Am I in the wrong for not spraying my cats litter box in my lawn?

[Anonymous]

I bought a house in 2017. I was renting it out since then, but recently moved in. My aunt was living in a small trailer so I offered to see if she wanted to move into my place. She said yes, and we've been living together for a couple of months. I brought my cat with me, and I have her litter box set up in the bathroom with the door open. We'll, I guess my aunt could smell the litter box, and told me to clean it out. What I used to do is empty it in a large bag. Spray some disinfectant in the box, and wipe it clean. I was gonna do that, but my aunt told me to grab the hose and spray it out in the lawn. I guess because she doesn't want me to use her rags, and she also doesn't want me to waste paper towels. I said I'm not gonna spray it outside because the litter is not environmentally friendly. She was like "oh whatever! Fine!", and I did it the way I wanted to do it. What do you think?

[petitedollbabee]

No, you're not in the wrong. I clean my cats litter box the same way. If your aunt has a problem with where the litter box is, maybe you could move it elsewhere? We have ours in our conservatory so that my cat can come and go as she pleases without tracking through the house.

[Oliverlogan263]

Hmm, I don't think you're in the wrong here. Spraying the cat litter box outside on the lawn doesn't really seem like the best idea, especially if the litter isn't eco-friendly. That could end up polluting the grass and soil, which doesn't seem great.

The way you normally do it, by bagging it up and disinfecting the box, seems like a much more responsible approach. Using rags or paper towels to clean it out is probably the most hygienic way to handle it too.

I get that your aunt wants to save on cleaning supplies, but compromising the lawn and potentially the environment isn't really worth it. As long as you're keeping the litter box clean and contained, I think your way of doing it is totally reasonable.

Maybe you could try to compromise by using old rags that you don't mind tossing, or see if there's a way to limit paper towel usage. But ultimately, I wouldn't feel bad about sticking to your guns on this one. You're being responsible, and that's what matters most. Hopefully your aunt can understand where you're coming from.