What cat litter do you use and why?

17114 Views 40 Replies 22 Participants Last post by 3furbabies, Feb 23, 2012

Meredith

Discussion Starter · Feb 19, 2012

I've seen so many threads and sites and reviews about a variety of cat litters... pros, cons... my head is literally swimming with kitty litter and opinions.

My 2.5 year old Maine **** boy has never used a litter box and its a long story why we are going to have him start using a litterbox... but basically, I have no idea what is good, what is bad, etc as I've never had to look!

I don't like the idea of clay, I don't want anything overly smelly (potty smells OR strong fragrances!) and something reasonably priced as we have a Jumbo sized litter box! :roll:

I like the idea of a natural litter... I was looking into the Arm and Hammer Essentials and when I went to grab a bag at the store... the smell was TERRIBLY similar to that of a wallplug in a truck stop bathroom. Eurgh.

So... what cat litter do YOU use and why?? Thanks

1 - 20 of 41 Posts

MowMow

· #2 · Feb 19, 2012

I used to use World's Best and I loved it. STill do...but I don't love the price. So I switched to Arm & Hammer multi cat unscented. I don't like strong perfumes either. My cats smell great on their own, they don't need stinky stuff to do it for them.

IT's cheaper and it seems to do almost a good a job of clumping. It doesn't leave a nasty scent on the cat and covers odors pretty well.

My only complaint is that if I don't keep the boxes really deep then 'stuff' sticks to the bottom of the box in spots. I found that out last weekend when I washed out the boxes and had to scrape gunk off the bottom. It hopefully won't be a problem next time since I've started keeping them deeper.

RascalDog

· #3 · Feb 19, 2012

We use Fresh Step Crystals. Our Maine Coons were used to it since that's what the breeder used. There is no odor from the crystals and you can scoop and flush the solids. It seems expensive but it lasts 3 plus weeks with our two cats.

LilyC

· #4 · Feb 19, 2012

We use Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Litter. 99% dust free and it clumps well. I know you didn't want clay. We tried the Worlds Best but none of them liked it. Maine Coons here as well.

shan841

· #5 · Feb 19, 2012

I think i have tried every litter there is, and I like plain, non-clumping unscented clay. I didnt like the crystals because Banjo would come out of the litterbox with the litter stuck to his nose and I think he was eating it. I also just dont like the idea of only changing it once every week or two. I just think it's gross. I can't stand the smell of the "world's best", and im just not a fan of clumping litter in general. I only use about 2 inches of clay and completely change it every day. No matter what litter i try, I always go back to clay.

orrymain

· #6 · Feb 19, 2012

Currently Orry uses Fresh Step Odor Shield scoopable unscented. I've been trying to find a clay non-clumping which won't leave him with a coating of dust but no luck yet.
@ shan841 what's the name of the one you use for Banjo?
Lucy

Meredith

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 19, 2012

MowMow said:
I used to use World's Best and I loved it. STill do...but I don't love the price. So I switched to Arm & Hammer multi cat unscented. I don't like strong perfumes either. My cats smell great on their own, they don't need stinky stuff to do it for them.

IT's cheaper and it seems to do almost a good a job of clumping. It doesn't leave a nasty scent on the cat and covers odors pretty well.

My only complaint is that if I don't keep the boxes really deep then 'stuff' sticks to the bottom of the box in spots. I found that out last weekend when I washed out the boxes and had to scrape gunk off the bottom. It hopefully won't be a problem next time since I've started keeping them deeper.

Thanks! I've heard a lot of good things about World's Best... except for the price and odor control. Is the Arm and Hammer Multi-cat a clay based litter?

RascalDog said:
We use Fresh Step Crystals. Our Maine Coons were used to it since that's what the breeder used. There is no odor from the crystals and you can scoop and flush the solids. It seems expensive but it lasts 3 plus weeks with our two cats.

Thanks! I've heard that those Fresh Step Crystals isn't good for their respiratory system.

I'm wondering if a mixture of layer crumble (chick feed!) and Arm and Hammer Essentials would be any good. A&H Essentials has a strong perfume (too strong!) smell and clumps well, layer crumble doesn't clump all that well and smells 'farmy'... think the mix would be the ultimate reasonably priced cat litter?

Meredith

Discussion Starter · #8 · Feb 19, 2012

LilyC said:
We use Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Litter. 99% dust free and it clumps well. I know you didn't want clay. We tried the Worlds Best but none of them liked it. Maine Coons here as well.

I was looking at this one in PetsMart recently... it actually looked decent. I don't like clay because of the many negative things I've read about it.

shan841 said:
I think i have tried every litter there is, and I like plain, non-clumping unscented clay. I didnt like the crystals because Banjo would come out of the litterbox with the litter stuck to his nose and I think he was eating it. I also just dont like the idea of only changing it once every week or two. I just think it's gross. I can't stand the smell of the "world's best", and im just not a fan of clumping litter in general. I only use about 2 inches of clay and completely change it every day. No matter what litter i try, I always go back to clay.

Really? Again, I've just read so many negative things about clay... it makes me really worry about using it.

orrymain said:
Currently Orry uses Fresh Step Odor Shield scoopable unscented. I've been trying to find a clay non-clumping which won't leave him with a coating of dust but no luck yet.
@ shan841 what's the name of the one you use for Banjo?
Lucy

Is this clay-based?

Thanks everyone!

doodlebug

· #9 · Feb 19, 2012

Meredith said:
my head is literally swimming with kitty litter and opinions.

And it's probably going to be drowning when you add all the answers you get here :lol: Litter is one of those things that seems to be very individualized. That said...my favorites are Dr Elsey's Precious Cat or Everclean Unscented. The main difference is that the Precious Cat is less dusty.

RascalDog

· #10 · Feb 19, 2012

Meredith said:
Thanks! I've heard that those Fresh Step Crystals isn't good for their respiratory system.

I've not heard that but if you don't change the litter soon enough it starts to create a fine dust. Which I'm sure isn't healthy for cats or humans.

shan841

· #11 · Feb 20, 2012

I use priority brand from the grocery store or special kitty from walmart. It is dusty when I pour it in, but he doesnt dig much so I figure the dust isnt an issue. If it is non-clumping, is the dust still bad for them?

melissa5

· #12 · Feb 20, 2012

I'm on my 1st bag of arm&hammer essentials. I didn't realize that it had such a strong smell to it, but I actually kind of like it! I found that it only smells strong at 1st but as it sits there, it loses its scent. It definitely helps keep cat smells at bay! I have 2 kittens that share a box. I scoop it once a day and you can't even notice its there. When i was using clay litter, after 3 days (scooped daily) I could smell the litter box from a different room. The ARM&hammer also clumps very well. The only downfall I found was that the cats seem to track a lot more of it out of the litter box then they did with clay litter.

6cats4me

· #13 · Feb 20, 2012

I use a mixture of Dr Elsey's Precious Cat and EverClean. I have 6 cats and 8 litter boxes so go through a lot of litter.
I prefer the less dusty Precious Cat but find
the EverClean better for clumping and not sticking to the bottom of the litter boxes.
So now I mx the two of them for the best results.

orrymain

· #14 · Feb 20, 2012

Hi Meredith. Yes, Fresh Step Odor Shield scoopable unscented is clay based. I like it because he isn't covered in dust after using the box & it clumps well.

marie73

· #15 · Feb 20, 2012

I usually buy the cheapest and mix it with Tidy Cats, the slightly citrus-scented one. I really like Tidy Cats, the pee clumps don't break up and there's no lingering odor. My grocery store had it as their $5 Friday special, 20 lbs./$5. I stocked up.

LadyK

· #16 · Feb 20, 2012

I use Tidy Cats, the type with the red lid. I really wanted Josie to like World's Best, but she didn't care for that. Same with Fresh Step. I was thinking about trying the Precious Cat someday but until then I'll probably stick with Tidy Cats since we haven't had any problems.

marie73

· #17 · Feb 20, 2012

I used Fresh Step for a few years. Now I can't stand the smell. I tried World's Best and I loved it at first (except the price), but the pee clumps crumbled into a million pieces and the house started to smell like cat pee.

Dave_ph

· #18 · Feb 20, 2012

I use Walmarts "Special Kitty Premium", not just the "Special Kitty", that's key.

The "Special Kitty Premium" looks to be Fresh Step packaged for Walmart.

Why do I use it? Because it's CHEAP.

I use non-clumping because my Vet told me that clumping litter sticks between kitty toes and bad things happen when the munchkins lick that off. That image has always stuck with me.

littlesushi

· #19 · Feb 20, 2012

i use dr. elsey's precious cat. i too did not want to go the clay route but this one is the best for us so far. it's pretty much dust-free as advertised (unlike many other brands that claimed they were dust-free) and our cats seemed to take to it right away. it also clumps very well. tried world's best and couldn't stand the smell and the kitties didn't like the texture. also tried swheat scoop and it was very dusty. so back to clay for now.

Meredith

Discussion Starter · #20 · Feb 20, 2012

FYI-

Is Clay Litter Bad for Cat Health? - VetInfo

There are many other websites that talk about clay litter too.

littlesushi- Does Dr Elsey's Precious Cat contain sodium bentonite or crystalline silica? Does it mention anything about these on the bag?

1 - 20 of 41 Posts

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