Does your tray seem to be leaking?

Most commonly, this is due to a cat who is a "side pee-er"..............!

Sorry....I just couldn't figure out a more delicate way to describe this situation -- but if you have a male cat in your house who prefers to urinate on the side of your box instead of into the litter.......well...you've got a side pee-er!

More than a few folks have contacted me with this experience -- whether it's with the Forever Litter Tray or with one of the cardboard cartridges. 

What happens when a cat urinates on the side is that the urine tracks down and manages to seep between the very small gap between the top of the tray (or cartridge) and the litterbox.  The result is a puddle of urine underneath -- very annoying!

Well, Stan has decided to offer his help in this research by becoming a side pee-er (thanks buddy).  So now I've had a very "real world" way to test this and develop something to help others solve this problem.

The solutions are quite easy, inexpensive, permanent, and (most importantly) theywork! And it virtually becomes a part of the Scoop Free -- so is no hassle to clean at each litter change.  There are actually a couple of different ways to approach the problem.  Below is the solution I've developed, and following this is another solution figured out by long time Scoop Free owner John from Georgia.

Option A -- using side protectors:

Step 1
The first step is to ensure the Scoop Free unit is resting squarely on top of the top edges of the tray or cardridge.  If your unit is on an uneven surface (carpet for example, or as one person had it with part of the unit inside a closet with one edge resting on the tracks) you will get small gaps which will allow urine to leak around and under the tray if your cat pees on the sides.

Step 2
If you're still getting puddles, the next step is to go to your local hardware store and purchase a piece of thin clear plastic corner protector. (Make sure to get the thin stuff -- it works better).  It usually comes in an 8 foot length, and is 3/4" per side.  Cost at my local Ace Hardware was $3.49.  The angle on it is 90 degrees (to protect corners, of course) so you want to lay it on a flat surface and push it apart to about 120 degrees.  (This is why you want the thin stuff).  What I do is to lay it flat on a table, and then pull it down towards me across the edge of the table to spread the angle out.

Any glue will work, but I've found a really great glue that will work for other things than this as well -- called GOOP -- available at Home Depot and most hardware stores.  (It's also great to have around the house for mending other things as well!)

Cut your pieces to length for each side (they don't need to go the whole length due to the door at one end) and glue in.  I put a small bead of sealer along the top edge to prevent urine and crystals from clinging there or sneaking underneath the protecter.

And you're done!

Now when your favorite friend pees on the side, it will now just drip right down into the litter instead of tracking back under the tray.

Here's a photo to give you a better idea:

Option B (John's solution) with packing tape:

"I do have a side-pee-er and while I saw your recommendation on your site about that, I found an alternative which saved me a trip to the hardware store. I simply took shippingtape(the wide roll). I adhered thetapealong the length of the side rail and folded it upon itself so no sticky part was exposed. This made for a perfect flexible flap which covers the area between the tray and the litter box frame where the pee would escape. This has worked perfectly for me for over a year. I thought I'd share the idea with you as you may have some folks interested in an even lower tech solution to their side pee-er."
                                                                                                                                                   John

Final note: 

If you have any trouble with your tray at all (or if one of these tips doesn't seem to be working) please contact me directly at:  Foreverlittertrays@gmail.com.  I am always here to help, and can even provide live phone support if necessary.  (Sometimes a phone call is light-years faster at fixing a problem than emailing back and forth).