Changing litter box and litter type

I've been wanting to do two things; changing the cat's litter box from front load to top load, and changing their litter from clay to something natural. Here's some update on my progress.

LITTERBOX: The litter box change has been mostly successful, though it certainly took my old cat a while to get used to. I went from the typical front entry covered litter box to the CleverCat top entry box. The main reason why I wanted this was to reduce the amount of litter tracking in my home. As the cat jumps out of the box, most of the litter will fall downwards or get caught on the lid. 

POSITIVES: My young cat got the idea right away. It was easy to transition him. I placed the litterbox in the corner of the room (wedged beside the walls and a bookshelf. Compared to the old litterbox, I've noticed that this one is less dirty too (less litterdust is clinging to the plastic). Also, aside from the groove on the lid to catch litter, there are no other nooks and crannies to clean (unlike the old litter box, I had to wipe the handle, the handle seat, the swinging flap, the four clips and the bottom of the box etc. Not to mention having to empty and clean the litter mat)

NEGATIVES: My old cat took a long time to understand the concept of this box. At first, I left the lid off. Then after a few days, I'd put a "step/box/ladder" next to the box so she could get in it. After a few days, I placed the lid on top. And then she got it. However, on occasion, she would still go outside the litterbox. I found that because the top-loading box is so deep, I need to fill the litter higher (so she could step in more comfortably.) Another negative is how hard it was to get my hands on this litterbox in Canada. I had to order it off ebay (as well as the liners). 


All in all, it was a success. After 3 months, BOTH cats are using the top entry litter box.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LITTER TYPE

After doing loads of research, I concluded that World's Best would be the best litter for me to try. I bought a bag and switched right away. My young cat took to it immediately and I really LOVED the litter. It clumps super well, no dust. Litter is a dream because you go through so little. No tracking!! It is PERFECT...

Except.

My old cat HATES it. =( If this litter is in the box, she refuses to go in the box. UGGGH!! 

I've tried transitioning her slowly (increasing the amount of this new litter with her old). No dice. I HAVE found that she will use Feline Pine. Which, for me, is only okay. It has a nice smell and it's natural. Except it doesn't clump AT ALL (not even the clumping kind) which means it just falls apart as I scoop, getting mixed up with the clean litter. That in turn, means I have to buy more litter. *sigh* What a waste.

I'm still working on this. I'm going to try to transition her to World's Best again, but she's driving me bonkers!!

[font=Lucida Grande, verdana, arial, sans-serif]ETA: Someone recommended Swheat to me, does anyone else have experience with this brand? I'm also open to suggestions too![/font]

Feline Pine makes both non clumping and clumping litter.
 

Brand LeeSnider said:

Feline Pine makes both non clumping and clumping litter.
 

Click to expand...

I know, I've been using the clumping one and it still breaks up into a mess. =(

Have you tried the Blue Buffalo litter?  It clumps well, but it's brown and will turn white paws brown until the kitty cleans them.  I have found tracking with both World's Best and Blue Buffalo.  Also, they both are dusty.  When we tried the BB litter, we put a thin layer of the new stuff on the bottom, then filled the rest of the box with the old litter.  As the kitties covered and dug in the box, they mixed it up.  We gradually added more of the new stuff on the bottom until we got to 100% new stuff.
 

stephanietx said:

Have you tried the Blue Buffalo litter?  It clumps well, but it's brown and will turn white paws brown until the kitty cleans them.  I have found tracking with both World's Best and Blue Buffalo.  Also, they both are dusty.  When we tried the BB litter, we put a thin layer of the new stuff on the bottom, then filled the rest of the box with the old litter.  As the kitties covered and dug in the box, they mixed it up.  We gradually added more of the new stuff on the bottom until we got to 100% new stuff.
 

Click to expand...

I'll look into BB but I don't recall seeing it at my local pet store! Good to hear the clumping power of it is comparable to World's Best.  This Feline Pine is driving me nuts.

We went back to WBCL because we didn't like the brown dust and larger litter pieces.  However, my preference would be a combination of the two since BB does clump better.
 

I have tried every "natural" litter out there and have had problems with all of them. I actually always used natural litters and just thought all kitty litter was a huge mess until I tried 100% "natural" bentonite clay LOL. 

I wish I had  stephanietx's experience with the blue buffalo litter- I was so hoping it was the one but I found it to be so dusty and messy. There was brown dirt all over my apartment and both cats.  I also didn't think it clumped well and it says on the bag it takes up to 15 min to harden so that may have been the problem for me with my litter robot. Sweat is similar to WBCL but has more dust. 

I say if your older cat doesn't like the WBCL I would consider switching back to a good unscented clay like Dr. Elsey's. I have been reading up a lot on the dangers of clay (I had always thought it was bad why I never used it before) and I am no longer convinced that inhaling GMO corn is any safer than clay.  Bentonite clay is no less natural than corn and as long as the litter is 100% clay I don't believe the health risks are increased. I also now think that WBCL may be worse because at least in my experience it is so much dustier.  I do think that the feline pine pellets are safer because they have no dust, the problem is a lot of cats won't use them and in my case I would have to stop using my very expensive litter robot if I switched to feline pine pellets.

Dr. Pierson has a great piece on the search for the best kitty litter and she decided on clay (http://catinfo.org/?link=litterbox#Constantly_In_Search_of_the_Best_Cat_Litter). This piece made me feel a lot better about my decision to use clay litter. I am also a lot less stressed because now I do not have to vacuum every day or wash litter dust from my long haired cats!

I tried the Swheat litter a couple of years ago and ended up switching back to the usual fine clay litter within a few days. It was dusty and, worst of all, made Jamie sneeze every time he used his box. WBCL was also a disappointment as far as the clumping and dust were concerned, IMO.

stephanietx said:

We went back to WBCL because we didn't like the brown dust and larger litter pieces.  However, my preference would be a combination of the two since BB does clump better.
 

Click to expand...

Franksmom said:

I have tried every "natural" litter out there and have had problems with all of them. I actually always used natural litters and just thought all kitty litter was a huge mess until I tried 100% "natural" bentonite clay LOL. 

I wish I had  stephanietx's experience with the blue buffalo litter- I was so hoping it was the one but I found it to be so dusty and messy. There was brown dirt all over my apartment and both cats.  I also didn't think it clumped well and it says on the bag it takes up to 15 min to harden so that may have been the problem for me with my litter robot. Sweat is similar to WBCL but has more dust. 

I say if your older cat doesn't like the WBCL I would consider switching back to a good unscented clay like Dr. Elsey's. I have been reading up a lot on the dangers of clay (I had always thought it was bad why I never used it before) and I am no longer convinced that inhaling GMO corn is any safer than clay.  Bentonite clay is no less natural than corn and as long as the litter is 100% clay I don't believe the health risks are increased. I also now think that WBCL may be worse because at least in my experience it is so much dustier.  I do think that the feline pine pellets are safer because they have no dust, the problem is a lot of cats won't use them and in my case I would have to stop using my very expensive litter robot if I switched to feline pine pellets.

Dr. Pierson has a great piece on the search for the best kitty litter and she decided on clay (http://catinfo.org/?link=litterbox#Constantly_In_Search_of_the_Best_Cat_Litter). This piece made me feel a lot better about my decision to use clay litter. I am also a lot less stressed because now I do not have to vacuum every day or wash litter dust from my long haired cats!

Click to expand...

jcat said:

I tried the Swheat litter a couple of years ago and ended up switching back to the usual fine clay litter within a few days. It was dusty and, worst of all, made Jamie sneeze every time he used his box. WBCL was also a disappointment as far as the clumping and dust were concerned, IMO.

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for posting all this wealth of information. I am going to read that article right now!