Desert Sand Cat Litter

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ladyxsuebee

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Has anyone out there tried this yet?? I was going to try the Feline Pine clumping to see if the kitties like that better then the regular FP, but this litter intrigues me.

I would like some feedback before I purchase though......

Thanks! :mrgreen:
 
I have never used it, but it sounds really interesting... I wonder what the mechanism of action is in the zeolite that does all of that stuff (inhibits growth/production, neutralizes ammonia). The best thing about it, that I see, is it inhibits transmission of toxoplasmosis... pregnant women rejoice (I still wouldn't take less precautions though). Is it expensive? If I could find it around here for a reasonable price I would try it this week and let you know (my cat's are not picky about litter so I wouldn't necessarily need a transition phase).

My only bothers are it doesn't come from a renewable resource (same as clay litter) but depending on how much you go through on a weekly basis this may not be a deal breaker. Also, what if it's ingested? They talk about less disease transmission but what if my dog helped himself to a kitty box buffet (hasn't happened in years but that doesn't make it impossible).

I currently use Nature's Miracle but I am "testing" World's Best Cat Litter in my most trafficked cat box since it became available at Petsmart here. So far I think I like the World's Best Cat Litter more because it clumps better and the clumps seem to stay together better (I clean my litter boxes constantly). I also like that it is not scented and comes in a much larger bag. I don't seem to be going through as fast. It doesn't seem to stick in my cats fur as much but somehow they seem to track it WAY more. Its also more dusty than Nature's Miracle but I would give those things up for better clumping since I have 3 cats and 4 litter boxes.
 
Stephanie&Willy said:
I have never used it, but it sounds really interesting... I wonder what the mechanism of action is in the zeolite that does all of that stuff (inhibits growth/production, neutralizes ammonia). The best thing about it, that I see, is it inhibits transmission of toxoplasmosis... pregnant women rejoice (I still wouldn't take less precautions though). Is it expensive? If I could find it around here for a reasonable price I would try it this week and let you know (my cat's are not picky about litter so I wouldn't necessarily need a transition phase).

My only bothers are it doesn't come from a renewable resource (same as clay litter) but depending on how much you go through on a weekly basis this may not be a deal breaker. Also, what if it's ingested? They talk about less disease transmission but what if my dog helped himself to a kitty box buffet (hasn't happened in years but that doesn't make it impossible).

I currently use Nature's Miracle but I am "testing" World's Best Cat Litter in my most trafficked cat box since it became available at Petsmart here. So far I think I like the World's Best Cat Litter more because it clumps better and the clumps seem to stay together better (I clean my litter boxes constantly). I also like that it is not scented and comes in a much larger bag. I don't seem to be going through as fast. It doesn't seem to stick in my cats fur as much but somehow they seem to track it WAY more. Its also more dusty than Nature's Miracle but I would give those things up for better clumping since I have 3 cats and 4 litter boxes.
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That is my bother too, that they mine it from volcanic rocks. It can biodegrade from that point on, but the Feline Pine is a renewable resource. Before Dopey got diagnosed and is now being treated, he had to pee so bad he couldn't wait to get down to the litter box and used my carpet for the first time since I've adopted him (13 yrs). I'm trying to give them a prime spot for going to the bathroom (less smelly, since they have such good noses)

I'm going to give the feline pine clumping a go, but if that doesn't seem to be to their liking, I guess I will try out the sand! :smile:
 
Petsmart didn't have the sand. :cry: I am intrigued! I will check Walmart the next time I go there because their website says Walmart carries it. Ours may not, it is pretty small.

If they like feline pine, I would do that route.

Depending on your success and if you can find anything out about the sand, I recommend trying Nature's Miracle or World's Best Cat Litter. They are made from corncob (renewable, biodegradable). We go through about one bag a week for whatever litter we use (split between 4 litter boxes once they are properly full and set up), sometimes much less. I think my preference is World's best. We have been using it for a week and I really like how it clumps. Willy doesn't go often, but he goes quite a lot and I am yet to find any urine on the bottom of the box and we switched a week ago.

We used Nature's Miracle for a long time with a lot of success but I occasionally had to dump his box because the bottom would be soaked and by the time I got it all up again the entire box was dirty and gross. It was happening a lot less than it did with clay litter but it was still annoying. Nature's Miracle smells like.. pine or something. It's fairly strong so if kitties are sensitive it's something to consider.

The only issue is the tracking, I'm not sure if feline pine gets tracked (never used) but I am willing to put up with it if it means a good clumping litter for my 3 cat household! I would be worried the sand would get tracked everywhere too and that seems like it would be harder to vacuum up.

If I am able to find it and I try it, I will let you know what I think!
 
I don't know where you live, but if you have a Harris Teeter grocery store in your area, Feline Pine goes on sale tomorrow Buy 1 Get 1 Free. You don't have to buy 2, you can buy 1 and it will just ring up at half price.
There is a $1.50 off coupon here and there is also a free mail in rebate offer going on by filling out the rebate found under "our products", "special offers". The coupon link will be on the right hand side as soon as you click the link.
http://www.felinepine.com/themes/fp/reb ... rebate.pdf
In my area, the scoopable is 5.49 and the original clumping is 6.25
Buying just 1 bag of the clumping with a $1.50 coupon would make it $1.62+tax out the door. Add the rebate and it's a money maker. (You get full price back from the rebate--6.25)
If you don't have that grocery store, you can still get the rebate, which makes it free in the long run.
OR, you can totally eliminate litter all together and go with The Smart Cat litter box system. Makes testing for ketones a breeze.
Here's a youtube video that shows how it works, and if you decide you would like to purchase one, you can do that through the second link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AXmMSuL5C4
http://felinediabetes.com/SCB/SCBindex.html
 
just throwing in 2 cents worth - if you're interested in feline pine, you can use wood stove pellets. exactly the same product at a fraction of the cost. i buy giant bags of wood stove pellets for about $3.50-$4 per bag, i think 40 pounds. they're made from compressed sawdust - i don't think there's any chemicals to worry about. they don't clump, but if you shuffle/jiggle the box back and forth the solids rise to the top, including the unused litter.

when the litter gets wet it just turns to sawdust. i tip the box up at one end and it leaves the sawdust at the bottom (the unused litter runs down to the low end) and then you can scoop up the sawdust and toss it.

also doesn't smell - i loathe the perfumey smell of some clay litters. around here the pellets are in all the grocery stores in the winter and you can buy them year-round at places that sell wood stove supplies.
 
julie1220 said:
just throwing in 2 cents worth - if you're interested in feline pine, you can use wood stove pellets. exactly the same product at a fraction of the cost. i buy giant bags of wood stove pellets for about $3.50-$4 per bag, i think 40 pounds. they're made from compressed sawdust - i don't think there's any chemicals to worry about. they don't clump, but if you shuffle/jiggle the box back and forth the solids rise to the top, including the unused litter.

when the litter gets wet it just turns to sawdust. i tip the box up at one end and it leaves the sawdust at the bottom (the unused litter runs down to the low end) and then you can scoop up the sawdust and toss it.

also doesn't smell - i loathe the perfumey smell of some clay litters. around here the pellets are in all the grocery stores in the winter and you can buy them year-round at places that sell wood stove supplies.
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Julie, I just bought the Breeze litter system ($20 with the $10 off coupon on their website), and in one of the reviews that I read for it on Amazon was that the litterbox itself was worth the cost because it was great to use with pine litter. Because the bottom has slots, the sawdust would drop into the try and people just had to empty the tray. I figured that if Bandit doesn't take to the pellets that come with the Breeze, I would try pine before going back to the clumping clay.

We are on day 3 of introducing the Breeze...he finally went #1 for the first time in it last night, but he's still going to his old box for the #2s. So I still have my fingers crossed.
 
Thanks for the great tips! We don't have the Hannah Teeter grocery stores here on the west coast, but I did print out the feline pine coupon in case they really love the clumping stuff.

I was considering the breeze, so if your kitty really "digs" it, keep us posted!

:razz:
 
I will! Bandit and I are the Breeze guinea pigs for my cat owning friends in Ithaca. We all have talked about because it's so much better environmentally, but no one has wanted to be the test subject. I finally decided to just take the plunge. :smile:
 
hmmm, cool. i haven't seen that before but have heard people mention it. i'll look it up later today. i could see how that would be awesome. the method of cleaning out the box is sorta backwards from what you do with clay, but i've got it figured out now. plus it's so cheap that i completely empty the box 2x a week.

when my daughter comes home and brings her 2 cats she uses clumping clay - all of the cats prefer it. but mine will use the pine when it's the only option. one of my daughter's cats refused to use the pine, though. he kept going on the floor next to teh box until we got the message. I had her cats from May-November while she was in a no-pet apartment, so for that time i used the clumping clay. it's far more expensive than the pine and it sucks environmentally. plus i hated the perfumey-ness of it.
 
Hi there! I have just discovered this Desert's Sand Cat Litter and am excited to try it. I found it at Wal Mart out here in California for $7.96 for a 6 lb bag. I have a total of 9 cats and 7 of them are indoor so u can imagine my struggle to find THE best cat litter. I have been using a mixture of Yesterdays News (made of recycled newspaper) and pine pellets and that combination has worked the best so farbut I do go through alot especially with my 1 diabetic cat urinating so frequently. I have tried The World's Best Cat Litter and found that it didn't really have any odor control after the second day and was going through large amounts of that. I found that clumping litter in general doesn't work well in my household or for my finances simply because of the amount of indoor cats I have. So i'm about to try this new Desert's Sand Cat Litter and I will come back to let u know how it works for me. ;-)
 
Oh! And wanted to mention, I have 2 Breeze Loiter boxes and hate them. Definitely NOT for mute-cat households. It made my job of keeping a clean odor free home about 20 times more time consuming and because I didn't stay right on top of changing the absorbing pad it quickly overflowed and ruined my hardwood floor. I ended up having to put the entire litter box inside a plastic storage container so that it wouldn't leak onto my once nice hardwood floor. So if u have more than 2 cats I strongly recommend that u don't buy this Breeze Litter Box. :?
 
I never had that problem but I only have one cat right now, and I've always changed the pad on time. You don't think it's easier to change the pad even if you have to do it more than once a week than it is to scoop?
 
So I tried it. I definitely didn't like it. The 10 lbs barely made a dent in the cat box, it looks like you would have to buy 2-3 boxes and at $13/ea., no way. It absorbed really well, but was so hard to try to seperate from the clean sand, it's just like feline pine clumping, but sandy. =P Cat litter is frustrating! I want to get something that works well and is healthy for them, and not too messy. The feline pine clumping gets everywhere and sticks to their little paws so it winds up all over the place. Back to the drawing board........ :cry:
 
So far the best litter I have found is Walmart's Special Kitty, clumps well, not very dusty, doesn't seem to track much, doesn't sick to paws, and no nasty perfumey smell.

With 11 cats I've tried a lot of litter, so far Special kitty wins hands down...but get the green box not the orange, orange is citrus and stinks to high heavens. 22lb box is about $7 with tax.

Mel, Maxwell and The Fur Gang
 
I have the breeze. Bought one, it went over well, so got another. I have 3 cats and 3 boxes. 2 are Breeze and 1 is clumping - I think the least dust is the tidy cat(?) the litter is little round balls mainly grey clay, some blue. Breeze is only a problem if they have diarreha, hard to clean up. I rotate the tray after a couple days as my kitties evidently prefer to use the front of the box then remove with the next check. I liked the notion of far less weight than litter.
 
Kathy do you plan on cleaning the pellets or just replacing with new? I don't think the pellets are that expensive to replace for the breeze are they?? I don't want to use the clay because it sucks for the environment and it's supposed to not be very healthy for kitties. I haven't used clay in YEARS. But as they age, they seem to have different litter needs. Maybe I will try the breeze for an extra litter box, and try something different for their normal box??
 
We are using more and more Breezes - they mostly just pee in it. They prefer to poop in regular litter. I like the Breeze a lot. I do disinfect and reuse the pellets. Didn't know about using the wood stove pellets so I'll have to try that. For regular boxes, the cats prefer Dr elsey's but right now I am also using a lot of cheap litter because of the ongoing poop issues.
 
I got a breeze because it was on sale for $22 and I had a $10 coupon. I'm going to try it out this weekend and keep my pine pellet litter in the other box. I think the idea of using pine pellets in the breeze is a good idea too, I will probably try that out when the breeze pellets are "done" :smile:
 
I tried Desert's Sand cat litter for the first time a few days ago. I was terribly disappointed. It does not mask the smell, and you can't scoop the urine. As for tracking, there's sand all over my bathroom floor despite using a litter box with a cover and a mat in front it for when they step out. I'm getting some cheap Hartz Brand litter tomorrow to tide us over until payday when I can get either Special Kitty or the best, Tidy Cats litter. I strongly recommend you saving yourself some frustration and just get Tidy Cats.
 
I will SWEAR by my new litter box. I love it.
I use the Smart Cat Box, which I suppose is similar to the breeze, but it doesn't use the "pads". The urine goes into a plastic *tray* that I just dump in the toilet. It uses Safflower seeds instead of the pellets, but they are reusable also.
The seeds are cheap, I don't have to buy pads, and everything in Callie Mae's box gets flushed right down the toilet. And it makes checking ketones easy peasy.

It was a little penny upfront, but considering how much I am NOT spending on litter, it has paid for it's self 10 times over. I got it in March and I am on my second bag of seeds. It cost $7 for a replacement bag. And I believe this bag will last longer than the first one since Callie Mae is regulated now and not urinating as much as she was in the beginning. Plus I had a second cat in the home for a month.

I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Did I mention I love this thing??? :lol:
 
I've been using desert sand for about a month now. I have 4 cats. We have three litter boxes with pine horse bedding pellets - much, much cheaper than pine litter and very easy to clean.I have one box with clay because they like to pee in the pine and poop in the clay. But I had one little girl who hated both boxes. She was peeing on the stove, the counter, the paper plate we feed her wet food on, the floor, the sinks - all over the place. The vet pronounced her healthy but a bit OCD. She recommended sand litter because it's gentler on the paws but I had an awful time finding it. I finally discovered the Desert Sand and we love it! I do not notice any odor as long as it is scooped once a day. It is a bit harder to clean out the waste because it doesn't clump much but that's a small price to pay for having my stove clean. It's lasting much longer than I expected it to, especially since all 4 of them are using it now.
 
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