What do I do to keep my cats from scattering cat litter all over the house?

I inherited two cats and I have hardwood floors. When the cats leave the litter box, they track litter everywhere. I have tried clay, clumping and crystals. I have also tried a litter box hood, rugs, and a little cat mat, but I have to sweep 3 or 4 times a day and vacuum, and I just can't seem to keep ahead of it--suggestions?

Wellit all depends on the size of your litter box and the size of the mat. Try getting a mat that the cats have to walk on AKA. it is bigger than the litterbox

I'm afraid you're fighting a losing battle there! I eventually had to get a box with huuuuge sides. It wasn't even a litterbox perse, it was like a storage box that had very high sides. The kitties can still jump in there just fine, and it somewhat helps when they paw the litter around in there. But I'm afraid that as long as there are cats, there will be litter in the house! LOL. If you have cats that are allowed to go outside, sometimes they'll start to prefer doing their business outside rather than at home. That'll cut down on it a little. Good luck!

You need a large mat arounf the box.I have my cat litter in the closet and it is carpeted and all the litter is off her paws by the time she comes out ofthe closet. BUt she has to walk across about 4 feet of carpet. So all I have to vacuum is the closet.

we had a cat when i was younger and his litter box was in a bathroom, so the litter mess was confined and we put the box on a rug that a fair bit larger than the box, so he had to step on it when getting out. he was funny, though, b/c when he got out of the box he would wipe his paws off on the inside of the box hood....he did this himself..we didn't teach him.so, i would put the litter box somewhere confined so the mess won't go too far, get hoods for the boxes and rugs under them so they walk on the rugs after going.we did have some litter on the floor, but it was contained and wasy to clean up.good luck, take care.

You are always going to get some scatter in the vicinity of the litter box, because cats instinctively brush the litter over their business, but if you use one of the clumping litters that's touted as low tracking, you will minimize the mess. The litter never gets more than a couple feet from the box. The other thing to consider is location. I have my cats box in a dead-end, little traveled hallway with a linoleum floor, so the little bit of litter on the floor is not a constant annoyance. I would never put the litter box anywhere near my hardwood floors.

Have you tried different sizes of mats? Also, getting a rug--a cheap one that you don't mind getting dirty and is easily vacuumable--to put under that area might help as well.Unfortunately, cats seem to track that stuff, but it does tend to stay in one area if you have carpeting/rugs. Otherwise, perhaps you should invest in a Roomba!

I solved this one! I bought a dog carrier & put the litter box inside it. Then I sat the whole thing on one of those oversized plastic doormats (the ones that are just like you can buy at the pet shop for $20+) that I got at Wal Mart for $6. Cats can only come out of the box in one spot & have to walk on the mat before they walk anywhere else. Haven't seen any litter on my floors since.

Cats don't know how to wipe their feet so I strongly suggest that you just get over it, and sweep the floors like many other people do. =]