Purina Maxx Scoop and the Big Test

I was contacted by Purina Maxx Scoop to be apart of a small collection of reviewers whose cats test Purina Maxx Scoop litter and the ExquisiCat Cosy Corner litter box. Once accepted into the program they sent me a kit which consisted of the following:

• Litter box
• Rubbermaid scoop
• Cat treats
• Coupons for Maxx Scoop

For the first few days that we weren't able to make it to the store to use the coupons we had the litter box sitting in the living room. After day one both cats were easily introduced to the inside of the box. JD with some treats and Suzie because she was trying to hide from JD; ok, there might have been a little fanny push to get her the rest of the way in. Both cats were able to find their way out by pushing on the door no problem.

Here is one of our current kitty litter set up:


As you can see we use Special Kitty which costs about $8 for 18 kg. We get it from Walmart and have been using it since we got the second cat. We have a second box in another location because sometimes JD doesn't let Suzie do her "business" in this room which is the original "business" location. To the right is the Kitty Locker which we highly recommend for containing litter once it is removed from pan. Again we found the locker and the refills to be cheapest at Walmart (a lot cheaper).

Here's what the kitty corner litter pan will look when we use it:

When I first opened the Maxx Scoop container it didn't look as dusty as the special kitty and when I poured it into the base it definitely was not as dusty. I used one complete 7kg container to fill the base.

Because the kids aren't used to a sheltered potty space I'm started them off with just the base:

I brought Suzie kitty up and introduced her to the new box and litter. She sniffed it and walked over to the old litter and peed. Personally, I would have preferred using fresh litter first. But perhaps she was waiting for JD to do the first pee test.

On day two JD did the official doo and pee test more than once. He also did a good job of removing about a 1/2 cup of litter out of the pan. My little digger (this new kitten has so many nick names already: dust buster, swifty, bruiser, brat...).

At this point I wasn't sure Suzie would use the new litter as she is acting very sensitive to scent lately. And the Maxx Scoop has a subtle sent that I noticed when I was emptying the pan for the first time. It's actually find it kind of pleasing as I'm the one usually in charge of goody removal.

It has been a week and I still haven't found any of Suzie's business. But I have noticed that JD has been using the spare box we set up for Suzie less than usual which is definitely a bonus as it probably increases Suzie's comfort level in there.

I haven't had to top off the Maxx Scoop yet even with JD shoveling stuff out. I picked up back-up litter yesterday just in case. I wasn't the only one buying kitty litter and couldn't help chatting up the Maxx Scoop a bit.

Overall I'm enjoying the litter. The covered box however, I'm not so keen on. I'm currently reading Cat vs Cat by Bennett Johnson and she has dissuaded me considerably against using them exclusively. She explains how they are acceptable in a single cat household but not for a multi-cat household where the user can't see what is coming or may become trapped inside. And since we already have control issues with the litter box it's probably not even a good idea to encourage Suzie to use one. But if I can get JD to use one almost exclusive then I might have less litter to clean off of the floor.

The plan for the next week is to add the cover and have the door open. We'll see what happens.

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* Please do this Purina Maxx Survey after reading this blog post. It's really short. For every completed survey Matchstick will make a $2 donation to The Redwood Women's Shelter.