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Is activated charcoal better?
- Thread starter lemcat
- Start Date
Activated charcoal FILTERS are good for catching odor (and other things), that's all I know about it. I've never heard of activated charcoal litter though.
Activated charcoal won't hurt your cat.
I suppose you could mix some with your cat's existing litter but I don't think it would be good to use it by itself.
First of all, charcoal doesn't absorb liquid very well.
Second, it has the texture of rough gravel that I don't think cats will appreciate.
Third, it's messy and will leave black track marks all over the place.
If you mixed some activated charcoal with your existing litter, maybe up to 1/4 by volume, it would probably help absorb some of the odor.
If you use clumping litter, charcoal will probably interfere with its clumping ability if you use too much.
If your cat tracks litter out of the box, charcoal will crush underfoot and leave black dust all over. It will be a mess to clean up.
If your cat doesn't like the rough, gravel texture of activated charcoal, it might shy away from using the litter box.
I don't see any harm in using activated charcoal in the litter if you want to try it but, IMO, the best way to keep litter box odor away is to clean the box and change the litter often.
I suppose you could mix some with your cat's existing litter but I don't think it would be good to use it by itself.
First of all, charcoal doesn't absorb liquid very well.
Second, it has the texture of rough gravel that I don't think cats will appreciate.
Third, it's messy and will leave black track marks all over the place.
If you mixed some activated charcoal with your existing litter, maybe up to 1/4 by volume, it would probably help absorb some of the odor.
If you use clumping litter, charcoal will probably interfere with its clumping ability if you use too much.
If your cat tracks litter out of the box, charcoal will crush underfoot and leave black dust all over. It will be a mess to clean up.
If your cat doesn't like the rough, gravel texture of activated charcoal, it might shy away from using the litter box.
I don't see any harm in using activated charcoal in the litter if you want to try it but, IMO, the best way to keep litter box odor away is to clean the box and change the litter often.
I can't say if it's better or not, but I can say the odor absorbers with activated charcoal in them that you put in the room do work. I've been using them for years in my cat room (it has 2 litter boxes in there) and dog room (3 dogs sleep in there plus one litter box). You still need to scoop the box, but it helps with the lingering odor.
Adding plain baking soda to the litter will also help with odors. Keeping the room well ventilated also helps. You can also place non-scented odor absobers near the litter box.
What are you feeding? Some brands of foods, particularily poor quality foods full of fillers, results in super stinky poop.
What are you feeding? Some brands of foods, particularily poor quality foods full of fillers, results in super stinky poop.
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I use Tidy cats free and clean unscented, which has charcoal in it. Tidy Cats Free & Clean Unscented Clumping Cat Litter, 35-lb pail - Chewy.com It is also unscented, and great at odor control. Would highly recommend. Have never added charcoal to other litter, so I cannot comment on how it works that way.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #7
I'm feeding Blue Wilderness.
Is that known for poor quality?
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If you want better odor control, maybe try switching away from pine litter. The fact that it doesn’t clump as tightly means it can be difficult to get every piece of litter that’s been peed on, and even a few soggy pee soaked flakes sitting in there make it start to smell like cat pee fairly quickly (at least in my experience, when we tried Feline Pine I didn’t think it clumped very well).
If it’s poop smells you’re worried about you could try switching foods like someone mentioned. I also like the arm and hammer litter deodorizer, when I change out all the litter in the box I put a little bit in the bottom of the empty box before pouring new litter in and it seems to work really well.
If it’s poop smells you’re worried about you could try switching foods like someone mentioned. I also like the arm and hammer litter deodorizer, when I change out all the litter in the box I put a little bit in the bottom of the empty box before pouring new litter in and it seems to work really well.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #9
Move away from pine litter to which litter?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
Which litter do you use?
Unfortunately most if not all of the tidy cats litter is now the lightweight stuff which I absolutely cannot recommend. These litters are messy and leave dusty stains everywhere (been two years since I switched and still have stains on my water heater and washing machine). What's more it made Poor Indy have asthma attacks at least once a week.
I've never used charcoal for litter nor would I recommend it for the reasons others have already mentioned. Ever drawn with charcoal? It's super messy.
My cats are very happy with arm and hammer clump and seal fresh scent. Low tracking and lives up to it's 7 day freshness claim.
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Um, did you check the link of the product I posted?
It is not the lightweight version, and I have not seen most or all lightweight where I shop for tidy cats. They seem to have all varieties in both regular clumping and light weight. My cat has asthma, too, and agree the lightweight should be avoided, but the link and product I suggested and use is NOT lightweight.
According to Tidy Cats - EL Transition Page
Most of the regular tidy-cats is being discontinued. I am not sure if it's just in Canada though or not. But free and clean is only listed on the website as lightweight.
I just wanted people to be aware of the potential dangers of using lightweight litter and how it affected my cats.
Most of the regular tidy-cats is being discontinued. I am not sure if it's just in Canada though or not. But free and clean is only listed on the website as lightweight.
I just wanted people to be aware of the potential dangers of using lightweight litter and how it affected my cats.
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Have not heard of that, I hope they do not change it here in the US... With many educated cat owners, like you and me, understanding lightweight can cause health problems and worsen asthma, that does not seem like a great move for the company... Thank you for sharing this. Luckily I stocked up enough to last through the end of the year, but will be contacting tidy cats to inquire about this... Hope I don't need to look for a new cat litter...
We use ordinary Fresh Step clumping litter.
Casper isn't picky about which litter he uses as long as it's kept clean. We try to get the unscented version if we can but it seems like they are pushing all these "Fabreeze" scented things.
I understand that many cats have different needs but I think that many people would be able to solve most of their litter problems if they would just keep the box clean in the first place.
Casper's box gets checked at least once per day. If there is more than one deposit, it gets cleaned right away. It often gets cleaned every day but, occasionally, we can skip a day. His box gets cleaned no less than once every other day.
It seems like Casper wants to have one deposit in his box at any given time, probably just to make sure his territory remains marked. It's funny because, five minutes after we clean it, Casper will go in and leave a deposit.
It's almost like he's summoning one up just for the purpose.
