Affordable, hypoallergenic clumping litter?

Any recommendations? We can't use WBCL, it attracts ants. We can't afford Dr. Elsley's Precious Cat hypoallergenic.

We were using the Walmart Special Kitty green box. It's 24 or 28 pounds or something for $5.49. With the amount of water I add to their wet food, we go through a box every 4-5 days. It used to be unscented, and is (supposedly) 99.9% dust free. I don't know when they added the "fresh scent," but it is no longer unscented, and Chumley's nibbling at his feet, so it's bothering him.

If anyone has recommendations for an unscented, low dust litter that's affordable, we'd really appreciate it!

I bought Yesterdays News litter at Wal-Mart yesterday. I had only seen it in pet stores before. It was $6.58 for 13.5 lbs. It is 99% dust free, unscented and the pellets are made of recycled newspaper. I havnt gotten to try it yet but have read several positive reviews.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's clumping. That's a real problem for us, given our litter box set up.

Have you tried A&H multi-cat/unscented? I use Dr Elsey's Precious Cat Ultra b/c Margo is picky about her litter - no smells or she goes outside the box/no dust or she nibbles, too. As an alternative/mix in litter to extend Dr Elsey's I've used A&H (unscented). It's a bit dustier than Dr. Elsey's, but not too bad.....at least not bad enough to bother Margo. That's the only one I have experience with to suggest. (IMO it's less dusty than SK.)

The A&H is less dusty than SK? I'll have to see if I can find the unscented one. All the ones I can (easily) find around here are scented. But as to the dust, I wonder if it's specifically that one, because we used to use A&H, and I switched because it was so dusty LOL. But mixing them is a good idea. I didn't look at other Precious Cat litters - just the hypoallergenic one, and it was crazy expensive.

Could you tackle the ant problem? I've been able to all but completely eliminate ants in my house and my mother's house using ant baits. Ant bait around the perimeter outside I've heard is effective, too.

For litter we use chick crumble (unmedicated Dumor brand from Tractor Supply Co.) for less than a third of the cost of WBCL - and it seems to be exactly the same thing. Three of the boxes are in my basement, in a very old house basement, full of creepy crawlies, but no ants have been seen in the boxes, ever. I keep the open bag in a bin. The dust is minimal. I think it lasts much longer than clay litter, and no mining.


Robin

This is the Dr Elsey's Litter I use, Laurie. Don't get me wrong, it does have some dust to it. I've had a few bags be more dusty than others, but overall it is much less dusty than anything else I've tried. With as many cats as I have - the biggest thing is the odor control - I've been unable to top it. Nothing else holds up in my household. Petsmart carries it for about $15 for a 40# bag, I pay $18 for a 40# bag at the nearest pet store to me.

I am NOT sure if these are clumping or not, but any of the wheat based cat litters such as: SWheatScoop and Wonder Wheat are supposedly nonallergic.

But as you know, an allergy/allergen is just an individuals body going into "overdrive" over a specific compound. Which causes the immune system to go a bit "crazy".

Some other possible choices are: Feline Pine and Yesterdays News. I know that Yesterdays News is NOT clumping for sure.

Originally Posted by Cat Person

But as you know, an allergy/allergen is just an individuals body going into "overdrive" over a specific compound. Which causes the immune system to go a bit "crazy".

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Yeah, Chum is FIV+, so his immune system is wonky. We don't know what all he's allergic to, but he's sensitive to a lot of things. Took us... 7-8 months to get everything under control. I think it's best just to stick with unscented and as little dust as possible.

Thanks for confirming that Yesterday's News isn't clumping. It sure didn't sound like it was. We've tried Swheat scoop too - it attracted ants as well. Anything made out of corn, wheat, whatever food kind of product seems to attract them.

Robin, it's been sooooo wet here, the DE we normally use has been completely ineffective. It's been a battle all summer. It may not be a problem over winter... but it's just not worth the fight. The litter boxes are up by the engine, and there's just too many ways for something as small as the ants to get in, because it's locations we just can't get to. I think the cost of ant bait would offset the savings on litter, and I don't want the wildlife around here eating poisoned ants.

Thanks (again) Nat!

First of all wheat and corn are among the no 1 allergens to cats...so why would you want to use sweatscoop, or WBCL? I tried the latter and it stunk so bad, that I could not stand the smell of it.

I did a ton of research with companies and I found that Tidy Cat 24/7 works very well and has NO SILICA in it and very little scent. my cat loves it and he hates scents. I also use Dr. Elsey's precious litter with it, or Cat Attract along with it....works great, I clean it everytime I am in where it is kept and he now loves it being clean all the time.

Call the companies or email them and complain to them....Feline Pine has a pine smell. Did you know Pine sol is toxic to cats?? It almost killed my first when I took him with me on a trip where they cleaned with it. I had to reclean everything with bleach and get the fans going.

Newspaper, did you like the feel of rolls on your feet?? OMG....people get real ok? Cats need a sand like litter....that is what they are used to.
Stay away from carbon and crystals that contain silica and make sure the clay is only bentonite clay and monmoronite clay only....no SILICA it is a respiratory irritant to both cat and humans.

Carbon is other litters of top quality made my kitty pick at his paws....it is a chemical....Carbon, grated charcoal that you use in your grill. Would you want to step in that?

Wake up everyone and do your research online, there is enough of it and talk to others. Stay away from corn in foods and lots of high protein no grain diets...I use Califorrnia Natural with brown rice and he loves it and it is very digestible and no stink....but it is all about balance..while cats do not digest carbs well, high protein no grain diets can cause kidney disease just like in humans....High protein like Adkins diets for humans is not good, keep balance in mind and hopefully you will all have healthy kitties.

I had a special needs guy for 17 yrs and what a wonderful 17 yrs he gave me full of love. now I have one who is healthy and a hoot...I call him my cosmopolitan kitty or my chatterbox. I am prone to liking only black cats or grey and white ones or tuxedo kitties.

Sparkie

yes I called companies for cat litter to find the best I could. Tidy cat 24/7 actually uses only 2 kinds of clay and a light scent....my kitty loves it but I do use Dr. Elsey's precious cat on top. Tidy cat 24/7 has no silica in it and no carbon....GREAT STUFF......See my post under sparkie for litters and I can tell you about what I know.

I wouldn't recommend using any clay litter, particularly with small kittens. The dust can collect in their lungs and attract moisture just as it does in the litter pan and create lumps in the lungs which would need to be removed by surgery.

Also, if a cat ingests corn or wheat based litter it will be expelled in their feces and not collect in a ball in their tummies or intestines. I'll take my WBCL or Swheatscoop any day over any others. And, many cats don't like scented litters and I fully understand that since I don't like the smell of them either.

Doing a search "problems with clay cat litters" brings up some disturbing claims. Sodium bensonite is kind of scary.


Robin

I have tried just about every single brand of litter available and if you have a Tractor Supply near by thats where Id buy litter. They have their brand, I dont remembe what its called but its in a light blue box with a cartoon like kitty on the front. Its 9.49 for 40lbs and its unscented and 99% dust free. I use it after noticing all the name brands were getting this nasty funky smell as soon as someone would pee or poop in it. It was almost sweet smelling but naseating. I use that stuff and its awesome. I have no issues with pee clumps falling apart, no funky smell and its a good price vs the pounds in the box especially since I need 130 lbs to redo all the litter boxes and fill my tupperware tote box. They all sell 25lb bags of it for 5.99. 2 bags and 2 boxes is just over 30 bucks with tax. Even if I didnt like the name brand from the smells I would go for this brand because its just as good as name brand but soooo much cheaper. I love cheap....especially since all their are doing is pooping and peeing in it.

What about Premium Choice? Says it's "all natural", no fragrance, & 99% dust free. I've been buying it at Pet Supplies Plus for $10 a 40 lb. bag.
I tried very hard to use the organic litters made from wheat, pine, corn, & chicken scratch but the smell became horrendous and clumping was sporadic. Sodium bentonite clay may cause internal lumps if ingested or inhaled. There aren't any clinical trials but lots of anecdotal evidence. This fear led me to the organics but nearly pushed me out of the house with the smell.

Originally Posted by ForestCat

What about Premium Choice? Says it's "all natural", no fragrance, & 99% dust free. I've been buying it at Pet Supplies Plus for $10 a 40 lb. bag.
I tried very hard to use the organic litters made from wheat, pine, corn, & chicken scratch but the smell became horrendous and clumping was sporadic. Sodium bentonite clay may cause internal lumps if ingested or inhaled. There aren't any clinical trials but lots of anecdotal evidence. This fear led me to the organics but nearly pushed me out of the house with the smell.

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No smell at my house. And I'm sure of that. I wonder what the difference is between your situation and mine. Climate? Cats' food? Air flow? It's a mystery.



Robin

I'm allergic to the natural (corn, wheat, alfalfa, etc.) litters. I normally use Tidy Cats but it is scented. I also use an unscented clay clumping litter from my grocery store. The store I go to is Hy-Vee, and it's their store brand generic (they call it Complete Cat? I think). It's nearly dust-free and clumps well, and is $4.99 for a 20-pound bag. So check all your local grocery stores and see if they have something similar.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I wouldn't recommend using any clay litter, particularly with small kittens. The dust can collect in their lungs and attract moisture just as it does in the litter pan and create lumps in the lungs which would need to be removed by surgery.

Also, if a cat ingests corn or wheat based litter it will be expelled in their feces and not collect in a ball in their tummies or intestines. I'll take my WBCL or Swheatscoop any day over any others. And, many cats don't like scented litters and I fully understand that since I don't like the smell of them either.

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Unfortunately corn and wheat attract ants, so it's just not an option. Fortunately, Tuxedo survived his litter eating when anemic. Knock wood, hopefully that never happens again.

And the point of the post is to find an unscented, as dust-free as possible litter. Unfortunately, it has to be clumping and clay-based. For all its evils, thankfully plenty of kitties survive to ripe old ages despite using such litter.

Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog

I have tried just about every single brand of litter available and if you have a Tractor Supply near by thats where Id buy litter. They have their brand, I dont remembe what its called but its in a light blue box with a cartoon like kitty on the front. Its 9.49 for 40lbs and its unscented and 99% dust free. I use it after noticing all the name brands were getting this nasty funky smell as soon as someone would pee or poop in it. It was almost sweet smelling but naseating. I use that stuff and its awesome. I have no issues with pee clumps falling apart, no funky smell and its a good price vs the pounds in the box especially since I need 130 lbs to redo all the litter boxes and fill my tupperware tote box. They all sell 25lb bags of it for 5.99. 2 bags and 2 boxes is just over 30 bucks with tax. Even if I didnt like the name brand from the smells I would go for this brand because its just as good as name brand but soooo much cheaper. I love cheap....especially since all their are doing is pooping and peeing in it.

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We DO have Tractor Supply, and I get the 4Health dry food for the ferals there! THANK YOU!

I did find the Arm & Hammer unscented. It doesn't seem dusty (not like I remember! ). But it was $7 for 10 pounds. Our bill for litter was about to quadruple with this option.

Originally Posted by Willowy

I'm allergic to the natural (corn, wheat, alfalfa, etc.) litters. I normally use Tidy Cats but it is scented. I also use an unscented clay clumping litter from my grocery store. The store I go to is Hy-Vee, and it's their store brand generic (they call it Complete Cat? I think). It's nearly dust-free and clumps well, and is $4.99 for a 20-pound bag. So check all your local grocery stores and see if they have something similar.

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We've been hopping around to all the local grocery stores. The ONLY unscented litter we've found at a grocery store was the Arm & Hammer.

Laurie..Im gonna do a quick searchie thinger mabobber to find the litter I was talking about. I wish I could remember the dang name but its a blue box lol. I really recommend it especially since its not a wallet cruncher either. I dont know what your sales tax is but with mine and the cost of 2 25lb bags and 2 40lbs boxes its 32.81 and for me that fills 3 extra large high side litter boxes and a medium to large sized rubbermaid tote box.