Cat Litter Center

With so many litter choices out there, how do you choose? Below is an article by our Pet-Care Advisor, Valerie, sharing some of her trials and tribulations with - of course - cat litter. You may find a bit of your own litter stories in her "cat tales" below - it seems most cat owners have lots to share when it comes to the subject of cat litter and litter boxes. Read on.

I tried a new sample bag of cat litter this week and was not impressed. Come to think of it, I've spent thousands of dollars on litter and litter boxes through the years, always trying to find the perfect solution to cat boxes. I'm still searching.

I tried one litter box that was a three-piece contraption with the litter box elevated above a base. The urine was supposed to drip down and evaporate or something and be odor-free! In theory, this thing sounded like it would work and I bought 4 of them. They were a huge disappointment and I was soon back to my old litter.

I've tried the Breeze Litter System everyone raves about as the best litter system. Unfortunately, my cats will only urinate in it.

I recently tried a paper litter that had huge pellets, but again, my cats only use it for urinating. I can say that it's great on odor control but won't work for me if the cat's only use it for urine. I know you should mix the new litter into the old litter gradually but I use clumping litter, and that doesn't mix with large-piece type litter. I normally select the litter box that they frequent the most and try the new litter in there. This often results in them shifting their doings to another box and avoiding their former favorite.

I maintain eight litter boxes and while my last house had the luxury of a basement where I could hide the mess, this house doesn't have one. So all the boxes have to be strategically placed throughout my home.

My priorities in a litter are: 1. Odor control, 2. Low-tracking and 3. Ease of scooping. Oh, I forgot price, as I go through about 80 - 120 pounds a month.

I've tried the grain-base litters and found the smell to be too outdoorsy. Silica litter gets saturated too quickly. I actually liked one corn cob litter but the price was too high for me.

One of my customers swears by the Litter Robot, a $350.00 automatic litter box. It looks like a round washing machine and spins around to self-clean after the cat uses the box. I can't afford even one of those let alone enough to handle eight cats. Plus, my kitten Dexter would probably take rides in it rather than use it properly.

The best solution I thought might be to try to toilet train my cats! This house has a second bathroom and I live alone so wouldn't that be great! No more litter! No more mess! They'd all line up to use the privy and maybe I could even teach them to flush!

Well, a manufacturer had given us a sample of a seat that you put on the bowl and gradually remove sections until the cat is balancing right on the porcelain and going in the water. I got it home and was so excited until I read the instructions. It suggested that you remove all litter pans from the home and have the cat (singular) use just this contraption. It even suggested that you keep the cat locked in the bathroom for the first few days. Now there's a picture.eight cats crammed into a 6' x 6' powder room with a plastic thing on the toilet holding about a half inch of litter! For a few days!

So, I'm back with my regular clumping litter, scooping diligently, and filling the landfills. I know.I should be ashamed.

One thing I love about PetFoodDirect.com - whatever type of litter you find to work best can be found right here. With 17 different types of litter and dozens of brands, you'll find the largest assortment of litter anywhere!

Ever since people have kept cats as house-pets, there has been a need for cat litter. Many years ago, people would use sand, garden soil or even ashes to provide their cats a place to dig and bury their waste. Cats instinctively cover the smell of their waste and I often see the feral cats in my yard "covering up" with my garden mulch.

In the late 1940's the first commercial kitty litter was invented, and one of the largest pet industries was born. Originally, cat litter was made of an absorbent clay called Fuller's Earth. Forty years later, clumping cat litter was introduced, offering cat owners a way to remove both solid and liquid waste from the litter. To this day, clumping clay litter remains very popular due to the ease of use and odor-control properties. But, in the never-ending quest for the perfect litter substrate, quite a few alternative materials have been used to produce cat litter: natural products like corn cob, wheat, pine and paper, as well as silica gel. What to consider when selecting a cat litter.

Cat appeal: This is the most important factor. The best cat litter on the planet is useless if the cat doesn't like using it. Litters that have strong perfumes or odors may be offensive to cats. Some litters have hard textures that cats don't like to dig in.

Odor control: How well does the litter absorb and hold odor? A good litter should be able to cover odors by absorbing the ammonia and drying out the liquid and solid waste.

Tracking: Some very fine litter sticks to the cats paws and is easily tracked around the house. Large grain clumping litters are less likely to track.

Eco-friendly: Cat litter can be composted if you use grain paper or wood based litter. There is debate as to whether the compost is safe to use on edible crops, but it would be fine to use on other plants. Some cat litter is said to be flushable, although this practice has been banned in some parts of California. Cat feces can contain parasites and organisms like Toxoplasma gondii that can be harmful to sea creatures.

The Different Types of Cat Litter Cat litter comes in different shapes, sizes and textures. I've compiled a list of some of the unique types of litters to show the benefits of each kind.

Clay-based clumping litter like Pestell Low Track forms hard clumps when the cat urinates in the litter. The clumps can be sifted out along with the feces daily, leaving clean litter. As the depth of the litter decreases, simply add more litter. Clumping litter is great for multiple cat households and the entire contents of the litter box only need to be changed once a month.

Silica Gel - Silica is very absorbent and the gel or crystal litter soaks up the urine and dries out the feces. Replace the litter when all the pieces are saturated. The round, pearl type litter can track easily and the pieces may roll around. There are trackless styles with irregular shaped pieces that prevent this type of scattering.

Fresh Magic, Litter Pearls Micro Crystals, and Trackless Litter crystals are some of the popular silica litters. Precious Cat Senior Litter is a silica gel granule that helps prevent urinary tract problems in older cats. Older arthritic cats may sit too low when they urinate and this litter helps to absorb the urine on contact, preventing bacteria from entering through the urethra. Crystal Blend litter is a combination of regular clay litter and silica crystals. These are clumping litters and the silica provides additional odor absorption.

Litter pellets are made from wood fibers such as Feline Pine. When the pellets soak up the urine, they break down to a wet, saw-dust texture that can be scooped out. Many cat owners find this litter to be the best for odor control. The larger pellets may not be something your cat likes, so introduce this litter gradually. Feline Pine also comes in a clumping version with smaller pieces that form clumps of urine that can be scooped out daily.

Cedarificis a finely textured blend of wood chips. The entire contents of the litter box need to be changed weekly but it's great on odor control. The light-weight texture does tend to track a bit more than other litters. Cedarific is 100% natural and can be composted or incinerated.

Recycled paper litters are usually pellet shaped. These eco-friendly paper litters are highly absorbent and dust-free. The litter should be changed weekly. Dust-free paper litters like Cell Sorb and Healthy Pet Dust Free Fiber litter are great for owners with asthma.

Grain-based cat litter like Swheat Scoop, made from wheat, and The World's Best Cat Litter, made from corn, offer scoopable alternatives to clay. Grain-based litter is lighter than clay, making it easier to handle. Like other clumping litter, the urine and feces can be removed daily.

Whichever litter you decide to try, make the transition gradual by adding some of the new litter to your current litter for a few days. If possible, it's even better to add another litter box to introduce the new litter. If the cat doesn't like the new litter, he or she could start urinating elsewhere, so keep an eye on the cat's behavior while you are switching.

With all the options that are available (and PetFoodDirect.com has the largest selection in any store I've ever seen), I'm sure you can find a litter that works for both you and your cats.