Pet Product Review

While I may not be very organized when it comes to the rest of my life, when it comes to taking care of my pets I try real hard to be. In the morning I have a routine- I take care of my pets which includes which includes cleaning cages, feeding and taking care of the litter box. On Sunday I add sweeping real good around the litter box. It is amazing at how much litter manages to get knocked out or tracked on the cats’ feet and carried into the other room. Trust me, it doesn’t feel good on bare feet.

Carol O’Brien of Cleanicity has found a solution for cat owners that would like to reduce the mess- the Kitty Litter Gripper Mat. The mat is made of layers of sticky plastic. It is lightweight and recyclable. I asked about it being recyclable since I do try to be green. What Carol told me was that it has a recycling code of #4 and can be recycled if you using recyclable litter. Unfortunately, my town only collects #1 and 2s and I am not sure what cat litters can be recycled, perhaps some of the crystal litters. To do its job, the mat gets positioned in front of the litter box where it collects the litter your cat tracks out as they step on it. When the top layer is filled, you peel it up and throw away leaving the next layer to continue the job. Sounds simple and I like simple.

I wondered where Carol got the idea since it seems like a pretty interesting solution. When I asked she the idea came from sticky mats that are used in high technology and medical industries for employees to step on to remove traces of dirt and dust from their shoes before entering a clean room. She knew there had to be a use for it outside of those industries and started working with a prototype. When Carol and her husband began working with their mats,her sister helped give her the idea of using it as a litter box mat.

Carol contacted me to see if I would be interested in reviewing the Kitty Litter Gripper and after saying yes, it quickly arrived. I received the Standard size which is 20 inches by 30 inches. They also offer a larger 24 inch by 36 inch. The Standard was a good size and fit perfectly where I was going to put it.

The main litter box my guys use is located in our downstairs bathroom. It’s in one corner and actually is kind of gated to help deter the dogs from helping me clean the box. The cats have to jump up on the sink counter then to the floor to use the box and reverse that to get out. I first set up the Mat so the long side ran parallel to the front of the litter box. To situate the mat, you remove the covers on the white adhesive tape on the bottom of the mat and press down so it adheres to the floor. It has a protective cover that you remove and the first sticky layer is exposed.

Bitsa was the first to try and she really wasn’t to sure about it. It is definitely sticky and I could hear it as she lifted her feet off of it. So I panicked a bit. I have one cat who has a litter box aversion, meaning he won’t use the litter box. It started when he was younger and having some bowel issues. I have been working with him and find I usually have to place him in the box myself a couple times a day for him to use. Since I started doing that, he has actually gone to the box on his own, not 100%, but better than 0%. I really didn’t want to ruin the success we’ve had so far, so I lifted it up and placed it so the short side ran parallel to the litter box and there was some bare floor for him to use.  Unfortunately, moving the mat after having already stuck it down caused half of the one side to not stay stuck down. That doesn’t affect how the mat works, but it’s something to consider when you set up the mat for your box. Figure out where it works best and stick with it!

My other cats had differing opinions about it-Charm along with Pyro (my litter box aversion guy) didn’t really like it so they would balance on the edge of the box and jump from there to the counter. The good thing was the litter fell off their paws onto the mat when they did this. Woody, my Ragdoll, could care less. He was a little curious when he first used it, but then that Ragdoll laid-back attitude took over and he had no problem using it. Bitsa would jump onto and then quickly jump off. Omar I could never catch using the box. I know he was using the box, but I don’t know how he liked the Kitty Litter Gripper Mat.

With 5 cats I wasn’t sure how frequently I would have to remove the top layer. Carol said most people with 1 or 2 cats find they can go a week between changing layers. I decided to try it for a week and see how well that worked.

Changing layers is easy. This video from Cleanicity demonstrates how to do it.

This shows how the layers are numbered

The layers are numbered in one corner which is nice, you can see how low you are getting and it will help you make sure you are only pulling up one layer at a time. I really recommend paying attention to the numbers when changing the layers; twice I just pulled and realized after that I had pulled up 2 layers instead of one(did I say it was sticky?). Also, in the video you can see how far Carol pulls the layer before stopping and pulling another side. I would make sure to do that along with

The amount of litter it collected in one week.

holding down the second layer while pulling the first corner. That will help keep you from doing what I did (oh, the waste!).

It worked real well! You can see from the picture (sorry for the bad lighting) how much litter it collected and there was very little to sweep up. A week was definitely too long with the 5 cats, it tended to loose it stickiness and litter would be flying like pop rocks when I changed layers. Four or five days was a better time period with my crew. My cats did get more used to it as they used it. Carol offered the suggestion that customers have found it worked well with covered litter boxes since it restricts how the cat can exit. Another idea on her site was to feed the cat on the mat to get them used to the stickiness.

The litter the Kitty Litter Gripper Mat collected the first week.

The Kitty Litter Gripper Mat looking fresh and new after removing the dirty layer.

If you are tired of feeling like you are walking on sand and want something that will make your life a little easier and cleaner, take a look at the Kitty Litter Gripper Mat. It might be what you’ve been looking for.

You can purchase the Kitty Litter Gripper Mat at Bark ‘n Purr, in Austin, TX or directly from Cleanicity.

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