Switching clay to other types of litter.

whc216 · Feb 21, 2015

Hello all,

I've been using clay clumping clay for past 1.5 years. It worked out fine until I realize that I started to have an allergy because of dust.

Well in the beginning, I thought the allergy was from seasonal or something else, but every time I scoop the litter, I started to sneeze and it got worse and worse.

Now, I decided to change the litter type and the first thing I tried was Pine litter. I switched gradually, so I poured a little bit on clay litter, and slowly increased the amount. I really like that fact that it's dust-free and I completely agree on it after using it for a week. However, it seems like my cat tends to not cover the poop so it creates odor from that. Also I made a special litter box (the one with bunch of holes so that sawdust can drain to the bottom box) but ok, some sawdust does drain but some still hangs in the top. I am not sure if that's because I did not make holes that well. Has anyone used (http://www.felinepinelitterbox.com) this litter box and does it work well?

So I looked for other litter types like corn or wheat. It seems ok but I also read about insect/bug problem. I also heard about crystal litter and it sounds okay too me. Are there any problems about crystal litter I might nee to aware of?

I know there is always pros and cons for each litter type and I don't know what I need to use to replace the clay litter. More importantly, I think one of my cats does not like pine litter that much.

Can someone please suggest me what kind of litter should I try? Also does anyone use pine litter, could you tell me any experience or what kind of litter box do you use?

Thank you very much.

catpack · Feb 21, 2015

You could try the Blue Buffalo litter. It is made using walnut shells. There is a clumping litter (several varieties) as well as pellet form.

red top rescue · Feb 21, 2015

My daughter has used the Feline Pine litter box for years and she likes it. She only has two cats, so it doesn't get heavy use, and she is very fastidious about keeping it clean so there is never any odor. I don't know if her cats bury their leavings or not since she lives on the west coast now and I have never been there. I have used it before and find that many cats do not bury their leavings in Feline Pine, but some do, and those will often bury the leavings of other less fastidious cats as well.

I used the Blue Buffalo litter in the Petco shelter and it was definitely excellent at keeping the odors down. Also, because it is darkly colored, it made the litter boxes more attractive to visitors as the "tootsie rolls" didn't show. It DOES have some very fine dust which mostly settles on the bottom so it may or may not aggravate your allergies, but it is definitely worth trying. I found it was the best possible product to use in a small inside shelter area. It is not inexpensive but certainlly worth the money. It is very fine so they are happy to dig in it and bury their leavings.

At home I use Tractor Supply's Best Cob Premium Horse Bedding, which is made from corn cobs. It is economical ($8.99 for a 40-lb bag), usually has much smaller pellets than the Feline Pine, has no odor of its own but deodorizes amazingly well. It doesn't track far from the box, the wet spots clump SOFTLY and swell up a little so you can dig most of them out, and what you miss becomes sawdust and sinks to the bottom. There is no dust to inhale. Best of all, it never sticks to the bottom of the box and is easy to scoop and clean. I would highly recommend this to anyone with multiple cats, and many of us in rescue use it.

christinab · Mar 4, 2015

@Red Top Rescue

We have a cat fence system in our backyard so they are confined to the yard and no strays or critters can get in and we have a pet door so they can go in and out as they please. Our cats decided on their own to start using the yard instead of their litter box. We kept one litter box but we leave it on the back covered patio for when its raining and they don't want to go to their usual spots in the yard. However Texas weather recently decided to get wet and nasty and the litter in the box is just staying wet, would the horse bedding you use work better when its wet outside than the clumping litter we currently use?
*Note our cats are strange and don't mind going outside in the rain they just won't use the restroom in the yard when its raining. In fact I've had to lock them inside during severe weather so that I could easily get them in the bathroom when tornadoes were a concern.

red top rescue · Mar 7, 2015

Sorry, if the horse bedding gets wet it will just soak up lots and lots of water and the cats won't want to use it as it will be like wet sawdust. It is not meant for outside. The only thing that works well outside is sand. Sandbox sand is such a favorite that eople with kids have to cover their sandboxes to keep the cats out when the kids are not playing there. Beach sand is good, or if you are inland, piles of fallen leaves are quite popular with the feline crowd.

shawna smith · Mar 9, 2015

if you find the soloution let me know... I'm having the same problem..

whc216 · Mar 18, 2015

Hi Shawna,

Do you mean the same problem as what I was having (original poster)?
If so, after all the suggestion, I switched back from pine litter to regular clay litter for awhile due to multiple reason.

The litter box I made for the pine litter did not work that well so it made me hard to clean up everyday. I ended up ordering the one that felinepine suggested.

Over the past 2.5 weeks, I slowly introduced them with the pine litter again. I basically put regular clay litter (probably 75-80%) and rest with pine litter. I usually put the pine litter to the spot they use often. Then everyday, I slowly put more pine litter. Then last week, I finally decided to go 100% pine litter. I could not stand on the dust so I had to. This time, it seems like both of my cats are more comfortable using the pine litter. It has been a week and so far, it works out great. The litter box I ordered definitely worked out better than the one I made (drain sawdust well). Also pine litter does not create that much dust, so I could spend as many time as I want to clean up and won't trigger me any sneeze or so.

The only problem is that one of my cats still does not cover his poop and his stool smells awful (I think it is due to his problem with digestive system so I am working on it), so !!! my room smell awful too. But pine litter should cover odor well once it is covered. It is just that he does not cover and that is the problem.

I have not used the feline pine yet. I think there is a free rebate or something you can give it a try by end of this month.

I used the one from Petco brand and so far, I really like it.

Hope this helped! Thanks

shawna smith · Mar 27, 2015

^ hey whc,

Took a look at the box from feline pine. but it looks a bit expensive... maybe I can use a sifter box from petco? .. I have a van ness box with higher sides.. but it didn't help with the spillage.. also, am I not using enough litter? bought a 7lb bag of integrity clumping pine. but I don't know I if I'm not using enough or what I thought I had 2 inches in the box. but my ruler says barely an inch... I don't have the bag.. so I don't know whether to buy another bag and put more in. or switch.. all I know is there is cat pee smell all over my house now.. and I don't know how to get it out with buying expoe

whc216 said:
Hi Shawna,

Do you mean the same problem as what I was having (original poster)?
If so, after all the suggestion, I switched back from pine litter to regular clay litter for awhile due to multiple reason.

The litter box I made for the pine litter did not work that well so it made me hard to clean up everyday. I ended up ordering the one that felinepine suggested.

Over the past 2.5 weeks, I slowly introduced them with the pine litter again. I basically put regular clay litter (probably 75-80%) and rest with pine litter. I usually put the pine litter to the spot they use often. Then everyday, I slowly put more pine litter. Then last week, I finally decided to go 100% pine litter. I could not stand on the dust so I had to. This time, it seems like both of my cats are more comfortable using the pine litter. It has been a week and so far, it works out great. The litter box I ordered definitely worked out better than the one I made (drain sawdust well). Also pine litter does not create that much dust, so I could spend as many time as I want to clean up and won't trigger me any sneeze or so.

The only problem is that one of my cats still does not cover his poop and his stool smells awful (I think it is due to his problem with digestive system so I am working on it), so !!! my room smell awful too. But pine litter should cover odor well once it is covered. It is just that he does not cover and that is the problem.

I have not used the feline pine yet. I think there is a free rebate or something you can give it a try by end of this month.

I used the one from Petco brand and so far, I really like it.

Hope this helped! Thanks

are you using the pellets or the clumping? I just found out that the pine clumping litters don't really clump that well in general ( I forgot why, but that's what the pet store lady told me).. I bought some litter made from Grass called Smart cat litter you can find on Amazon.. it worked o.k but $10.00 for 5lbs of the stuff was waay out of my reach.. and the only litter that I can afford and maintain that 3-4 inch depth would be clay litter .. which sucks.. I can't do corn and wheat due to Squirt's allergies and the paper pellets just didn't work.. I tried a paper clumping called Cats Pride which stunk before and after it was used and Oko cat dust free paper ( doesn't clump either it's just paper balls as opposed to the pellets.. I can't get Nature's Miracle paper clumping.. I see at the petsmart website these types of litters aren't really better at clumping odor control than clay. I was considering silicia crystal litter .. but I think it may be too sharp for her paws.. and way too expensive for me.. even tried blue's walnut litter which was a disaster and messy and too dark to find the poop.. I'm exasperated..

as for the box. so are you using a sifting boxing. I don't know how I can use it with bad back issues..

oh yeah, tired Wheat grass pellets too.. just stunk.. they green tea leaves litter but that's too expensive and too big for my small cart..

whc216 · Mar 27, 2015

Hi Shawna,

Yes, I agree on you that it is expensive. In the beginning, I tried to save that money and made my own litter box like this (http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-build-a-Feline-Pine-self-cleaning-litter-bo/) but mine never worked as I was expected. I just got tired of making another one so I decided to save money from something else and buy that litter box. I am not sure about van ness or others because depending on pellet, some might go through the hole. Some question in () sounds like it might be okay for feline pine? I am not sure.

Ok about 2 inches thing. I actually think I put 1 inch on the bottom and 1 inch on the top (sifter pan). I am using the pine litter from Petco brand and 20 lb is about 7-8 dollars. It has bigger pellet so I don't have to consume a lot of litter, but this litter does not clump. However, I think it works out well for covering the urine smell for me. I have two cats and I just need to clean the bottom part, where I get all the saw dust, every day and make sure to refill bottom to maintain 1 inch. One time, I did not have 1 inch on the bottom and my cats tend to pee on the same spot that apparently, the bottom part of box was flooded with urine!

I hope this helped and let me know if you have more questions.

Shawna Smith said:
^ hey whc,

Took a look at the box from feline pine. but it looks a bit expensive... maybe I can use a sifter box from petco? .. I have a van ness box with higher sides.. but it didn't help with the spillage.. also, am I not using enough litter? bought a 7lb bag of integrity clumping pine. but I don't know I if I'm not using enough or what I thought I had 2 inches in the box. but my ruler says barely an inch... I don't have the bag.. so I don't know whether to buy another bag and put more in. or switch.. all I know is there is cat pee smell all over my house now.. and I don't know how to get it out with buying expoe

Switching clay to other types of litter.

whc216

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catpack

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red top rescue

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christinab

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red top rescue

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shawna smith

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whc216

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shawna smith

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