Kitty Litter Reviews

[Equus217]

Lizzylou's post inspired this thread, cause I recently tried new litter as well:

"World's best cat litter" made from corn (I think!) and I have mixed reviews:

-A+++++ for tracking: there is virtually no tracking outside the box which I love love love love love! Also, one bag of this litter goes alot further than a box of tidy cats.

However, it has a very strange odor...almost a sour smell, even with two litterbox cleanings a day.

So I am torn, I don't want to go back to Multi-cats cause it seems to track so much,and I go thru a ton of it, but I don't like the odor of "worlds best" one either.

Soooo...I thought I'd solicit the advice of the all-knowing PT'ers!!

:D

What litter to all of you guys swear by?? I can't seem to find one I like!

[Corinna]

I mix tidy and good mews it smells good and is really apsobant. (sp) Good mews is a recyclesd paper and cedar oil, but itds larger and cats not crazy about it so I layer it on bottom and then but Tidy cat on top. Now we are all happy except Winky who MUST go out side or he uses bathtub if he can't hold it any longer. Easy to clean but not my choice for him.

[sirrahbed]

Fresh Step with blue & green cyrstals only for me! It clumps the hardest and has the best odor control of anything I have tried. Nothing else comes close.
For tracking I keep a small whisk broom and dustpan and use it every time I scoop.

[Equus217]

Thanks for the feedback! I haven't tried the crystal kitty litter yet, maybe I can mix that with the worlds best....hmmmm.....cedar oil huh? I bet that does smell good....

I actually used to keep the vaccum right next to the litterbox so when I scooped I could manage tracking too!

Thanks for the advice guys!:)

[Craftlady]

I love Fresh Step after years of being a Tidy Cat user. Sirrahbed, I agree it's the best for clumping. The odor control is excellant. It would even be better if Eleanor learned to bury. Her "deposits" can clear a room. :eek:

[Corinna]

I don't care for the clumps , With 3 er 2 cats and a litter chomping dog it just doesn't work too well.

[Tonya]

Oooh! What a good thread! I can't put any input in because I always just buy what's on sale (always scoopable) and I'm never quite happy with it. I would love if someone made a poll up so we can see exact votes on the best litter! (I would, but I don't even know what choices are out there.)

[kimlovescats]

We go through SOOOOOOOOOO much litter around here, it isn't even funny!!:eek: :eek: :rolleyes: I sure wish someone would come up with something good that is also CHEAP!;)

We use the Wal_Mart brand scoopable and add some of the clay along with it, but I HATE clay litter.:rolleyes: I sure wish I could win a lifetime supply of something like Fresh Step ...wouldn't that be awesome!!!?:eek: :D

[Uabassoon]

I will first start out by saying I HATE tidy cats. The few times I've gotten it I've just hated it, it doesn't clump every well at all. LOL I have to keep reminding myself how much I hate it because sometimes I forget and pick it up at the store then get upset because it doesn't clump well.

I usually use Scoop Away, I think it works well and keeps the other under control. My other two favorites are arm & hammer and fresh step.

[QueenScoopalot]

I use misc. types here, for clay I like Cat's Pride, and for clumping either Wal-Mart's brand, Arm & Hammer usually anything except Cat's Pride brand of clumping. There's nothing like having the dust fly into your mouth, and nose from that stuff. It's like scooping baby powder...yuck! I'm not a fan of Tidy Cat either...any litter that comes out of the bag grey, ends up black in no time. Nothing like scooping mud. :rolleyes:

[christa]

I've been reading everyones good experiences with Fresh Step lately . . . I bought a box today. We had been using Tidy Cats but since we got the LitterMaid, we realize that Tidy Cats is HORRIBLE!!! It ALWAYS breaks up, never ever ever stays together . . . so hopefully this will work.

[catnapper]

I've been thinking of this a lot lately because Allen is so fussy, and Pouncer likes to fling it. Here's an article from Cat World regarding the different types and their benefits:
http://www.catworld.co.uk/articlecatworld.asp?artid=98&cat=General%20Features&pre=0

Hope this helps someone :)

[dogs_4_me]

Originally posted by sirrahbed
Fresh Step with blue & green cyrstals only for me! It clumps the hardest and has the best odor control of anything I have tried. Nothing else comes close.
For tracking I keep a small whisk broom and dustpan and use it every time I scoop.

We use Fresh Step as well.

[Lanman]

For us it's Ultra Pearls. Best that I have found for oder control.

[kuhio98]

First thing you should know about us is that we do NOT want any clumping type litter at all. (Our vet discourages the clumping kind because some kitties and doggies eat litter -- yuck -- and he has had to increasingly perform surgery on very ill pets with "concrete" in their stomachs and intestines). :(

So, we swear by a mixture of any cheapo clay litter and FELINE PINE. :) Our kitties love FELINE PINE and we love the way it absorbs odors.

BTW, we scoop and flush down the toilet. Our neighbors do the same and ended up with major plumbing bills when their clumping litter plugged the pipes. :(

[krazyaboutkatz]

I used to use the Petco brand of clumping litter and it was okay but very dusty. Then I decided to try to use some of the more natural types of litters like World's Best, Swheat Scoop, Feline Pine, Yesterday's News, and a brand of the pearl type. I didn't like any of them and the cats weren't too happy either.

A lady at work recommended Ever Clean and I tried it and really liked it. My cats also love it and now they all bury their poops. I mix the unscented with the scented because the scented is a little too strong and the unscented used alone doesn't keep the odor under control. It also clumps very hard and they don't break apart. It's very expensive at Petco and Petsmart so I buy it at Pet Club. They have it on sale once a month so I stock up on it then. I also never have to throw away the entire box of litter. I just add more as I need to so it lasts a long time too.:)

[slick]

I use cheap Clumping Litter on sale. $6.00 CDN for a 20 kg bag - that's about 50 lbs. My cats have always used it and I'm afraid to change now. Sure it's dusty, but I just dust more often. Sure it isn't flushable, but I just double bag it and put it down the garbage chute every day. Works for me. If you scoop often enough, there is very little smell.

[catcrazylady]

After trying many many brands we now only use Fresh Step. Best odor control and clumping that I can find.:D

[catmandu]

The best Litter,I ahve found is Pestell,which,is hard to find! Or The excellent Pet Valu Clumping,which is cost effective,too!

[moosmom]

Since I had a problem with the ammonia odor, I've switched to Feline Pine. It works great!! It's pellets are compressed sawdust. You put 1" in the box and clean out the solid waste daily (I check the boxes 2x a day with 8 cats/boxes). The urine is absorbed by the pellets and there is absolutely NO odor whatsoever. The stuff lasts in the box for approximately 4 weeks. I've kept track of the stuff by writing on the litterbox in wipeoff pen exactly when I completely changed the litter. Once it turns to sawdust, you just toss it out and start over. There is no tracking and it doesn't stick to the bottom of the box like most clumpable litters do. I swear by the stuff. My cats like it too. It's $7.99 for a 20 lb. bag. I've tried the cheaper brand of the same thing and believe me, you get what you pay for.

[lexibent]

I like fresh step, too. I've switched to clay litter because it's a lot cheaper than the clumping and seems to last longer. I've found fresh step is cheapest at Costco and Sams Club. I also buy the huge bags of Arm and Hammer Baking soda and mix in a cup or so with the litter. Seems to take care of the odor pretty well.

[Equus217]

Thanks everyone for all your feedback! I went out last night and bought a box of Fresh Step with the Crystals and I noticed a difference immediately with odor control. A bunch of you recommended that Feline Pine, I haven't seen that around here but I'm going to keep my eyes open for it, and maybe try a mix of the two to reduce tracking.

I was worried about the tracking cause we just moved into a new house (new carpet!), but after smelling "world's best cat litter" for the first week I couldn't take it anymore!

I may have to vacuum more frequently, but at least I can have people over and not skip the kitty room on the tour!!:eek:

[lizzielou742]

I am currently using a mix of Swheat Scoop and Arm & Hammer Super Scoop, but after reading this thread I'm going to try Fresh Step. :)

For tracking, because both of our litterboxes are on carpeted floors (due to major lack of tiled flooring in my apartment), I have a little mat I picked up at PetSmart in front of each box. It works great - I'd say it catches 90% of the litter off their paws. Each time I scoop out their boxes, I pick up the little mat and shake whatever it caught out, back into the box. Any litter it doesn't catch, along with any litter they throw out of the box via vigorous digging (which usually isn't much) gets Dustbuster-ed up every 3rd day or so. The feel of them (kinda like a horse's curry comb is the best way I can think to describe it) could bother kitties with sensitive paws I suppose, but Tito and Sophie don't mind at all. They generally are not picky cats about anything - food, litter, whatever. Anyway, you can see the litter mat here (http://shop.store.yahoo.com/pet-guys/-079441004410.html). It comes in different colors. Mine are blue. :)

Catnapper - that article you posted recommends completely changing all litter and disinfecting the litterbox weekly. I must admit I only do that about once every 4-5 weeks. Am I the only one guilt of this? I hope not!

[lizzielou742]

Originally posted by Lanman
For us it's Ultra Pearls. Best that I have found for oder control.

A great big WELCOME to PT, Lanman!!! :D Tell us about yourself and your pets, if you'd like! :)

[NKBurlington]

This is good timming because this topic has come up on another board that I visit.

I recently switched to Sweat Scoop but at $13 for a 14lb bag, that's a big expensive. We used to use a clumping litter from Costco which was about $8 for 50lbs!

On the other MB, it was mentioned that clay litter, especially clumping litter, is bad for cats and causes resperatory problems. Does anyone one know if this is true?

I'd like to go back to the cheap stuff, but only if it's safe. I might like to try Fresh Step as well since it's receive such great reviews here.

[Equus217]

Originally posted by lizzielou742
Catnapper - that article you posted recommends completely changing all litter and disinfecting the litterbox weekly. I must admit I only do that about once every 4-5 weeks. Am I the only one guilt of this? I hope not!

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

what? You don't do this every day?!?

just kidding of course....this is usually a monthly thing for me too. I usually wash out the litterbox and the garbage cans on the same day...keeps the house smelling a whole lot fresher!!

Every week? Whew! I hope I'm not a bad kitty momma because of this!

[Lanman]

Thanks for the welcome. We have two indoor cats and one outdoor cat. Our outdoor is 17 years old and has developed some pretty bad bathroom habbits so he is not allowed indoors anymore. He still gets a lot of attention. He was my wife's cat long before I came a long so he has seniority around here.

We have a one year old black cat we adopted from the shelter. He was brought to the shelter in pretty bad shape and I'm a sucker for hard luck cases. He was brought in with several siblings but he was the only one who survived. He has worked out very well for us. A wonderful cat we named Charlie.

Our second indoor cat we brought home three weeks ago. He's a 3 month old Bengal. He is a handful of fun. I've always wanted a Bengal, and my wife finally agreed to let me get one. I hope we know what we are getting into :D. The little loud screeming fireball is named Denver.

We have seperate litter boxes for our two indoor cats. I clean them daily and I change the litter weekly.

[lisalee]

I've tried many different litters. I used to use TidyCat, but with Sash's constant sneezing it was too dusty, I then tried Swheat Scoop, also too dusty even though it claims to not be. World's Best I found I didn't get my money's worth since they say to only change it once a month although I felt the need to within two weeks.:( I've now been using Yesterday's News (unscented, softer texture) for a long time now, it's definitly the least dusty. I change the entire box once a week, I'm very fussy about my boy's box. ;)

[lisalee]

Oh yes, I also used Feline Pine for quite sometime. I really liked this and only needed to change the box approx. every 20 days. I found this litter to be the longest lasting in between cleaning times. I stopped because Sash was still sneezing up a storm and I thought the pine scent was probably too strong for him.

[NoahsMommy]

We use Fresh Step too. :)

The makers of Ever Clean and Fresh Step are the same...its just more $$ for the EC. I prefer that, but its too expensive around here.

We...and by that, I mean I ;), scoop each night before bed and add a few cups of new litter a couple times a week. Each month, I empty and clean the boxes and put new litter in all of them.

[wolflady]

Interesting thread. I really liked Ever Clean too, but it is just to expensive. KAK, you'll have to let me know when they have a sale at Pet Club and I'll come up and get some!!
Thanks for the tip, Kelly. I didn't know the makers of Fresh Step and EC were the same! Perhaps I should give Fresh Step a try. How does it compare in cost to Tidy Cat - multi-cat? I usually buy the big tubs of the stuff at PetCo.

BTW, Kelly does a supurb job of keeping her boxes clean. I've been to her house and you don't smell a thing! ;) :D :D :D

**hugs**

[NoahsMommy]

Originally posted by wolflady
BTW, Kelly does a supurb job of keeping her boxes clean. I've been to her house and you don't smell a thing! ;) :D :D :D
Awww! I knew I loved you for lots of reasons, but now I love you more!! :)

Multicat mommies are always fearful of a smelly home....SO glad to know its now. :) :) :) YAY!!!

I think Tidycat and FreshStep are simliar in price...maybe a few dollars, but not too much.

[sirrahbed]

I very seldom empty out the cat boxes completely - maybe every few months. I have three for three kitties. I just keep replacing the Fresh Step. I do not think there is any odor and my skinkids also tell me this when they come to visit. I am pretty neurotic about cleaning and odors! I scoop the box at least 2-3 times a day and I know hubby scoops also. When I do a complete cleaning, I will scrub the boxes and swish them with bleach, rinse like crazy and then refill them - but again - very rarely. I think the Fresh Step keeps them as clean as can be! Also, I keep them pretty full so that urine never does reach the bottom of the box so that probably helps also.

[lexibent]

To eliminate tracking, (my babies are super messy!), I picked up an artificial turf welcome mat at the hardware store and put their litter box on it. It looks like plastic grass, but you can get it in alot of different colors and sizes. Does a great job of cleaning their little paws and it's easy to shake out. They have something similar at Petco, but as usual it costs about 4 times the price.

Don't get me wrong, I love Petco. But, I gotta go where the bargains are!