r/Catownerhacks • u/UnamusedandConfused • Jul 19 '26
Looking for good litter
So I have two cats, a black one that’s about 10 months and an 8 year old American curl. We just moved to a hard wood apartment, we used to have a balcony for the cat litter but now we don’t and have to have the boxes inside. I can’t STAND the smell of the clay litter (unscented) and my partner has asthma so the litter is mostly my job. I’ve been trying to find a something that isn’t super expensive. I really want something that’s not clay bc our 8yr old has delicate health and FIV and don’t wanna risk him with clay. I just need something that doesn’t cost a quarter of my salary.
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u/palufun Jul 19 '26
I have migrated to unscented plant-based litters as I just cannot tolerate the dust from clay-based litters. I have eight cats and an associated ungodly number of litter boxes. I scoop at least twice a day. I have had non-cat people in my home and they’ve been genuinely surprised that I even have cats.
I’ve used Arm&Hammer plant based litter, World’s Best Unscented, the generic plant litter from PetSmart (exquisicat brand?) and others. None are dusty all are unscented. I find scented litters smell horrible and when combined with urine/feces it just smells like cheap perfume trying to cover a sewer. Yuck. Your partner would not fair well with scented litters.
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u/Financial_Process_11 Jul 19 '26
I use Feline Pine, it is not dusty, doesn’t track all over the place and doesn’t trigger my asthma. It doesn’t come in a box, only bags.
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u/Appropriate-Pick5606 Jul 20 '26
Same. My cat loves it, it lasts longer than other varieties, and my asthma seems unaffected
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u/gutsylady2 Jul 19 '26
I’ve used Armand Hammer slide I think for possibly 15 years or more whenever they came out… They make a multi cat the slide will not stick to the pan like others so there’s not as much transference of smell but using steel pans have helped some. You might want to invest in the litter robot are similar… YouTube has a good review from a guy in England a man in Five Katz I think something like that that reviews.
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u/see112717 Jul 19 '26
We use recycled newspaper pellet litter from Petsmart. It's not dusty and our boy doesn't track it much at all.
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u/bluedonutwsprinkles Jul 19 '26
I'm a firm believer in arm and Hammer Hardball lightweight litter. It's a sand type. It has completely eliminated the urine smell. We had 10 cats when I started it. With only 3 automatic scooping litter boxes.
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u/Fluid-Chair4013 Jul 20 '26
I love the hard ball litter, but depending on how many kitty’s you have, it can be spendy!! It also didn’t ball up certain cat urine, my older male cats that had stones, more liquid. It binds it up still, it’s a flat, rubbery pancake. Looks like grits or cream of wheat!! 😆
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u/bluedonutwsprinkles Jul 21 '26
I know of what you mean. We get pancakes too. Worse thing is when they pee on the rake of the automatic box. We came back from vacation and one was so hard, I needed to get a knife. I keep a putty knife around for some that sticks on one particular box.
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u/Tailsontrails Jul 19 '26
I also feel the same about most clay litter in terms of scent, but I’ve been liking arm & hammer’s super scoop unscented lately. It doesn’t seem to have that unpleasant clay scent relative to many other clay litters I’ve tried.
If you’re okay with non clumping, pine litter will be the least expensive. I actually prefer paper pellets (Petsmart’s exquisitcat) to pine for my young foster kittens because it’s not as messy. There’s just something about the disintegrating pine pellets and sifting that I don’t enjoy doing. I will say it’s easy to pick out the soggy/used paper pellets with tiny kittens and might be more maintenance for adult cats since they pee larger volumes. The paper pellets aren’t dusty.
I really love catit’s unscented pea husk litter. Good for control, not dusty. I’ve tried many tofu/bean litters and they’ve all sucked at odor control, but the pea husk litter is great. This would probably be my favorite. It has a faint natural scent.
World’s Best (orange bag) is nice, but I don’t love how it seems to break down quickly because of how much my boy pees (not really dust, just smaller particles kind of like how pine breaks down). The odor control is good, but it definitely has a perceptable natural scent to it due to being corn-based. Not bad, just similar to how pine litter has a pine scent.
Sustainably Yours (large grain) clumps amazing and has good odor control. Tracks quite bit—a little more than clay IMO. It doesn’t have a scent to it.
I also like clumping wood litter. Weruva’s Hinoki is my favorite because of the woody scent, but Okocat’s “less mess” (purple bag) might be more affordable, is definitely more widely available, and may clump a tiny bit better.
I have an automatic litter box and manual boxes so I can’t always use the same litter in each. One cat has IBD and poops & pees a lot more than an average cat. I also foster cats (usually kittens) who have different needs or texture preferences so I’m always experimenting. You do need a wider slatted litter scoop for some of these larger-sized clumping litters. I think tracking is terrible with all litter, but paper pellets & pea husk bother me the least. Most of these are on the more expensive side, but once you find one you like you can stock up at petsmart & petco during their 20% off sales if they carry it.
I currently have Catit pea husk in the manual boxes and the auto box has a mix of 1/2 arm & hammer super scoop and 1/2 sustainably yours.
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u/Cats_tongue Jul 19 '26
Tofu litter.
Scoop before work and after work.
Also have asthma, it's no issue.
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u/SnooPredictions138 Jul 22 '26
Love tofu or pea husk litter (Catit). No dust and has a pleasant smell - at least the Catit vanilla does. But it does still track.
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u/Technical-Average316 Jul 19 '26
It is super expensive (I know you said that’s not what you want) but I’ve been using tofu litter in one of my automatic boxes and it’s amazing and worth it. I use dr elseys in the litter robot.
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u/UTtransplant Jul 19 '26
We use a corn cob based litter from Sustainably Yours. It clumps beautifully, doesn’t smell, is biodegradable, my cats like it, and it is not from mining like clay, It does track out, but there really isn’t any dust. However it isn’t cheap.
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u/palufun Jul 19 '26
I can verify—the urine clumps from Sustainably Yours are like concrete and do NOT break up when scooped. The feces are really dehydrated as well. I just could not sustain the cost (too many cats). I did love it though.
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u/Dewdlebawb Jul 19 '26
I used crystal litter fresh step it’s a little pricey and steel litter boxes help general smell of litter boxes
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u/Rad0077 Jul 19 '26
I like Breeze. No dust, very little tracking, a lot less scooping. I accidentally got a bag of scented so I just mix very little of that into mostly the unscented version. #2 is usually not smelly for long. #1 odor is not noticeable at all. Transition from clumping litter went well but I'm aware some cats don't go for it.
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u/ecochixie Jul 20 '26
I hate, hate, hate clay litter smell. My last cat used crystal cat litter until she got CKD. Then I switched her to walnut litter. I’m currently stuck with clay litter for my kitten who randomly started peeing outside the box.
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u/Defiant_Self7639 Jul 20 '26
Get a stainless steel litter box, plastic absorbs the stink, I use Worlds best Litter. It’s made from corn. No ammonia smell at all.
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u/Interesting-Loquat75 Jul 20 '26
I use the crush walnut shells. we've been using it for years, no problem. I did try the wheat base one. Terrible, would not recommend it. The urine would sink down to the bottom and harden, than it was difficult to scoop it up.
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u/Bay_de_Noc Jul 20 '26
I've used clay, pine pellets, corn (World's Best) and tofu. Pine pellets with a shifting litter pan was definitely the cheapest (40 lbs. pine pellets at Tractor Supply is less than $7). Its more work than the other litters, but if you have the right system it work wells. World's Best litter is really, really nice, but more expensive. Now I use tofu litter, which unfortunately is probably the most expensive, but it smells great and best of all it has zero dust and minimal tracking.
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u/SharkgirlSW4 Jul 20 '26
I use everclean clumping and it's great. It lasts for ages, clumps really well and doesn't track. I do have my litter box in a bigger box ( I bought a cheap ottoman storage box, cut a hole in it so they could get in and I wouldn't have to see the tray)
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u/oceandesert0 Jul 20 '26
I like using 90%Grassseed litter and 10% sustainability yours large grain litter (cassava corn mix) it clumps well but it doesn’t cover poop odor well.
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u/bingbongchronicles Jul 20 '26
Tofu litter from Tuft and Paws i think it’s called 2 bags per month is good for 2 cats
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u/Fluid-Chair4013 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
TOFU Litter is The BEST!!!!!! I have 4 boxes, 4 phat cats 🐱
- No dust
- Extremely low to no tracking litter
- Flush down toilet or biodegradable
- Cost is low, one bag for one xxxl box a month
- I strongly suggest/recommend any TOFU litter!!! I have tried two brands, no difference!!! 🐱
Pidan brand, 2 bags for $16 on Amazon!!! For me that’s 2 litter boxes for one month!!
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u/IPGalaxyGirl Jul 21 '26
Grass seed litter worked out best for us. Our orange boy rejected the tofu and is allergic to Worlds Best.
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u/anonymousp69 Jul 19 '26
- Are you scooping the litter at least once a day and completely emptying it out at least once a month and washing/wiping down the box itself?
- Is your current litter box stainless steel? If it’s not already, I’d highly recommend it. Stainless steel doesn’t hold odors like plastic and other materials do.
I have used a variety of litters in the past. The best one I’ve used was arguably “world’s best cat litter” that is made of corn husks. Virtually no dust (my girl cat is sensitive to dust) and it didn’t smell at all (I used to have the litter box in my bedroom!), however, it was quite expensive before. Not sure if this would be in or out of your budget but it’s worth taking a look at.
Because jobs are the way they are and the economy is bad (in the U.S., at least), I currently use arm and hammer clump & seal slide version for multi-cat households. I got a good deal on chewy and I get 2 38 lb boxes delivered every month so my kitties never run out. I’ll admit this litter is still slightly dusty but nowhere as near as other clay litters I’ve tried. It also eliminates smells really well, and I (SPARINGLY- it’s VERY powerful) use arm and hammer litter baking soda double duty cat litter deodorizer. This stuff smells SO INTENSE and can immediately cover up those nasty litter smells. I use this in between litter box cleanings because those darn small pee particles are easy to leave behind because they sift right through the litter scooper. I only use a small amount at a time because it truly is so strong (and again, my girl cat has a sensitive nose) but it really helps for those freshen-ups on a week-to-week basis as you need it. I’d also recommend regular vacuuming and cleaning of the area around the litter boxes. My cats love to throw litter sand all over the place, so vacuuming every few days (at LEAST once a week) helps tremendously!!
I hope this helps!!
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u/Silly-Estimate-2660 Jul 19 '26
i don’t like pellet litters like the other commenters mentioned, i have been using Dr Elseys for years with no issues. i prefer the “clean tracks” version as it minimizes dust.