need new litter

Hey guys,
I know we're all pretty bored with the litter subject, but lets face it, its one of the more intrequite and persistant issues of cat ownership.
I have a problem. I have been using Presidents Choice "Green" litter. It's a corn based litter that clumps, and looks more "sandy" then the white of Worlds best. I think it's because it uses the cob and not the kernal...but I digress. I have found that the clumping ability of the litter isn't satisfactory and the litter itself ends up STINKING after only a few days, because the clumps fall apart when I sift them.
So, I'm in search of a new litter. It doesn't need to be flushable, because my apartment building doesn't have limits on garbage. I'd like it to be as dust-free as possible; clumps well; have great odour control and if I could live in the perfect world it wouldn't be clay (stripminning issues), but I'm willing to listen if that's not possible. Also, I was paying close to the same amount as Worlds Best for this stuff...so I'm open to anything the same or less expensive (does more expensive litter exist??).
Please, I'm open to suggestions, I just want a litterpan that I can clean easily and doesn't smell of dust and ammonia
Jess

i use chn feed .. but am now mixing in sweat scoop .. the two together seem to clump far better and are still flushable

Can't help with natural litter-have to many cats for that to smell good. but far as clumping clay fresh step is hands down the best I found. been getting it at bj for 12.49 for 40 lbs. If you only have one or two cats and a more subdued nose should get away with using scoop away(fresh steps is the "premium" and scoopaway is cheaper from the same company but havent found it to hold the odor of my crew as well

I'm from Canada...and I don't think we have fresh step...but we do have Maxx cat from the same company. I wonder what it's comprible to....it's what my mom uses.

I just recently switch to Tidy Cat "Small Spaces" -- it is excellent. Low on dust, great on odor control and the clumps don't fall apart when you scoop. I've been using it about two weeks and am VERY pleased. I'm not sure, but I don't believe it's clay.

Originally Posted by Amy-DHH

I just recently switch to Tidy Cat "Small Spaces" -- it is excellent. Low on dust, great on odor control and the clumps don't fall apart when you scoop. I've been using it about two weeks and am VERY pleased. I'm not sure, but I don't believe it's clay.

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That TIdy cats is JUST CLAY and some frangrance

petsmart house brand - on sale $10.99 for 40lbs. exquisicat premium unscented clumping litter. it's clay, yes, but i won't switch, unless they change the formula.

my litterboxes are in the laundry room, which is in my foyer. i scoop once a day, and NO ONE says anything about cat odor when they walk in the door. and believe me, my mother would!

i had used WBCL for over a year, but the odor from it just killed me. and when we went from 1 cat to 2 cats, the price just got too crazy. a customer at petsmart told me about this litter, as i stood there pondering which one to try. "thank you, lady!"

my girls took right to it, after 3 mos of WBCL, and had no problem with a quick change.

eta: if you pour the litter down low, close to the pans, there is little to no dust.

I was using Fresh Step, but got aggravated with it, because the kitties always smelt like "the litter box". Plus, the dust was getting to me. It did clump pretty good, but I was always having to pick up the "tiny pieces" that would break off as I scooped. I had to scoop those up with a spoon

I tried the Everclean, and as far as odor control goes, it was pretty good, and not as dusty as the Freshstep. But, as with the Freshstep, I was always having to pick up the "tiny pieces" that would break off as I scooped.

I tried Scoop Away and the kitties hate it. It is sooooo dusty and perfumy, they hardly touch their 2nd litter box. Plus the clumping, etc. is about the same as the Freshstep and the Everclean.


Adding to my frustration is the fact that I have this type of linoleum type floor, but not the smooth, shiny kind, it's more "dull" looking and it has a "rough" pattern to it. It is VERY beautiful in appearance though. However, the tiny pieces of clay that get scattered out of the litterbox when the cats dig, seem to enjoy embedding themselves into the floor, despite the cat mats that I use which are designed to catch the cat litter and clean the cats paws. They are very effective and I wouldn't be without them, but they never catch everything 100% . (They are those plastic grassy looking ones, the kind you can use as an outdoor carpet.)

Plus, where I live there is only garbage pickup twice a month and since I can't flush the waste, it gets pretty smelly, even when I use small Odor Shield Glad Bags.

So out of sheer frustration, tonight I went out and got Nature's Miracle. It's a corn based cat litter and it's flushable. We shall see how that works.

I was strongly tempted to try the Feline Pine, but my kitties love to dig, dig, dig so I wasn't sure.

If any you out there have used the Nature's Miracle, please let me know how you like it. Also, if you do use Feline Pine, please post how you like it as well. I admit, since my kitties love to dig so much, I was trying to figure out how it would cover the poops and the odor that comes with it. So please, please, please, let me know. In any case, I will keep you posted on how I, and the kitties, end up liking it.

Aaahh! the never ending quest for that pefect cat litter!

Shanynne
Extreme Kitty Lover

I initially put them on arm & hammer litter but it was so dusty that it was all in the air even though the litterbox was in the second bathroom that no one uses. I switched to Feline Pine (the pellet kind) and one of my cat is a digger but he got use to it. The urine doesn't smell since the pine does a great job at masking it. The only problem is that when they go #2, it doesn't do a great job at clumping so I need to immediately scoop their poop out. Since they normally do their #2 in the morning right before I go to work so it works wonderfully well for us. Once the pellet breaks down into saw dust, it does pretty good at covering the poop. Plus, it's flushable so it's been good for us. I bought about 6 bags when it was on sale but I think they have this feline pine clumping one which is new so I'm going to try it out once I run out.

I am too in search of something that works well...

I've used Scoop Away before, and like someone before me has said, it is extremely dusty! And it has a really strong smell, too overwhelming. If it's strong for ME, then I couldn't imagine how strong the smell was for my cats.

I've been using Fresh Step but the problem I have with is that it is dusty. But it clumps well and does a great job at masking the odor.

I also tried Swheat Scoop. I only got this because my month old kitten used to lick the litter and I was told that kittens who eat clay litter is bad. So I went for an all natural litter. It clumped well, but DID NOT cover odor well.

So, I'm still using Fresh Step.

well, I spent an hour in Petsmart talking to the employees about litter. Man, I'm pathedic. HOWEVER, I am pleased with the results.
I had remembered using exquisicat before, and being unimpressed with the dust (it billowed) I don't know if the mixture is different in Candad from the states, but the two employees agreed with me and added that it didn't clump well.
I ended up getting "precious cat", which they said was highly recomended by one of them and a huge seller. It is clay, I'll admit...but when I poured it, there was no dust that came out, and so far I can't smell the litter.
I almost got Maxx Cat multicat with "health guard" but decided that the precious cat would track less as it has bigger chunks of clay. Also, its slightly more expensive than the precious cat.
The guy employee tried to get me to buy some ...something "scoop" in a red bag with baking soda. I'll admit it was enticing, being $10 for a giant bag, but he said it's kind of dusty and he has to dump it once a week (mind you, he has 3 cats). Neither of which made me want to buy it.
So, so far so good. The cats seem to be using the new litter. Dynah (age 4 months) likes digging and then watching it cascade over her paws. I got a new "jumbo" covered litterpan for Chester, and his hiney fits rather nicely. Now I just have to get into the hang of putting the litter bits into bags and not the toilet. Man, I really liked flushing!
Happy litter hunting to you all.

Right now I'm using the Arm/Hammer Multi-Cat scoopable. It has some "crystals" mixed in it for odor control. I got the wrong Arm/Hammer last time

got a question about said crystals.
Do they actually work?
on the exquisicat box they said that the crystals were silica crystals. Isn't it silica dust that causes cancer? Do you think that its the same stuff, or that it might hurt someone or some cat?
The lady at the petstore also suggested some powder that she sprinkles over the litterpan...it was in a blue container, and supposed to control smell . I wonder if those are just silica crystals themselves. hummmm

Originally Posted by Sylorna

got a question about said crystals.
Do they actually work?
on the exquisicat box they said that the crystals were silica crystals. Isn't it silica dust that causes cancer? Do you think that its the same stuff, or that it might hurt someone or some cat?
The lady at the petstore also suggested some powder that she sprinkles over the litterpan...it was in a blue container, and supposed to control smell

. I wonder if those are just silica crystals themselves. hummmm

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I never used crystals kind of litter as I heard those actually hurt their paws. If you are going to use the powder to sprinkle over the litterpan, I would just use baking soda. They have the arm and hammer one for pet but the regular baking soda will do the trick. The less scented stuff the better.

Yes. silica is bad so definitely don't want them breathing in it.

Mine are not usually picky about litter, but I bought 93 lbs of Fresh Step 2 days ago, cleaned out the boxes, added fresh litter, and now they are going on my bathroom floors. I have used it before and they were fine with it.

Hey, Maybe the commercial is correct you need a hunting dog to help
your cat find the litter box. Actually in seriousness - I also purchased
fresh step for 1st time a couple weeks ago, but I was shocked at all
the smell of this litter, so I mix just 1 cup in box with all the rest
being unscented litter. I believe cats just dont like scented litters,
I think all those scents are for humans not cats, remember outside they
use dirt which has no smell, I think people forget this when them bring
kitty's into the home.
Brenda

oh great I just bought 2 big buckets of Fresh Step, I hope my kitties don't freak! but they didn't mind the Scoop Away and that about choked me so but I have devised a formula all my own since the Scoop Away clumped like a rock, but was dusty & perfumey and not *great* at odor control and my Tidy Cats multi-cat was not dusty, controlled odor, but was not the best clumper...... I mixed the 2!! hallelujah, the perfect litter seriouslt though, putting the Tidy Cats in with the Scoop Away cut the dust way down, and it still clumps beautifully, I totally recommend mixing 2 litters that have characteristics you like

We use Nature's Miracle litter. It has a very subtle pine scent but controls the odor very nicely. It clumps great and doesn't stick to the bottom of the box that badly

Sierra, Serenity, and I absolutely swear by Arm & Hammer Super Scoop Fragrance Free!!!!

I use the Arm and hammer multi cat clumping litter and I buy it in Walmart for 7 dollars. It is dust free and the gravel is very fine and it controls odour very well as it has the arm and hammer deodorant in it.


I have tried many brands from pet stores but this one seems to be the best that I've used and it comes in a box.


Meow,

Anne