Advise On Switching Litter Type

[Hellenww]

Our Yoshi has always perched on the corner of the litter box to use it and doesn't cover anything. He will start to cover when he pees but just shakes off his paw after a few swipes and leaves. Sqeeker covers it for him later. We always thought he just didn't like litter. Over the years we've tried unsuccessfully to switch litters. It just resulted in neither cat using the box that had more than half of a new type even though it was a slow mix with old litter and their deposits.


He's getting older and I really want to get him off the sides before he becomes unsteady. I'm picking up some grass based litter today and hope he likes the feel.


We have 2 cats and 3 boxes. They each use all 3. We've been using fresh step clumping all of their lives.


The plan is to mix in a little each day and leave a some poo and pee in place.


Are there any other tricks to switching? Is Grass based the gentlest on paws. We have tried dirt and shredded paper both were rejected.

 

[susanm9006]

I would try the gradual mixing in as you planned. That is what I have always done when changing litters.

One litter that is very fine and soft is Slide. It is unfortunately scented which some cats object to but very very fine grained with the added advantage of not sticking to the box.

 

[Daisy6]

Perching on the edge of the litterbox is not a problem. I used to have a cat who at age 19 was still doing it when she pooped. She never pooped outside the litterbox or cared what litter brand was in it. (Don't ask me why she only did it to poop.)

If Yoshi ever loses the ability to perch on the edge of a litterbox, he will just go in, pee or poop, and walk out. There is nothing to worry about here.

 

[Tobermory]

I transitioned the girls from Dr. Elsey’s Ultra (clay clumping) to Smart Cat (grass clumping). I took it much more slowly than the directions on the bag recommended. I figured I was going for behavior change not trying to win a race against the cats. Also, the grass clumping is extremely light weight and cats can be a little put off by how easily they sink in it.

I started with a thin layer of grass litter at the bottom with more of the regular litter on top. That way they stirred it up when they used the box, and I stirred it further when I scooped. As the level went down, I stirred in more grass litter. That was months ago, and I figure at this point the boxes are 98% grass. Maybe I was too cautious but I really wanted them to use the new litter. The cats aren’t the least bit hesitant about using it now!

 

[Hellenww]

Perching on the edge of the litterbox is not a problem. I used to have a cat who at age 19 was still doing it when she pooped. She never pooped outside the litterbox or cared what litter brand was in it. (Don't ask me why she only did it to poop.)

If Yoshi ever loses the ability to perch on the edge of a litterbox, he will just go in, pee or poop, and walk out. There is nothing to worry about here.

He has a slight limp with his back left leg. The vet said it's arthritis. He gets
NODENS® - Pet Health CAT HIP and JOINT Glucosamine, it helps most days but some days he can't jump up to the sink or to the bed. He has been 16lb of solid muscle most of his 12yrs but this yr his has lost mucle but not weight so that is also making his arthritis worse. On his weak days he still tries to jump directly to the counter and falls over and over until I can get there point him to the chair. Limping or not he chases his brother around at least 2x daily. So I want to try and get get him in the box before the stuborn little bugger falls off.

 

[duckpond]

I use grass litter as well, and my cats love it. I keep out 5 boxes for my 4, so i just filled one of the boxes with the grass litter. It took them a few weeks to really start using it, but they did, so then i just swapped them all out for grass and never looked back. Luckily for me my guys were use to me trying new litters on them, often and no one has revolted yet

I think it may well be the softest litter, and easy on feet. My friend has a rescue cat that was declawed when she got him. He always perched on the box, he hated to get his feet in the litter, i think it hurt his feet. She started using the grass litter, and now he gets right in there like any other cat.

 

[Tobermory]

duckpond beat me to it about how easy grass litter is on their feet! I’ll add that another good choice is Okocat super soft clumping wood litter. Okocat has six varieties, but this one in particular is marketed as being very soft on their feet, and I agree. I think it may be just a bit softer even than the Smart Cat grass. But both kinds are soft, clump very well and do a good job of controlling odor...better, in my experience, than clumping clay.

super soft clumping wood cat litter | Products | ökocat | Healthy Pet

 

[duckpond]

I need to try that okocat super soft someday, i think its their newer litter? I have used the other okocat litters in the past, but found them to be just a little dustier than the grass litter? Not bad at all, just a little more. How is the dust with the super soft one?

 

[Tobermory]

I need to try that okocat super soft someday, i think its their newer litter? I have used the other okocat litters in the past, but found them to be just a little dustier than the grass litter? Not bad at all, just a little more. How is the dust with the super soft one?

I just finished a box (mixed it with Smart Cat), and I didn’t find it to be very dusty, even at the bottom of the box. But it’s probably like a lot of litters: You’ll find the occasional dusty batch.

 

[duckpond]

Has anyone tried the Garfield litter? Its corn i think? looks like really fine grains, so i would imagine its soft on feet. I have always been a bit Leary of corn based litters, but this one is soooo white.. lol i think i must try it.

Garfield Cat Litter Tiny Grains Flushable Cat Litter

 

[Tobermory]

Has anyone tried the Garfield litter? Its corn i think? looks like really fine grains, so i would imagine its soft on feet. I have always been a bit Leary of corn based litters, but this one is soooo white.. lol i think i must try it.

Garfield Cat Litter Tiny Grains Flushable Cat Litter

My vet warned me away from corn-based litter because of aflatoxins. I know a lot of people swear by World’s Best Cat Litter, including a good friend who adores her cats and takes wonderful care of them, but I decided there were other options that didn’t carry the potential risk...and that the cats would use!

 

[duckpond]

yes, thats always been my worry too. Its just so white looking i dont know what they do to it to get it to look that way? I like light color litter, i dont know i just feel like i can tell if something is going on with my cats urine better. One reason i like the grass litter. I know people rave about Worlds best, i tried it, it just was not for me or mine. and i drove myself nuts worrying about aflatoxins.

 

[rubysmama]

Here's the TCS article on When And How To Switch To A New Type Of Litter

And How To Choose The Right Cat Litter