Tractor Supply Cat litter

TSC or Tractor Supply Company is a cheap place to buy everything for pets. I buy my Taste of the Wild dry food there. I also get my chicken crumbles I use as litter their. So they are basically getting all the money I used to give to PetSmart. They have some of the better name brands of food as well. Wellness, Blue Buffalo, etc. You'll be shocked at how much cat and dog stuff they have. 

I kicked myself for not checking it out sooner. I have probably been shopping there about a year. I have one about 10 minutes from my house, and their corporate headquarters is about 20 minutes from me in Brentwood, TN. This is a suburb of Nashville. 

Oh, and they have a return policy similar to what Wal-Mart's used to be: If you have a reciept, and simply aren't satisfied with something (i.e. kitty got finicky and didn't like her food), you can bring it back. No questions asked. 

I'm obviously a fan 

@bigperm20 did you get to try the Paws and Claws litter?  Eager to hear what you think of it.  It's much heavier than what I used to use (Cat's Pride Scoopable/flushable), but the serious decrease in dust is so awesome that I have to "shush" myself about that when picking out the boxes.

peaches08 said:

@bigperm20
did you get to try the Paws and Claws litter?  Eager to hear what you think of it.  It's much heavier than what I used to use (Cat's Pride Scoopable/flushable), but the serious decrease in dust is so awesome that I have to "shush" myself about that when picking out the boxes.

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No I haven't had a chance to pick up a bag yet. I'm still pretty flush on chicken crumbles right now. I'm probably half way through a 50lb bag so it'll be another month or so, unless I need cat food.

The stuff I use is from a pest store and I never see any dust and works great only draw back is the price it's about 17 bucks a bag and I have two cats! I am going to TSC today and taking a look at their pet section!

newkittyowner said:

The stuff I use is from a pest store and I never see any dust and works great only draw back is the price it's about 17 bucks a bag and I have two cats! I am going to TSC today and taking a look at their pet section!

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Do you know the name brand? How much litter for $17? It's been my experience that almost all of it, even the non clumping, is very dusty now.

There are some alternative litters made of corn, pine, newspaper, etc. My kitties wouldn't use the pine litter. The chicken crumble I use is very similar to the World's Best Cat Litter brand of corn litter. I haven't tried the newspaper stuff, but it's pellets like the pine litter so I didn't bother.

bigperm20 said:

Do you know the name brand? How much litter for $17? It's been my experience that almost all of it, even the non clumping, is very dusty now.

There are some alternative litters made of corn, pine, newspaper, etc. My kitties wouldn't use the pine litter. The chicken crumble I use is very similar to the World's Best Cat Litter brand of corn litter. I haven't tried the newspaper stuff, but it's pellets like the pine litter so I didn't bother.

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I am about to turn the lights out to go to sleep and I can't remember the name off the top of my head and we store in the garage. Will let you know in the morning!

If anyone wants to use a more natural litter from TSC, they have corn cob horse bedding that I really like. It's a smaller/softer pellet than the pine pellets, so it seems to be better accepted by most cats. It turns to sawdust when wet, so you either have to use a spoon to scoop out the wet saw dust, or just change it once a week like I'm doing. It's cheap enough for that ($8.99 for 50 pounds, which is more volume than 50 pound of clay). The odor control is pretty good.

Willowy said:

If anyone wants to use a more natural litter from TSC, they have corn cob horse bedding that I really like. It's a smaller/softer pellet than the pine pellets, so it seems to be better accepted by most cats. It turns to sawdust when wet, so you either have to use a spoon to scoop out the wet saw dust, or just change it once a week like I'm doing. It's cheap enough for that ($8.99 for 50 pounds, which is more volume than 50 pound of clay). The odor control is pretty good.

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When you say scoop it with a spoon, do you mean a dinner spoon?  And when you say you just change it once a week, do you mean that you do not pick it during the week?  Also, would you mind taking a picture of a pellet with a reference like a penny?

Sorry for so many questions.  I try to make informed decisions and I'd like to use a more eco-friendly litter that's low or no dust. 

I guess a dinner spoon would work, but something bigger like a serving spoon would be better. Something without slots anyway.

I scoop the poop bits out every day but I don't mess with the wet spots. It seems to absorb the pee odor pretty well. You could probably also stir the wet spots into the dry spots to make a more even distribution.

As for dust. . .well, some of it is already sawdust right out of the bag. But not poofy dust like clay litters.

I'll see if I can get a picture. I can't really think of a size comparison.

I found this one on the internet that compares pine bedding pellets, to corn cob bedding pellets. I assume the one that @Willowy  uses is very similar in size. 

The left side is the pine and the right is the corn cob: 


Another option if you are looking for biodegradability is chicken layer crumbles. I have been using them for about 9 months now and it's low maintenance, and cheap. I got the idea from another forum where a lady was using World's Best Cat Litter and then as an experiment, tried chicken feed instead. It's basically the same stuff, just rolled corn.  The WBC has some extra ingredients to make it clump better i think but it's a lot more expensive. 

In the nine months I've been using it I've only had to clean the boxes out (scrub them out with soap and water), 3 or 4 times. When I was using clay litter it was once a month. The corn absorbs odors and clumps very well.  My girls like it too. You do have to mix a little baking soda in with it when you first introduce it. This keeps them from trying to eat it. 

As far as biodegradability, I'd say it breaks down really fast. Like any foodstuff would. 

Alright, I'm going to have to try this $5.99 store brand, because there's a Tractor Supply nearby and that's a fantastic price! Thanks for bumping this!

My cats have been using wood pellets for years. My old Fluffa cat, rest in peace buddy, had issues with clumping litter clumping between

his toes. He would then injest a bunch of it everytime he cleaned himself. Switching to wood pellets totally eliminated that problem.

A 40 pound bag of bedding pellets costs about $5.50 in my locale. 

bigperm20 said:

Do you know the name brand? How much litter for $17? It's been my experience that almost all of it, even the non clumping, is very dusty now.

There are some alternative litters made of corn, pine, newspaper, etc. My kitties wouldn't use the pine litter. The chicken crumble I use is very similar to the World's Best Cat Litter brand of corn litter. I haven't tried the newspaper stuff, but it's pellets like the pine litter so I didn't bother.

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The stuff I use is called oudour buster and and I don't get dust from it. Get iut from pet valu. It claims you can go 7 days with out scooping but only gone three when we were a away and a friend looking after them couldn't scoop because she is pregnant. I would never not scoop at least once a day though normally. It works and minimal to no smell unless they have just pooped. We like it.

peaches08 said:

 
@bigperm20 did you get to try the Paws and Claws litter?  Eager to hear what you think of it.  It's much heavier than what I used to use (Cat's Pride Scoopable/flushable), but the serious decrease in dust is so awesome that I have to "shush" myself about that when picking out the boxes.

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I forgot to update the thread when I initially gave the Paws n Claws a try. I have been using it now for about 2 months and I like it for the price. I agree that it is very heavy though, It makes it tough to scoop in my big litter boxes.  It is quite a bit dustier than the crumbles, but it's not any where near as dusty as the last clay litter I used. Regardless, I am just as happy with it as I was the chicken crumbles.

I have been buying the 25# bags that cost $5.99. The first 2 bags I bought had different color litter in them. One was a deep blue color, and one was speckled different colors. I thought it was a little weird, but I just put one in each litter box. I noticed the cats really prefer the speckled looking stuff for some reason, and it could be my imagination, but I think it controls odor better. I'm thinking that's maybe why the cats like it more. 

I asked the clerk at TSC if they had changed the formula and he said "probably". I bought another bag while I was there and it too is the deep blue color. Regardless I'm curious if any of you who are using it have noticed a change in the color or consistency? 

I stopped buying it. But i wonder if they improved it. I have 7 cats and th cost was great. But it didnt seem to dry as fast as Tidy cat. It was a pain picking up wet clumps.

I've never had the wet clumps issue, but I don't have 7 cats. 2 is enough for me.

I haven't noticed any changes, but yeah mine is the speckled variety.  My cats pee a lot (extra water on their raw food), so I make sure the clumps have enough time to kind of dry before scooping.  Else I end up with a sticky scoop.  But for the price and lower dust than Cat's Pride, I can't beat it.

I bought Paws and Claws for the first time a few weeks ago. I got two 25# bags for, I think, $6.99 each. Both bags are mostly gray in color with a few blue specks. I liked it at first. It's a bit dustier than the Precious Cat I'd been using, but tracks WAY LESS. My issue is the odor control isn't anywhere close to Precious Cat. It's not an issue for the box upstairs, as it's out in the open hallway, but the one confined in the downstairs bathroom, there's a strong ammonia smell when scooping. I can't even assign the litter boxes as a chore for my kids now because they refuse to touch that box. 

So I will be switching back to Precious Cat.

^ I didn't notice an increased odor(the boxes were in a room with an excellent air filter at the time) but I did have the same experience: more dusty, less tracking.  I've switched back to Precious Cat as well for the dust concern.  However, I'm once again looking for a new litter as my cat's asthma has worsened.  I've tried almost everything.

BigPerm20 - Could you have purchased a scented version?  I think I recall seeing a scented variety available and maybe that would be the reason for the blue granules?  I can't remember what the Paws and Claws looked like but I think it was a light greyish brown.  

Good point, OceanBreathes.  I get this:  http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/paws-and-clawsreg;-scoopable-kitty-litter-25-lb.  Mine has the blue speckles...I have no idea what they are though.  It's says unscented and I don't smell any scent (I hate scented litter).  But like you I think I remember seeing a scented variety before.  It's why I check each bag when I go shopping.

@LaraLove I can't remember what your cat eats, but that's a little concerning that you smelled so much ammonia in his urine.  Is he drinking enough?  Mine are on extra watered down raw and while most say to look for golfball sized pee clumps, that'd be small in this house even with my little 8 lb kitty.  Then again, I have camels running around in here.