Quality litter

We used to use Fresh Start years ago and it was the best. Then we switched to a cheaper brand because we have a multi cat household and things are so expensive now. Well, last week DH bought a bag of Fresh Start and it turned out to be a big disappointment...mostly dust! I don't know if the bag got squashed up at the grocery store or if they are "watering down" the formula to save money. Any ideas for good litter of the grocery store variety that isn't too expensive?

We've switched over to wood stove pellets and I'm glad - no more clay or scoopable litters. Its cleaner, cheaper, and you can toss it in the garden if you want when its broke down (minus the poop part).

I'm so glad Jack's breeder uses the pellets - cause we would have had to get a small bag of litter to transition him to the wood pellets

I use bentonite clay from the feed mill. Several of my cats will not use pellets.

It's pretty much the same as clay clumping litter - yes dusty like it too - but I pay $7 for 50 lbs. I am a coupon cutter, so I buy some kind of conventional litter & have started mixing some "regular" kitty litter in there, as one person in my household says it doesn't do well for odors (however - she is hyper sensitive to smell ).

If you do a search you'll find quite a few threads about litter. You will also find many different opinions at to what is the best litter. When I got my first kitten two years ago I tried Fresh Step because my sister's MIL said she always used it at her kennel (which she has run for over 50 years). The dust was horrible and the perfume just about knocked me over. Poor kitty and I both had to suffer with it until I could get to the store the next day to buy something different.

I've tried a lot of different kinds of litter since then. Unfortunately, my cats won't use the natural litters such as Feline Pine or World's Best (corn). I haven't found any place to get wood stove chips to try. For clumping and odor control I like TidyCats Multiple Cats with the turquoise lid, but those little beads scatter really badly. I have to sweep them up 2 or 3 times a day. I also like Arm & Hammer but don't get it very often because it's hard to find the unscented variety. I'm currently using the Walmart brand Special Kitty, in the green box not the brown bag. It's the least dusty litter that I've found and it clumps well. It's not quite as good for odor control but it's adequate since I scoop twice a day. It doesn't scatter much, either. I'm only sweeping every two or three days now.

Thank you all for the advice. Dusty litter really aggravates my asthma. I'm going to try some of the suggestions here.

Amelia will only use Arm and Hammer unscented. She will do her business elsewhere if I try to use any other kind.

I've found this to be the best because it isn't dusty at all, neutralizes odors for a very long time, and comes in large boxes for like 10 bucks.

The problem is that I can only find the unscented at Target.


She liked the natural pine but it went EVERY WHERE!

I would try to find unscented litter, no matter which brand you go with. In my experience the scented ones are always dustier, plus the perfume probably doesn't do much for your asthma either.

I love Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat litter - very little (not noticeable for me) dust, and much less tracking than any other clay litter I have used before.
You can buy it on PetSmart or Petco.

I use a a mix of litters...

arm and hammers essentials I find to be the best overall ... it clumps well , can be injested without issues , lasts a long time( i use 18 gal tubs and use one ten lb bag a month ) and it smells nice( 8.44$ at walmart here)

I also use benonite clay but here it runs 10$ for 25lbs or 13$ for 40lbs , chicken feed is the cheapest but clumps the least and well smells a touch barn like 12-15 $ for 50 lbs

Originally Posted by carolinalima

I love Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat litter - very little (not noticeable for me) dust, and much less tracking than any other clay litter I have used before.
You can buy it on PetSmart or Petco.

Click to expand...

I've started using this litter, too. The Scoop Away I was using before clumped slightly better (it blew the doors off the Tidy Cat, too), but this has a lot less dust and is unscented. I have a cat with chronic respiratory problems, so that's more important in my case. The precious cat is also a bit cheaper (much to my surprise). It runs $16.50 for a 44 pound bag.

The Fresh Step Perfume-Free unscented clumping litter is now widely available here in New England. That's become our preferred litter. Clumps hard as a rock. No smell. Dust really isn't an issue with the Roll n Clean boxes.