Best cat litter scoops according to redditors

You can say "No" or "Down" sternly when your cat goes somewhere you don't want him. You'll have to pick him and move him several times while you're saying this to get the message across.

Cats love to climb, so get him a tall cat tower and encourage him to use it. Pet him on it, give him treats/catnip while on it, etc.

Sleeping? Cats will sleep wherever they damn well please.

Claw trimming: Whenever you're petting/playing with him, massage and touch him paws gently. This will get him used to having his paws handled for trimming. Use a trimmer like this, and I recommend doing it when he's feeling lazy and sleepy. Gently push the claw out to trim it. Here is a good claw-clipping guide. You can always ask the vet to demonstrate if you're feeling unsure.

Handling the sand: Just scoop the lumps with something like this, put them in a plastic bag, tie the bag, throw it away, and wash your hands.

I disagree with some of these answers, I rarely replace the litter in any of my cat boxes (i have 3). but to do this you have to clean it VERY frequently. I clean my litter boxes at a minimum 3 times per day. the only thing i ever have to do is add litter from time to time. a 40lb box of cheapo litter i get will last me about 2 weeks.

I might change the litter once every 3 or 4 months

I have to clean the box this often because I have one diabetic cat that uses all 3 boxes. he pees a lot. and the key is to not let pee sit in the box. that's what makes it stink. the faster you clean that out the longer your litter will last.

finally, I buy my scoopers from amazon. metal, not flimsy plastic. it sounds like maybe the scooper you have has wider holes, or the litter isnt clumping right. i very rarely have a piece that I can't get out.

this is what I use. http://www.amazon.com/Duranimals-DuraScoop-Litter-Scoop-colors/dp/B001DCAAP4?ie=UTF8&keywords=litter%20scoop&qid=1464045417&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3

I have a recommendation from a vet-student of mine: Purina Pro-Plan. It encompasses extremely high-quality ingredients, affordable prices and various flavors/specialty blends. The dry food or wet variant are both excellent for your kitty, but the dry food will be cheaper. I would use the wet food if the kitty doesn't adhere well to drinking water as the wet-food contains high amounts of water. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask. Congratulations on becoming a kitty owner!

Here are my recommendations on supplies:

Litter box: http://www.amazon.com/Catit-Jumbo-Hooded-Cat-Litter/dp/B003RQVGKC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458653&sr=8-2&keywords=litter+box

Litter scooper: http://www.amazon.com/Duranimals-DuraScoop-Litter-Scoop-colors/dp/B001DCAAP4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458674&sr=8-1&keywords=litter+scooper

Litter: http://www.amazon.com/Precious-Cat-Premium-Clumping-Litter/dp/B0009X29WK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458691&sr=8-1&keywords=cat+litter (cheaper if you buy this one at PetSmart believe it or not)

Kitten food: http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Plan-Chicken-Formula-7-Pound/dp/B003R0LLXU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458746&sr=8-1&keywords=purina+pro+plan+kitten

Litter mat: http://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-SmartGrip-Litter-Gray-Twist/dp/B007SQFRMU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376458842&sr=8-1&keywords=litter+box+mat

There once was a cat litter scoop

Its job was to clean up the poop,

The job seemed to never end,

and it seemed like a new trend,

for the poo to be be sloppy and droop.

I totally agree with TheCatGuardian's post. We just adopted our first cat from a shelter and he is 8 months old, and honestly he's still a bit of a handful at times (but that should be expected with any new pet). Try to get one over a year, if not closer to 2 years, as ours is still learning how to play nice and not nipping our ankles to get attention. My husband has always had cats, but this was my first pet and we adopted because I've always wanted one. I did a ton of research and here's what I would suggest as far as supplies:

A high sided litter box with rim - to keep them from kicking litter around and the high walls help keep everything inside. I didn't waste the money on litter liners. They seem gimmicky to me.

Pooper Scooper - It's cheap and gets the job done. Nothing else needs to be said about it.

Stainless Steel Bowl(s) - This one gets good reviews and is the perfect size for their food. You can get two, one for wet and one for dry food. Though I got this one for dry and got a cute oval dish at walmart for ~$2 for his wet. Whatever you want.

Slightly larger bowl for water - Make sure they have plenty for fresh water. I give him new water in the AM and evening after work. I know a lot of people rave about water fountains...but honestly I didn't want to spend the money initially, and my kitty seems to be perfectly fine drinking from the bowl. It'd be worth it to see how your cat feels about the bowl...esp since they will be drinking from bowls at the shelter...they shouldn't be too picky. You can spoil them later on if you decide to, but definitely not necessary.

A safety collar - Make sure it is either a break-away or elastic to ensure the cat doesn't get strangled if it climbs and gets stuck on something and is hanging by its neck. I liked this one because it didn't have an annoying bell, though some like the bell to let you find your cat in the house. The collar also ensure that if the cat gets out anyone who finds him will know he belongs to someone and isn't just a feral cat that they can take for themselves.

Scratching Board - Simple and good reviews. Seems like it will last. You can also get one or two cardboard cheaper ones and see what they prefer to scratch on. My cat doesn't really scratch that much...he uses the scratching posts that are part of his cat tree.

Cat Perch - This is the one we got so he can look out the window. It seems like a good balance of expense and functionality...especially at first. The cat might not even like jumping up on things, so at least this is a safe buy since it's not that tall but still lets them get up off the floor.

Cat bed - This one is highly reviewed and really durable. It's machine washable and will last forever. I really love this bed.

Simple toys at first: Wand Toy, Jingle Balls, Ball Circle Thing, Little Catnip Critter. He also likes paper bags, toilet paper rolls, and his laser pointer. I highly recommend the laser pointer...ours is green.

Greenies Treats

As far as food, you want to ask what they feed at the shelter and get a bag of that at first even if you read online that it isn't "the best." We wanted to get our cat on a mainly wet food diet, so we left his shelter dry food out at night, and gave him half a can of wet food in the morning before work, and half a can at night beofre bed ~9PM, and took the dry food away while the wet food was out. We feed him Friskies Pate...it's actually pretty good for the price. People will get passionate about cat food. Honestly Friskies is fine for us now...they sell it in bulk at Sam's.

Litter - you want to use the kind they use at the shelter so they have comfort in that. You can switch later if you want.

You might also want to get nail clippers and a brush. Our cat is long haired and I like using a comb, but it's really up to you.

As far as gimmicks I would assume that if it seems like a luxury it probably isn't necessary. Cats are very happy with simple things. The vitals are what I listed...a bathroom, food and water (bowls), a few toys, somewhere to scratch, somewhere to get up off the floor, and a safety collar. The bed isn't absolutely vital, but it's nice for them to have somewhere that they feel secure and happy...even if they don't use it at first.

Regular size also available for same price: http://amzn.com/B00160A1Y8

3 inches depth is a good rule. I scoop the box completely every couple of days, and replace the litter completely every month-ish or if I notice that odors are lingering. I found that getting a good litter scoop took away any reluctance to clean the box I might have had; it just makes the task a lot easier.

Late to the party, but I think you may be buying unnecessarily expensive litter. Pet products are like anything else; the sky's the limit on what you can spend and there will always be a brand ready to sell to high rollers, but unless you're spending that much on a large (25lb+) bags then you can probably look for new litter.

I've been using Swheat Scoop and World's Best Cat Litter for ten years and have consistently found them to be affordable, high quality and low-maintenance. They are plant-based (wheat and corn, respectively), so if opened and then left unattended in a pantry they can attract critters, but they clump well, they don't have any sort of chemical odor that might turn your cat off, and best of all they're flushable—I'm an apartment dweller so being able to scoop the litter whenever I want to without the chore of taking it downstairs to the garbage each time is a great incentive to change it as regularly as my cats need.

Anyway, hope that's helpful! $30/bag if your cat doesn't explicitly need something special that's in that litter is way too much.

I always end up giving my kitties really weird middle names or family middle names.

My must haves are:

A water fountain, lots of cats prefer running water and I keep it away from their food.

My current kitty loves jingle balls and toilet paper tubes. All other toys are invisible to him haha.

Please do not declaw kitty! If you start clipping their nails young they get used to it and don't care. Lots of scratchers too and you're all set.

And my best find, this litter scoop. Litter falls right through, no shaking needed! Makes scooping much faster and keeps clumps from breaking up.