CAT-PAN LITTER-LESS LINER PRODUCT AND METHOD

Abstract

A cat-box litter-less liner product and method for managing cat excreta, in a cat box, without litter, comprising an impermeable liner with an affixed absorbent pad, which fits into and over the sides of a cat box in use, and forms a disposable bag after use, providing the cat with a place to urinate and defecate, without the spilling of any waste or other substance from the cat box during use or when removed and disposed of. This invention solves problems associated with the use of kitty litter in a cat pan, and provides a convenient and sanitary way to obtain stool and urine samples for health evaluation and analysis, and to regularly and periodically make quick visual inspections of the cat's excreta for early detection of health problems.

Claims

1. A cat-pan litter-less liner product for managing cat excreta, in a cat pan, without litter, the cat-pan litter-less liner comprising: (i) an impermeable liner adapted to fit into and over the sides of a cat pan in use, and further adapted to form a disposable bag after use, having an inner face and an outer face; and (ii) an absorbent pad affixed to said impermeable liner on the inner face, adapted to absorb cat excreta during use, and further adapted to be disposed of after use; where, in use, said impermeable liner with said absorbent pad is placed to line the bottom and sides of the cat pan, providing the cat with a place to urinate and defecate; where, in use, said impermeable liner with said absorbent pad prevents spilling of any excreta or other substance from the cat pan; and where, in use, the disposable bag formed from said impermeable liner with said absorbent pad is removed and disposed of without spilling any excreta or other substance from the cat pan.

2. The cat-pan litter-less liner product of claim 1, further comprising a band around the perimeter of said impermeable liner.

3. The cat-pan litter-less liner product of claim 1, further adapted to allow recovery of cat excreta without degrading its utility for health analysis.

4. The cat-pan litter-less liner product of claim 1, further comprising a cat attractant incorporated into said impermeable liner.

5. The cat-pan litter-less liner product of claim 1, further comprising a cat attractant incorporated into said absorbent pad.

6. The cat-pan litter-less liner product of claim 1, further comprising an odor-eliminating substance incorporated into said absorbent pad.

7. The cat-pan litter-less liner product of claim 1, further comprising a substance that reacts with cat excreta in such a way as to provide a visual indication of the presence of blood or other marker of poor health, incorporated into said absorbent pad.

8. The cat-pan litter-less liner product of claim 1, further comprising a band around the perimeter of said impermeable liner adapted to be used as a tie strap for disposal of said cat-pan litter-less liner.

9. The cat-pan litter-less liner product of claim 1, further comprising a band around the perimeter of said impermeable liner adapted to be used for gathering of the perimeter of said impermeable liner about the rim of a cat pan.

10. The cat-pan litter-less liner product of claim 1, where said cat-pan litter-less liner is further adapted for the collection of specimens of cat waste for veterinary analysis.

11. A cat-pan litter-less liner method for managing cat excreta, in a cat pan, without litter, comprising: (i) providing a cat-pan litter-less liner, comprising: (a) an impermeable liner adapted to fit into and over the sides of a cat pan in use, and further adapted to form a disposable bag after use, having an inner face and an outer face; and (b) an absorbent pad affixed to said impermeable liner on the inner face, adapted to absorb cat excreta in use, and further adapted to be disposed of after use; (ii) placing said cat-pan litter-less liner to line the bottom and sides of the cat pan; (iii) providing the cat with a place to urinate and defecate; (iv) preventing spilling of any excreta or other substance from the cat pan; (v) removing said cat-pan litter-less liner from said cat pan without spilling any excreta or other substance from the cat pan; and (vi) disposing of said cat-pan litter-less liner as a disposable bag without spilling any excreta or other substance.

12. The cat-pan litter-less liner method of claim 11, further comprising a band around the perimeter of said impermeable liner.

13. The cat-pan litter-less liner method of claim 11, further adapted to allow recovery of cat excreta without degrading its utility for health analysis.

14. The cat-pan litter-less liner method of claim 11, further comprising a cat attractant incorporated into said impermeable liner.

15. The cat-pan litter-less liner method of claim 11, further comprising a cat attractant incorporated into said absorbent pad.

16. The cat-pan litter-less liner method of claim 11, further comprising an odor-eliminating substance incorporated into said absorbent pad.

17. The cat-pan litter-less liner method of claim 11, further comprising a substance that reacts with cat excreta in such a way as to provide a visual indication of the presence of blood or other marker of poor health, incorporated into said absorbent pad.

18. The cat-pan litter-less liner method of claim 11, further comprising a band around the perimeter of said impermeable liner adapted to be used as a tie strap for disposal of said cat-pan litter-less liner.

19. The cat-pan litter-less liner method of claim 11, further comprising a band around the perimeter of said impermeable liner adapted to be used for gathering of the perimeter of said impermeable liner about the rim of a cat pan.

20. The cat-pan litter-less liner method of claim 11, where said cat-pan litter-less liner is further adapted for the collection of specimens of cat waste for veterinary analysis.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein:

[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view of a first embodiment of the cat-pan litter-less liner of the invention.

[0020] FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic view of a first embodiment of the cat-pan litter-less liner of the invention.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a perspective schematic view of a second embodiment of the cat-pan litter-less liner of the invention; and

[0022] FIG. 4 is an exploded schematic view of a second embodiment of the cat-pan litter-less liner of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Referring to FIG. 1 & FIG. 2, showing a first embodiment of the cat-pan litter-less liner 10 of the invention, the cat-pad litter-less liner 10 is meant to be placed into a standard cat pan, which is generally between one and two feet in each lateral dimension, covering an area of approximately two to three square feet, and a depth of from two to five inches. The cat-pan litter-less liner 10 completely replaces and eliminates the use of kitty litter, which eliminates the purchase and handling of litter, the dust of litter, the scattering of litter and waste, and the contamination of cat excreta making it useless for health analysis.

[0024] The cat-pan litter-less liner 10 provides an impermeable liner 1 which fits into and over the sides of a cat pan. The impermeable liner 1 contains the cat waste, and forms a disposable bag after use. The impermeable liner 1 can have an elastic edge for gripping the rim of the cat pan. The impermeable liner 1 can be made from a sheet of rubber or plastic or of rubberized or plasticized paper or textile material.

[0025] Affixed to the center of the upward face or inner face of the impermeable liner 1 is an absorbent pad 2. The absorbent pad 2 absorbs cat excreta, which keeps the excreta from scattering. The absorbent pad 2 does not contaminate nor denature the cat excreta, which can be easily and conveniently be given a spot analysis when removing the cat-pan litter-less liner 10 after the cat has used it. The absorbent pad 2 is meant to be disposed of after use, contained within the disposable bag formed by the impermeable liner 1.

[0026] In use, the cat-pan litter-less liner 10 is placed to line the bottom and sides of the cat pan, providing the cat with a place to urinate and defecate. The cat-pan litter-less liner 10 prevents spilling of any excreta or other substance from the cat pan. Periodically, the used cat-pan litter-less liner 10 is removed and either disposed of or kept for analysis. The cat-pan litter-less liner 10 can be removed and disposed of without spilling any excreta or other substance from the cat pan. During the removal and disposal process the cat excreta can be visually spot-checked for blood, parasites, or other indications of poor health.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 3 & FIG. 4, showing a second embodiment of the cat-pan litter-less liner 10 of the invention, the cat-pan litter-less liner 10 can be provided with a strap or band 3 around the perimeter of the impermeable liner 1. Such a band 3 can be used as a tie strap when a used cat-pan litter-less liner 10 is being disposed of. It can also be used to gather the perimeter of the impermeable liner 1 about the rim of the cat pan. The band 3 can be made of a similar material to the impermeable liner 1. The band 3 can also be made of an elastic material that will gather the cat-pan litter-less liner 10 about the rim of the cat pan.

[0028] The impermeable liner 1 or the absorbent pad 2 of the cat-pan litter-less liner 10 may also feature an applied or incorporated substance that is attractive to cats. The absorbent pad 2 of the cat-pan litter-less liner 10 can have an applied or incorporated substance that neutralizes odors without denaturing or contaminating the cat excreta. The absorbent pad 2 of the cat-pan litter-less liner 10 can have an applied or incorporated substance that reacts with cat excreta in such a way as to provide a visual indication of the presence of blood or other marker of poor health.

[0029] Many changes and modifications can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I therefore pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.