At What Age Can A Child Clean A Cat's Litter Box

Is it Healthy to Have a Cat Litter Box in a Child's Bedroom?

| Updated September 26, 2017

Litter boxes and children don't mix, so putting i in a kid's bedroom is not a adept thought. It jeopardizes the child'due south wellness and may prompt your kitty to take intendance of business outside the box. Later all, she prefers some privacy when using the bathroom, just like you do.

Health Risks

Salubrious adults rarely develop wellness bug from handling dirty true cat litter, but children and significant women are much more vulnerable. Toxoplasmosis can make kids very sick and has a high risk of complicating pregnancy, increasing the chances of a miscarriage or birth defect. The organism responsible spreads into the air when yous modify or scoop the litter and tin can survive on solid surfaces for days. Cats can also excrete the eggs of digestive parasites, like roundworms, which tin can infest humans. If yous're in skillful health, simply washing your hands and changing clothes should be enough to fend off litter box germs. Withal, kids, pregnant women and individuals with weakened immune systems should avert litter boxes birthday.

Proper Box Placement

Don't continue the litter box in a bedchamber if possible. Place it in an adult's room if yous have no other choice. Preferably, put the box in a tranquillity location like a closet or bath. The basement is also a good pick as long as there's plenty of infinite between it and loud appliances, like a washing machine. The dissonance and vibration of machinery may be enough to cause your true cat to avoid the box altogether, according to Ohio Country Academy College of Veterinary Medicine. Information technology's a good idea to accept a box on every floor of your home and at least as many boxes as yous have cats. Don't continue your kitty's litter box near her food and water dishes, because she may pass up to use the bathroom around the aroma of nutrient.

Child-Proofing

Babies and toddlers see the tub of true cat litter equally a miniature sandbox, so don't be surprised if a immature kid tries to clamber in to play with the poop. Keep the box in a room that young kids can't go to. This is for your cat'south sake, also, because she surely won't appreciate beingness interrupted by a curious kid when she's trying to salve herself. If you think a child has gotten in the litter box, change his dress and give him a bath. Keep your eye out for signs of sickness and take him to the doctor right away if he appears ill.

Litter Maintenance and Hygiene

Keeping the litter box clean is the best way to prevent it from becoming a haven for germs. Scooping it once a day practically negates the hazard of toxoplasmosis, because the protozoa doesn't activate for at least 24 hours subsequently being expelled. Your kitty will surely exist thankful for a clean litter box, as well. Dirty litter is one of the virtually mutual reasons that cats commencement to eliminate outside the box. Change the litter as frequently as necessary depending on the substrate. A box of dirt litter lasts for a week or two, but newspaper-based products may not take long to soil. Take the box outside before dumping it into a strong plastic bag. Clean out the box with warm water and soap before putting fresh litter in.

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