Clumping Litter......

I KNOW this has to be a topic that's visited regularly, but I must not be searching correctly. I don't get an error from the search, but I also don't get any results... So, feel free to point me to where I should be, 'cause I"m not finding it......

We're owned by two cats, Brownie and Skyy. In another topic I've related the ongoing, 3 month, battle with one of the cats defecating outside the box. We started with one Littermaid, using Tidy Cat Small Spaces, and both cats used the ABSOLUTELY FAITHFULLY for the four YEARS we've had them. Then, suddenly, one was going outside the box. Around the same time, my wife believes she read somewhere that Tidy Cat had changed their fragrance or something.....

In any case, we now have FOUR litter boxes, three Littermaids, and one non-Littermaid. We've made a lot of other changes too, and currently, everyone APPEARS to be using the boxes.....

BUT, part of the changes was going from Tidy Cat to Arm&Hammer. Originally, the A&H clumping litter seemed to work fine, clumping and being cleaned by the Littermaid. Recently (within the last week), we bought some new boxes, and although it's exactly the same on the box, we're not getting good clumps. They're not hard, and they aren't cleaning out of the boxes well. In researching this morning, I found a reference to A&H changing their formula a few months ago, and others that were complaining about not getting good clumps any more, either.......

My wife is not happy - she does not like having to scrape around in the box every day - which is one of the big reasons we HAVE the Littermaids. And, of course, if she's not happy, NOBODY is happy...

I, on the other hand, dislike the perfume in most cat litters - it actually gives me a headache. And, since one of the big boxes is now in my office, where the Princesses spend most of their time, having a fragrance-free litter is important to me.

Of all the Tidy Cat litter I've sniffed, the Multiple Cat seems the LEAST smelly. I've seen Fresh Scoop in a review that said it was "fragrance free" and supposedly works well. We tried Fresh Step a number of years ago and it was really fragrant - unpleasantly so.

So, my question is, given that we aren't going to get rid of all the Littermaids, and that my wife is NOT going to decide she enjoys scraping soggy clumps from the boxes, AND that I'd like something that doesn't have an odor, AND that it'd be great if the litter was available somewhere close by to our small Minnesota town (Cub, Walmart) what are some good choices for litters that the cats will like, will clump and clean, will control the cat odor, and won't have a strong, awful fragrance?

OK, y'all have my blessing to give me the big laugh, 'cause I"m not sure we haven't gone over the edge.

We decided to have a big "clump-off"...... The contestants were most of the least-stink clumping litters we could find in checking three stores here in Northfield... We got

Tidy Cat Breathe Easy
Tidy Cat Multiple Cats Instant Action
Master Paws Scoopable Clumping (this was a generic at Menards)
Scoop Away Scented (we couldn't find any Scoop Away unscented)
Arm & Hammer Odor Control

I put an inch of each litter in separate bowls. This is about how much is USUALLY at the bottom of the Littermaids - sometimes less if THE EXCAVATOR has been at work. I put an ounce of water with a small amount of ammonia (white kitchen, unscented ammonia) in it in separate glasses. This represented what we THINK is about a normal amount of urine for our two cats, who aren't real big.

I dumped the water in each litter and started the 10-minute timer. Ten minutes is how long the Littermaid waits to scoop the pan...
Before and during the 10 minutes my wife and I repeated sniffed the litters VERY closely.

When dry, the Master Paws has virtually no odor. When wet it has a somewhat clay-like smell, but not too astringent or disinfectant smelling.

When dry, Tidy Cat Breathe Easy has some odor, but not overpowering. When wet, the odor is stronger, and my wife says it smells like "chlorophyll".

When dry, Tidy Cat Multiple Cats Instant Action has less smell then the Breath Easy and less than the 24/7 that we sniffed in the store. When wet it has a stronger smell, but still less than the Breathe Easy.

When dry, Scoop Away Scented (we couldn't find any Scoop Away unscented) has a stronger odor, and when wet the odor is increased. Up close, it smells a little unpleasant, but I"m not a cat, so I don't know what they'd think.

When dry, Arm & Hammer Odor Control stinks. When wet it stinks more. In a closed room, in a litter box it stinks a lot. We've been using the unscented in my office because the other stuff has a strong smell. Several days ago I ran out of the unscented and my wife put a small-ish amount of the scented in the litter in my office. It was immediately apparent.

During the testing, both cats came up to see what we were doing. So, I let them at the bowls so they could sniff. Both gravitated away from the Arm & Hammer and Scoop Away, but seemed interested in smelling either of the Tidy Cat(s) and Master Paws... I don't know if that's significant in any way.

After 10 minutes, I upended each bowl and dumped the clumps.......

Both Tidy Cats had VERY solid clumps, No falling apart, no problem. I picked up the clumps and dropped them 12 inches or so to see if they'd fall apart. Nope.... Again, I don't know if that's significant since we don't normally throw or drop clumps from the litter box, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

The Master Paws clump was soft. Not as solid as either of the Tidy Cat clumps. I couldn't pick it up and drop it. The Scoop Away had a good clump, pretty solid, but on the drop test it did break in half. Again, though, the clump seemed pretty doo.

The Arm & Hammer was by FAR the worst. The clump was soggy and fell apart when you touched it. Worse, it was gooey and stuck to your fingers. I now understand why the litter boxes keep getting these gooey messes in them, and the Littermaids keep clogging.

SO, of the ones we tested, EITHER Tidy Cat was better than any of the others. The Scoop Away was next. We couldn't find any of the Unscented Fresh Step, and my recollection of trying the scented Fresh Step was that it really had a strong smell.

So, it would be best if I could find an unscented Tidy Cat, but I don't think there is such a thing. Next is to gradually mix the Multiple Cats Instant Action with the Arm & Hammer that's currently in the box and see if they'll use it as a change them over.

AND, it looks like my daughter is going to be receiving about a hundred pounds of different litters! 'Cause, of course, I bought a 40 pound box of the Arm & Hammer unscented two days ago!

If I can find the unscented Fresh Step somewhere locally, I'll try testing it.