Litter suggestion for kittens?

Hi all, my kittens are 11 wks old and been in our home for 10 days. I'm thinking about switching their litters.

Right now they are using clay litter as in their mom's home, we use Fresh Step clay litter (NOT clumping). We are a little concern about it because of the dust.

We do not intend to switching to clumping clay litter cuz they are still too young and would lick their feet after clean. Feline pine would be a very good option since it is organic, fewer dust and fit our budget. But I'm kinda worrying about their tiny paws, are wood pellets too hard to dig? From some post it seems there might be sharp pellets in them too... Do any of you had experience with kitten use wood pellets?

Paper pellets and wheat stuff seems a little bit expensive for us...

Thanks for your advice!

When I have kittens in the house, I do use clay litter and I agree, it is dusty. I have seen the babies use the litter, cover their business and then sneeze ... and I have also seen the dust in and around their little noses. What I do is to keep a little spray bottle of plain water near the box and I mist it - don't soak it, but a light mist does help to keep the dust down. I just think that clay is better at absorbing for little ones, especially if you have multiple cats using the box. You can try the wood chips, but I didn't like them in my home. Once they disintegrate, the dust residue is just as bad IMO as clay.

Thanks!

I'll try the mist and see if it improves.

what is about the clumping corn based stuff that isn't good for kitten paws? Out of ignorance i chose the World's Best Cat Litter. Abi (just short of 12 weeks when i got her) took to it right away and I haven't switched. There is no dust, it smells fine and has great odor control.

But I will confess to being a little compulsive and watched that video on litter boxes that some one linked to and do it that way, which is REALLY great and I have not detected any smells or had any problems except for the one time I turned on the littermaid motor and Abi saw it and wouldn't use the box until i unplugged it and gave her another box.

I also have my office in a wing of my home and so I have the luxury of scooping three or more times a day.

Originally Posted by Abigail

what is about the clumping corn based stuff that isn't good for kitten paws?

Click to expand...

The problem is the clumping part, and not the claws, but the butts. I don't know if you have ever seen a kitten that has been using clumping litter and this happened to, but man does that make a horrible mess. It sticks to their behinds when they sit in the litterbox, whether they are "going" or not. And it clumps, on their butts and it becomes blocked and red and raw if it goes for too long. Then you have to wash the litter off the kitten all the time and wash their butts and put ointment on the red, raw parts. We had a litter or 2 come in at work with a similar problem. They owners used clumping litter and the poor kittens could hardly go. And when they do it just sticks and more litter sticks to that and on and on. It is gross and painful for the poor babies.

Wow, didn't realize this! The books only say that kittens might step on their pees and get clumpings on paws then lick it off, and that is not good... Look at my kittens, it is very likely that they could get their butts clumping!

By the way, found this rebate that let you try the first bag of feline pine for free:

http://www.felinepine.com/cons_rebates.html

They also will sample litter, and clumping litter can cause problems with indigestion, as well as plug up their nose when they bend their head. With the moisture in the nose, the litter may swell causing more problems.

I know I'll probably get "critized" for saying this or maybe I've been extremely lucky, but I've always used the clumping litter with kittens and never had a problem with them eating it or the litter sticking to their body.

Of course I had mainly rexes and with their short fur it was never a problem.

If you're gonna use the clay litter till they are older, then try to find one with the least dust you can. I really HATE clay litter because its dusty and the odors stay in the pan longer - with clumping, once you scoop, the smell is gone.

IMO 11 week old kittens should be fine with clumping litter; maybe 5-8 week old would have a problem.