clumping cat litter

[oranges]

Hello!
I've heard conflicting stories about whether or not clumping litter is dangerous for cats and kittens. My shelter said not to use it until my kittens are 6 months old. The vet tech said that it doesn't matter and that we can use it at any time. My little ones are now 5 and 7 months old. The other day I sent my SO out for litter and he came back with clumping litter. I'm unsure if I should use it or wait or never use it. I figured that I'd see what the cat experts on PS think. I just don't want to do anything that could harm my wonderful little kitty babies.
PS Jinx and Ranger are now BFF's. They just adore one another . I am so grateful for all of the PS support I received when I was introducing the new kitten. You were all totally right... they grew to LOVE one another and I am so so happy that I was able to adopt another sweetheart.

 

[amc80]

I uses clumping litter for both of my cats from the time I got them (10-12 weeks) and had no issues.

 

[lulu]

Helpful ASPCA article:


http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/cat-litter.aspx

 

[kindred]

I think you're ok to use it. When we adopted our kittens we were told to wait until they were 4 months old and you are past that age now. The worry is that because the clumping litter is so fine it could get stuck in small kittens lungs.

 

[Haven]

I don't know about the clumping issue, but we use the world's best cat litter so I wanted to recommend it here.
It's called World's Best Cat Litter. We really love it. By we I mean my husband, who does all of the scooping.
http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/

 

[VRBeauty]

I don't know about the clumping issue, but we use the world's best cat litter so I wanted to recommend it here.
It's called World's Best Cat Litter. We really love it. By we I mean my husband, who does all of the scooping.
http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/

Yanno... I tried that based on PS'ers recommendations, but I didn't like it. It created a lot of dust that my kitty helpfully tracked that dust throughout the house. I do like the fact that it's organic though... it means that unused bag sitting in the garage can be worked into the garden as an organic supplement!

 

[Matata]

I stopped using clay litter when Matata died due to a lung issue from breathing clay litter dust all his life When I first started using World's Best, it was great. Unfortunately something changed and dust became a major issue. Wrote the company last year and they said they were working on the dust issue. Switched to Nature's Miracle -- very little dust -- and I'm still happy with it. More important, the cats like it.

For those of you who have one or two cats and don't mind changing litter frequently, wood stove pellets are a good option as are the pine pellets used for horse stalls. The pellets break down rather quickly so even though they are relatively inexpensive, I went through too many bags with 4 cats who pee like stallions.

 

[Gypsy]

I don't know about the clumping issue, but we use the world's best cat litter so I wanted to recommend it here.
It's called World's Best Cat Litter. We really love it. By we I mean my husband, who does all of the scooping.
http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/

I tried it based on PS recommendations. My angel cat, Duncan, took such a violent dislike to it he started peeing in front of us until we stopped using it (immediately). HATED it.

 

[oranges]

Thanks for the replies. I feel better about using it. I guess clumping litter is the norm! Interesting reactions to 'world's best litter' ... cats are finicky.. you never know what they'll like!

Matata, that is SO awful. I'm so sorry to hear that. It's very frightening.

Has anyone tried that cat genie? I'm curious about it. I like that it sounds like a greener option (and lower maintenance). I find that I'm buying litter ALL THE TIME!

 

[mary poppins]

When we got our kitten from the shelter earlier this month, the shelter employee said not to use clumping cat litter until kitty is six months old because kittens like to play with the clumps. We are using the employee's non-clumping recommendation, Yesterday's News, which is made out of recycled newspaper. Great for people who like animals and recycling! Also, no dust.

We used clumping litter for our 14 year old cat that died a few months ago. I wasn't fond of the dust. He was finicky and that's what he liked, so we stuck with it.

If we switch back to clumping, I would like to find a brand without dust. Does that exist?

 

[stargurl78]

I've used clumping littler for the whole 7 years I've had my kitties. We did switch to a non-clumping litter while one of the cats was having asthma issues but she hated the litter and would pee on furniture and on the laundry. So I went on a mission to find a clumping litter with the least amount of dust with no added fragrances (after we got her asthma under control). My favorite is Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat:
http://www.petco.com/product/112655/Precious-Cat-Dr.-Elsey%27s-Ultra-Scoopable-Multi-Cat-Cat-Litter.aspx?cm_mmc=CSEMGoogleAdExtProd-_-Cat-_-Precious%20Cat-_-1363034&mr:trackingCode=2E5CDD68-6691-DF11-BC8B-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&gclid=CJeIt7zyvbICFexAMgod6HMAYg

It's unscented, is low dust, and clumps good. I've tried World's Best but my cats don't seem to like it and it's dustier than Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat.

 

[oranges]

Looks like I have a few new litters to try out over the next few weeks! Thanks so so much! I don't feel as guilty about using it.

 

[zoebartlett]

We've always used SwheatScoop -- it's great! I love that there's not a lot of dust or tracking (although I think some tracking is a necessary evil of having cats), and it's natural. It's clumping and it's also flushable, which is something I really wanted.

http://swheatscoop.com/

 

[justginger]

I've never heard of not using clumping because the kittens will play with it. It really shouldn't be used in case the kittens EAT it (which, like babies, they tend to do). I use wheat litter for all of our foster kittens and change over to clumping as they get older and stop acting like they want to sample it for dessert. I've never waited until they're 6 months old though - maybe 4ish.

Can't help with brand recommendations unless you're in Australia. Down here the Lavender Scented Trouble N Trix is by far the best.

 

[asscher_girl]

We switched to World's Best Cat litter about 6-8 months ago and love it! We just bought a brand new house and it has dark hardwood floors. We used to use one of those natural pine pellet litters and the dust, OMG it was driving me insane! They were always leaving trails of it everywhere. With worlds best, we don't have that problem at all. We hardly ever have anything but a few crumbs come out of our litter boxes. We have 2 cats. About a month after we moved into our house, about a year ago one of my cats was pooping in front of the litter boxes (we have 3 boxes in 1 area). He would hop in a box, pee, hop out and poop! It was so weird. We switched to this litter (doing a slow transition) and it went great. They love it. I love that it's all natural too. We use the unscented one for multiple cats.

 

[Haven]

OH NO! Sorry for recommending something that didn't work out for some of you.

We've always had these mats around the boxes that are supposed to catch dust, so I must not have noticed that this litter is dustier. We've also always kept all of the boxes in a room with an air filter. These things must be essential when using this litter. We really love it, and we love that we can flush it down the toilet. There is very little smell associated with it, too.

 

[TC1987]

I think the safety issue with younger cats and kittens is risk of intestinal blockage from ingesting litter dust while grooming. Kittens, especially, have small passages so it's much easier for the to become blocked. I think I had switched my cats to clumping litter around the 6 month mark.

I am currently using the house/store brand clumping litter and clay litter from Tractor Supply. There is almost no dust and a 25# bag of clumping is only $6 and the clay litter is $3. Good products and inexpensive. It's not very perfumed, either, and the cats all seem to tolerate it. One prefers the coarse texture of clay, so I keep one clay litter box just to cater to him.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I don't know about the clumping issue, but we use the world's best cat litter so I wanted to recommend it here.
It's called World's Best Cat Litter. We really love it. By we I mean my husband, who does all of the scooping.
http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/

Yanno... I tried that based on PS'ers recommendations, but I didn't like it. It created a lot of dust that my kitty helpfully tracked that dust throughout the house. I do like the fact that it's organic though... it means that unused bag sitting in the garage can be worked into the garden as an organic supplement!

Yeah, I also tried it based on the recommendations and found we were going through tons more litter because it wasn't clumping up the potty so I had to scoop out tons more to try and clean the box. It also didn't do anything for odor control. Actually, seemed it had a funny scent to it.

FWIW, I've used clumping litter for my cats and one of my cats lived to be 17! I got her when she was just a little tiny bundle of fur.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

When we got our kitten from the shelter earlier this month, the shelter employee said not to use clumping cat litter until kitty is six months old because kittens like to play with the clumps. We are using the employee's non-clumping recommendation, Yesterday's News, which is made out of recycled newspaper. Great for people who like animals and recycling! Also, no dust.

We used clumping litter for our 14 year old cat that died a few months ago. I wasn't fond of the dust. He was finicky and that's what he liked, so we stuck with it.

If we switch back to clumping, I would like to find a brand without dust. Does that exist?

What kind of litter is this? The recycled one? Just curious. When I was a kid, I had gerbles and the pet store person told me not to use shreaded newspaper in their habitat because the chemicals from the newspaper come off the paper onto the animal and it's toxic to them.

 

[stargurl78]

When we got our kitten from the shelter earlier this month, the shelter employee said not to use clumping cat litter until kitty is six months old because kittens like to play with the clumps. We are using the employee's non-clumping recommendation, Yesterday's News, which is made out of recycled newspaper. Great for people who like animals and recycling! Also, no dust.

We used clumping litter for our 14 year old cat that died a few months ago. I wasn't fond of the dust. He was finicky and that's what he liked, so we stuck with it.

If we switch back to clumping, I would like to find a brand without dust. Does that exist?

What kind of litter is this? The recycled one? Just curious. When I was a kid, I had gerbles and the pet store person told me not to use shreaded newspaper in their habitat because the chemicals from the newspaper come off the paper onto the animal and it's toxic to them.

Yeah, its the recycled newspaper one. My cats hate it and that's the one I was using when one of my kitties starting peeing outside of the box. She stopped doing it once we switched back to clumping litter.

And mary poppins, I don't think think there are any clumping brands that are 100% dust free. But there are some that aren't quite as bad as others (Precious Cat, World's Best, Cat Attract, SwheatScoop...). Believe me, I've tried just about all of them

 

[kenny]

Ewww!

 

[asscherisme]

I don't know about the clumping issue, but we use the world's best cat litter so I wanted to recommend it here.
It's called World's Best Cat Litter. We really love it. By we I mean my husband, who does all of the scooping.
http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/

LOVE this stuff. I recommend it to all my friends who have cats and have converted a few. My vet uses it too! I started out with it from the time my kittens came home 2 years ago.

 

[CJ2008]

We've always used SwheatScoop -- it's great! I love that there's not a lot of dust or tracking (although I think some tracking is a necessary evil of having cats), and it's natural. It's clumping and it's also flushable, which is something I really wanted.

http://swheatscoop.com/

Zoe - I had never heard of that litter. I'm intrigued! Tell me more about your experience with it, if you have a moment.

I've always used Fresh Step but I am always, always looking for something better. Tried Yesterday's News and hated it...and a few others and always ended going back to Fresh Step.

Last month I picked this up: http://www.bluebuffalo.com/healthy-home/naturally-fresh-clumping-cat-litter and I like it a lot.

At first, it seemed like there was a lot of tracking with it, and I didn't like it because since it's brown, the pellets are very visible on the floor and didn't look that great. At the same time, it prompted me to sweep right away, so that was the silver lining to it.

Weeks later though the tracking is minimal - just a few crumbs by the litter box - I think he just had to get used to it. It is much less dusty, too, and it is a finer dust.

It has a very "earthy" smell (it's made of wanlut shells) that some people may not like - I don't mind it at all, it's pleasant in a weird sort of way, and it feels good to know there are no chemicals there. I think it does a good job on masking odors - one of the litter boxes is contained inside a closet and I do not notice any smell at all. I notice some smell when I am scooping but I'm thinking that used to happen with Fresh Step too. And it is, after all, waste, so I'm expecting some smell.

It has a lot of terrible reviews on Amazon, people saying it doesn't clump well, that the clumps break apart - I don't find that at all. So far, I am very happy with it, and like I've said, I've tried different brands through the years.

 

[TC1987]

btw: I am more concerned about inhalation hazards than getting dust on furniture or pieces of litter tracked outside the box. I'm gauging "dust" in the cat litter by how much blows off it when I'm pouring it out of the bag, not how much gets tracked around the house. If the manufacturer sieves the litter well, the fines will be sieved out and there will not be much dust in the cat litter. But most would rather save money by not sieving so much, and leaving the dust in there as product weight that they can charge you for.

I always fill cat boxes outdoors, and I pour the litter from a height of roughly 4' above the ground. That will blow off a lot of the residual dust and fines, right there.

 

[CJ2008]

btw: I am more concerned about inhalation hazards than getting dust on furniture or pieces of litter tracked outside the box. I'm gauging "dust" in the cat litter by how much blows off it when I'm pouring it out of the bag, not how much gets tracked around the house.

TC - I notice very little dust when pouring the litter into the pan with the new litter I'm using versus Fresh Step.

 

[mary poppins]

When we got our kitten from the shelter earlier this month, the shelter employee said not to use clumping cat litter until kitty is six months old because kittens like to play with the clumps. We are using the employee's non-clumping recommendation, Yesterday's News, which is made out of recycled newspaper. Great for people who like animals and recycling! Also, no dust.

We used clumping litter for our 14 year old cat that died a few months ago. I wasn't fond of the dust. He was finicky and that's what he liked, so we stuck with it.

If we switch back to clumping, I would like to find a brand without dust. Does that exist?

What kind of litter is this? The recycled one? Just curious. When I was a kid, I had gerbles and the pet store person told me not to use shreaded newspaper in their habitat because the chemicals from the newspaper come off the paper onto the animal and it's toxic to them.

It's not shredded newspaper. According to their website, "Yesterday's News is a paper-based cat litter featuring moisture-locking pellets made out of recycled materials that include newspaper, corrugated cardboard and reclaimed industrial sawdust." Also, "Although newspapers are the predominant paper products used in the cat litter, Yesterday's News also acquires paper from many other post-consumer and post-manufacture waste sources including magazines, phone directories, paper egg cartons, pasteboard and hardback/paperback books."

Website also says, "Contains no harmful chemicals making it a safe, non-toxic product that won't harm cats if they happen to ingest the product."

Here's a link to the website: http://www.yesterdaysnews.com/OurStory.aspx

Since low to no dust, it's also good for animals post-surgery. Now that I think about it, that was another reason the shelter staff recommended it - our kitten had recently been spayed. She was still healing, stomach was exposed and stitches were visible.

Here's a picture of our new cutie.

 

[mary poppins]

When we got our kitten from the shelter earlier this month, the shelter employee said not to use clumping cat litter until kitty is six months old because kittens like to play with the clumps. We are using the employee's non-clumping recommendation, Yesterday's News, which is made out of recycled newspaper. Great for people who like animals and recycling! Also, no dust.

We used clumping litter for our 14 year old cat that died a few months ago. I wasn't fond of the dust. He was finicky and that's what he liked, so we stuck with it.

If we switch back to clumping, I would like to find a brand without dust. Does that exist?

What kind of litter is this? The recycled one? Just curious. When I was a kid, I had gerbles and the pet store person told me not to use shreaded newspaper in their habitat because the chemicals from the newspaper come off the paper onto the animal and it's toxic to them.

Yeah, its the recycled newspaper one. My cats hate it and that's the one I was using when one of my kitties starting peeing outside of the box. She stopped doing it once we switched back to clumping litter.

And mary poppins, I don't think think there are any clumping brands that are 100% dust free. But there are some that aren't quite as bad as others (Precious Cat, World's Best, Cat Attract, SwheatScoop...). Believe me, I've tried just about all of them

Thanks for the suggestions, stargurl. I'm enjoying Yesterday's News' no dust feature, but it doesn't mask odor too well.

 

[vintagelover229]

I used Worlds best for almost 2 years with our cat and never had any issues. She seemed to like it-it was dusty (and she loved to run and clean herself on our black rug) but for the most part it wasn't to bad. When we were the our apt. we did flush it-until we noticed the toilet didn't seem to flow/flush as well so now we use old grocery bags to clean it out of and toss it in the trash.

I recently went to the pet store to buy more litter and the price had gone up. A 34lb bag was over 40$ and there was a wheat one that was 40lbs and cheaper-also natural-and if you buy 10 bags and put the proof of purchase on their website you get one free. So I got that and so far so good! The main difference I notice is it clumps a bit different-more like cream of wheat after you cook it and let it cool (strange way to put it I know).

http://www.petvalu.com/in-our-store/products/cat/litter/non-clay-litter/worlds-best-cat-litter-clumping-formula

This is the first bag I've tried of this new stuff and thankfully the cat hasn't peed on anything and is using it fine. I'll make a decision after the bag is gone
http://www.petvalu.com/in-our-store/products/cat/litter/non-clay-litter/swheat-scoop-scoopable-litter

 

[zoebartlett]

CJ - I see that VL also recommended SwheatScoop, I think just above this post. It's a great litter, and although I've tried others just to compare, I really do prefer SS. Like I said in my earlier post, it clumps, it's flushable, it's natural, there's little if any dust, and the cats don't really track it all over the place. As I also said before though, I think some tracking is going to happen, regardless of what litter you use. It works really well, and as long as you keep up with cleaning and changing the litter, as one would with any litter, the odor isn't bad. Of course, if you let it go a day too long, well then, you've got a stinky box to deal with. Try it out and see what you think!

One other thing we do that helps a lot is to line the litter box with thick plastic bags meant for litter boxes. They're elasticized so they fit over the box and around the outside edges, and then we just pour the litter right on top of the bag. Clean up is a cinch - just take the bag off. Easy peasy. We double line ours.

 

[PintoBean]

I used to love world's best cat litter, but the past few years, the formula must have changed because it did get dustier. My parents still use it, despite the dustier formula, and the ants that love to come in and carry it out.

Swheat scoop was alright - it was a little dusty to me, too.

We tried Petco's unscented litter, and it was absolutely intolerable. I swear that I was "eating" it as I was scooping because of all the dust kicking up and getting inhaled...

We recently got a bag of Dr. Elsey's precious cat litter. It is unscented, and noticeably LESS dusty (i'm no longer "eating" litter... ahem..._). Dr. Elsey is a keeper!