Just did experiment with 3 diff. litters

My husband and I just did any experiment with 3 different cat litter brands that I have on hand, to test for dust, clumping, smell of litter and odor control.

1. Arm & Hammer Multi-Cat
2. Fresh Step Perfume & Dye Free
3. World's Best Cat Litter

With each brand we: poured some (1 cup worth) into a clear bowl. Got a empty clear bowl and poured the litter from one bowl to the other over and over several times and stirred it up while holding the bowls up to the light.

Here's what we found: (In Our Opinion)

Most Dust : Fresh Step (that's what I have been using for years.)
Very little dust: Arm & Hammer
No dust: World's Best cat litter

Best clumping: Tie between Fresh Step and Arm & Hammer
Least clumping: World's Best

Best no perfume/aroma smell: Fresh Step Perfume & Dye Free
Middle Smell: World's Best (hay smell)
Strongest perfume/aroma smell: Arm & Hammer

Best control of Kitty odor: Fresh Step
good control of kitty odor: Arm & Hammer
Least control of kitty odor: World's Best

Our conclusions: My most concern is for my cats. So I can put up with the not so great clumping. I am about middle of the road on control of kitty odor (boxes are in laundry room). I don't want them breathing any of the dust or perfume smell.

1 point for Dust free: world's best
3 points for Clumping, no smell, odor control: Fresh Step


What about just mixing the Fresh Step and the World's Best.

I am going to get some Tidy Cat tommarrow and check that out.

Anyway, that was our little test and our opinions.

You know what I did one time? I put different litter into 2 boxes side by side and let the cats choose the one they preferred. The one with the most clumps won and I was really surprised by the vast difference between the winning and losing litters.

They chose the box with littermate cat additive (sold online only).

High performance by arm and hammer I think is flushable and is now widely avail...

I suggest for a natural clumping try Feline pine scoop

I deleted a post because I was planning to start a new thread, sharky was replying to me. Has anyone tried High Performance, sounds like a great litter.

I mixed A&H High performance with Swheat scoop. I add some to my clay litter, too. Although, with the clay, it tends to end up on top & the clay on bottom, I just mix it around thoroughly when I scoop. It does smell stronger, so I doubt I would use it as an only litter....

Interesting experiment!

I use World's Best and haven't tried anything else so not very qualified to comment, but I would say that the lower clumping ability is not a problem if you scoop twice a day - it is only if you leave it to really dry out that it seems to crumble.

I would be open-minded to changing if some research came up with a definitive best - available in UK of course.

Bruce&Sheila

You must have gotten one of the older boxes of Arm & Hammer, then.

I've been using it for two years now, and in the beginning it was great, but the batches have been getting dustier and dustier, to the point where it is creating clouds, literally CLOUDS when I pour it into the box, and fully 25% of what is in the box was a fine dust.

Originally Posted by GingersMom

You must have gotten one of the older boxes of Arm & Hammer, then.

I've been using it for two years now, and in the beginning it was great, but the batches have been getting dustier and dustier, to the point where it is creating clouds, literally CLOUDS when I pour it into the box, and fully 25% of what is in the box was a fine dust.

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I used it when I first adopted Raven and Nabu in 1998, then for a while a couple years ago. I bought some on sale a month or 2 ago and had the same experience as you. CLOUDS of dust! NOT cool. It's pretty bad when the name brand stuff is more dusty than store brand (which has been my experience with various litters this year).

You'll all laugh, but for me the 16oz containers of clumping Special Kitty works about the same as those without the scent. After my daughter was born the dust in fresh step, that I had used for years, began to cause her to sneeze alot so we tried EVERYTHING walmart sold leaving Special Kitty Clumping for last cause I figured it would be crappy litter. All the others were too dusty or too scented. I finally broke down and tried the special kitty (4-5$) and thankfully the only dust I see is when I first fill the box. No more dust everytime they scratch. It scoops and clumps just as good and everything as the name brands. There is no scent so you MUST scoop daily or no more than every other day or odor will start to spread into the litter itself. With 3 cats aslong as I scoop daily Its great! Oh and MUCH cheaper so I have more money for other things!

I do this also:
I mixed A&H High performance with Swheat scoop
Plus
I also use feline pine scoop in the mix.
The combo of these 3 give great odor control, so now
I go longer the 1 week to change the box.

Originally Posted by Gothic_Amethyst

You'll all laugh, but for me the 16oz containers of clumping Special Kitty works about the same as those without the scent. After my daughter was born the dust in fresh step, that I had used for years, began to cause her to sneeze alot so we tried EVERYTHING walmart sold leaving Special Kitty Clumping for last cause I figured it would be crappy litter. All the others were too dusty or too scented. I finally broke down and tried the special kitty (4-5$) and thankfully the only dust I see is when I first fill the box. No more dust everytime they scratch. It scoops and clumps just as good and everything as the name brands. There is no scent so you MUST scoop daily or no more than every other day or odor will start to spread into the litter itself. With 3 cats aslong as I scoop daily Its great! Oh and MUCH cheaper so I have more money for other things!

Click to expand...

I have Tidy Cats in one box and a mix of Tidy Cats and Special Kitty in the other 2. The cats are using the Special Kitty boxes more! Since it was only $5 for a box I think that's what I will buy next time too. I bought it because I was in a pinch, but wow am I impressed.

I switched to World's Best in part because it clumped so well ... so I get confused when people say it doesn't clump well. Must just be differences in the time between scooping and the cat's potty habits??

Right now I'm mixing WB with a little Feline Pine clumping for extra odor control... seems to be a nice mix.

Wow...this is soo helpful. I've used the crystals and I didn't like those at all and now I'm on the wheat stuff and I don't like that either...I think I may just go with the fresh scoop like I did with my first cat...an oldie but a goodie!

My kitties have used World's Best for a year now.
It has made a huge difference in the quality of the air (no clay dust) in our home.

The clumps are not rock hard like clay litter but if you scoop often...
if works beautifully.

We use Trader Joes Pine Litter. I think its actually made by Feline Pine and they just put the Trader Joes lable on it. There are a few things that make me like it and some that ake me not like it so much. The cost is great its $2.99 for a seven(7) pound bag. There is no dust what so ever. As long as I scoop it everyday there is very little oder. The down side is it does not clump but disinegrates when liquid hits it so when I scoop I also mix the liter up a bit to help distribute the used litter. I do have to change the litter 2 times a month, one bag will last a month so thats good, cost wise. After two weeks it will start to smell. The litter is also biodegradeable, it can be used in my garden as fertilizer when Karma is done using it.

I really have a very limited litter choise. When we first got Karma we tried many different clay litters and everyone made her sneeze. As cute a the kitty sneezes where I was afraid she would start to get annoyed and stop using the box. As soon as I switched to the pine she had not sneezed. So for her I have to stay with 100% dust free litter. I am willing to give up the clumping and oder control if it means she wont sneeze everytime she uses the box.