Cat Litter: Decisions, decisions!

[salocius]

I need some advice. I am getting a kitten at the weekend (my wife finally saw sense)

What I want to know is what is the difference between all the different types of cat litter?

Last time I bought cat litter was about 15 years ago and I was amazed at the numerous types on the market these days.

I've seen lightweight, clumping, anti-clumping, granules, clay, paper....the list goes on!

Can anyone shed some light on pros/cons of the different types?

[TheGuru]

Originally Posted by salocius

I need some advice. I am getting a kitten at the weekend (my wife finally saw sense)

What I want to know is what is the difference between all the different types of cat litter?

Last time I bought cat litter was about 15 years ago and I was amazed at the numerous types on the market these days.

I've seen lightweight, clumping, anti-clumping, granules, clay, paper....the list goes on!

Can anyone shed some light on pros/cons of the different types?

I have found that the ones based on wood pulp or papar can smell after a few days.

Catsan is quite a good make, Im not sure what its made from..... I think its clay :-k

Hope thats a bit of help

[Mike]

Originally Posted by salocius

Can anyone shed some light on pros/cons of the different types?

I'll ask MadCat for you as she has tried many different types for Jack.


Mike...

[salocius]

Cheers Mike

[madcat]

I hope that you enjoy your little bundle of fluff... what are you getting?

To answer your question:

Clumping - these clump together when the cat uses it to go to the loo. Easy to clean out with little waste.

Non-clumping - these don't clump when your cat goes to the loo and can mean a lot of waste and fishing around the tray to find all the used bits.

Lightweight - a light litter with no added bits.

Clay - made from pellets of clay, which when wet stick to your cats paws and get trod around your house. Also create lots of dust when filling the tray.

Bio - will biodegrade in a compost bin

wood - made from compacted wood pulp

Paper - made from compacted paper pulp.

Your Cats magazine recently did a survey of all litters available in the UK market.

They looked at all the different types for smell, tracking (how much your cat spreads it around your house on it's paws), dust, efficiency (how long a tray lasts), waste and environmentally friendly.

We used to use catsan, but this was always around our house as it got stuck in Jacks paws, and kicked all over the room from the tray. It is also really dusty when you fill the tray.

The winner of the survey was OkoPlus Cats Best. I tried this and was immediately sold on it. It's made from wood dust compacted. It's treated so that urine and faeces do not smell if left (but you should never leave it in the tray) and also it can be put in a compost bin. It is a clumping litter and is very economical. A bag lasts us about 3 weeks. I recommend you try this one, and I have found that the cheapest place in the UK to buy from is http://petfoodwarehouse.co.uk/

You should wash out the tray regularly (at least once a week) and replace all the litter at this point. Then just remove the used bits. This will remove any chance of infection from the litter.

I hope that this helps you out...

Good luck with your new friend.

MadCat

[salocius]

Cheers for the advice madcat, I'll give that litter a go. I'm getting a little girl tabby. I used to have semi-ferral tomcats when I was a kid and this kitten is from farm cat stock. Her dad is a huge ferral tom!

I'll post some pics of the little fluff ball when I get her

[madcat]

Nice one...

Have you got the basics for her:

Bowl for food and water (dont give milk as it upsets the stomach)
bed
Litter tray
a few toys

if you need any more advice drop me a line, I'm a mine of useless info and I know loads about cats!!

Watch out for hands covered in scratches! I was covered in them when we got Jack!

MadCat