and answer frequently asked questions on the topic.
Here is what will be in this article.
Let’s get into the article.
Product Review: Best Sifting Litter Box For Pine Pellets
Best Sifting Litter Box For Pine Pellets Overall
Purina Tidy Cats Breeze Cat Litter Box System
Why Do I Recommend This Product?
The Breeze Tidy Cats system is an easy-to-use litter box to sift pine pellets.
The main benefit of this product is it accommodates the size of pine pellets to sift waste. Some litter boxes have the wrong size, but there are no problems here. This leaves a clean litter box which helps your cat want to use it.
Downsides include the size which could be larger to accommodate cats having a more enjoyable experience.
Another negative is the Tidy Cats products (litter and pads) that are expensive. They are not necessary to use with the litter box, thankfully.
Specifications
- Item Dimensions: 16.5 x 21 x 10.5 inches
- Weight: 9.3 Pounds
- System: Open
- Brand: Purina Tidy Cats
Best Sifting Litter Box For Pine Pellets Budget
Van Ness CP5 Sifting Cat Pan
Why Do I Recommend This Product?
The Van Ness is an affordable sifting litter box that sifts pine litter with minimal fuss.
This is a three-pan system with one sieve between two litter pans.
The main advantage of this product is its large size which creates a comfortable space for cats to use the toilet.
A key downside is the lack of space between the pans. This makes it harder to clean out urine waste, without having to tend to the box constantly.
The sieve pan is not designed for direct use. Rather, your cat should do their business in the main pan, with that emptied into the sieve to prevent sticking.
Specifications
- Item Dimensions: 19 x 15 x 13 inches
- Weight: 1 Pounds
- System: Open
- Brand: Van Ness
Buying Guide: What To Look For When Buying A Sifting Litter Box
What is the best sifting litter box for pine pellets?
It is hard to know what is best when there’s information all over the internet.
In this buying guide, I’ll go through a few criteria to check off before choosing a product.
These criteria will help you choose the best litter box for your cat’s health and happiness.
Click below to check the best sifting litter box choices, or read on for more.
Size of Holes
Pine litter disintegrates with urine contact, leaving a fine powder waste.
The sifting litter box must filter the powder waste to the bottom, leaving the usable pine litter on top.
If the holes are too large, the pine litter will fall through. This defeats the purpose of the sifting litter tray.
Make sure you check the reviews of the product from customers using pine litter. This helps you see whether the size of the holes is compatible.
Bottom Line: Check customer reviews to make sure the size of holes doesn’t filter through the pine pellets
Odor Control
A hooded cat litter system helps control odor, more than an open system.
Most odor control comes from your cleaning regimen and litter choice.
Pine cat litter has great urine odor control because the urine waste sifts out from the good litter.
Since feces aren’t clumped, the smell isn’t contained as well with pine litter.
Scooping feces out daily maximizes your cat’s enjoyment with their litter box.
The location also helps with odor control. Putting the litter box near a family seating area or kitchen may not offer the best results.
Placing the litter tray in a well-ventilated area will help manage odor.
Bottom Line: A hooded cat litter system offers more odor control. Most odor control comes from daily cleaning, however.
Size of Box
Cats prefer larger-sized litter trays.
This is because large litter trays help a cat carry out all three phases of the cat’s elimination cycle.
It’s a three-phase process that involves the following:
- Appetitive Phase (before use)
- Consummatory Phase (during use)
- Post-Consummatory Phase (after use)
After elimination, the cat relaxes if able to cover up its waste.
If a cat cannot go through all three stages of the litter box elimination cycle, you might experience behavioral issues such as:
- Spraying
- Toileting out of the box
- Returning to the box to sniff and inspect it
- Pawing at surfaces around the litter box
Using a large size litter box helps to reduce behavioral problems.
Bottom Line: Cat’s prefer large litter boxes to help improve their toilet experience. This reduces the risk of behavioral problems
Price
Most cat sifting litter box choices are affordable.
The main role of a cat litter box is to provide your cat a space to use the toilet in a pleasurable way.
Features like covers or automation add to the cost of cat litter trays.
Bottom Line: Most basic cat sifting litter boxes are affordable and sufficient for your cat’s needs
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Main Benefits Of A Sifting Litter Box?
A sifting litter box removes urine and fecal waste from the good litter.
In the case of pine pellets, a sifting litter box removes the disintegrated pellets after urine contact.
The other benefit is you don’t need to scoop the waste out (if that’s not something you enjoy).
This makes daily cleaning hassle-free and benefits your cat as they have a clean litter tray.
Bottom Line: A sifting litter box removes the disintegrated pine pellets after urine contact to keep the box clean
How Do I Use A Sifting Cat Litter Box?
Most sifting cat litter boxes are three box systems.
That includes:
- Two regular litter trays
- Sifting tray
The sifting tray sits between the normal cat litter trays.
When you want to empty waste from the top tray, you lift and pour the contents into the sift.
You then lift this tray to separate the bad from good waste for disposal.
There are other systems that have other benefits.
For example, some sifting cat litter boxes use a disposable plastic bag to control dust.
Bottom Line: Use a sifting cat litter box by emptying waste through the sifter tray. This separates the good from bad litter.
What Is The Main Benefits Of Pine Pellets?
The main benefits of pine pellets include:
- Affordability
- Biodegradable
- Odor control
- Dust control
It’s possible that bentonite clay litter is a health hazard to cats and humans.
If a cat ingests clay litter, it may result in lethargy, weakness, and heart murmurs.
The dust from clay litter may result in respiratory problems.
Whether pine pellets are the best choice for health isn’t well researched.
Bottom Line: The main benefits of pine pellets are affordability, biodegradability, odor control, and dust control
How Do I Make My Own DIY Sifting Litter Box?
It’s usually cheaper and more time-efficient to buy your own sifting litter box.
The main benefit of a DIY litter box is being able to create an increased size.
To make your own litter box you need to drill holes into a plastic container. As long as the holes are small enough to contain pine pellets, the process will work.
Here’s a video of a DIY litter box build (I recommend using a larger size tray for better results).
Is Pine Pellet Litter Safe For Cats?
Yes, but your cat should not ingest the litter.
If you notice your cat trying to eat the litter, contact your vet for help.
Consider trying a different type of litter if the problem persists.
Bottom Line: Contact your vet if your cat tries to eat the pine litter. Most cat litter isn’t suitable for ingestion
How Does Pine Pellet Cat Litter Work?
This type of litter works by dissolving with urine contact.
This traps in the urine but creates a fine sawdust powder in the litter tray.
You need to sift this powder out using a sifting litter box, to maintain the litter box.
Feces are removed manually using a scoop and disposal bag.
Bottom Line: Pine litter traps urine by dissolving it into sawdust for sifting.
How Often Should I Change The Sifting Litter Box?
Change a litter tray daily.
Every week, remove the litter and clean the entire tray (with the sieve) with a gentle detergent.
Daily Cleaning
Empty any feces daily and sift out the urine waste.
The reason you want to do this is to make sure your cat doesn’t experience discomfort.
An unpleasant toileting experience may result in behavioral problems (e.g. toileting outside the litter box).
Weekly Cleaning
Empty the contents of the litter box and clean the box entirely every week.
Use a gentle disinfectant and warm water.
Don’t use a strong chemical like ammonia or bleach as this will create an unpleasant smell for your cat.
Cats are also sensitive to many things such as essential oils.
Check out my guide for using essential oils near cats for more.
Finally, refill clean litter into the tray and set it up for your cat.
Bottom Line: Clean waste daily to keep your cat happy with their toilet experience. Clean the entire sifting tray every week to reduce odor.
How Do I Train A Kitten To Use A Litter Box?
Here is what you need to do to train your kitten:
- Get two or more litter boxes and place them in convienent locations
- Encourage your kitten to use the toilet with food treats
- Use attractive smells like catnip to further encourage litter box usage.
- Clean the litter box daily to make it easy to use
- Track your kittens usage and report to the vet if you have any problems
Check out my article on training your kitten for the litter box to learn more.
Bottom Line: Use two or more litter boxes for kittens to help make the process easier. Keep the tray clean and use treats as rewards.
Conclusion: Best Sifting Litter Box For Pine Pellets
In this article, I talked about the best sifting litter box for pine pellets.
Pine pellets are a great low-tracking litter choice but need a sifter to remove urine waste.
Sifting litter boxes separate the good from bad litter to give your cat a clean toilet experience.
Cats prefer a large and clean litter tray. An easy-to-clean litter tray is a great option to make your cat happy with their toilet to reduce behavioral problems.
Our Top Pick: Best Sifting Litter Box For Pine Pellets
Purina Tidy Cats Breeze Cat Litter Box System
