Litter Question

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gizmos59

Member Since 2012
Need some opinions on the best litter for my Sammy. There are so many types and it gets a little confusing. I know as he gets better he won't urinate so much, but in the meantime... They all seem to have their pros and cons, but anyone who's had a frequent pee-er knows what I mean. I know some litters cost an arm and 2 legs, but does that make them better? He has no allergies and adapts quickly to just about anything. Any thoughts?
 
I use Precious Cat, as suggested above. It's really low dust for clay and clumps really tight. Other cheaper litters weren't so bad when I was using a storage tote as a litter box, but I recently switched from that to 2 smaller pans and cheaper litters got stuck to the bottom and crumbled and had to be dumped.
 
Thanks very much! I found I can get an 18# bag of Dr Elsey's at Petco for around $9.00. That doesn't seem so bad, so I'm picking up a bag today.
 
Something to keep in mind: if your cat doesn't cover his/her mess when finished, and then walks through (or over, for longhaired kitties) the same area, you may not want to switch to clumping litter. I discovered the hard way that my 19-year-old, who does both of the non-cat-like things I just mentioned, had clumping litter stuck to her fur, paws, and belly. Trust me, that stuff is NOT easy to get off your cat.

I compromised with a larger litter box (a Sterlite sweater box from Target, $9) and Tidy Cats Multi-Cat non-clumping litter. While Kitty Rabbit seems to like the extra space in the new box, she STILL doesn't cover her messes, and she still walks through or over them. I just choose to believe she leaves all traces of litter, and everything in/on it, on the very large rug in front of the litter box.

Christine
 
I was using Fresh Step Scoopable, unscented, but it's become impossible to find. Hobbs doesn't like the scented or other versions of Fresh Step though. Last time I picked up Arm & Hammer b/c we NEEDED something and it was unscented so I hoped for the best. He was OK with it but after one use it stinks. So I did research and it looks like the Dr Elsey's Precious Cat is the way to go. I picked up a 20# bag to try it out and there is NO DUST. I could not believe it. It's still mixed with the Arm & Hammer so I can't give a complete opinion though. The 40# bag is only a few dollars more than the 20# one, so if this works out, I'll probably go that route long term since it's considerably cheaper.
 
Two weeks ago my family took in a relative's elderly diabetic cat. Our vet has been wonderful but hasn't started him on insulin yet because we're seeing a nice downward trend and she's big on diet as the first step. George gained .4 pounds in 8 days!

Anyway, during the first days we had George we were using Tidy Cat Scoop which is what we use for the rest of our cats. It was fine for them, but George was overwhelming it. We switched to Fresh Step and it did much better...tighter clumps and no soggy litter. George is drinking and going less, but I definitely think the Fresh Step was better quality.
 
We use Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Ultra litter and it has really made a difference. The odor control improvement was immediately noticable. It is much, much less dust and it also clumps better. We have 5 cats using our main litter boxes and a couple of the boys along with Smokey are big pee-ers. With other litters we were getting a lot more gummy messes stuck to the sides and bottom of the box. Dr Elsey's clumps tighter and more quickly so we don't get that as much. If I do get a clump on the side of the box I just scoop more litter onto it and leave it set for a few minutes, then bounce the box a couple of time and it falls away. It does cost a bit more than the others, but with the reduced dust and better clumping we go through a lot less to.
 
I am so grateful for these tips, you guys! I've always been kind of old-fashioned in my litter choice (unscented, good ol' natural clay), but with the increase in Sammy's output, coupled with the fact that his twin brother also uses the box, (they're tuxedo twins, born out of the same sac & inseparable for 11 years now!), I'm gonna have to get with the times & start using scoopable. One thing that has always held me back is the fact that not only does it cost more but it seems you have to use twice as much to get the same "layer" in the pan. Granted, I find myself changing the whole box (on top of scooping poo as necessary) about every other day. Does the scoopable have a longer "box life", so to speak? Thanks for listening, I hope I don't seem too dumb...
 
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