Are Litter Box Liners a Good idea?

Using a cat litter liner is a personal choice. It is not a necessary requirement to use litter box liners.

A lot of people use the liners in litter boxes because they make cleaning more convenient.

The liners are easy to dispose of, or a reusable liner can be used.

Cat litter box liners help keep the litter box clean longer and also protect the surface of the box.

Some cat litter bags may be labelled recyclable.

It should be noted that cat litter itself, is best treated as non recyclable and should be disposed of in the trash.

For the bags to be recycled, they would need to be cleaned before recycling at a commercial facility.

This is not practical and not advisable from a health standpoint.

Cat litter liners do work very well if the right size is chosen for the box.

Size is an important consideration.

If the liner is too large it will bunch up at the bottom and the cat is likely to scratch the bag if the litter becomes low.

An overly large bag also makes scooping the box difficult. Choose the size that will best fit the box you have.

Some litter boxes such as this one, have bags that are made for the box. This takes the guesswork out of choosing the right size.

If you are unsure about using liners, the best advice is to give them a go.
Spend some time researching the liners that will best suit the box you have.

Take into consideration different factors such as
* cat litter liners that have elastic around the edges. The elastic helps to keep the liners in place.
* cat litter liners have a drawstring that is pulled together when it is tied to empty the litter, making it easier to remove the bag.
* cat litter liners that have a sifting function are another consideration.

The different types of liners are described above with a link to reviews where you can see the products and read the comparisons.

We have done the research so that you can decide what will work best for you.

If you decide to use a trash bag, choose thick trash bags.

Cat claws can nick thin trash bags so you need heavy duty trash bags.

The bag won’t fit as comfortably as a liner, which means cutting it into a smaller size.

Without a way to secure the bag, like a drawstring you might find yourself dealing with the bag falling back into the litter.

Trash bags labelled as compostable will be too thin to work properly as a cat litter liner. Kitty litter is too heavy.

A typical home compost pile won’t work for composting litter poop bags. Note, this refers to the poop bags and not the bags or liners that line the litter box.

You would need to find a commercial composting facility to compost the poop bags to meet health guidelines.

Compostable cat poop bags are usually referring to the smaller poop bags that can be used when scooping the litter.

Composting cat litter (without the liner) is not advised for the home gardener unless you are an experienced composter and know that you can follow the requirements to compost cat litter safely.

The idea I am about to suggest is rather a different way of thinking but certainly worth considering.

Repurposing old fabric scraps into an absorbent cat litter bag would not be difficult with some simple sewing skills.

Disclaimer: I haven’t done this but someone with some sewing skills could do this in no time. Color coordinated cat litter liners could be the next big thing.

Having a half a dozen would give sufficient time to wash the liners before reusing.

Some liners do offer odor control. 

These liners are available with or without odor control.

The scent is a light floral scent which is not overpowering or strong.

The chemicals in cat urine will damage the plastic of the box eventually.

The bottom of the box also gets scratched when using the litter scoop.

The cats claws can also scratch the bottom of the box whether that be plastic or stainless steel.

This means that at some point the box will need to be replaced as it will be difficult to clean and may harbour bacteria.

Are litter box liners a good idea? Yes they are a good idea to prolong the life of the cat’s litter box and make cleaning the litter box easier.

A cat litter liner is placed into the litter box before the litter is added.

If the liner has a drawstring and elastic or one or the other, the edge is fitted over the side of the box.

The litter is then poured into the box on top of the liner. Pour the litter carefully to keep the bag in place.

The weight of the litter can cause the liner to fall back into the box, if the litter is added too quickly.

An elastic edged liner does help with this problem as the elastic helps to keep the liner in place. Pour the litter to a depth of 3 inches or so so that the cat is not scratching the liner with his paws and claws.

Looking for a litter liner alternative?

You can make a litter box non stick if this is your primary reason for using a liner.
You can do this yourself and it is not difficult. This article gives different DIY ideas to make your litter box non stick the DIY way. Start with the easiest way first.