Changing cat litter

[slick]

OK, now I'm getting fed up. I've been using the cheap clumping cat litter for the past 8 years....now I'm getting sick of the dust and just now I bent down to kiss Max and he smells like fresh cat litter out of the bag. :( :( There is no real stinky smell around here except for the fresh cat litter.

I have done a search because I know there are threads here about the same subject but none of them answer my one question. Should the new litter be added gradually or can I just dump the old and bring in the new?

I'm still not sure what I'm switching to, but a friend of mine (who I cat sit for) uses Yesteday's News and it's awesome. You don't scoop the pee, just the poop and it's flushable. A complete change is done once every two weeks (she has two cats as well). Not once, have I noticed any smell in her place.

Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[DogLover9501]

I'll be checking back to this thread, as I hate the current stuff we're using, it's also dusty.

[wolfsoul]

Sorry I'm no help. When I switched litter with Caleb, I didn't gradually switch. And he used it right away. And he hadn't had many peeing on clothes/bed etc, after that.

[kuhio98]

We use a mixture of cheapo clay litter and Feline Pine.
Feline Pine is pretty expensive in Alaska so we use mostly clay. We don't use clumping kind at all because we flush the kitty "doo" down the toilet every day and the plumber said it would make cement down there if we did it too long.

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by kuhio98
We use a mixture of cheapo clay litter and Feline Pine.
Feline Pine is pretty expensive in Alaska so we use mostly clay. We don't use clumping kind at all because we flush the kitty "doo" down the toilet every day and the plumber said it would make cement down there if we did it too long.
Do you know the brand of clay litter you use? I use a clumping clay kind, and I always want to flush it down the toilet but I'm always told not to. I'd like to find something that I can flush.

[Craftlady]

I collect all deposits in a large freezer bag and store it in a plastic container, when bag gets full I put it in the trash. Whenever I've changed litters that were not similar in compound, I mixed the old with the new for a while. If it's similar I did not mix.

[jenluckenbach]

If you think your cats will reject a new litter, do it gradually. If they are fairly tolerant of change, just do it once and done.

I had to use Yesterday's news for Rutherford recently after his "butt" operation and I was surprized at how well it worked. (but it drug around the room like nobody's business). I could never use it for the whole bunch though as I would need to change it too often and it is expensive. But Rutherford had a litter box to himself for 3 weeks and I only dumped one time halfway through that period and it might have even gone longer.

I have also used the pine/clay combo. Again, too expensive for the multiples but was GREAT for the youngest foster kittens when clumping was not safe. The pine litter is fabulous and mixing it with plain clay cuts the price.

You could try a crystal type. I have no experience, but I would think there would not be dust.

[moosmom]

If you like Yesterday's News, you'll LOVE Feline Pine!!

I've used all sort of litter and swear by FP. You only put one inch in the box. I use my finger to determine an inch by looking to see if the FP is up to my first digit.

It lasts 4 weeks. You remove the solid waste every day and once the litter turns to sawdust, you dump the whole thing and start over again.

If you want to do it gradually, put an inch of FP and cover the top of it with his old litter. That's what I had to do with Mattie Grace. Before she came to live with me, the world was her litterbox!! :eek:

I cannot say enough good things about it Feline Pine!!

[slick]

Thanks for the responses. With Feline Pine, are the tootsie rolls flushable or are they coated as with clumping litter?

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Don't use the crystals! We (euh, my cats did) try that for a while. The smell in the neighbourhood of the box is terrible: like amonia! The "used" crystals turn into bright yellow crystals, yuck... Not very appetising to see those!!
We use clumping litter from "Vitocraft". It is expensive, but the best! To get rid of it, we can't flush it down the toilet:eek: , it goes with the trashbags!

[catmandu]

Vickie,I find,that the Pet Valu Clumping,to be,the best,although,a lot,of times,I use,the Johhny cat,if I can get,it at Liquidation world.And that is a bit pro\icier,but in the 40 Pound Bags,its not bad,and they deliver.

[Logan]

This is embarrassing :o because I can't remember, but I think it is the "Fresh Step" scoopable that I buy in those huge, heavy buckets. :o I buy it so infrequently because both of my cats are indoor/outdoor kitties and Mimi is the only one that ever uses the litter box. It is upstairs in my daughter's bathroom and I only buy it when she says it is time. It does not produce dust that I can tell, but those tiny little granules have to be swept up off the tile floor periodically because Mimi's scratching sends them all over the place!

I think if I made a big change, I'd probably do it like I would food and make the change gradual, just in case you encounter some resistance. Good luck!

[sirrahbed]

The litter I use and swear by is Fresh Step. It is a clumping litter - and it clumps HARD. Like craftlady - I keep plastic bags and throw them out when full. I scoop about three times a day and only have redone the boxes - maybe twice in the last year or so. I just keep all waste and biscuits out and add more ltter as it gets low. Yes, it does make a mess outside the boxes but I keep a small broom/dustpan to sweep up when I scoop. There is no smell (unless a fresh desposit is made)
Just my favorite and they all use it and no complaints.
I also read here that the Wal-Mart brand is similar to Fresh Step.

[Cataholic]

I rotate brands. Whatever is on sale. Kroger's makes a brand that isn't too bad, but, it turns the little ponds to cement. I like Arm and Hammer, and Fresh step- nice and clumpy, but, no wrist breaking cement.

Just yesterday I spent an hour cleaning 4 boxes..scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing. Finally, I got a screwdriver, and chipped that stuff off! This am? Freshly made tootsie rolls in each box. :D

Mine aren't too particular with the litter...

[sirrahbed]

Could the depth be the difference? I keep LOTS of litter in each box - well over half full and about 4 inches maybe? There is never cement because nothing makes it to the bottom. I only have tootsies rolls and nice biscuits to remove. Could that be it??

[jazzcat]

Originally posted by sirrahbed
Could the depth be the difference? I keep LOTS of litter in each box - well over half full and about 4 inches maybe? There is never cement because nothing makes it to the bottom. I only have tootsies rolls and nice biscuits to remove. Could that be it??
I think it's the brand because I've been switching to Fresh Step slowly, a box at a time and I have no problems with a layer of cement on the bottom with it but I did with Tidy Cat no matter how deep the litter was. I tried Exquisicat from PetsMart and although entirely too dusty it doesn't make that cement layer on the bottom either.

[Corinna]

I use yesterdays news too Love it I can composte it in my garden Its terrific.

[Shady]

I use the crystals, I buy the big pail at Walmart for $15. CDN, that does me the two boxes. I have four cats, and two litter boxes.

I change it every two weeks, (completely, use liners and just toss it all) you do scoop solids daily, I never EVER have a smell.

There's a formula, for changing it, 1 cat, 1 month, two cats, two weeks, and so on.

I find it really great and while it tracks some it doesnt track far.

The only problem is, the cost, $30. per month.

[Jayna78]

We thought we liked Target-brand Crystals b/c you could get a big jug of them for $9.95, which was nice b/c the Tidy Cats stuff and other Crystals are expensive. At first they were fine, but then (we have 2 litter boxes and with the crystals, we didn't have to change weekly - more like every two weeks or so), they had this weird smell to them (when it had only been a week or so) and the cats didn't want to use the box, even though we clear all the waste out of them 2-3 times per day. It was just odd.

We liked the Tidy Cats Crystals, but unless we're going to have a coupon every time, that's just too expensive for a household with 4 cats. We had the Tidy Cats Crystals Blend for a while too, and while we liked the fact that it was far less dusty than the regular clay Tidy Cats, it tracked all over the house more, and we couldn't flush it down the toilet like we like to do normally - oh, and if some got on wet floor, it would cake up. It was gross. At some point we may have to switch to something else, though, b/c I hate all the dust that Tidy Cats clay litter kicks up, though we don't have too many problems with "cement" on the bottom of our boxes (and we can't use liners b/c Leo would tear them up). With Tidy Cats clay, we usually change it every weekend and definitely clean it 2-3 times per day. Is that what you should do with 4 cats and 2 litterboxes, or can it go longer than that?

We normally don't have a smell in our house b/c we're so good about cleaning the litter, but if we're gone for a day or a little over a day, we can smell that we need to clean the litter when we walk in.

[NoahsMommy]

I've tried the wheat, corn and crystals. I prefer the scoopable, clumping of Fresh Step. :)

My sister-in-law has one cat and uses the crystals. I never smell anything. I think it'd be great for just a few cats. I don't know how all mine would deal with a new litter.

[Glacier]

Originally posted by kuhio98
We use a mixture of cheapo clay litter and Feline Pine.
Feline Pine is pretty expensive in Alaska so we use mostly clay. We don't use clumping kind at all because we flush the kitty "doo" down the toilet every day and the plumber said it would make cement down there if we did it too long.

Can you get the wood pellets for pellet stoves? They are pretty much the exact same thing as Feline Pine. I live dang close to you and I pay 5 bucks for a 40 pound bag of pellets. Feline Pine is 40 bucks for a much smaller bag. I've been using it for years and never had a problem.

I also use Yesterday's News and love it, but with 8 cats it has to get changed alot!

And I have three boxes with clumping litter. Cheapo stuff, I hate it, the cats love it and that's what matters!

10 cat boxes in the house, three kinds of litter = vastly reduced litter boxes misses!

[slick]

Just thought I would give an uppydate.

I've now switched to something called Feline Fresh Natural Pine Cat Litter. Maybe it's the same as Feline Pine down in the States. Actually it's made by PlanetWise Products in Pine Bluff, AR.

They make two kinds. One is the little pellets and the pee turns into sawdust at the bottom of the box that you scoop and flush away.

Now, they've come up with the clumping kind and this is what I'm using now. IT'S AWESOME!! The pee biscuits and tootsie rolls are all flushable and the litter smells great..just like pine. (Who would ever think that cat litter would make a good room deodorizer! :D) It only took Max and Speckles a couple of weeks to get used to it and now that's all I will use. It's completely dust free too. Another thing, it doesn't track as much as the clay clumping litter.

Now for the downside, it's $7.00 for a 6 lb. bag. I will check around at other places for a cheaper price but I think that's going to be pretty much standard. Doesn't matter to me.

Unlike Buckley's, it smells great and it works!! :)

[shais_mom]

glad you found something that is working so well Slick!

I have been using Premium Choice Ultra It works pretty well. I also tried the new Arm and Hammer and really liked it.
I used Feline Pine for a long time but after started using the clay again noticed that I didn't have the smell that I did with Feline Pine. Must have just been me? Maybe I will try it again.
My girls are so tolerant. I am soooo bad about scooping and they just keep going. Have been thinking about getting the Littermaid but haven't bit the bullet yet.

[janelle]

I use Fresh Step Crystals. I flush so the clumps aren't too good for that. They do scatter it but I'm lucky with a bathtub that gets no use so I put their boxes in the tub and most stays in there. I still have to sweep though and it seems like my big cat uses the little box and the little one uses the big box so I have rolls in the tub. Easy enough to scoop up with the litter scoop though.

You can earn pts with Fresh Step. Go to www.freshstep.com You can get free things.

[jenluckenbach]

A scoopable pine litter? Interesting. And it is still flushable?

I like the pine, I use it when I have foster kittens, but it is too expensive for my entire household. :(