Clumping cat litter queastion.

I have never tried a clumping cat litter. Anytime I price it its very expensive.I have 5 cats and 3 cat boxes.I have always bought the cheapy wal mart brand cat litter. One bag fills 3 boxes $2.22 a bag . I dump each box each night rinse and refill.Often the 1 box in the cellar can go two days.I have no idea whats so special about clumping litter? If I dump every day it would be awfull expensive right?
So my understanding is that the clumping can go a week or more without dumping it and refilling it? I would think that all the urine would make it awfull messy and stinky in a few days. I guess I'm just rambling. I should buy a bag and see what its like.How often should I wait to do a complete clean out with 5 cats. And I read other post about the perfumey smell. I can not stand a perfumey cat litter smell.The cats fur seem to absorb that smell...I have tried perfumed non clumping litter and I hated it.

I only dump my clumping litter once every 4-6 weeks. Because it clumps when wet you can remove all the soiled litter by scooping, leaving clean litter only in the tray. So you don't have to dump too often

With clumping litter the urine clumps into a little ball, which you then scoop out. So in theory, you are removing all the urine and waste. In reality, you get some crumbs of urine left, but not too much.

I have multiple cats and multiple litterboxes, and I scoop daily and dump every few weeks. I like Tidycats brand.

My friend has 2 cats, 2 boxes, and uses scooping litter...she dumps twice a week. I think that is excessive, and expensive, but I'm sure her kitties love it!

Note, with cheaper brands, it gets smelly sooner...and needs to be dumped sooner!

If you change, try one box at a time...sometimes kitties learn to like one type and don't adjust to change quickly, and if they still have some of the old litter left it is helpful!

I use clumping (Scoop Away), and I scoop every day/every other day, I replace the litter pan liner once a week, and dump the litter probably once a month. Of course, as I scoop and clean, I am adding new litter to the old, but I do the whole thing fresh probably once a month, and Ive never had a problem with smell or anything. I think because I use the liners, it helps alot, because it keeps the actual pan a lot cleaner.

I would definately try it, if I were you. It sure sounds like a lot of work that you do. Personally for me, its worth a few extra dollars to make my life easier

PS~ I was at walMart today, and their Special Kitty clumping litter was reasonable, I thought...Around $4. I might give it a try, if I read some good reviews about it on here.

I change the Nature's Miracle cat litter box every three weeks, and scoop it twice a day.
It's ultimately a lot cheaper than dumping an entire box of litter every night.

I don't care for most generic litters, though the petsmart brand isn't bad, and I believe they make a unscented. I usually use freshstep b/c of the pawpoints programs where I get a lot of coupons, but the odor is strong. If smell bothers you stay away from tidy cats small spaces. Regular Tidy cats has some smell to it, but it isn't too bad. I think arm & hammer also makes an unscented. I have 5 litter boxes, and it really depends how often I completely change the litter how much I go through. It probably takes about 30 lbs of litter to refill them all, and for refilling I would say 10 lbs or so a week. The urine smell really doesn't get that bad at all.

I just switched Lusa from Swwheat (sp?) litter to World's Best Cat Litter. The kitty took to it right away! WBCL clumps the urine really well. I scoop twice a day usually. I think the WBCL controls odor better than the other stuff. It's a bit dusty but doesn't seem to bother her.

I use clumping litter from BJs or Sams Club (it's kinda just their brand or something so I'm not sure of the name)... It clumps up his pee into balls and I scoop that and the poos daily, I change out the entire thing maybe every other week or so and find the litter combined with his hooded box control the odor quite well... I also use litter liners which makes scooping and total clean outs a little easier.... in short, if you were to use clumping, you'd just have to scoop one or two times a day and do a total dump maybe once a week at most... btw, I pay about $9 for a 40 pound bucket of litter

I have always used clumping litter. Having a multicat household, it is very convenient when it comes to cleaning, etc.

I love Arm & Hammer Super Scoop...regular is purfumey, but the fragrance free is nice. I have one cat, and this is my first cat ever, so the first bag of litter I ever bought was like regular litter, tidy cats I think. But then I discovered clumping litter and all was right in the world again I love it, love that I only have to scoop every day, and change like, once a month. I paid $9 for a box...not really sure what size it was, 20 pounds? But it seems to last awhile since I'm not constantly dumping the whole box.

Hi! I'm still experimenting with clumping litters. I am currently using Fresh Steps, Pine Scent. It clumps superhard and that is great! It also has very little actual fragrance which I really like, but it is very high in dust, which I don't like, so I am going to keep seaching for now.

Personally, I prefer a clumping litter because you only throw away the "waste" and add litter as you need.

Shanynne
Extreme Kitty Lover

I use scoop away but its a bit dusty and I would like to find one that she likes that isn't so dusty. my cat isn't too picky about her litter. but I used tidy cats for multiple cat house holds before and it was okay but again dusty. I think I might look into the arm and hammer but if I did I would buy a box and maybe slowly mix it into what she already uses. as I scoop that way I could introduce it to her. what do you all think about doing it that way.

I Actually do prefer clumping litter, but with three cats all preferring to use one tray, I was actually scooping so much out that it wasn't saving me much time, and wasn't as cost effective. If I ever get down in numbers, I would love to go back to clumping.
Tavia's mum - the bags of clumping litter do say not to mix, but I dont know the reason behind this.

Originally Posted by gizmocat

I change the Nature's Miracle cat litter box every three weeks, and scoop it twice a day.
It's ultimately a lot cheaper than dumping an entire box of litter every night.

Click to expand...

Oh! How do you like the Nature's Miracle? I wanted to give it a try, but hesitated. Is it very light in texture, like sawdust? Does it clump really well? What about the odor?

I've been trying different litters, Scoop Away, clumped great, but was way too perfumy for me. Fresh Step Cedar, scooped great but a lot of dust, but cats seemed to like it. Finally, just tried Arm & Hammer, the new forumla, forget the name now, but it clumps great, but I don't like the scent, also the texture of it is like a sawdust and I don't think the cats like it.

I was going to go back to Fresh Step, but they didn't have any at the store...so I decided to wait.

What about Everfresh? Anyone try that one ?

Thanks!
Shanynne
Extreme Kitty Lover

i use the the walmart brand litter that clumps and it works awesome! for those of you using fresh step, it is the exact same thing only cheaper, i used to use fresh step but switched to special kitty (clumping) its only $4 for a tub of it and lasts a long, long time. it also does not have an overpowering scent. ok i guess thats the only difference between special kitty and fresh step scented. when i sniff the clean special kitty scented litter, i dont even smell anything.

i have tried the special kitty non clumping and it was awful! my apartment smelled so bad within hours , with the clumping kind, it never smells.
and you are dumping it every day? thats a fortune!

Nature's Miracle is my brand. I've posted about it on several other threads. It lasts for about 3 weeks (with one cat) and I scoop at least twice a day.

Originally Posted by Marishka

I love Arm & Hammer Super Scoop...regular is purfumey, but the fragrance free is nice. I have one cat, and this is my first cat ever, so the first bag of litter I ever bought was like regular litter, tidy cats I think. But then I discovered clumping litter and all was right in the world again

I love it, love that I only have to scoop every day, and change like, once a month. I paid $9 for a box...not really sure what size it was, 20 pounds? But it seems to last awhile since I'm not constantly dumping the whole box.

Click to expand...

That's what I use, and I found that I can buy the 35 pound boxes for between $10-12, and since I only have to dump about once a month (I just add fresh litter every week to what's left in the box,) one 35 lb. box can last me two months!

That's only $60-70 per year for litter, which is great, since I wind up spending so much on high quality dry food!

I just switched from World's Best to Petco's store brand to save some money. I've used it for a week now. It is dustier than the World's Best but the cats don't mind. I have two cats and two boxes, I know the rule of thumb is one box per cat plus an extra but I live in an apartment and I have no place to put a third box. I add a little Nature's Miracle dry enzyme litter treatment to the new litter and neither the litter or the litter treatment have any scent. I scoop daily and so far the litter is still clean and there is no odor and no perfumy smell to deal with. The initial cost for a thirty pound pail is 16 dollars and a refill is 12 dollars. I go deep with the litter because both of my cats are real diggers and it took an entire pail to fill two boxes but so far I haven't even had to add any litter. I usually do a complete change out when it starts to look dirty and starts to have a little odor. In the past that has meant every two or three weeks. I don't know how long this will last before a complete change out.

i just switched from World's Best to Exquisicat Unscented (PetSmart's brand) and i like it a lot better. it clumps much harder and faster than WBL, which means fewer crumbles in the boxes.

and the kitties seem to have no problem at all with the switch.

also, i think there is LESS dust with the Exquisicat brand than with WBL.

it was on sale the day i bought it - $9.99 for a 40lb box. wahooooo!

I use the Tidy Cat multi-cat stuff currently, but only because PetSmart quit carrying the Nature's Miracle.
The strong scent of most litters makes me sick, and the weight of the clay-based clumpers is a problem for me.
If you can find Nature's Miracle, give it a go. It is long-lasting, lightweight, smells fine and the cats seemed to like it. And let me know where you find it!