Best (least smelly,easy to keep clean, economical) cat litter

[JulesRules]

Any recommendations?

Having gone from one cat who never used his tray and always went outside, to having two young cats that we are not letting out yet (rescue says keep them in for a few weeks) we are suffering with smelly litters that constantly need cleaning out...

We are just using whatever we happened to pick up at the moment..we did have a supermarket grey claylike clumping one, and we have just opened a similar cheap supermarket non clumping one..

Is catsan worth the extra cash?

What are the wood pellets really like?

All your recomendations and advise gratefully received to free us from our cat smell hell and litter cleaning purgatory....

 

[Imogen Rose]

I used to have a cat that was scared of the outside, so we had a litter tray for her.
The wood pellets did work quite well, they smell better, and you can remove the wee'd on bits easier.
The small clear ball type litter worked amazingly for trapping smells. However it gets stuck between their toes, then rolls around the house. We only used one bag, and YEARS later i still hoover up the odd ball of litter! if you have carpet then it may not roll as far

 

[sarahann1]

I use the wood pellets and clean it out twice a day to help keep smells down. My new cat is allowed to go out, but she's choosing to be a house cat so litter trays it is, bah. I don't like the clumping ones for the reasons given above, far too messy for me.

 

[dorito]

I would recommend either

clumping - cat's best by Okoplus
non-clumping - bio-catolet or similar e.g. yesterdays' news

both are non-smelly provided you remove wee/poo as soon as they go, and wash the trays out regularly - neighbour used to fill a huge thing the size of a baby bath with a sack of litter but did not attend to the tray for a week or more at a time - unsurprisingly it stunk!

 

[View]

We've found wood pellets to be both good value and better for smells than others.

 

[dorito]

Just thought of another - a 1-inch deep layer of the finer-grained horse wood shavings make a great non-smelly litter, and is cheap enough just to dump the lot at frequent intervals.
Downside is shavings all over the house...

 

[Mrs B]

I'd vote for wood pellets - least smelly, easy to muck out and economical. We found the fastest way to get the wet out was once a day or so, she the whole lot through an old sieve over the outside bin and return the dry to the tray ...

 

[JulesRules]

Thanks everyone - a few ideas to try

OH works from home but is unlikely to drag himself away from the computer long enough to clean the tray as soon as they go.

Not too fussed about them tracking it round the house. We aren't that houseproud ;-0 The litter trays are upstairs away from the dog at present so on carpet and there is always the vacuum.

What Dorito has said just gave me an idea. I used to use as flax type bedding for my old horse (can't with current one as she tries to eat it) but thinking that might be worth a try and a bale would last for ages and could be kept in the garage....

 

[Embo]

We have 2 indoor-only cats and one (quite small, admittedly) litter tray. We tend to use a combination of Asda smart price litter and Wilko's own brand (if we run out before weekly shop).

We remove any mess twice per day, every morning and before bed. We don't have any problems with smell.

The tray is one with a lid, which has a filter. I wonder if this helps?

 

[Blanche]

I have used just about every type and will just add my findings. Wood pellets and the clear silica crystal ( ? I think , sure you will know which ones I mean) can be very sharp and painful for young and older cats and can put them off using the litter tray . Once they start using the corner behind the sofa it can be hard to stop them . I find ultra clumping( I use Sainsburys but I'm sure they are all similar) or Catsan are the best . Ultra clumping I find very economical.

 

[stez1234]

I use worlds best cat litter. It's expensive but it lasts ages. It clumps really well and you can if you wish flush it down the toilet. I get it off of Amazon where it's much cheaper. A bag will last me a good month. My cat is an indoor cat.

 

[joelb]

I use Sainsbury's ultra clumping - 4 house cats, 4 trays, no smell. Same can't be said for bedroom carpet as my senile 15 year old Ragdoll pees on it when she decides she can't find a tray .

 

[JulesRules]

Just bought a bag of the wood pellet kind to try. I'll leave them one tray of normal litter in case they don't like it and see how they get on...

I swear I have never known cats that poo and wee so much......

 

[duckling]

My two 6 month old cats just won't use the wood pellet litter - I tried them on it for a while and one would use it but never try to bury what he'd done, the other would go on or over the edge of the tray rather than in it... I've been using a Pets at Home own brand clumping clay litter which doesn't smell, but have just ordered the Cats Best Okoplus from PetPlanet and will try that as the clay stuff gets really sticky on the bottom of the tray and is hard to clean off.

 

[npage123]

I use Lidl cat litter. It's around £1.80 for a large, heavy bag - enough for 1 large and 1 smaller litter tray. It doesn't say 'clumping' on the bag, but it does clump really well.

 

[cloverleaf1985]

I use breeder celect (don't know why it's spelt like that!) from pets at home. It's like wood pellets but made of recycled paper.
It's really soft on their paws, is really good at absorbing smells and it all just slips out of the tray into a bin bag. Makes changing the tray so easy. A 30L bag costs £14 and last approx a month, only needs changing twice a week for 2 indoor cats (poos are taken out daily).

 

[WelshD]

I use cheap fuel wood pellets as they are lower VAT, I don't clean the tray out daily, I use a very thick layer of pellets and empty it every few days - sounds disgusting but the top looks clean and I swear that the raking out of clumps daily makes the overall smell worse

A covered litter box helps too

I have previously used chick crumb and Fast Fibre too - both did an excellent job (wouldn't recommend if you have a dog though!)

 

[Akkalia1]

I went through a phase where one of my cats decided he didn't like the Catsan non-clumping litter anymore and came to the conclusion that my sofa/corner of the room/my BRAND NEW curtains were preferable!! I tried a few before finding one that he likes and it has the bonus of actually being the best in my opinion.

It's called clean n tidy everyday cat litter (it's a clumping one and a fine clay type). It clumps really well, doesn't track much at all, smells fresh and is proving way more economical than the Catsan.

I tried a pets at home clumping which wasn't very good and was more expensive. And also tried Okoplus world's best, which got great reviews and certainly worked well, but the fussy cat absolutely hated it, I don't think he liked the feel of it on his paws, and it got tracked everywhere through my house!

 

[9tails]

With wood pellet litter you need a high sided tray and preferably covered, the stuff swells up so your two inches once tiddled on becomes 5 inches very quickly when it breaks down. My horse is on wood pellets so my cats were when they decided the great outside needed to be pristine.

 

[Supertrooper]

I use Catsan, mine is an indoor cat. However it is cleaned out as soon as possible after he uses it xx

 

[DW Team]

We have 3 indoor cats and I have tried them all. We now have enclosed box. Muck out twice sometimes three times daily and use fullers earth works well clumps and dropping easy to empty.

 

[KVH]

I always used supermarket's own economy brand of litter. I did try the wood pellets which admittedly were easier and slightly cleaner, but smell wise I noticed no difference between the two, as long as they were cleaned out frequently.

 

[Kaylum]

I hate clumping cat litter. It's hard for the cat to dig in once it's wet. I use tescos own its non clumping and makes the tray easier to clean as it doesn't stick to the bottom of the tray.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I use the same straw pellets I use for the horses, nice thick layer-seems to work well. He's supposedly a yard cat but he doesn't 'do' snow, so has been in quite alot!

 

[HashRouge]

We just used the cheap supermarket own brand stuff when one of our cats was on house arrest after being hit by a car. We cleaned it out 2-3 times a day and I don't remember any trouble with the smell. He was very efficient at burying what he'd done, I think he was a bit offended at having to use a litter tray so made a special effort to make sure no-one could see his business!

 

[ihatework]

I hate cat litter trays full stop, I've had cats all my life and they have always just gone outside.

That said, post below, I have had to introduce one recently. Bog standard one did my head in with the smell/mess.

Then I purchased this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...itter+tray&dpPl=1&dpID=31QRzKYGOuL&ref=plSrch

OMG - revelation!!! It really does to what it says. Makes a cat litter tray more bearable. Needs to be used with a fine clumping litter (I'm using bob martins)

 

[dorito]

I hate cat litter trays full stop, I've had cats all my life and they have always just gone outside.

That said, post below, I have had to introduce one recently. Bog standard one did my head in with the smell/mess.

Then I purchased this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00...itter+tray&dpPl=1&dpID=31QRzKYGOuL&ref=plSrch

OMG - revelation!!! It really does to what it says. Makes a cat litter tray more bearable. Needs to be used with a fine clumping litter (I'm using bob martins)

OMG indeed!! PMSL at the 1-star reviews....however is one meant to wash it out I wonder?!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

OMG - revelation!!! It really does to what it says. Makes a cat litter tray more bearable. Needs to be used with a fine clumping litter (I'm using bob martins)

oh, I can't cope with the open ones, mine has a roof on it!

 

[Shutterbug]

I absolutely will not use any other cat litter other than the Pets At Home wood based stuff - its economical and, with regular attention, does not smell at all

 

[ihatework]

OMG indeed!! PMSL at the 1-star reviews....however is one meant to wash it out I wonder?!

LMAO at the 1* reviews - I hadn't read them before purchasing!

If it needs a proper clean then the top has catches to split it into two and then I intend to just blast it with hosepipe and a bit of disinfectant!