Is clumping litter a good idea...?

I am currently using Fresh Step Naturals, unscented (and before that other brands of unscented -clumping- litter) and wanted to know whether or not clumping litters are good for cats in general. I read that you should monitor how much your cat pees to ensure that it's healthy (i.e: No blood, not too much, nor too little). But now I'm getting second thoughts on using clumping litter to do that. My cat gets eye and nose get gunky sometimes after she uses her litter box, and she has matted areas near her lady bits that she never used to get using non-clumping litter. 

Finally, I'd like to know any recommended, unscented brands of litter that don't track, and that preferably have a natural odor blocking formula, because my mother would probably flip if she could see and smell my baby's buisness all over the house. 

Thanks for reading!

i've used many unscented clumping clay litters. i found dr. elsey's precious cat ultra to be the best. no dust. no odor.unscented, too.

even petco's own unscented brand is decent. low dust. but not as good on odor control.

scoop away. good at odor control but dusty.

fresh step similar to scoop away.

all clumped well. 

what i did is use 3 litterboxes with my cat. i would use the same current litter in 2 of them and then try different litters in the 3rd box to see which ones she liked.

clumping litter isn't good for cats.  they ingest what gets on them when grooming, and over time i would imagine it can build up and cause an obstruction.  at the very least, it just isn't something they should be eating.  secondly, the dust.  not good for their respiratory systems or yours.  i have also heard from a few people that it can be a factor in IBD.

wood stove pellets are exactly the same thing as feline pine, minus the cost of marketing.  4.37 for 40 lbs. instead of 26.00.  there are a few tricks to it so just ask if you decide to use it.  you'll be in heaven lol.  no odor.

I've used Everclean HD for years - or rather my cats have!  I've never had any problems, but I don't have any LH cats which might make a difference.  It's heavy but economical.  I wouldn't use it for young kittens, not until they are past the stage of exploring everything by trying to eat it.

I wouldn't use clumping litter, too dangerous if ingested

We use wood pellets, far more economical, zero dust and great odor control

cinderflower said:

clumping litter isn't good for cats.  they ingest what gets on them when grooming, and over time i would imagine it can build up and cause an obstruction.  at the very least, it just isn't something they should be eating.  secondly, the dust.  not good for their respiratory systems or yours.  i have also heard from a few people that it can be a factor in IBD.

wood stove pellets are exactly the same thing as feline pine, minus the cost of marketing.  4.37 for 40 lbs. instead of 26.00.  there are a few tricks to it so just ask if you decide to use it.  you'll be in heaven lol.  no odor.

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But the wood pellets sold especially for litter have the pine toxins removed. Unless you know if the stove pellets have the toxins removed, it is not a safe alternative. Pine is toxic to cats.

I've always used regular clay litter until just recently. I've been gradually switching over to a clumping litter, Cats Pride Naturals. It is practically dust free and has no scents added. Unfortunately it does had sodium bentonite. Their other clumping litter does not contain sodium bentonite but it does not come in a fragrance free option. I wish it did.

l switched over to pine nuggets too, and would never go back. Up here l pay $10 for a 20lb bag of the no-name Feline Pine equivalent. The only downside l've noticed is that it is light, and one of my boys is an edge-pooper, so l have to put a weight on top of the litter covers to hold them stable.

I switched to Tidy Cat Breeze which is not clumping, about 6 months ago and I hope they never get rid of this product. No smell, no tracking, no dust, easy to clean. I love that the pee flows through to the pad below and all I have to scoop is the poop. 

I use Swheat Scoop Natural litter.  It is not the best at clumping, but after reading about the dangers of clumping clay litter, I will not use clay any longer.

I just want you guys to know that I love you guys, and all the responses I've been getting.

Because of my extremely limited income, I think I will try cinderflower's and missymotus's suggestions and use wood pellets, while paying attention to ottos's warning about the toxins the pellets may have.

That being said, feel free to suggest and compare the brands of litters you guys are using! 

What is the point of feline pine, i tried to use it but just couldnt figure out how to keep the box clean etc.

lemieuxcaboodle said:

What is the point of feline pine, i tried to use it but just couldnt figure out how to keep the box clean etc.

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Not feline pine but the same concept, we use the purpose designed sifting trays with it. You just scoop out solids as usual, and shake the tray so the wet pellets break down into sawdust and fall into the bottom section of the tray.

That leaves clean, unused pellets sitting on top.

Walmart has a very decent clumping cat litter that is made from corncobs, no dust & priced at less than $6.00 for a 10 # bag that = a 20# bag of reg. clumping litter. It's called Fresh Results by Pro- Pet(same maker of the very pricey natures miracle corn cob litter ) IMO clumping litter has been one of the best advances for indoor cat culture success.

I've been using Swheat Scoop for the past 2 years and loved it. Unfortunately, my cat's box has started smelling very strongly of ammonia even after cleaning it daily and changing the litter. Grizabella has shown her displeasure by pooping outides the box. It is a covered box and I tried leaving the cover off yesterday to see if that helps air it out. Not sure if I need to switch to a litter with better odor control or if it's time for a new box? She just had her check-up at the vet and all looked good and her urine amounts are normal, (We had an episode of feline diabetes 4 years ago, so I keep a cerful eye on her fluid levels).

otto said:

But the wood pellets sold especially for litter have the pine toxins removed. Unless you know if the stove pellets have the toxins removed, it is not a safe alternative. Pine is toxic to cats.
I've always used regular clay litter until just recently. I've been gradually switching over to a clumping litter, Cats Pride Naturals. It is practically dust free and has no scents added. Unfortunately it does had sodium bentonite. Their other clumping litter does not contain sodium bentonite but it does not come in a fragrance free option. I wish it did.

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that isn't true.  that's what feline pine[emoji]169[/emoji] wants the public to think, but they are both processed in exactly the same way.  i researched this heavily and asked a couple of vets.  pine and cedar have phenols that are toxic to cats (and other animals) in far greater concentration than they would ever be exposed to in a lifetime of using the litter.  now, pine-sol and other cleaners with concentrated pine phenols are a different story.

the pellets for wood stoves and the litter are both compacted pine sawdust that is processed with heat to form the pellets.  clay litter and silica dust are far more harmful to cats, both their respiratory and digestive tracts.  the best alternatives to clay are natural substances, like world's best cat litter, swheatscoop, yesterday's news, even the walnut shell one.  however, i have heard not so good things about the odor control with world's best, and since it is corn and swheatscoop is wheat, both are common allergens for people, so their dust can possibly be a problem for the owners.  unfortunately, the alternative litters are pretty expensive, but the wood stove pellets are the cheapest thing you could possibly use, other than maybe dirt you dig up somewhere.  the only thing to check for is whether or not accelerants have been added.  most do not, because that contributes to air pollution, so it will say right on the package.

lemieuxcaboodle:What is the point of feline pine, i tried to use it but just couldnt figure out how to keep the box clean etc

this can be solved in two ways.  the first (which i do now until i have the box made) is to scoop the pellets out every other day or so, leaving the sawdust in the pan.  then when i have gotten most of the unused pellets, i empty the sawdust in the trash and put the pellets back in, adding more if needed.  #2 is that you can buy the $22 uncovered, fairly small litterbox with $12 shipping costs (less if you order more than one box at a time).  it's made specifically for feline pine[emoji]169[/emoji] but i refuse to buy it on principle.  i don't like the way they try to lead consumers to believe their litter is specially treated.  it's the marketing that drives their cost up.

as far as finding a sifting box that is similar, i have seen a few but only online and not in person so i can't say for sure than any others, like van ness or the litter quick by sageking[emoji]169[/emoji], will work.  the litter quick looked (looks) very promising to me, but i haven't been able to find one in a store so i could see it up close.  i took pine pellets with me to petsmart to see if the holes were too small or too large (too small and it just wads up and doesn't work any better than a regular box, too large and the whole pellets fall through) and couldn't find a suitable one.  i have booda domes and would like to keep them, so i did find that the way the bottoms nest, there is enough room that if you put a second one in, with carefully drilled holes, the top just fits right on and it's fine.  i've been looking for used ones on craigslist simply because i don't feel like buying two more brand new complete boxes just for the bottoms.  but i might have to do that eventually.

you can look for soil sifters for the garden that fit a litter pan, i saw another leaf and soil sifter one for arthropods, but once again, before you go to all the trouble of buying something online, make sure about the holes.  or if you don't mind returning it, do it and see.  ozpet has a nice covered one for $60 if you live in australia, and pussydo[emoji]169[/emoji] in new zealand has an uncovered one but with a rim that is more attractive than the feline pine one.  (i've been at this for a few months lol)

quinnderella: Unfortunately, my cat's box has started smelling very strongly of ammonia even after cleaning it daily and changing the litter

i think you probably need a new box.  it's a shame but plastic absorbs the urine odor.  unless you want to use liners, and a lot of people don't.  i have used liners for a long time, and two of my cats would shred them up with their claws, so i use two garbage bags to catch the overflow, but i can always leave the second one on and just throw away the first two.  however, since i started using wood pellets the cats don't claw the liners because there's nothing to cover when they pee. so i leave the same one in for a long time.  the pine controls the urine odor phenomenally.  there is literally no odor.  they aren't covering their poo either, i don't know if it's because i remove it asap, or if the pellets are just too unwieldy and they figure, "oh forget it."

for anyone living west, colorado has a surplus of pine trees that have been killed by pine beetles and that's what they use to make the one i buy.  if you get the same kind, they will be much cheaper, because northeast prices are about $100 a ton more (probably more in some places).  i'd buy a ton (it's only 50 bags--but that about 8 years haha) but i don't have anywhere to keep it.

That's really good to know cinderflower, thanks

To Quinnderella, one of my litterboxes became the same way - unfortunately it's the one they always use, and l can't find the same one ANYWHERE in the stores. l guess years and years of ammonia wet spots finally erodes the plastic surface on the bottom.

When l used to use clumping clay, l scooped it every day, obviously, but l only cleaned it once a week. Now that l'm using pine nuggets, l have to "reverse scoop", in that l'm removing the unused nuggets to put back in, then emptying the rest into a bag. Since the litter box is now emptied every day, it's prompted me to bleach & water it out every day so l never get any smell except for the odd waft of pine.

I never had a problem with Scoop Away, the only kind of litter I ever bought, and always wondered why some people think it is bad for kittens. But if you have any reason to believe a specific clumping litter is causing problems, you can try a different clumping litter.

i have a few cats myself and i have tried silica, feline pine and clay. none of my cats like them. the silica was OK.the feline pine i tried for my kittens as a starter litter and all of them started sneezing and coughing and their little eyes started matting up. so i removed it and lo and behold they all got better almost immediately. the clay i couldn't stand the smell period. all it took was my 3 grown cats to turn it into mud very stinky mud i might add!. as for clumping, my cats all love it. they go i clean the clumps and all that is left is clean fresh litter. and i haven't had one cat allergic to clumping even my babies!

LovemyBooCat said:

i have a few cats myself and i have tried silica, feline pine and clay. none of my cats like them. the silica was OK.the feline pine i tried for my kittens as a starter litter and all of them started sneezing and coughing and their little eyes started matting up. so i removed it and lo and behold they all got better almost immediately. the clay i couldn't stand the smell period. all it took was my 3 grown cats to turn it into mud very stinky mud i might add!. as for clumping, my cats all love it. they go i clean the clumps and all that is left is clean fresh litter. and i haven't had one cat allergic to clumping even my babies!

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Hi welcome to TCS! What brand do you use?

we have tried them all pretty much but the one we keep going back to is Special Kitty. it holds up well and lasts a long time even with multiple cats. and i have my pets AND i have strays i am caring for with 2 litters of kittens. so when i say it works, i have so done my research LOL. and THANK YOU for the sweet welcome.