What cat litter do you use?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hendrick Cuddleclaw

Hendrick Cuddleclaw

Member Since 2022
Six cat multi-cat household here. So that means 6 litter boxes.

We have been through so many different kinds of litter. A couple years ago we thought we hit the jackpot, the holy grail -- a natural, cedar-based, wonderful pine-smelling litter. No clay, no harmful silica or any of those concerns.

upload_2022-5-27_10-25-23.jpeg



HOWEVER, after a few years it seems like they have changed their product and it is now so freaking dusty, it is insane. Pouring it out or doing the poop scoop causes just clouds and clouds, and my wife will start sneezing like mad. We started wearing facemasks while doing the litter boxes.

So we began once again searching for a good cat litter that wasn't clay. We found a corn-cob litter that we love! It is TRULY dust-free, omg. But even the "unscented" has a scent, unfortunately.

upload_2022-5-27_10-28-20.jpeg



Today, we use both. We mix them in the litter box, the Tidy Cats cedar smell overpowers the Litter Maid, and the Litter Maid's dust-free-ness keeps the Tidy Cat dust clouds away! Perfection...for now, until one of these products is discontinued.

I am interested to know what others use. Let's hear it!

@jillnc1
@Bobbi Kraham
@Roxana & Henry
@Noah & me (GA)
@Nathalie & Boris
@Suzanne & Darcy
 

Attachments

  • upload_2022-5-27_10-25-23.jpeg
    upload_2022-5-27_10-25-23.jpeg
    10.7 KB · Views: 523
  • upload_2022-5-27_10-28-20.jpeg
    upload_2022-5-27_10-28-20.jpeg
    11.3 KB · Views: 493
Last edited:
Hi, I am glad you posted this because I was going to ask the same question. I have not found one I liked I tried many. For many years I used yesterday's news because I thought that was healthier for Henry with his urinary issues. One day he refused using it and by chance Chewy sent by mistake an Arms and Hammer one and he was very happy. I tried the corn and pellets types and Henry says no (of course he hates the natural ones). I hate the regular scented ones because I can smell them on his breath. Some are too clumpy and clump to his legs, how is that healthy. Or like you said too much dust. I am looking forward to hearing what others use as well. I ordered two different new ones and will let you know if they are any better. Glad your kitties like the healthy ones.
 
That was the first I tried after Yesterday's News. It is the most popular healthy one out there for sure. I liked it and only wish my Henry liked it. But of course not. I can try the ones you are using and see what he says. It cannot hurt to try.
 
I've used sWheat Scoop for years & really like it. Also tried & like Oko litter, I think the original. When my Cleopatra was DK & using the box a lot, I ended up mixing in some clay to make it easier to scoop; it seems too much liquid made the sWheat really globby. I'm using a walnut litter now & like it. I've tried some corn varieties & don't like as well; I think the light weight sticks to their fur more & I find it everywhere, not just tracked out of the box

Maus doesn't seem to care. Maybe since she's accustomed to going outside she's not so picky about the box. Fyi, outside cats have regular places where they go, although a fresh mole hill is hard to resist ;)
 
Susan for Artemis (Maus) said:
I've used sWheat Scoop for years & really like it. Also tried & like Oko litter, I think the original. When my Cleopatra was DK & using the box a lot, I ended up mixing in some clay to make it easier to scoop; it seems too much liquid made the sWheat really globby. I'm using a walnut litter now & like it. I've tried some corn varieties & don't like as well; I think the light weight sticks to their fur more & I find it everywhere, not just tracked out of the box

Maus doesn't seem to care. Maybe since she's accustomed to going outside she's not so picky about the box. Fyi, outside cats have regular places where they go, although a fresh mole hill is hard to resist ;)
Click to expand...

that's funny I specifically didn't tag you because in my mind, Maus wasn't using a litter box but you did mention that she is indoor/outdoor I guess

we tried the walnut version of Litter Maid but it didn't work well for us. Never heard of sWheat Scoop will have to check it out!
 
I am no expert but when I find out Monkey has pica (eating cat litter make of some kind of solid minerals that absorbs water), I switch to what we Chinese call "tofu cat litter". The reason is it is very soluble so it is unlikely to block
the digestive tract. This can be easily proven by putting the litter in water and gently stirring it, it would become loose powder quickly.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
Six cat multi-cat household here. So that means 6 litter boxes.

We have been through so many different kinds of litter. A couple years ago we thought we hit the jackpot, the holy grail -- a natural, cedar-based, wonderful pine-smelling litter. No clay, no harmful silica or any of those concerns.

View attachment 64365


HOWEVER, after a few years it seems like they have changed their product and it is now so freaking dusty, it is insane. Pouring it out or doing the poop scoop causes just clouds and clouds, and my wife will start sneezing like mad. We started wearing facemasks while doing the litter boxes.

So we began once again searching for a good cat litter that wasn't clay. We found a corn-cob litter that we love! It is TRULY dust-free, omg. But even the "unscented" has a scent, unfortunately.

View attachment 64366


Today, we use both. We mix them in the litter box, the Tidy Cats cedar smell overpowers the Litter Maid, and the Litter Maid's dust-free-ness keeps the Tidy Cat dust clouds away! Perfection...for now, until one of these products is discontinued.

I am interested to know what others use. Let's hear it!

@jillnc1
@Bobbi Kraham
@Roxana & Henry
@Noah & me (GA)
@Nathalie & Boris
@Suzanne & Darcy
Click to expand...
Dr Elsey’a Ultra
 
I’m a big fan of the Worlds Best Multi-cat… it’s a neutral/natural smell out of the bag and clumps nicely. I’m blessed that my two sibling cats are able to share a box… have had them since they were 4 days old so they have never known the option of multiple boxes.

Speaking of boxes… the ModKat FlipTop box is so great now that my kitties are older. They previously had a top-entry but this is easier for them to get into with seamless walls and a scratch-proof, replaceable liner. I promise this is not an ad, I went through so many options before landing on this one!
 
Last edited:
Sugar’s Mama said:
I’m a big fan of the Worlds Best Multi-cat… it’s a neutral/natural smell out of the bag and clumps nicely. I’m blessed that my two sibling cats are able to share a box… have had them since they were 4 days old so they have never known the option of multiple boxes.

Speaking of boxes… the ModKat FlipTop box is so great now that my kitties are older. They previously had a top-entry but this is easier for them to get into with seamless walls and a scratch-proof, replaceable liner. I promise this is not an ad, I went through so many options before landing on this one!
Click to expand...

never heard of these Modkat boxes before but hot damn, those are some high side-walls! And at first I was put off by the presence of a disposable liner but as I read more I found it is NOT disposable, but made out of tarpaulin and totally reusable! (for a while anyway). And I was also put off by it having a lid, we are currently moving from covered litter boxes to open ones after reading about how in all reality most cats don't want to go into a smelly stuffy little cave to do their thing, esp with such sensitive noses! This idea that they need a top for privacy is, for most cats I guess, just not true. But again, I see that they make the lid so you can have it partly open, closed or even all the way open. Looks like a good product for sure ty
 
Yeah, the tarpaulin liners last a very, very long time. I put a fresh one when I’m in a deep clean mode every few (or more) months. If I lived in a place with an outdoor hose I bet they would be washable for a while, too.
 
When we had nine we made the mistake of using some cheap generic brand. It was super heavy, cement paws and the pee clumps were enormous, just a big mistake.
Purina Maxx Scoop worked well and the pails scooped up neatly until the county tagged my recycle one day. Turns out that shade of blue, the handle being made of nylon and the lid being made of an odd kind of plastic meant the entire thing went to the landfill. What an ass-burner!
We now use Tidy Cats LightWeight Free & Clean Unscented and it's everything they promised.
My undying shame Before clumping litter and people still used metal garbage cans us five hippies and our six cats rented a house. The litter was too heavy and we were too stoned/lazy/incompetent most of the time so there was a mountain of litter behind the garage. Hey, people change and I'm not a bad person (mostly)

stonded_again01.jpg
what seem to be the officer problem?
 

Attachments

  • stonded_again01.jpg
    stonded_again01.jpg
    10.6 KB · Views: 372
PH&MonkeyPenPenFaFaTiger said:
when I find out Monkey has pica
Click to expand...
Peter, it might mean something different in your culture or language but Pica syndrome is a serious matter.
Over the years I've seen cats get impacted with hairballs, eat giftwrapping ribbon, tinsel from a Christmas tree, a dog that swallowed a button battery and even a puppy that swallowed the waistband from some underwear. If surgery is needed it's going to be very expensive.
 
Susan for Artemis (Maus) said:
I've used sWheat Scoop for years & really like it. Also tried & like Oko litter, I think the original. When my Cleopatra was DK & using the box a lot, I ended up mixing in some clay to make it easier to scoop; it seems too much liquid made the sWheat really globby. I'm using a walnut litter now & like it. I've tried some corn varieties & don't like as well; I think the light weight sticks to their fur more & I find it everywhere, not just tracked out of the box

Maus doesn't seem to care. Maybe since she's accustomed to going outside she's not so picky about the box. Fyi, outside cats have regular places where they go, although a fresh mole hill is hard to resist ;)
Click to expand...
I meant to say CKD - too many acronyms spinning in my head
 
Hello. I meant to reply to this yesterday but… three hundred thousand alerts later…. here I am.

I have a lot to say on the subject of litter. We have definitely evolved away from any clay at all at this point. After having two cats die of unexplained lung diseases and all that dust settling all over the house, we were done. We now use two main types of litter. We use Frisco All Natural Unscented Clumping Grass Cat Litter. We like it a lot. It is made of grass seed, I think. It has very little to no dust (not like those clay litters where the manufacturer says 99% dust free and huge clouds of dust go everywhere). The cats like it. It’s not as heavy or as hard to scoop as clay. It doesn’t form a sludge layer that sticks to the bottom of the litter box. The only scent is just whatever the grass seed smells like. It kind of looks like the World’s Best Corn Litter, which I did use for years and liked. That one is made of corn cobs. I actually quit using it because Darcy liked to eat it when he became diabetic and was ravenous. I figured it wasn’t a low carb snack! Lol. Wendy actually turned me on to the grass litters after I told her about Darcy eating the corn stuff. I bought one called Smart cat Unscented clumping Grass Cat Litter. I found the Chewy brand (Frisco) to be as good and a little cheaper so I now use that.

The other type of litter that we use with our cat zoo is Garfield Cat Litter Super Clump Unscented Clumping Cat Litter. This stuff is amazing. It clumps the second liquid hits it and forms rocks that can be scooped out immediately. No scent. It has the consistency of beach sand, so it can track. It is not a clay liter. The crystals come in either the fine sand or slightly larger size. All my cats love this stuff. No dust.

We have a lot of litter boxes, trust me.

https://www.chewy.com/frisco-all-natural-unscented-clumping/dp/159433
https://www.chewy.com/garfield-cat-litter-super-clump/dp/147769
 
For years I have used Arm and Hammer Slide. It is truly dust free and very little tracking. It doesn't stick to the litter box or the cats feet, and seems to last longer. I have two cats using it in one box. Also, I use a mortar mixing pan from Home Depot for a litter box. It is much larger than an ordinary pet litter box.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
never heard of these Modkat boxes before but hot damn, those are some high side-walls! And at first I was put off by the presence of a disposable liner but as I read more I found it is NOT disposable, but made out of tarpaulin and totally reusable! (for a while anyway). And I was also put off by it having a lid, we are currently moving from covered litter boxes to open ones after reading about how in all reality most cats don't want to go into a smelly stuffy little cave to do their thing, esp with such sensitive noses! This idea that they need a top for privacy is, for most cats I guess, just not true. But again, I see that they make the lid so you can have it partly open, closed or even all the way open. Looks like a good product for sure ty
Click to expand...
I have one of the ModKat flip top boxes and it’s good, although I wish it were wider and not as cramped in there. It gets a lot of action. Even though the sides are high, I have a cat who tries and succeeds to stand on his tip toes and spray over the side!
 
Noah & me (GA) said:
Peter, it might mean something different in your culture or language but Pica syndrome is a serious matter.
Over the years I've seen cats get impacted with hairballs, eat giftwrapping ribbon, tinsel from a Christmas tree, a dog that swallowed a button battery and even a puppy that swallowed the waistband from some underwear. If surgery is needed it's going to be very expensive.
Click to expand...
I had a cat with Pica. She had expensive taste and her preferred food was anything cashmere!
 
Linda and Newman said:
For years I have used Arm and Hammer Slide. It is truly dust free and very little tracking. It doesn't stick to the litter box or the cats feet, and seems to last longer.
Click to expand...
81j0Yvs7TCL._AC_SX466_.jpg
I can vouch for Arm & Hammer Slide cat litter. I use the multi-cat version. I have used so many kinds of cat litter in the past and I was never able to find one that I was satisfied with. I've used Dr. Elsey's, World's Best, Cat's Pride, Fresh Step, sWheat Scoop, Litter Maid, Tidy Cat's, and Special Kitty. Those are just the brands in my Walmart order history, which only goes back the past two years, so I'm sure I've tried others.

The first problem I've had is that I don't enjoy heavily scented litters. Often times my cats would come out of the litter box reeking of the fragrance. I believe the amount of dust had a play in this since my cats like to dig and kick up a lot of dust and it gets all over their coat. The Fresh Step brand was notorious for this as it's quite dusty. So I would try unscented varieties but I just always felt that the odor elimination wasn't adequate. I tried natural litters like World's Best, sWheat Scoop, and Litter Maid. They worked decently, but I found that the clumping wasn't the greatest and the odor elimination, while good, did not last long. As far as natural litters and clumping goes, I found World's Best was the best in that department.

The other problem I had is that both my cats like to dig, and they like to dig deep. It didn't matter how deep I made the litter, they love to dig to the bottom and pee right in the corner of the box, so I would always end up with clumps of pee cemented to the bottom, and being in the corner it was such a pain to get out. One day I was browsing through the litters and the box of Arm & Hammer Slide caught my eye. I figured why not give it a try, I had already tried so many others and was not satisfied.

I'll tell you what, I have been using this litter religiously for the past two months, and I will continue to use it for as long as its made. It has made my life so much easier when it comes to scooping cat litter. Its a different consistency than any other litter I have used. It's almost like sand. I think this sand texture makes it more difficult for my cats to dig deep as long as I keep the litter at a sufficient depth. Also, the "Slide" feature works great, although I haven't actually tried to just slide the litter out of the box, I will say that it prevents the clumps from sticking to the box. Just a light nudge with the scooper and the clumps pop right off the box in a single clump, and the clumping action works very well. This litter is scented but it is a very light scent and I have not noticed the scent on my cats' fur. The odor elimination is great with this litter, I almost never smell any foul odors, and when I do it's just my cue to top off the box with some fresh litter. Also, this litter is the closest to dust free as I have seen with any litter I have used.

Sorry for the long post, who knew one could write so much about cat litter. I'm just very passionate about this litter because I never want them to stop making it, companies always seem to discontinue the best products. I scoop my cats' litter boxes obsessively, twice a day, and keep them as pristine as possible for them and this litter has made scooping as enjoyable as scooping can be made. I even got my mom to switch to this litter and she loves it just as much as I do. I think Arm & Hammer should start paying me for promoting this litter.
 

Attachments

  • 81j0Yvs7TCL._AC_SX466_.jpg
    81j0Yvs7TCL._AC_SX466_.jpg
    47.5 KB · Views: 129
Last edited:
@Corey & Kitty YES even the supposedly unscented litters sometimes have a scent that follows kitty around. And if it bothers you or I, how awful it must be for those super-sensitive feline noses! I cannot stand the strongly scented litters (or perfumes, or soaps, etc etc but we're on litter talk here so I digress)

Thank you for the detailed post and thoughts. This discussion is exactly why I made this thread.

I hear you on the 'until they discontinue it' plan...always seems to happen to the very best products that my wife and I love!
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I have one of the ModKat flip top boxes and it’s good, although I wish it were wider and not as cramped in there. It gets a lot of action. Even though the sides are high, I have a cat who tries and succeeds to stand on his tip toes and spray over the side!
Click to expand...

We have this one as well and have had to put a little plexiglass shield up to raise the edge of the entryway, because Faraday was literally getting in the box, sitting at the entryway and just peeing on the floor.

I love our ModKat boxes, especially because Faraday really can spray high up the sides of the box - we have had a very smelly and messy learning curve to find the right box(es).

We bought the fliptop ModKat box first, and then we bought the top entry box which generally sees more action, maybe because it's roomier?

That all being said, to answer the original question, we love our Worlds Best multi-cat clumping unscented litter. I will never go back to clay, because the weight of the used litter was crazy heavy, the dust was ridiculous, and this is so much better (for us, for the environment etc etc). I'm intrigued by the grass seed stuff referenced above though - I might look into it, but I'm very happy with our current litter.
 
Cali S said:
We have this one as well and have had to put a little plexiglass shield up to raise the edge of the entryway, because Faraday was literally getting in the box, sitting at the entryway and just peeing on the floor.

I love our ModKat boxes, especially because Faraday really can spray high up the sides of the box - we have had a very smelly and messy learning curve to find the right box(es).

We bought the fliptop ModKat box first, and then we bought the top entry box which generally sees more action, maybe because it's roomier?

That all being said, to answer the original question, we love our Worlds Best multi-cat clumping unscented litter. I will never go back to clay, because the weight of the used litter was crazy heavy, the dust was ridiculous, and this is so much better (for us, for the environment etc etc). I'm intrigued by the grass seed stuff referenced above though - I might look into it, but I'm very happy with our current litter.
Click to expand...
Too funny about Faraday. We've had a cat do that too! I haven't bought the top entry one. I was wondering if they'd go in it? And I was worried about trapping too much stink in there (we do scoop all the time, but we have a lot of cats and a lot of litter boxes.) What position do you leave your flip top box? Half or all the way closed? I guess I could try and see if they'll go in it with the lid all the way closed and if they will, then they may use the top entry. I worry about another cat coming along and trapping the cat in the litter box. I did find that this ModKat Flip is really good for kittens (we have fosters every year) with the high sides, they can't kick out as much litter. They easily fit in and go with the lid all the way closed. They do like to play on it though and jump on the top of the lid (which is funny.)

I like World's Best, too. The multi cat though, seemed to have an odd scent. As I said, I only stopped using it because Darcy (and others) thought it was a great snack when they were hungry. :eek: I haven't had any trouble with the grass litters -- and they're NOT HEAVY by comparison to clay! :joyful:
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Too funny about Faraday. We've had a cat do that too! I haven't bought the top entry one. I was wondering if they'd go in it? And I was worried about trapping too much stink in there (we do scoop all the time, but we have a lot of cats and a lot of litter boxes.) What position do you leave your flip top box? Half or all the way closed? I guess I could try and see if they'll go in it with the lid all the way closed and if they will, then they may use the top entry. I worry about another cat coming along and trapping the cat in the litter box. I did find that this ModKat Flip is really good for kittens (we have fosters every year) with the high sides, they can't kick out as much litter. They easily fit in and go with the lid all the way closed. They do like to play on it though and jump on the top of the lid (which is funny.)

I like World's Best, too. The multi cat though, seemed to have an odd scent. As I said, I only stopped using it because Darcy (and others) thought it was a great snack when they were hungry. :eek: I haven't had any trouble with the grass litters -- and they're NOT HEAVY by comparison to clay! :joyful:
Click to expand...

We leave the flip top all the way closed, mostly to control the direction of entry/exit and keep the litter tracking to a minimum.

I was worried about the top entry, but like I said, it seems to be the more popular box in our house. We left the lid off it for the first week, and then put it on, and they've had no issue. The top has a lot of decent size holes in it, so I feel like the air circulation is better than the flip top, tbh.
 
@Wendy&Neko I wonder if I might petition a mod to move this thread back to off-topic, that forum gets very little traffic

probably splitting hairs to call it feline health related anyway, most of the feline health posts are much more serious situations involving a particular kitty's health. Was good to have some action in that off-topic forum, and when it was moved over here it just got buried.
 
Okocat Original Premium Wood Clumping Cat Litter

Regular litter turns was turning to glue due to his diabetic symptoms and became extremely hard to scoop and made the Litter Robot worthless.

This Okocat stuff is super easy to scoop, it doesn't get stuck and gum up the litter box.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top