The Best Cat Litter
Anyone who has ever had cats knows that having a good quality kitty litter is important so what is the best cat litter?
If you have ever had guests show up unexpectedly and experienced the anxiety of wondering whether they could smell the cat box this article is a must read!
Along with all the joys that go into cat ownership there is one major drawback; the dreaded litter box. With that in mind, I went on a mission in search of a cat litter that both my feline friend and I would approve of. I decided to “test drive” five different varieties to find out which is the best cat litter.
Tidy Cat Clay Litter
This is a typical clay litter that has been on the market since the late 1940’s. Before clay litter was available most homes used sand or ash or recycled newspaper. The first thing I noticed about this litter is that it is quite heavy compared with non-clay varieties. I didn’t particularly care for it because it kicks up a lot of dust both when the cat uses it and especially when initially filling the box. My cat tracked it all over the house. Also, the box has to be changed quite frequently or the odor is unbearable. As long as I keep up with cleaning though, my cat seems to favor this litter over the clumping and crystal varieties. One plus is that this type of litter is inexpensive.
Arm & Hammer Clumping Litter
This is also a clay litter, but it uses sodium betonite which swells to 15 times it size when it comes in contact with urine (or other liquid) and then clumps together and hardens for scoopability. This litter was better at covering odor than the Tidy Cat and I appreciated the ease of scooping, but I have some misgivings. First, it is still a clay litter, which means that it is just as heavy as traditional clay and is just as dusty. The cat tracked this one all over the house as well. There have also been reports that clumping litters may not be safe for your cat. These claims are largely unsubstantiated, but the anecdotal evidence is enough for me to want to steer clear of clumping litters in the future. The main concern is that if your cat ingests some of this litter and it clumps together and swells up, it could cause a blockage in the stomach or intestines. By the same token if it is inhaled it could cause similar problems in the lungs. Substantiated or not, that is just not a risk I am willing to take.
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Published in: Pets
Matt | Sep 3, 2007 | Reply
Thanks for the tip i got three cats and the odor is getting to me i think im going to try out the feline pine hopefully it works well =)
Thanks,
Matt
jen | Sep 3, 2007 | Reply
I didn’t know that clumping litter was potentially dangerous. Thanks for letting me know.
Lucy Lockett | Sep 4, 2007 | Reply
Its the one I use too! This was a useful, well tested and presented article.
Chris | Oct 10, 2007 | Reply
We’ve been using the Feline Pine pellets for a couple of years now. It really is #1 for stopping urine odors! But unfortunatley, my cat isn’t so good at covering his poo (possibly because of the large pellet size?) so we have to scoop it immediately to avoid that particular smell! Feline Pine has recently come out with a scoopable veersion, which I plan on trying to see if our cat does a better job covering up with it. Even with the rush to scoop poo, FP is still far better than that nasty wet clay smell!
Darlene McFarlane | Nov 9, 2007 | Reply
Thanks for posting this one. I used to use the clumping litter. My female cat developed an infection from it in one of her paws under her claw and in the end she lost the claw. Our male cat developed urinary tract infection twice from it. The tiny particles blocked the urinary opening when he used the box. The second infection was too serious to save him.
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Josey | Jun 1, 2008 | Reply
I like to use yesterday’s news. It’s made with recycled paper and it doesn’t have any dust like regular litter. It doesn’t absorb the smell as well though.
Angel | Sep 7, 2008 | Reply
My kitten will NOT USE feline pine. Absolutely avoids it and jumps out of the box. SUCKS!!! Not the feline pines fault though. Just my finicky cat. He already refused Worlds Best, so we are looking for Universes best now.
Johnathan | Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
cat litter is nice but when you clean it out you have to cry
Penguin | Nov 13, 2008 | Reply
I started out with Tidy Cats and then switched to Swheat. But I think they changed the formulation and I get cement blocks in the litter box and the smell is not good. I tried the Feline Pine but one of my cats decided the floor was preferable. So I’m back to Tidy Cats. I don’t like the deoderant smell of it and it tracks everywhere. Still on the hunt.
Linda | Dec 7, 2008 | Reply
I have tried so many litters. Found Tidy Cats and Arm & Hammer to be too dusty, so I blend Nature’s Miracle with Feline Pine Clumping. My cats hate Nature’s Miracle on its own due to the heavy smell, but when blended, it works better for odor control with the Feline Pine Clumping. NM is also a bit heavier than FPC, so there is a bit less tracking, not much, but I will take anything over nothing. My cats like the blend and I like it because it is so much less dusty. The only negative is that the litter does track a bit, but not all over the house. You need a good rug for the kitty to walk arcoss that gets cleaned each day. Good luck!!!
Baarbara | Feb 23, 2009 | Reply
How often does Feline Pine need to be changed? Mine has been there a week and is mostly sawdust, but only has the nice pine odor.
Ashley | Jun 28, 2009 | Reply
MY cat doesn’t like many cat litters i’ve tried. I don’t think he likes the way they feel on his paws.he’ll even go poddy right outside of the box when he has to go. He’s spends so much time cleaning up around his box, and scratching on the wall i think to get the litter off his paws. i think i’ll try the Feline Pine next.
Kimberly | Feb 22, 2010 | Reply
We started Feline Pine with out cat as a kitty from Vet suggestions. Slowly over the years our indoor cat had increasing problems with asthma like symptoms. We had various tests done, changed to expensive prescription cat food, tried different cleaners in our house and cleaned up gagged up food that followed the labored breathing episodes regularly. Finally based on something we read on-line we stopped using Feline Pine and no more “asthma”. It is one of the better choices out there but if your cat seems to have any allergy or asthma problems it might be the cause.
Kimberly | Feb 22, 2010 | Reply
We started Feline Pine with out cat as a kitty from Vet suggestions. Slowly over the years our indoor cat had increasing problems with asthma like symptoms. We had various tests done, changed to expensive prescription cat food, tried different cleaners in our house and cleaned up gagged up food that followed the labored breathing episodes regularly. Finally based on something we read on-line we stopped using Feline Pine and no more asthma. It is one of the better choices out there but if your cat seems to have any allergy or asthma problems it might be the cause.
Jenny | Aug 26, 2010 | Reply
My cats asthma left as soon as I started using feline pine. Love it.
Paul | Mar 31, 2012 | Reply
Don’t buy this stuff now. They reformulated and it isn’t any good anymore – I’ve used Feline Pine for 15 years and won’t buy it anymore. It says it absorbs twice as fast but it disintegrates twice as fast now and gets tracked all over the house. If you don’t mind changing litter every other day and cleaning the house, this if for you. If you’re grossed out by disintegrated litter on the floors, tables, in your bed, in your lap, don’t use this stuff.