What's the best kitty litter?

I use Swheat clumping litter, since I refuse to use clay because of carcinogens that could be present and common sense that Amadeus will have his face right in it and the dust will eventually lead to respiratory problems (in my mind at least) Clay litter also does not decompose.

A big bag of Swheat is pretty cheap. Sorry that I don't know how much it cost since I bought it a few months ago and still have a bunch left.

The volunteer from Human Society told me not to use clumping litter for kittens younger than 6 months. It is because they can lick the litter and the litter may clump inside their stomach and cause blockage.

While I asked the vet about it, he said he have never heard of that, and he hasn't seen even 1 case of digestive blockage of a kitten due to eating litter.

Any opinions?

I used to use Tidy Cats Small Spaces, but the scent was overpowering, and caused respiratory issues for my rats (their cage is very close to the bathroom). Someone on a rat forum recommended the Dr Elsey's Precious Cat, and I really like it. It's cheaper, clumps better, unscented, doesn't seem to track as much, and has less dust than Tidy Cats.

I personally do not like clay litters so use WBCL. I've tried a number of different ones and this is the one that wins out for clumping, odor control and less dust.

Litter is alot like food.. Lots of LEGIT options and opnions .. but it comes down to what you and the cats can agree on .. in my house it is benonite clay and chicken feed

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I personally do not like clay litters so use WBCL. I've tried a number of different ones and this is the one that wins out for clumping, odor control and less dust.

Click to expand...

As soon as I switch to WBCL, Merlin stopped wheezing!!!!!! Love it!

Originally Posted by Willowy

What litter is "best" is highly subjective. It depends what you and your cat prefer. I've found the unscented Arm & Hammer to be a very nice litter (the scented variety is far to strongly scented for my preference), and also the Wal-Mart store brand, Special Kitty (but only the clumping litter, the regular clay litter has NO odor control). I mix the 2 brands to attain my preferred litter consistency. You'll probably have to try a few brands before you decide on your (and your cat's) favorite.

Click to expand...

Yes! I also use the unscented arm & hammer and it works very well esp. for odor control.

Originally Posted by kittymama2000

I am wondering what the best kitty litter is in terms of value and odour control? Thanks.

Click to expand...

World's Best Cat Litter! It may cost a little more but it goes a long way! Once I tried it I never went back. (And NO! I don't own any shares or interest in the company...)

Originally Posted by temperpolk

World's Best Cat Litter! It may cost a little more but it goes a long way! Once I tried it I never went back. (And NO! I don't own any shares or interest in the company...)

Click to expand...

I agree. I used to spend a lot of money on clay litters, now I buy about 4 large bags of WBCL per year.

Originally Posted by missymotus

I don't like clumping litters for health reasons so we use wood pellets, they last much longer than regular litter and the wet pellets turn to saw dust leaving the remaining pellets fresh.

Click to expand...

So are you able to scoop the sawdust out then?

Originally Posted by Dilly

So are you able to scoop the sawdust out then?

Click to expand...

you could but it is hard ( i have used pellets ) ... mostly when it get to dust mainly time to change the box

...unfortunately my cat did not like World's best. He refused to go pee. He's meticulous so I'm hesitant to experiment too much with him. The other cat is fine with whatever I put in her box.

He seems to like Arm and Hammer Multi-Cat. I don't smell anything from the box with that stuff, so it's fine. He also pees like a firehose. He leaves the most difficult box to scoop, of any cat I've had, with ANY litter I try because he digs all the way to the bottom and makes sure I'm scraping plastered goo out of the corner of his box later on. SO anything to help with the smell while I put on the elbow grease. lol

I'd like to try Swheat, but I'm not so sure. I don't want another repeat of the World's Best incident. The idea of natural litter really appeals to me, though. I guess we have a disagreement with cat and person here; he definitely wins. I don't want to mess with him.

(Honestly, though, he's worth it. He cracks me up.)

After trying several brands including Special Kitty, and SWheat I think I like Cat's Pride the best. Another plus is I can get it here on base and I don't have to pay tax.

I tried World's Best and it was a disaster. I *slowly* transitioned from clumping clay to WBCL and thought things were fine. It was such a slow transition & went so fine that it took me weeks to even think of it as a potential issue when one of my cats started urinating right next to the litter boxes once or twice a day. Took her to the vet to look for problems - twice I think - then finally I thought, hey, let me just try the old litter. Hardly a problem since. I use a cheap clumping, dust-free litter of no major brand name from a local pet supply store. They're happy, so I'm happy.

Originally Posted by Fulpmes

I tried World's Best and it was a disaster. I *slowly* transitioned from clumping clay to WBCL and thought things were fine. It was such a slow transition & went so fine that it took me weeks to even think of it as a potential issue when one of my cats started urinating right next to the litter boxes once or twice a day. Took her to the vet to look for problems - twice I think - then finally I thought, hey, let me just try the old litter. Hardly a problem since. I use a cheap clumping, dust-free litter of no major brand name from a local pet supply store. They're happy, so I'm happy.

Click to expand...

I had the same experience with WBCL. One of my cats was on the verge of a full blown litter box boycott. I couldn't stand the smell of cat pee + the corn litter. I don't know why, but it really bothered me. At the time we were renting a place with a dark blue carpet, and Swheat Scoop made them track footprints everywhere. We tried that after WBCL.

We are using Tidy Cats Scoop (red bucket). They also like Special Kitty Scoop, but I noticed it wasn't lasting as long as Tidy Cats.

I used clay litter before, and the smell was really really bad.

Then we put WBCL in one of the litter box, and they almost only use WBCL. Then I removed the clay litter and use Fresh Step. Now they prefer Fresh Step over WBCL. I personally like the corn smell better. But if that is what my cats like, and the price is cheaper for Fresh Step, Fresh Step it is.

Originally Posted by littleraven7726

... I couldn't stand the smell of cat pee + the corn litter. I don't know why, but it really bothered me. ...

Click to expand...

I found the WBCL was much worse for capturing smell. I have my litter boxes in a room off my kitchen & was horrified when a friend walked with me into my kitchen and got hit by a wall of corny cat pee smell -- there was something extra special about the corn element. I put a vanilla scented thing in the kitchen & it did not touch it. If I went too many hours without scooping out the litter boxes (I usually do it 2x/day), it wasn't nice. I was still willing to give it a chance, but my kitty made the final decision by voting with her feet.

So many people recommended Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat litter I decided to give it a try, even though I was really satisfied with the Walmart Special Kitty in the green box. The experiment did not go as well as I had hoped. Dr. Elsey's does seem to be slightly less dusty but it's not even in the ball park on odor control. It may be partly because Dr. Elsey's is a coarser texture and my kitties don't always cover their deposits. However, even when I cover it for them the stink hangs around for 15-20 minutes. With Special Kitty I almost never smell anything. Even in the bathroom where there is the least air circulation the odor is gone in less than 5 minutes. Given the choice between a little dust and a lot of stink, I'll take the dust any time. We're back to using Special Kitty and the furkids and I are all happy.

Originally Posted by LDG

If you have access to WalMart, purchase Special Kitty litter. It is clumping litter, and it's inexpensive - and is basically dust-free.

To answer someone else's question, the problem many people have with clumping litters is the silicates in them. They are kind of like smoking menthol cigarettes. It's terrible for the lungs. Many people who use clumping litters won't use lids on the boxes because of the dust.

The low-dust litters are thus important if using a clumping litter - lid or no lid on the box.

Click to expand...

So the pine clumping litters have these silicates in them as well I assume? How would you use a non-clumping litter? Would you still scoop or would you have to empty it out and clean the box every day?

Originally Posted by SweetPea24

So the pine clumping litters have these silicates in them as well I assume? How would you use a non-clumping litter? Would you still scoop or would you have to empty it out and clean the box every day?

Click to expand...

With non-clumping litter you still have to scoop the poop. The pee will dry out and just gets stirred back in. When I was using it because I had young kittens in the house I completely changed the litter and cleaned the boxes once a week.