Which Is The Best Litter To Control Odor And Safe For The Cat?

[10009891]

You go to the store and there are a million kinds of litter types out there. Which is the least dusty and the best clumping and odor controlling brand? Thank you!

 

[Kat0121]

My top choices are:

Tidy Cats scoop. They have 5 kinds. The only one I have never tried is the unscented. I have never seen it in a store near me. The other 4 are champs so I'd imagine that the unscented is just as good. Tight clumps, great odor control and minimal dust. Clumping Cat Litter from Tidy Cats® Scoop | Tidy Cats®
https://www.tidycats.com/products/clumping-cat-litter
Fresh Step Extreme. Also clumps like a champ, has great odor control and minimal dust. Extreme Scented Cat Litter with Febreze™ | Fresh Step®

Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat. Like the above 2 it clumps great, has excellent odor control and minimal dust. It has one drawback IMO. The plastic bag it comes in. That may not be an issue for you but IMO , it's a pain to move round and I have to hide the bag in my closet because if I do not, the girls will use the bag as a big scratcher and I come home to litter everywhere. The litter itself is excellent. If it came in a pail like Tidy Cats, I'd be thrilled. Classic - Dr. Elsey's

Honorable mention

So Phresh from Petco. It's their house brand and they sell it already in containers or you can bring a container back to the store to refill it at a lower price. It's good stuff. They are offering a deal on it online through 1/30 if you are interested in trying it. A 40 pound bag for $6.99 with the code sophresh6.

Details: Offer valid online only at petco.com. Enter promo code sophresh6 in your Shopping Cart at checkout to receive offer. Single-use coupon valid on one 40 lb. bag of So Phresh Cat Litter per customer only. Not valid on Repeat Delivery orders, out-of-stock items, prior purchases or international orders. Selection varies by store. Void if copied, transferred and where prohibited by law. Sales tax and shipping calculated on product price before coupon discount applied. Expires: 1/30/18.

 

[Neo_23]

I prefer clumping to non clumping because I want to see the size of my cat’s urine. I think it’s important for keeping track of their health. I also hate cleaning non-clumping litter, although some people have clever techniques that work for them.

I don’t like litter made from food (e.g., wheat). I think it’s strange (my cat thinks so too, he eats it). And also, I remember reading something about how these litters are actually dustier than clay. Plus they often attract bugs.

I liked the idea of wood litter (e.g., pine) and I used Okocat clumping wood litter for a while, but it may or may not have caused allergies for my cat so I stopped using it. It was also dusty. I also didn’t like how the company didn’t disclose how they made the wood clump.

I was avoiding using clay litter for a while because of all the bad things I read about it. But, the alternatives are really not much safer to be honest. A cat ingesting any kind of litter is not ideal, so you want to find a litter that doesn’t stick to your cat’s feet when it’s wet and that he doesn’t eat. This means it should clump really really well. That’s probably one of the most important things. If it clumps well then you have fewer wet pieces that are likely to stick to the feet and be ingested.

So, I’m now using Dr. Elsey Precious Cat Ultra. I won’t use scented litter or anything that is unnatural or has chemicals. This litter is 100% sodium bentonite. It clumps like a champ and doesn’t track too bad. It’s not 100% dust free, but no litter is. Some bags are dustier than others, that’s a feature of it being a natural product. The bag is very annoying and very heavy, but the pros outweigh the cons when comparing to other kinds of litter on the market.

Anyway, that’s my 2 cents. All litters suck, to be honest. Just gotta choose the lesser of evils.

 

[Margret]

Whatever litter you decide to try, you can reduce odor considerably just by adding baking soda to it. No need to get something expensive for that, so decide based on all the other qualities you want.

Margret

 

[Olympia7]

Worlds best litter because it is dust free, septic friendly, and amazing odor control!!

 

[10009891]

Thanks for all your feedback!!! Neo_23, is it bad when cats pee less or more? My male cat; he's actually going on 7 months, loves to drink a lot of water since he was a little tiny kitten. This causes him to pee too much and cause HUGE balls of clumps a day. It's a bit of a hassle. Not sure if this is normal for male cats or I need to take him to the vet.

 

[ailish]

My vote is Fresh Step Extreme Unscented. You have to go to the big box to get the unscented, at least around me. The litter does not need scent, I've never smelled a whiff from it. I would prefer it be more dust free because my cat is a digger and can get quite a ruckus going in the litterbox, but it seems to be less dusty than some.

I had previously used some of the Clump & Seals and they did a good clumping job, but I didn't like the smell of the actual litter. It smelled like, well, wet clay.

 

[duckpond]

I think i have tried ever litter available..lol always searching for the perfect one. Do not think they make a perfect litter, but i did find two that i like a lot, and so do the cats.

I use Dr. Elseys respiratory relief crystal litter, and a Grass cat litter. When i first started using grass litter pioneer pet smart cat was the only one i could find. I am seeing quite a few new grass litters on the market today i find both of these to be dust free, fragrance free, light weight, and the cats like both.

 

[di and bob]

My vote is for Fresh Step too, I keep trying more expensive brands to see if they control the odor better, and then realize Fresh Step has almost no tracking, and controls the odor even better! I went back to Tidy Cats fro a while and it tracked so bad I quit again, I was tired of litter all over my house.
I can tell by the size of the pee ball which cat did it, I remember my Burt used to go such big ones, for all his life, 17 years, the size of baseballs! But vet exams said he was normal, and he did drink more than my others too.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I was a firm believer in Fresh Step until I tried Arm and Hammer Super Scoop. It's considerably cheaper than Fresh Step and performs just about as well. It's A LOT less expensive too. You can get forty pounds at Walmart for about fifteen bucks.

Every once in a while I can find the forty-two pound bags of Fresh Step unscented at Petco for around, I think, eighteen dollars or so. They're the ones in big square plastic bags with the pull out handle. I really like that litter best, but I utterly despise having to go into Petco. The cats for adoption in the cages depress me. They tend to have signs on their cages that say things like, "I'm a sweet thirteen year old girl whose owner surrendered me to the shelter." I always tell myself not to go look at them but of course I do and then my eyes start to water and I feel like all the customers are staring at me. I love the fact that the cats are there and visible, and the sales staff has told me that they adopt cats out like crazy . . . but it's still sad.

 

[kirathecat]

I too use Dr Elseys R&R crystal litter, whith it being non clumping the odor control is unbelievable. One 7.5lb box lasts me between 6 and 8 weeks with one cat. I live in a tiny studio right now and there is no litter box smell at all (i even ask friends and family from time to time if my place smells like cats, the answer is alsways no ). Only downside is it gets tracked quite a lot. Well, there really is no such thing as a perfect kitty litter.

 

[duckpond]

I too use Dr Elseys R&R crystal litter, whith it being non clumping the odor control is unbelievable. One 7.5lb box lasts me between 6 and 8 weeks with one cat. I live in a tiny studio right now and there is no litter box smell at all (i even ask friends and family from time to time if my place smells like cats, the answer is alsways no ). Only downside is it gets tracked quite a lot. Well, there really is no such thing as a perfect kitty litter.

It is great for odor control, plus the litter itself has no smell, which i really appreciate! and i have never had a cat not like the litter. It will track a bit, but i find it tracks less than really any other litter i have used. Do you have a mat under yours, i find this helps a lot?

 

[kirathecat]

It is great for odor control, plus the litter itself has no smell, which i really appreciate! and i have never had a cat not like the litter. It will track a bit, but i find it tracks less than really any other litter i have used. Do you have a mat under yours, i find this helps a lot?

You are so right! I was so happy when i first tried this litter.

I keep thinking on getting a mat just never got around to it And not even sure if it’ll help with how my cat is. Some litter around litter box doesn’t bother me at all - and the litter mat will only help with that area. However, my kitty is medium hair cat and he jumps out of the box and goes straight into the bathroom or kitchen area and that is where litter from his paws always ends up . I swear, he does it on purpose, like ‘i have to bring as much litter with me as pissible, so mommy can step on it when she gets up’

 

[duckpond]

You are so right! I was so happy when i first tried this litter.

I keep thinking on getting a mat just never got around to it And not even sure if it’ll help with how my cat is. Some litter around litter box doesn’t bother me at all - and the litter mat will only help with that area. However, my kitty is medium hair cat and he jumps out of the box and goes straight into the bathroom or kitchen area and that is where litter from his paws always ends up . I swear, he does it on purpose, like ‘i have to bring as much litter with me as pissible, so mommy can step on it when she gets up’

I have 1 long to medium hair kitten too he is prone to getting litter stuck to himself, or on his fuzzy feet, his tail, everywhere, they are definitely more trying with this than short hair cats. Try as big a mat as you have room for, so that the cat has to walk a few steps on it when getting out of the box. might help, might not maybe worth a try.

 

[kirathecat]

I have 1 long to medium hair kitten too he is prone to getting litter stuck to himself, or on his fuzzy feet, his tail, everywhere, they are definitely more trying with this than short hair cats. Try as big a mat as you have room for, so that the cat has to walk a few steps on it when getting out of the box. might help, might not maybe worth a try.

Yep, those cute fuzzy feet They are litter magnets. Thanks, I’ll get a big mat. What kind do you have (brand or material)?