Talk to me about cat litter

[Mamabear4]

We have 2 cats and two litter boxes, but the litter we have is awful! It doesn't clump unless the urine is practically petrified because it's so old. And our old, senile cat doesn't cover his #2, instead he builds a mound (shrine) for it and goes right on top. And he's completely regular, so he always goes right before we arrive home, causing the entire house to reek!! I'm so sick of it. I need a good recommendation for new litter that works for multiple cats, clumps well, and is really good at absorbing odors.
The sad reality is that we will not be able to scoop daily. I know it would help, but it's just not going to happen.
Thanks!

[Mermanaid]

We use this: http://www.breezeforcats.com/. But we only have one cat. I really love it though.

[Jo..]

Clumping litter sucks unless it is a GREAT $$$ brand and you scoop it right away. Otherwise it just sits there and falls apart and smells bad.

Having worked at a vet clinic with tons of cats boarding/recovering at any one time, and as a PREVIOUS multiple cat-owner, the best solution I have found to odor is this:

Buy litter-pan liners. They are like trash bags that line your litter pan.

Then, go buy the CHEAPEST generic litter you can find. Change it EVERY DAY....or even more. (Which is a breeze with the liners...you just gather up the whole smelly mess and chuck it).

I have big, big issues with cat box smells. Scoopable litter stinks unless you run right in there after your cat and scoop every single time. Regular litter stinks unless you keep a large box full and keep it fresh.

This is why I am a previous cat owner. I could not stand the smell if I wasn't RIGHT on top of it. And the daily or twice daily upkeep to remain odor free drove me insane. I had a cat that did not bury her #2s and it totally grossed me out.

When my cats passed away, we swore them off forever.

[DietCokeLover]

We have been the most pleased with Arm & Hammer multiple cats formula.

[ssjarrett]

We use this: http://www.breezeforcats.com/. But we only have one cat. I really love it though.

We have this also for 2 cats (shared box). Urine goes through the pan into a pad and there is zero odor with that. Litter doesn't clump though, nor is it scented to my knowledge. But, the litter pieces are large and there is no dust and very minimal scattering of litter (and then you can just throw it back in). But, on odor control on #2s, YMMV. I agree that frequent scooping is a must. But, I am very happy with this system overall and my Walmart carries the refills for a decent price too.

[traciann]

I used the Breeze system with my 2 cats for a year and was pretty happy with it. I had to recently stop using it because my Walmart wasn't carrying it regularly (we live in a more rural area). I am now using Fresh Step Crystals. I am SUPER happy with this litter. You only scoop the poop. The pee is absorbed into the crystals and you just make sure to rake it daily...and no more gross clumpy mess when you change the litter.

[AshleyAnn]

I am a crazy cat lady. We used arm and hamme naturals and liked it but roommate hated the smell (its a bit woodsy) so we switched to arm and hammer (?) small spaces, which is a scented liter, and like it but last switched to scoop away multi cat. All three are clumping and can last a day or two without cleaning. I have a cat who doesnt cover and i just go in after her and kick the box to cover it myself.

My roommates bought our box area a nutraair autospary by lysol and it really helps kill the odor. I wasnt happy about the chemicals so when we parted ways i threw it out but my noses misses it sometimes. You may find it helps with you cats shrine tendencys

[kaitlyns.mom]

We currently use the Breeze system for our two cats but TBH I am thinking about switching back. I started using it because I could not stand stepping on cat litter all over our floor. Our cats are very big so a covered box doesn't work for them, and they track litter like mad. It just grossed me out. But with the Breeze, although the pellets don't scatter much, we've had a few issues:

1. If my husband or I forget to change the pad, we have to literally pour cat urine out of the tray into the trash bag. It is not pleasant. Then spray the tray with Bac-Out, wipe down or wash out, dry, new pad, etc. We're good about scooping the poop (have to be, since it doesn't really get covered) but it's easy to forget about the pad since it's hidden.

2. I cannot stand the fact that there is no odor coverage for #2. I mean, it's just awful. It's in our master bathroom because there is no other place, so we walk into our "haven" of a master bedroom to the most repulsive odors. I suppose it's good birth control though.

Honestly, when my cats pass on I will not get any more. I feel bad saying that but I have been cleaning their litterbox for 13 years and I am DONE.

[Tondi G]

we use Tidy Cats.... buy the big ol yellow bucket from Target. It works fine for us. I don't seem to have a big issue with the litter clumps falling apart.... when it starts to do that means it's time to dump everything and start over with all fresh litter. I clean our litter pan every other day. we have 2 cats.

maybe one of tidy cats "premium" litters would help you? http://www.tidycats.com/Products/PremiumScoop/

[Roleysmom]

I've used Everclean cat litter for years. I've always had two or three cats at one time and it's better than any litter I've tried. http://tinyurl.com/87b7g6d I don't like Arm&Hammer. I tried to use the liners but our original pair of cats hated using the box with liners so I stopped using them and never went back. Everclean works just fine.

[eagle]

Honestly, when my cats pass on I will not get any more. I feel bad saying that but I have been cleaning their litterbox for 13 years and I am DONE.
dont feel bad. i LOVE cats. lovelovelove them. i have allergies and i still took them in. im currently taking weekly allergy shots to try to overcome (zyrtec, etc dont work).

that said, i personally want to MURDER one of my cats. shes broken. mentally broken. and im cleaning piss everywhere. cant have people over (to be fair, thats not all her fault. i have my own issues too). i have to watch for new spots because of my toddler. we have had her since she was a kitten since 1999. i am just waiting for her to die, because i am OVEROVEROVER cleaning up after her.

the other cat, i do love but not as much as i used to. i am not going to replace him when he goes.

all this cleaning up has changed me. just waiting and hoping that they dont live until they are 20.

[cntrymoon2]

The only thing we've been happy with for odor control and clumping is Fresh Step. HATED Tidy Cat and Arm and Hammer. We have 4 cats and 4 litter boxes. I know this subject all too well.

[lalasmama]

I suck at cleaning Kitty's box. Seriously suck at it. And she doesn't bury her #2 either.

We use the Target Brand (Barkley and Boots, or something like that). It's cheap! However, it clumps well, and, amazingly, takes care of odors pretty well.

We used A&H in the past, and then-DH didn't like the smell. It didn't cover the odor well at all when we had 2 cats.

As for being done with cats, I'm getting there! I'm allergic, but Kitty belonged to my mommy, and was the littermate of a kitten I had when I was pregnant my first time (the kitten was abandoned and died at 5 weeks old, just a few weeks after I lost the pregnancy)... At any rate, when my mommy died, I couldn't say "Take Kitty to the pound," so, here she is, living with me, sleeping on my pillow (I HATE THAT!), making mess out of her food on my kitchen floor, and killing everyone with those stinky #2s that she refuses to cover. But, likely, we only have a few more years with her (RIGHT?!?!), so I'll deal with it...

[mjs64]

dont feel bad. i LOVE cats. lovelovelove them. i have allergies and i still took them in. im currently taking weekly allergy shots to try to overcome (zyrtec, etc dont work).

that said, i personally want to MURDER one of my cats. shes broken. mentally broken. and im cleaning piss everywhere. cant have people over (to be fair, thats not all her fault. i have my own issues too). i have to watch for new spots because of my toddler. we have had her since she was a kitten since 1999. i am just waiting for her to die, because i am OVEROVEROVER cleaning up after her.

the other cat, i do love but not as much as i used to. i am not going to replace him when he goes.

all this cleaning up has changed me. just waiting and hoping that they dont live until they are 20.

This is me. I love cats. Really. Love them. Love all of mine. My first job when I was 16 was at a cat boarding facility. I am terribly allergic to them and still don't care. But DH brought 2 more into our lives in the past 5 years, so now we have 3, plus an 11 mo, plus DH and I, in a 2 BR. Who scoops the litter and cleans out the whole box? Who takes the cats to the vet? Who cleans their water fountain and buys the replacement filters? Oh, DH, will, if I nag him persistently, to the point of a fight that's not worth fighting (honesty, who needs to be reminded every day that the litter needs to be scooped every day?). I sometimes let them outside and hope they don't come back :bag.

Sorry for the bp. We use fresh step, the only one that works for us. But I have to scoop daily. Sorry. I hate it too. See above.

[fedoragirl]

dont feel bad. i LOVE cats. lovelovelove them. i have allergies and i still took them in. im currently taking weekly allergy shots to try to overcome (zyrtec, etc dont work).

that said, i personally want to MURDER one of my cats. shes broken. mentally broken. and im cleaning piss everywhere. cant have people over (to be fair, thats not all her fault. i have my own issues too). i have to watch for new spots because of my toddler. we have had her since she was a kitten since 1999. i am just waiting for her to die, because i am OVEROVEROVER cleaning up after her.

the other cat, i do love but not as much as i used to. i am not going to replace him when he goes.

all this cleaning up has changed me. just waiting and hoping that they dont live until they are 20.

We had this issue a month before DS was born. I was cleaning cat pee out of the wallpaper, carpet (we eventually had to replace that) and every spot possible. Turns out, cat was distressed because of the multiple changes in our household. This behavior lasted 6 weeks and I thought I'd turn him loose. Thankfully, I kept him because he is adorable.
DH left me in the hospital at 11 pm after my c-section to go hunt for our cat who had escaped outside. Did I mention the drive back and forth was 1 1/2 hours? Yup! We are crazy about our cats.
Get the cat seen to by a vet. There HAS to be a reason s/he's acting up and peeing in the house.
We have 3 litterboxes for our 2 cats and it works fairly well. We use Arm and Hammer.

[wolverine2]

We also use Everclean. We have 2 cats and 2 litter boxes and I'm terrible at scooping regularly and it never has that bad litter smell. I think Everclean clumps much tighter and doesn't track as much- it's more $ but worth it.

[mom2khj]

I hate clumping litter. We use Yesterday's News, it's in pellets. I find it much easier to deal with. And there's no mess tracked everywhere. We also don't scoop the litter, just empty the whole thing and replace. The only time I notice the smell is if DD1 doesn't do it on schedule like she is supposed to (she brings them to DH and he cleans them).

If I can't find YN (our Target doesn't always have it and I don't always have time to get to Petsmart/Petco), I get the pellet version of Feline Pine. I don't like the original pine smell as much, but still prefer it to traditional clumping litters.

[ang79]

We've had 2 cats for 6 years and have stuck with Scoop Away. We've tried other brands and Fresh Step is OK, but we hated Tidy Cat, the generic from BJ's, and anything else we've tried. They didn't help w/ odor at all. We have 3 boxes for 2 cats (2 in the basement, one in the upstairs bathroom).

For awhile the male was pooing outside of the litter box at times. It got progressively worse and the only help the vet could give me is pay $300 for tests to rule out things like diabetes, thyroid, etc. We didn't have $300 to spend on tests but after researching I've changed their diets (before we were only using Purina Indoor dry - now I mix that with By Nature Dry and feed By Nature and Avoderm wet twice a day as well). With the change in food and me taking over litter box duty (when I was preggo DH did it and didn't clean it very often, now I clean it at least every other day), he has gone back to using the litter box most of the time. Occasionally he will still leave small messes, but nothing like before, so a step in the right direction. The female does not cover her poo, so if I smell it I either scoop it right away or cover it up til I have time to clean the boxes. We burn a lot of candles to get rid of that initial yucky smell, but usually after its covered it goes away pretty quickly on its own and the Scoop Away covers the pee smell pretty well, as long as I scoop the clumps out every other day.

That said, between the stink, messes, and litter tracked around, I'm thinking we will not be replacing our cats once these ones are gone. Though they are only 7 and 4, so I'm anticipating having them yet for awhile......

I may have to try out the Target brand, I'm always looking to save a bit of money!

[catsnkid]

I found scoop away pretty dusty but that was several years ago. I generally buy tidy cats, fresh step, A & H and Bj's brand. Fresh step is also dusty.

[blueperidot]

Everfresh by everclean is an amazing litter, truly keeps away the smell, but $$$

[ang79]

I found scoop away pretty dusty but that was several years ago. I generally buy tidy cats, fresh step, A & H and Bj's brand. Fresh step is also dusty.

It is dusty when I pour fresh litter into the pan, but once its in the pan and while I'm cleaning it it doesn't seem bad. I'm sure there are better litters out there, but for the price the Scoop Away works well for us.

[gamma]

Last summer, our 17 year old cat was in a fight after which the vet said he had to become an inside cat. He was just too old to defend himself any longer. I have always had an aversion to litter boxes. My solution, was to purchase the large package of foil steam table pans at Costco and put the litter in there. Each day, the entire pan is picked up and put in a plastic garbage bag for disposal. He also doesn't cover his #2, but Fresh Step keeps the odor under control. I think the Fresh Step Crystals work better for odor than the grey type, but we buy the grey one since when any litter is kicked out of the pan, stepping on the crystals barefoot really hurts!

[hwin708]

If your cat doesn't bury his waste, chances are the type of litter won't make a huge difference. The best thing really is regular sccoping. You don't have to do the most thorough job every day to make a HUGE difference. Just scoop out the big issues in two seconds, and keep a small sealed trashcan nearby. I have friends who just use the little trash bags for dog waste. Just like picking up after a dog - put your hand in the bag (making the bag a glove), pick up the poop, flip the bag right side out and tie it. VERY fast. Getting that uncovered waste out makes all the difference in the world.

That being said - I can't recommend a great litter for this, since we use Cat Attract for its ability to keep my senior cat using the litter box, not for its odor stifling abilities. We also clean them multiple times a day, because she needs a clean box if she's gonna use it. BUT I also can't stand that smell wandering anywhere else in my house even for a few minutes, in no small part because we host frequently. So I use the CatMouse (http://www.amazon.com/CatMouse-Electronic-Litter-Odor-Eliminator/dp/B001H3KRDO/)for odor control. This things definitely WORKS. It doesn't cover the odor with perfume. It literally removes the odor from the air. The drawback, which you can read about in the reviews, is that it does so by releasing ozone, which is questionably an unhealthy choice. I always make my "green" choices based on what works best for me - sometimes I'm ahead of the curve, sometimes behind it. This is just one area I choose to compromise in, and hope my other healthy choices help counter that. To each their own. It also helps that both little boxes are in small, rarely used rooms in the house, like the laundry room.

I know there are other small form ozone releasing air purifiers out there, and they may work better at a lower price than something that was branded just for cats. That's just what I have because it was big news at the pet store when it first came out, lol.

[ecofem]

I've been using this:

http://desertssand.com/

for about 2 weeks. I keep it appropriately stirred and it is in a Littermaid automatic box. Zero smell... so far. Loving it!