I use World's Best Cat Litter and really like it. But, it is freaking expensive. A few people in these forums have said they use "chicken crumbles" as a less
expensive but similar alternative to WBCL. I've wondering for some time about how these chicken crumbles would perform. With 4 cats I would love to find something that is as good or almost as good but that isn't so expensive.
I thought I'd do some testing and document my results to share with others who might be thinking of trying chicken crumbles.
Products tested:
World's Best Cat Litter (WBCL), $1.18 lb
Lone Star All Mash Crumbles (LS) $0.24 lb
Purina Layena Crumbles (PL) $0.24 lb
Note: Chicken crumbles are chicken feed pellets that have been smashed into "crumbles". Mash crumbles are crumbles that have been smashed into a finer texture.
Texture wise the LS and PL were both close to the texture of WBCL with the LS being a little closer in texture.
Both the LS and PL were both a little dustier than WBCL with the LS being a little bit more dusty.
The WBCL clumps much better, much faster than either the LS or PL. Performance wise it was the clear winner. After just 5 mins the WBCL clumps well enough that the clump can be easily removed in tact. Both the LS and the PL fell apart when I tried to scoop after 5 mins. This is important if you ever try to scoop soon after the box has been "utilized".
If allowed to dry for an hour the LS and PL clump pretty well with the PL clumping better. Both make larger clumps than the WBCL. That might just be because the clumps were more loosely bound than the WBCL clumps or it could be the larger clumps actually are composed of more litter.
I've been using a 50/50 mix of WBCL and LS for the last few days and it works well enough for me. Based on my tests I think a 50/50 mixture of WBCL with the PL will work a little better. The cost of a 50/50 mix of WBCL with either the LS or PL comes to $0.71 per lb or about 60% of the cost of WBCL by itself. I might use a bit more of this 50/50 mix though because of the larger clumps so my final cost might be a little more than $0.71 a lb.
Since I used tap water in the tests I can't offer an opinion on odor control.
I hope someone finds this useful.
Below are some pictures I took while testing with a bit more explanation of what I did. Sorry for the poop quality of some of the pictures. I was having trouble with my camera. The auto focus finally died. Also, I misspelled "Purina" on the name tags.
First, comparing the texture of all three:
I used 2 oz of tap water in each of the litters in each test and 2 inches of litter.
In the first test I added the water to each litter and waited for 5 mins. I then
dumped out the litter to see how well each clumped. I dumped each as gently as possible. The WBCL formed a clump that was suspended in the litter, i.e., didn't extend all the way to the bottom of the container, and that was held together quite well.
Both the LS and PL formed a very loose, easily broken clump that extended all the way to the bottom of the container. I tried to gently dislodge the wet litter at the bottom but it wasn't clumped well enough to stay together.
For the next test I used a mix of 50% WBCL and 50% of each of the LS and PL. I again dumped the litter after 5 mins. Each of these mixtures clumped better but still not as well as the WBCL alone.
Then I tested I let the LS and PL sit for 1 hour before dumping it.
For the last test I let the 50/50 mixtures set for 1 hr.
expensive but similar alternative to WBCL. I've wondering for some time about how these chicken crumbles would perform. With 4 cats I would love to find something that is as good or almost as good but that isn't so expensive.
I thought I'd do some testing and document my results to share with others who might be thinking of trying chicken crumbles.
Products tested:
World's Best Cat Litter (WBCL), $1.18 lb
Lone Star All Mash Crumbles (LS) $0.24 lb
Purina Layena Crumbles (PL) $0.24 lb
Note: Chicken crumbles are chicken feed pellets that have been smashed into "crumbles". Mash crumbles are crumbles that have been smashed into a finer texture.
Texture wise the LS and PL were both close to the texture of WBCL with the LS being a little closer in texture.
Both the LS and PL were both a little dustier than WBCL with the LS being a little bit more dusty.
The WBCL clumps much better, much faster than either the LS or PL. Performance wise it was the clear winner. After just 5 mins the WBCL clumps well enough that the clump can be easily removed in tact. Both the LS and the PL fell apart when I tried to scoop after 5 mins. This is important if you ever try to scoop soon after the box has been "utilized".
If allowed to dry for an hour the LS and PL clump pretty well with the PL clumping better. Both make larger clumps than the WBCL. That might just be because the clumps were more loosely bound than the WBCL clumps or it could be the larger clumps actually are composed of more litter.
I've been using a 50/50 mix of WBCL and LS for the last few days and it works well enough for me. Based on my tests I think a 50/50 mixture of WBCL with the PL will work a little better. The cost of a 50/50 mix of WBCL with either the LS or PL comes to $0.71 per lb or about 60% of the cost of WBCL by itself. I might use a bit more of this 50/50 mix though because of the larger clumps so my final cost might be a little more than $0.71 a lb.
Since I used tap water in the tests I can't offer an opinion on odor control.
I hope someone finds this useful.
Below are some pictures I took while testing with a bit more explanation of what I did. Sorry for the poop quality of some of the pictures. I was having trouble with my camera. The auto focus finally died. Also, I misspelled "Purina" on the name tags.
First, comparing the texture of all three:
I used 2 oz of tap water in each of the litters in each test and 2 inches of litter.
In the first test I added the water to each litter and waited for 5 mins. I then
dumped out the litter to see how well each clumped. I dumped each as gently as possible. The WBCL formed a clump that was suspended in the litter, i.e., didn't extend all the way to the bottom of the container, and that was held together quite well.
Both the LS and PL formed a very loose, easily broken clump that extended all the way to the bottom of the container. I tried to gently dislodge the wet litter at the bottom but it wasn't clumped well enough to stay together.
For the next test I used a mix of 50% WBCL and 50% of each of the LS and PL. I again dumped the litter after 5 mins. Each of these mixtures clumped better but still not as well as the WBCL alone.
Then I tested I let the LS and PL sit for 1 hour before dumping it.
For the last test I let the 50/50 mixtures set for 1 hr.
