Please help me find better kitty litter!
Hey everyone!
Josh and I are moving to a new apartment this week, and we have a dilemma. We want to get a second litter box so we have one on each floor, but most of our first floor will be carpeted. We currently use Fresh Step Multi-Cat Strength, which works fine, but I do NOT want to try cleaning that out of carpeting if it gets tracked out of the box (and our fur kids love to dig around in their litter). I have a hard enough time keeping the litter swept up in our linoleum-floored bathroom... I'd really love to find one that will vacuum up easily.
So, I need a litter that has as many of these properties as possible:
*Affordable (we pay about $20 for about a 30lb box now)
*Odor Absorbing (Etcetera's poop STINKS!)
*Low-Tracking
*Biodegradable
*Easy to clean up
Do any of the cat people out there have a solution for us? Thanks! :)>>>
herm.....well I'm not sure about flushability of this litter....BUT if you have a costco membership.... I found the BEST cat litter ever for only $7-8 for a 30 lb jug!! It is 'all natural', with a 'lemongrass odor reducer/scent', the HARDEST clumping power that I've ever seen (and will cleanly 'chunk off' into original clumps in large blocks), is the best at stink-control, the lowest in tracking I've come across and lasts over a month for my two cats.
Otherwise, the best 'flushable' 'regular store' type that has reasonable odor control and good clumping I've come across is Arm and Hammer's flushable. I think it is something like $15-$18 for either a 22 lb or 30 lb jug.
jc - Tossing it in the dumster is better than flushing. Water treatment works don't treat a parasite in cat poop. Water is released from the treatment plant into the environment with the parasite still intact and can endanger wildlife.
Oh, well, I don't care about flushable then. Josh usually does the scooping anyway.
8-)
When Dave was here I remember us (as in VegWeb) having a pretty long discussion about kitty litter, but I can't find it. It was pages of people saying what they liked about the different brands.
I use a pine litter. It looks like regular litter & it's clumping :D Smells great...you can never smell a icky litter box.
scoopable pine litter
eta-the pine pellets won't stick to pets feet so they can't track it through the house.
pine pellets
Yeah, I don't want something that can harm them if they eat it. I've seen clay litter stuck between Pounce's toes, and it just freaks me out.
Looks like pine is getting some love. I looked at the Feline Fresh, and BF agrees the price is comparable to what we already pay, and it's gotten good reviews on the shopping sites.
Do they carry that in stores? We have both Petco and PetSmart here.
I like pine for the "house box." (They prefer clay, so they get that in their basement boxes)
Just as a side bar -- I don't understand citrus scented cat litters since cats are usually pretty offended by citrus odors. Don't we WANT them going in the box??
I love love love pine pellet type litter for my kitties. I used to use Feline Pine but my store stopped carrying it to introduce their own generic version which I use now.
Hints to stop or reduce tracking? Put their litter box in an easily accessible but higher up area with a lip. My parents bought a single kitchen or bath cabinet and cut out a square on one side, leaving plenty of room but not putting the entrance even with the floor. Then put a rug down in front of said entrance/exit an that should help a lot. The doors to the cupboard can be used to change the litter but otherwise its hidden, discrete and less messy!
I plan on doing this soon as I find a way to fit a cabinet or something in my laundry room with all the crap I have now. hahah
When we got Magic fixed oh so long ago, the vet told us to use the pellet type of litter. I think it was made of newspaper. Well, he was apparently the only kitty in the world to hate that stuff. And he told us. Many times. On our laundry.
Hey, Cali!
Thanks for the suggestion! Josh has seen some of the fancy little kitty-litter-cabinets online, and I told him they were terribly expensive for something we could make ourselves. It's good to know someone has tried it and that it works, too!
He wants to put the litter box in a closet, but I need that closet for our coats and out-of-season shoes. I don't want everything to smell like cat litter.
Maybe a cabinet is the answer. ^-^
Good to see you JC! *hugs*
My parents have had many cats for so very very long that they are pro's. heheh
Also the trick to changing over, mix the box with 4/1 of old to new for a week. Then 3/1 for a week. Keep increasing the new style a bit more each time. After about 4 to 5 weeks they should be ok with the new kind. It causes a lot less kitty angst or peeing on laundry!!
Also the trick to changing over, mix the box with 4/1 of old to new for a week. Then 3/1 for a week. Keep increasing the new style a bit more each time. After about 4 to 5 weeks they should be ok with the new kind. It causes a lot less kitty angst or peeing on laundry!!
So true.....it took us a few weeks to totally switch Monk over to the pine litter. He was funny at first. I don't think he was offended by the smell of pine but he would go in the box & just dig around looking for the old clay stuff he was used to. Little by little, there was less & less clay litter.
If you are using the pellets, you don't need much. Maybe an inch at the bottom of the pan because as Pounce pees, the pellets break down & get fluffy (don't know how else to describe it :) ) Solids can be scooped out.
One more thing about pine. I was told that the used litter (after everything has been scooped out) can be used in gardens for compost. I've never done it on my gardens but if I had a big empty field in the back, I would probably do it.
I use worlds best. Not cheap though.
Thank every one, I am glad you feel he is taking shape ok.
Lene Regarding the colours, I study my ref before doing anything and try to see beyond the obvious colours, there are always hidden unexpected colour in the fur. Then for the underwash I exaggerate these hidden colours, the pink and bright blue are obviously not how they will look in the final. Thats about all the planning I do, once the underwash is completely dry I use more realistic colour in dry pencil and let some of the underwash show through, I work really instinctively and find it quite difficult to explain.
DeeDee Yes I put down a light layer of dry pencil and then with one of those brushes that have a hollow handle holding the water, I blend the dry pencil and dissolve all the pigment. These brushes are good to use as they control the amount of water I use, my problem has always been putting way too much water on the paper, this brush stops me doing that.
Linda, I wasnt sure I would like them, I hated Derwents old ones, but these are such an improvement, I really enjoy working with them.
Thank you all for joining me, I hope you are comfortable? Got your coffee and doughnuts? This may take some time.
Bev
I swear by feline pine