The great Cat Litter debate

anniehoo

Stemming from a Chillout chat, let's have a discussion for all you feline lovers out there about the glorious topic of Cat Litter

For most people who have the pleasure of being a slave to a cat, there also comes with it the necessary "joy" of litter trays. I don't think I'm alone in saying this is for me the WORST chore of owning a cat.

So, I use Lidls Coshida (Fuller's Earth) and always have. It costs less than €4 for 10kg and have not varied since (briefly tried wood pellets for a week).

It is in gravel formation and does "track". I scoop the waste everyday and clean the tray completely at least twice per month.It clumps nicely, but does leave a sticky residue on the bottom of the litter tray that isn't pleasant to clean.

I would be interested in hearing from other cat owners what their preference is and why. I would LOVE to find the best functional cat litter in relation to the price we pay for it.

MadsL

I use a wheat based litter, flushable and lasts at least a month or more without getting smelly.

anniehoo

MadsL wrote: »

I use a wheat based litter, flushable and lasts at least a month or more without getting smelly.

Wow! I would love that. Could you give us more info?

I must add I do feel guilty dumping the litter in the normal "bin waste", but do so in a biodegradable bag.

SillyMangoX

I use Tesco wood pellet cat litter, not sure of the price as it's usually my mam that does the shopping but I will find out! We went through a lot when Dude was a kitten as we had a load of trays on the go at once but now that they are all going outdoors during the day there is only the odd bit when they get caught short. At the moment we just have one tray in the utility, a large hooded one. We cut a bin bag in half and use it as a liner, put the litter on top of it then click down the hood to keep it in place, makes cleaning out the tray so easy! Just a matter of taking out the liner and dumping the litter, and a quick disinfect of the tray which is largely still clean we do a full tray change roughly every 2 weeks, sooner if needed or if we have visitors coming, but clean it out every day.

Oh and edited to say we out the old litter on the compost heap as it breaks down!

Rommie

I use the wood pellet litter from maxi zoo. Does the trick though I only get about two weeks out of a bag for 6 cats (in retrospect pretty good for six cats I guess). Wouldn't go beyond the wood pellets really, they've made a huge difference on the smell as I used to use a clumping litter that just was not as good. Throw it onto the compost heap as well which is handy

Bullseye1

Flushable cat litter.
http://m.voices.yahoo.com/top-5-environmentally-safe-occasionally-flushable-6206430.html

The Sweeper

Oz-pet wood pellet litter in a sieve tray that filters the pee through into a base that keeps the litter itself fresher for longer. It doesn't clump. I shake the tray twice a day and scoop the poo for flushing. The litter itself can go into compost for ornamentals .

Irish Stones

I use this one, Cat's Best Öko Plus
http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/cats/cat_litter/ecological_litter/bio_clumping/127214

It's made from wood, it's clumping and can disposed of in the WC or in the organic fraction of the home waste, this is my choice.
In the past I had used a clumping clay litter but I had always felt guilty for destroying natural resources (making that litter would mean digging/quarrying some place on Earth, I couldn't stand it anymore) and for dumping something that could haven't been recycled.
I scoop the waste twice a day and wash and clean the tray every two weeks.
I purchase the 20 litres packs from the Italian website of Zooplus and I pay 15.99 euro, not 18.99 like in the Irish page of the same product, and it's 20% less than what I would pay in my regular shop.
I have two trays for two cats and a 20 litres pack lasts one month.

Pumpkinseeds

The best one I've used is Worlds Best and I think it really is the best, although extortionately expensive. It's corn based, flushable and compostable. It does go a very long way, about a month in our house. No odour, highly absorbent, great clumping that doesn't fall apart and is easy to clean but does track a lot.

2nd best was Cats Best oko plus. Clumping is very good and a lot like Worlds best but not as good. The wood pellets just turn to dust that is a bugger to clean and my guys hate it. The tesco stuff was too fine and scented, it also left their paws pink. I'm using the Thomas stuff for now but it's not great and I honestly don't know how it got such great reviews.

Poppy has a Biokat 2x odour thing that was on offer, she's happy with it but I don't rate the odour control at all, clumping well but falls apart when scooping the tray and tracks everywhere. It's on a carpeted floor so thats not ideal, but I've got mats under it.

Since she's new and cooped up in one room still I haven't and won't hoover it yet and have to use the dustpan and brush to clean it up.

bluecherry74

I started my thread before seeing yours so please merge!!

PurplePrincess

I was using the Tesco value litter but found i was getting through so much of it so quickly so I changed to Cats best Oko plus and found it good, at one stage I had 13 cats in the house and the 40L bag went a long way (was 23.99 from Zooplus.de). It has good odour control and its handy to be able to put it in the brown bin.

Just for curiosity I decided to try out a different one so got Cat & Clean (20euro 30Kgs), which is a Bentonite sand litter and while it does clump nice and is easy to scoop out it goes everywhere, even from a covered tray. The next one I'm looking to try is Sanicat Professional 20euro for 40L.

JaneeMack

I use Cat's Best Oko - have used SaniCat (Lavender) and Cat's Best Oko wood pellets - all good products but didn't like the smell of SaniCat Lavender. In my personal opinion, the unscented Cats' Best Oko smells less than the SaniCat Lavender one. For some reason, didn't like the lavender scent off the SaniCat one but it does cover up the smell of No.2 when he goes. I much prefer to notice when my cat does No. 2 so I can scoop it out straight away.

rannerap

I use the tesco wood pellets, its 6e a bag! I have two hooded litter trays and I give them a clean every night and a full clean once a week. My two are crapping machines and total indoor cats so sometimes have to clean twice a day :pac:

inocybe

save yourself a fortune and buy the big bags of wood pellets for stoves. Exactly the same:)

mentalist101

I use Sanicat professional or Tigerino crystals silicate litter, My kitten seems to like them and they have good odor control, are highly adsorbent and non-clumping

The Sweeper

Are sieve trays available in Ireland? They completely change the use of wood pellets if they are. If you can buy a large bag of cheap wood pellets (especially pine based pellets) for a stove on the cheap, and set out a couple of sieve trays, I think it'd change a lot of people's experiences...

Wood pellet litter barely tracks because it's too heavy to stick to paws when the cats leave the tray. Pine pellets mask any odours, and the use of the sieve tray lets you rinse away pee daily or every second or third day if you wish. Removal of solids daily takes one minute and they go down the loo. I'll see if this image works...

I changed to these about three years ago. For starters, my expenditure on cat litter decreased hugely - I went from using one bag a week to using one bag a month (I have six cats before anyone says 'Jesus how much litter do you use...'). The sieve in conjunction with the wood pellets is a game changer. The litter stays 'clean' for ages - rinsing out the base every third evening, and shaking the litter daily and removing poo, with a single cat you could get four weeks out of a single litter tray (and it wouldn't be a revolting four weeks). Overall it feels more hygenic - unless you're a grot and you miss a few days of solids removal.

anniehoo

wrote:

l.

I've never seen these here, but seems ingenious though. Do you place one into the other and then the litter over it...or do you have both separate and just sieve everything through? I'm a bit slow tonight

The Sweeper

The sieve sits flush inside the solid tray. You then put the litter in the sieve. :-)

deise08

I have seen them. think in maxi zoo. I use the normal cat litter. regular Tesco clumping litter. tried to use wood pellets but he wouldn't go near it and then the chicken got confused thinking they were her food pellets. Silly girl would be interested in the wheat based stuff. whereabouts would I get that?

Themadhouse

We use red mills chick crumb which is the same as worlds best litter. corn based, safe if kittens nibble on it, in small amounts is flushable, it can go in brown bin or compost pile, it is a lot cheaper than worlds best. €13 for 25kg.

deise08

Chick crumb for cat litter? That doesn't get a very nice smell when gets wet

sparkle_23

In Ireland I used the Tesco low dust clumping litter. Smudge and Sparkle go out in the fields during the day so the tray is just for at nights! Scooped it every second day and cleaned out completely maybe every 10 days! Think the litter cost around 6.99 for the bag. Didn't stick to the tray at all and because it was low dust very easy to clean and manage!

Here in Canada we use Purina Maxx Scoop, Not sure what the equiv is in Ireland. We use that because we got a bunch of coupons when we adopted Pepper and we got some free. That was also what they used in the shelter. When she's a bit older I might change to something else! We have a hooded tray because she has a habit of diving in and out of the tray... litter everywhere!! :rolleyes::rolleyes: It's clumping. I scoop it every night and sometimes during the day if I get a chance! We live in a 1 bedroom apartment so it's important to keep it clean!

miezekatze

Irish Stones wrote: »

I use this one, Cat's Best Öko Plus
http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/cats/cat_litter/ecological_litter/bio_clumping/127214

It's made from wood, it's clumping and can disposed of in the WC or in the organic fraction of the home waste, this is my choice.
In the past I had used a clumping clay litter but I had always felt guilty for destroying natural resources (making that litter would mean digging/quarrying some place on Earth, I couldn't stand it anymore) and for dumping something that could haven't been recycled.
I scoop the waste twice a day and wash and clean the tray every two weeks.
I purchase the 20 litres packs from the Italian website of Zooplus and I pay 15.99 euro, not 18.99 like in the Irish page of the same product, and it's 20% less than what I would pay in my regular shop.
I have two trays for two cats and a 20 litres pack lasts one month.

I use this too. I used to use wood pellets and then World's Best, but didn't like either that much. I found World's Best very dusty, I kept having to hoover up dusty paw prints. The smell put me off a bit too. Cat's Best is a lot cheaper and does the same job and doesn't have that odd smell. My cat seems to prefer it too. The clumps don't get as hard as with other clumping litters though, so you have to be careful when scooping. It's so handy that you can flush it down the toilet too.

bluecherry74

Themadhouse wrote: »

We use red mills chick crumb which is the same as worlds best litter. corn based, safe if kittens nibble on it, in small amounts is flushable, it can go in brown bin or compost pile, it is a lot cheaper than worlds best. €13 for 25kg.

This is interesting, I might just give it a try. You mentioned on the other thread that baking soda helps reduce the smell. How much do you use? A teaspoon or so per tray?

Has anyone tried a silica type litter? This one on Zooplus has gotten rave reviews and seems to last a long time:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/cats/cat_litter/silicate_litter/127212

miezekatze

Re chick crumb, I read before that it's basically the same as World's Best (i.e. corn based), but I also read that there can be bug eggs and stuff like that in it that can hatch. Did you ever notice anything like that?

Themadhouse

miezekatze wrote: »

Re chick crumb, I read before that it's basically the same as World's Best (i.e. corn based), but I also read that there can be bug eggs and stuff like that in it that can hatch. Did you ever notice anything like that?

No we have never had anything like that happen and we use 2 large bags fornightly. We have 7 trays on the go in the house, more if we have fosters.
We used worlds best for a while and and we just couldnt afford to keep it up. We also needed something safe for kittens too.

Hard to guage the amount of baking soda but when i was the trays i cover the base, then put in the crumb and then sprinkle on top. Every 2 days i sprinkle more. full empty of trays one week and a full wash the next and it al seems to keep the odour at bay.

bluecherry74

I'd imagine the egg problem would be down to how you store it. It is a food for very young chicks after all, so it needs to have reasonable safety standards. I buy layers pellets for my adult chickens and every bag comes with a use by date of no more than 2 months in advance. As long as it's stored somewhere dry then I don't think there'd be an issue.

ferretone

We use Multifit Natur-Strohstreu from Maxizoo. It's a straw pellet litter, similar to the wood pellets, but made from straw. I find it has far better ability to absorb odours than wood pellets; it's also more of a waste product, so more environmentally defensible. And we like to compost our litter: the straw pellets compost a lot faster than the wood ones too. I've tried pretty much everything, including the silica, which I found horrible for urine, tracks a lot, and no good for compost, and World's Best: my sister thought that fantastic, but it seems my nose was more sensitive: I couldn't stand the smell of it, despite the fancy price!

Pumpkinseeds

I started using the Cats best oko plus a couple of days ago and it's like a party in the litter tray:D They're loving it. We've got Worlds best upstairs in Poppy's room and I honestly think the Oko plus is better at odour absorbtion. She had a poop during the night and the smell from the litter tray hit me as soon as I opened the door this morning, not what you want at 6am when you're half asleep.

They seem to prefer the larger litter and I think the texture is better. It certainly clumps really well. Poppy has started coming downstairs to use it in the other litter tray and is only using her own at night. It's also much cheaper than World's best.

bluecherry74

Sounds good, I'll be giving that one a try I think.

Pumpkinseeds

bluecherry74 wrote: »

Sounds good, I'll be giving that one a try I think.

Don't make the mistake I initially made and get the Universal one, I wouldn't consider that cat litter at all and I don't know how they can even call the Universal one cat litter. The Oko plus is larger grains than the Worlds best but is still nice and light, flushable and compostable, so it saves on the wheelie bin charges:)

Rips

I use Biokats, which is expensive. I decided to try one of the more expensive clumping litters as we live in an apartment with carpet, and tracking and smell is an issue. Cat is indoor only. I got it for a good deal when it was on offer but I think it works out quite well as you don't have to top up quite so often.

Best litter we had tried so we stuck with it. We tend to buy in bulk when its on offer, saves on delivery charges as well. Lasts forever so that offsets the cost some.

It doesn't track and its not dusty at all, but the cat does kick it out and there is usually a little deposit outside the box. Its very good with smell but they have a new product which we might try next time, especially for 'Men' cats which can only be excellent, as generally there is no smell with our current one.

Pumpkinseeds

Rips wrote: »

I use Biokats, which is expensive. I decided to try one of the more expensive clumping litters as we live in an apartment with carpet, and tracking and smell is an issue. Cat is indoor only. I got it for a good deal when it was on offer but I think it works out quite well as you don't have to top up quite so often.

Best litter we had tried so we stuck with it. We tend to buy in bulk when its on offer, saves on delivery charges as well. Lasts forever so that offsets the cost some.

It doesn't track and its not dusty at all, but the cat does kick it out and there is usually a little deposit outside the box. Its very good with smell but they have a new product which we might try next time, especially for 'Men' cats which can only be excellent, as generally there is no smell with our current one.

It's interesting to read different opinions on cat litter. We bought Biokat 2x odour absorbing litter and found it awful. It tracked everywhere and since it was her safe room I couldn't vacuum the carpet so had to get down on my hands and knees twice a day with a dust pan and brush to sweep it up. I didn't find that it absorbed any odour at all and while it clumped well, the clumps fell apart when scooping.

I suppose the different versions of the range might be better in quality than the one we used.

Rosier

Since being s o advised decades ago by the breeder of my Siamese , I used torn up newspaper as long as my cats were indoor cats.

Now they are free range; I keep a tray (washing up bowl) as one cat prefers to use that in bad weather; newspaper still.

Rips

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

It's interesting to read different opinions on cat litter. We bought Biokat 2x odour absorbing litter and found it awful. It tracked everywhere and since it was her safe room I couldn't vacuum the carpet so had to get down on my hands and knees twice a day with a dust pan and brush to sweep it up. I didn't find that it absorbed any odour at all and while it clumped well, the clumps fell apart when scooping.

I suppose the different versions of the range might be better in quality than the one we used.

Hmm interesting - the specific one we use is 'MicroFresh' perhaps the micro is for smaller particles? Thats good to know though, perhaps I shall stick with what is working rather then try a different one from the range.

I can say that the only time it tracks is if he has squiffy poo and it sticks to wet stuff on his paws. Which is always nasty, no matter the litter!

We have used this in an area with laminate flooring aswell, and it was the same, although deposit from outside the box, spread further

I found Biokats better then 'Extreme Classic' which is what we moved off. It had good smell odour control but it tracked everywhere.

debabyjesus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySGsis-W10A&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This omega paw litter box is the only one to have. We use sophisticat clumping gold or cat leader blue clumping in it and it works exactly as described.

Rips

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to revoke my praise for Biokats Litter! :mad:

There are differences in the formulations of each of the various types, and, they have since changed the formulation of the 'microfresh' litter we were happy with, and it is now useless. Still great with odour control, but the fine litter now turns into a sticky paste, which sticks to everything, the carpet, the scoop, the tray.
I would have nearly thrown it out rather then use up the two massive bags we had left of the newly packaged stuff.

I've switched to Tigerino crystal litter, and I'm quite happy with it. A 5L bag lasted my cat 23 days, which at the current offer price means 20c/day.
So easy to scoop the poo daily and aggravate the litter.

Irish Stones

Rips wrote: »

but the fine litter now turns into a sticky paste, which sticks to everything, the carpet, the scoop, the tray.

I think I have to agree with you...
I'm thinking of contacting them and let them know my disappointment.

angeline

I've only ever used Premiere Moments clumping litter from Maxi Zoo. It is expensive though at almost 20 euro a bag so interesting if other brands do an equivalent product for cheaper. Would only use clumping litter.