Feline Pine?

Does anyone else use Feline Pine? I started using it but now I'm wondering if I should get their special litter box that sifts the used sawdust to a bottom container? It's $19 a box but we already have 1 litter box. The only thing I don't like about their litter box is that they don't have covers for them and boy, do we need a cover sometimes!
For those who have Feline Pine without their special litter box, how often do you change the whole thing to get rid of the used sawdust? Or do you have a handy trick that keeps the good sawdust?
Please and thank yous!

I've used FP before, and it really doesn't need a cover for smell because it deoderizes so well. My girl is a super high kicker so she liked to kick pellets/sawdust out.

I ordered the Feline Pine litter box from petfoodirect last week, but those clowns haven't shipped it yet. I'm going to be using stove pellets instead of Feline Pine, but anyhow, I expect the box to work well. I've seen positive comments about it on this forum and elsewhere. I'm a little irritated that my order hasn't shipped yet. I guess PFD is a pretty lousy company.

edit: Well, it shipped today.

I've only started mixing in Feline Pine in the regular scoopable litter, so can't really help you out yet

What I do now, is to scoop as much of the "sawdust" wet part out when scooping the rest.

I switched from using FP because I couldn't come up with a way to get rid of the sawdust myself without buying the box. And realistically, I'd have to buy 8 litterboxes....so $$ wise it isn't practical!

Originally Posted by MechanicalMan

I ordered the Feline Pine litter box from petfoodirect last week, but those clowns haven't shipped it yet. I'm going to be using stove pellets instead of Feline Pine, but anyhow, I expect the box to work well. I've seen positive comments about it on this forum and elsewhere. I'm a little irritated that my order hasn't shipped yet.

I guess PFD is a pretty lousy company.

edit: Well, it shipped today.

Click to expand...

They shipped my stuff same day. Maybe they didn't have it in the warehouse.

Originally Posted by venusgirltrap

They shipped my stuff same day. Maybe they didn't have it in the warehouse.

Click to expand...

It took them 5 days to ship my 40lb bag to my home.

I make my own "sifting" litter boxes cuz my guys need oversize boxes. It's really easy and cheap. Just get 2 plastic storage boxes and drill holes in the bottom of one. I like the Sterlite storage boxes and recently got several for $6 each.

You can probably just use the special scoop, or see if your pet store has a scoop with very wide openings.

As far as sifting, they say if you shake it around really well it'll get the sawdust to the bottom and the unused stuff to the top.

I have 2 big kitties, and 2 boxes, and I'm surprised at how long this stuff stays fresh. They have lots of pee! Just give it a real good shake back and forth to settle the small stuff. I'm sure a sifting box would be fine too as long as the holes weren't too big to get the clean pellets. I scoop poop whenever I see some in there, and give the box a good shake every day or every other day.

Well, Gracie got her new litter box yesterday. I'm sure she's not quite as happy using pellets, but she's not protesting. The sifting works great. There is a lot of room between the boxes, so I shouldn't need to dump it very often. I really do love both the litter and the box. The only downside I can think of is that my cat really can't bury her waste, which I assume is pretty typical. But I scoop as soon as I see that she's gone, put it in a steel canister, and then flush it whenever I'm ready. I was trying to find the "perfect" scoop that would manage to pick up the poop and still sift the pellets. But because her poop just sits on top of the litter, it seems pointless. I'm just going to use a large spoon or something. Cleaning the box and disposing of her waste is going to be much easier than it was with the combination of Tidy Cats and pellets that I was using while she transitioned. And it seems much "cleaner," without the dust and tracking, and with her urine dropping to the lower container. The box is a little pricey, but it was worth it for me.

FP worked so well when we just had my 1 female.

With the addition of our male semi-feral who pees/poops like a monster, I think we may have to switch. It used to be that it took our female 2 weeks to really break down the pellets into used sawdust. These days, one day of the males peeing and the pellets are pretty crying out for help.

I leave the sawdust in there for a while (I try to "dry it out" with the pooper scooper when I'm scooping) and hope I can get a little more use out of the litter. Nope..not really a good option. Lots of sad sopping sawdust and once FP has broken down from pellets into sawdust, it (understandably!) loses it's amazing deodorizing capabilities.

Plus, I don't think my babies actually like using the (clean) FP pellets. They have 2 boxes and once monster boy pees in one they PREFER that one! They actually PREFER going in the soft sawdust even if it's dirty! It actually makes some sense because have you tried to put your hand on a bunch of FP? It hurts!

hmmm... that stuff sounds kinda like a pain... ?

Originally Posted by Lore

hmmm... that stuff sounds kinda like a pain... ?

Click to expand...

Well, it isn't. It's less of a pain than other litter if you buy or make something like the FP box.

Originally Posted by MechanicalMan

Well, it isn't. It's less of a pain than other litter if you buy or make something like the FP box.

Click to expand...

I have to second that. I use 2 piece "sifting" boxes and litter box clean up just entails shaking the box to get the sawdust to the lower level and lifting out and flushing the solid waste. No dust and tracking is minimal. Once a week I dump the sawdust from the lower level.

I've heard some cats don't like the pellets but my 3 seem fine with it. Coco in particular seems to enjoy digging in it.

I HATE Feline Pine- that stuff wreaks! Also- i am not a fan of anything with a pine base to it being near my animals- the odor from the pine can cause health issues (we just went through a ton of problems with my poor rabbit, Sophie because of pine shavings. We now don't use anything pine based for not only scent, but safety reasons.

I use FP scoopable. (purple bag or box)
I originally started off with Tidy Cat, but couldn't stand silica dust.
After my husband having allergic reaction to one of the cheaper brand, I decided to switch.
FP scoopable is no a pellet. It's a saw dust itself.
But it's the lightest weight of cat litter so that tracking mess is worse than clay base product.
I am thinking about mixing it with corn or some other grain product now...
My Target had sale for FP scoopable for $3.33!!

By the way, I use my hand to scoop. I figured that's the most efficient and less dust.
I DO ware latex glove!

-Kazy

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

that stuff wreaks!

Click to expand...

I don't understand why someone would say that. It does not have a strong odor. I can't really smell it unless I stick my nose in the bag, and I don't make a habit of doing that. Other wood pellets have a different odor, so if for some reason you find FP objectionable (hard for me to imagine), then you could try something else.

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

the odor from the pine can cause health issues (we just went through a ton of problems with my poor rabbit, Sophie because of pine shavings. We now don't use anything pine based for not only scent, but safety reasons.

Click to expand...

That is simply not true. Wood pellets are a completely different product than wood shavings. The process of manufacturing wood pellets removes the aromatic hydrocarbons and whatnot. As per Feline Pine's website, "The results are less than 1-part-per-billion of these dangerous chemicals, a standard that far exceeds government regulations to be considered safe and free of hazardous chemicals." Also FWIW, there are pellets made from other woods. I'm using oak pellets. But the pine pellets are not harmful to cats, nor do they have a strong odor.