Uk Litter Recommendations Needed!

[kate187]

Hi,

It's been suggested that my 15 year old cats sporadic coughing/sneezing etc could be related to the litter being too dusty.

Any recommendations for litter?

1. I'm in the UK, needs to be available here.
2. He has used all sorts of litter and doesn't seem fussy what he uses.
3. Needs to not be dusty.
4. A bonus would be environmentally friendly.
5. Not sure whether to go clumping or non clumping?


Thanks.

 

[Columbine]

Hi I'm in the UK too

What litter are you using right now? (I don't want to suggest something that you know exacerbates his breathing difficulties ).

As your boy is having breathing issues, my instinct would be to go for clumping, so that the litter tray stays really clean. I use fine grain clay clumping litter for my guys (Tigerino Nuggies, in either scent). It's a bit dusty, but not too bad. I've used Cat & Clean in the past, but switched because it was sticking to paws (two very determined diggers here ), and it suddenly got a lot dustier for some reason. Tigerino Canada, whilst it claims to be less dusty than the Nuggies, didn't seem very different to me, so I didn't feel it was worth the higher price point. It is available unscented, though, so is a better choice if that's an issue for you.

I've never found a clay litter that is truly dust free, though, so non clay litters might be a better bet. I tried Greenwoods Natural a while back, which is a wood based clumping litter. I loved the look and smell of it, and it was virtually dust free too. Downsides are it tracks badly (because it's so light), and it doesn't clump as tightly as clay litters do. My cats weren't very keen either, though they did use it a bit. It might be a good choice for you and your boy though, as the dust really was very low indeed

Something I haven't tried (mostly due to cost) is silica litter. That really IS dust free, but is mostly non-clumping. Tigerino make a clumping one, though, but it is expensive (at least for me, with four big boxes to fill). I believe Brian007 uses Tigerino's non-clumping silica litter, so she might be able to tell you more about that.

I haven't tried corn-based litters (such as World's Best), but I know a lot of members here use it ( Draco comes to mind). I haven't tried Oko Plus either (another wood based litter), but I know the shelter jcat works at uses it, so she might be able to tell you how dusty it is.

I'm sorry I can't give a clearer recommendation, but hopefully at least some of this will help you All the links are for Zooplus - that's where I get the majority if my cat supplies from, so those are the brands I know best

 

[jcat]

I haven't tried Oko Plus either (another wood based litter), but I know the shelter jcat works at uses it, so she might be able to tell you how dusty it is.

I was going to suggest Öko Plus because there's very little dust compared to clay litters. We have a number of reviews of it, including my own: Cat's Best Öko Plus

 

[Draco]

I used to use World's Best cat litter. I love it! It clumps, doesn't have as much dust as other clay litter. It's flushable and healthier all over for the cats (Especially if a cat likes to eat litter). Only down side, it's pricey.

Since then, I've switched to Chick Feed Crumbles from a farm feed store. It's MUCH cheaper and exact same as World's Best. I get a 50 lb bag for $15 (and that's here in the US, not sure of cost comparison in UK). If you decide to try Chick Feed Crumbles- make sure it's non-medicated and in crumble form (there's pellet form too).

It has very little to no dust. Has a nice smell of corn upon opening (Some might not like the smell), but it goes away quickly. It's flushable, or you can throw it in compose (I don't do this but my friend does) for fertilizer. Lasts longer than clay litter (I clean my box fully once a month) and clumps well.

 

[Brian007]

Well, at the present time my two are using Tigerino Canada non-scented clumping for reasons outwith anything to do with me, or dust, or clumpability. Parker likes to dig around and swim in it as it is soft on the paws; however, I'd say that it's fairly dusty and it tracks (but believe me, any litter would follow Parker out from his gleeful ratting around). But it is a good, sound, clumping litter.

My mum uses both a wood pellet and a silica in different trays. The wood pellets do indeed look and smell lush but mayhap be too prone to airborne sawdust for your boy.

In the past, I've used non-clumping as with only one cat a bag will happily last for three weeks and you only need to scoop the poo once per day (my cats have tended to poo once a day). I've used Van Ness extra giant litter liners in a large tray with a layer of newspaper underneath. This means that you simply lift the liner and contents out to dispose, simples.

Silica non-clumping like Bob Martin's are good from the viewpoint of smell & urine trapping, and non-dust producing but the particles are like fairly sizeable shards of glass, and track. This means that if (and when) you stand on them or find one has suspiciously made its way under your bed sheets (), it hurts. And, if it hurts us, it hurts them too. There's very little digging that goes on, which adds weight to the hurting theory.

But, Tigerino "Fun" silica is very fine grain, like sand, and feels quite soft under paw (human paws, at any rate): Tigerino Crystals Fun Silicate Cat Litter | Top deals at zooplus. It seemed good at its job but I didn't get to use it long before the 'outwith' my control thing. However, I'll try it again when things are 'within' my control, although I now have two cats and so don't know how expensive/cost efficient it would be. But I do know that it works, is fun coloured (childish, I know, but hey), is compostable (weirdly), is dust-free, soft, doesn't seem to track but that could be because it's so small it 'vanishes' into the ether of my flat, and Dudley, at least, thought it was ok for the short time he had it.

Or, there's good old, reliable, Catsan, which is widely available everywhere. Its not sharp or pokey like Bob Martin's but is more like pure white chalk rubble but without the dust. It's ever so calming to rake, like a Japanese zen garden. It does a good job and comes in jumbo bags, which if bought online make it very affordable. The main drawback is that it tracks everyone's every move, following you all throughout the house like snow white ninja fairy crumble.

So, if you fancy trying non-dusting-non-clumping, I'd give razor sharp Bob Martin's a swerve, and go straight for blue or pink 'fun' Tigerino, and snow white Catsan. I hope this somewhat sketchy review has helped a wee smidgen.

 

[kate187]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I think I'm going to get a small bag of Greenwoods and Cat's Best and see if he takes to one.