Nov152008
Natural Cat Litter Comparison - Part 2
Filed under Litter & Hygiene by moderncat at 11:52 pm on Nov 15 2008
This is a follow-up to my first natural cat litter comparison in which I tested Arm & Hammer High Performance, Swheat Scoop (regular strength), World’s Best Cat Litter (multi-cat strength), and Nature’s Miracle. If you haven’t read it yet, please also see the original post What’s In Your Litter Box to learn more about the dangers of clay and silica based cat litters and why natural litters are the way to go.
. . .
As the grand finale to Litter Week, I had to post about my recent findings in the world of natural cat litter. Since the last comparison, I found three more natural litters to test, all available at PetSmart. This time I tried PaPurr Scoop, Swheat Scoop multi-cat strength, and Feline Pine Clumping. Here are my observations:
PaPurr Scoop
I really like this litter but it is hard to find. I purchased it at one Petsmart in my area, but I have never seen it at any other stores. I also can’t find the manufacturer online, so if you have any information, please leave a comment. PaPurr Scoop really does look and feel like clay litter but it is made from recycled paper. The texture is like soft little beads and it is a bit dusty, but not nearly as bad as clay litter. It has a soft scent that smells like lightly scented paper, and it did a pretty good job at odor control. Good clumping, especially if liquids are left alone for awhile before scooping. This one is safe for flushing in small amounts because it is biodegradable.
Swheat Scoop Multi-cat Strength
Swheat scoop multi-cat strength seems to be slightly better than the regular strength. Better clumping but still a lot of dust, so I’m avoiding it because of my gluten intolerance. If you like Swheat Scoop, I’d go with the multi-cat strength.
Feline Pine Clumping
Feline Pine clumping litter is from the same company that makes the Feline Pine pellets. A lot of cats don’t like the pellets, including mine, so I was excited to try this one. This is one of my favorites because it has a pleasant scent of sawdust and it clumps reasonably well. It is very light and easy to carry, which is great, but that also means that it tracks easily. However, it doesn’t hurt when you step on it, like the pellets do. The cats seem to like the texture, but it’s not outstanding on odor control and I find that the clumps sometimes get stuck to the bottom of the box and you really have to scrape to get them off. I have to do a complete hose-down of the litter box more frequently when using this litter.
A word about the pine pellets
There are a few different brands, including the original Feline Pine pellets. These pellets break down when they come in contact with liquid and turn to sawdust. You are supposed to shake the box to let the sawdust settle to the bottom and scoop the solids. I thought it became a big mess and most of my cats hated the pellets, but lots of people and cats love them. If you do, you may want to know about the special litter box that was created for use with the pellets, the Feline Pine Self-cleaning Litter Box. It has a perforated upper compartment that lets the sawdust fall into the lower portion of the box, making things a little neater. This also extends the life of the pellets because they are not being thrown away with the sawdust, plus it reduces tracking because the sawdust is contained in the lower part of the box.
Arm & Hammer High Performance Has a New Name
Just a note, the Arm & Hammer High Performance natural clumping litter reviewed in our first natural litter comparison has changed it’s name and packaging. It is now part of the Arm & Hammer Essentials line, but as far as I can tell, it is the same corn-based litter but with a new, incredibly obnoxious scent. The old A&H High Performance had a strong perfume-y smell and the new Essentials litter has a different and even stronger perfume-y smell. At first I liked it because it’s kind of fresh smelling, but after living with it in the box, I just couldn’t stand it. Otherwise it performs about the same — light and fluffy texture, low dust, okay clumping.
Warning! Fresh Results Natural Litter is Not the Same Quality!
I found a natural corn-based litter called Fresh Results at Walmart for a really good price. It looked and smelled exactly like the Arm & Hammer natural litter, so I assumed they were the same. They are not! I really noticed a difference in the quality of the Fresh Results - very bad clumping and almost no odor control. It’s certainly better than the clay choices available at Walmart, but please know that this is not the best natural litter out there. It’s very disappointing because that was a great move for Walmart to put in a natural litter, but now people might switch back to clay after having a bad experience with natural litter.
New natural litters to try
I found some new natural litters at the pet expo, although they are not easy to find yet. Here are a couple that I have yet to test:
Green Tea Leaves Clumping Cat Litter
Green Tea Leaves clumping litter is wood-based plus it is made with green tea leaves that contain catechin, a natural tannin that helps fight odors and is anti-bacterial.
Close to Naturenow Organic Soybean Cat Litter
This one sounds great! It’s from The Organic Farm Store. The litter is 100% organic and all natural. It is made from soybean meal for superior clumping and granulated potato starch to enhance odor control. It is biodegradable and flushable and supposedly low tracking. I can’t wait to try this one!
What are you using?
Please leave your comments about these natural litters or any others that you have tried. If more of us show interest in natural cat litter, it should trigger the litter manufacturers to make improvements and continue developing new alternative natural litters that are healthy for cats, people, and the environment.
1 a.J.on 16 Nov 2008 at 1:44 am
The one thing I’m finding annoying is that the new Essentials bag doesn’t have a ziploc close. Yep, It’s most inconvenient!!!!
2 Kathyon 16 Nov 2008 at 2:09 am
I use Yesterday’s News for my single cat. Although it doesn’t clump and I disliked it at first, I’ve come to really love it. I change out the whole litter pan once a week and wash the whole box out. It’s literally odorless (I scoop daily)…AND the tracking is almost non-existent because they are big paper pellets.
Having tried most of the other “natural” cat litters, I don’t think I’ll be switching away from YN anytime soon.
3 Jesson 16 Nov 2008 at 2:56 am
I’m using the Arm & Hammer Essentials stuff, and I really don’t mind the scent. Compared to cat pee, it’s awesome.
The cats like it better than clay.
4 Célineon 16 Nov 2008 at 3:54 am
Hello Dear ModernCat,
I visited your blog and really appreciate it.
Beautiful ideas and object you have! We are in Switzerland (near Geneva) and unfortunately, there, it is still difficult to find orginal and modern equipment
I did a short post on my blog SiAmS & Cie.
With our best Swiss regards,
The SiAmS
5 Donnaon 16 Nov 2008 at 7:38 am
http://papurr.com/index/
6 Stephanie S.on 16 Nov 2008 at 8:21 am
I use Yesterday’s News, which is non-clumping paper pellets. I went through a bunch of different clumping natural litters, and either the smell of the waste mixed with corn or perfumed fibers absolutely grossed me out, or the tracking was uncontrollable.
My cats don’t seem to mind the pellets. It definitely cuts back on tracking, and I like the fresh paper smell. I like the idea of Pa-Purr, so I’ll see if I can find it in my area. I just hope the tracking isn’t as bad as those other natural clumping litters…
7 Dainahon 16 Nov 2008 at 8:36 am
We have four Siberians and love the World’s Best Cat Litter. It is the best performing natural clumping cat litter by far. After trying several of these natural litters, World’s Best Cat Litter passed the test here.
8 Barney Lehreron 16 Nov 2008 at 8:38 am
I am using Easyclean. Corn-based. Works fine and don’t smell (unlike World’s Best) Anybody else know it?
9 Annieon 16 Nov 2008 at 8:53 am
I totally appreciate this litter week. however, we have very picky kitties who suffered some terrible UTI’s and crystals a few years back. Because of that, they are so uncomfortable with ANY new litter, and I’ve tried to introduce various natural litters, but they associate change with the discomfort of their past health problems. It’s getting so hard to find the unscented clay litter they truly prefer, and i believe it’s partly because the mainstream manufacturers are going the way of these natural litters. I applaud people who can try, but you have to keep your cats’ comfort in mind. I think switching boxes and litter on cats that are set in their ways is like introducing a bidet, or an Indian-style toilet, to a human and forcing them to use it!
Also, I really have to say that I believe a plain plastic bin is best. Again, when the cats went through this illness, they became so picky we had out-of-the-box issues. I did a lot of research and basically any litter box really must be washed out (or replaced- and how earth-friendly is that) at least monthly because the urine and feces stick around the box and make it germy. If you really want an immaculate box, why would you pick these gadgets that have nooks & crannies for germs to live in? They’re too expensive to replace often and are harder to really keep clean. I think the robot and the smart box are just ways to trick pet owners into thinking they have a cleaner box. In reality, most cats don’t want and will likely refuse them. I can’t believe you think it’s preferable to have a week or two where your cat pees on the floor next to the box because he’s uncomfortable with the new situation. He wouldn’t like to pee on the floor, preferably, and it really trains him to keep doing so.
Maybe the best inventions are sometimes the simplest.
10 Ceriseon 16 Nov 2008 at 8:57 am
My cat is trying out Fresh Results from Walmart right now and so far we like it. Feline Pine Clumping is great and has the best scent; Swheat Scoop works very well and kind of smells like oatmeal right after my cat uses it.
11 Triciaon 16 Nov 2008 at 9:17 am
Please check out Feline Fresh if you can find it. I get it at Complete Petmart in Cincinnati, and it beats all the other brands I’ve tried by a mile. Swheat Scoop sticks to the bottom of the box unless you spray the box with Pam like they suggest, and my dog has gotten very sick eating it. My cat got sick eating World’s Best, and I loved Feline Pine until one of my cats decided he didn’t like pellets anymore. I switched to Feline Pine clumping, but the store was having trouble getting it for awhile, so I switched to Feline Fresh Scoopable, which is exactly the same as FP Clumping but BETTER. It clumps and stays clumped, and it smells like pine. It’s also cheaper. Odor control A++.
12 Meg Houston Makeron 16 Nov 2008 at 9:19 am
Our two-cat household had been using silica litter for over a year and loving it, but your post about the dangers of silica dust opened my eyes. I’d previously tried and hated both Swheat Scoop and World’s Best, but this week I picked up a bag each of A&H Essentials and Yesterday’s News. One sniff of A&H was enough for me to tape the bag shut and send it along to the animal shelter drop box. But Yesterday’s News seems good so far: the product itself is odorless, the pellets don’t track, our cats accepted it readily. I’m a little worried about smell in the the pee-soaked pellets at the bottom of the box, so weekly changes and box-washing will probably become a requirement. In the meantime, is there an odor-fighting product I might try as an additive?
13 Laurelon 16 Nov 2008 at 10:44 am
In our 3 cat household we use World’s best.
We have tried other litters and didn’t like them. The cats aren’t picky, but I am.
We tried Schweet Scoop and found that it stuck to the bottom of the litter box. It didn’t matter if the boxes were halfway full with litter, it still stuck.
A friend of ours uses Feline Pine and honestly, when I would walk into her house it would about knock me over from the urine smell. Maybe she didn’t clean it enough, but that turned me off from using Feline Pine.
We were using a silica litter (which works very well I might add) but after doing research on it, decided it wasn’t best for the cats.
So we went back to World’s Best and have found that it’s the best we have found that works in our house.
If something new comes out then we would give that a try, but for now we will stick with World’s Best.
Thanks so much for all the information! It’s been very interesting to read what everyone has to say and all that you have found!
14 Amyon 16 Nov 2008 at 11:24 am
We use Feline Pine Clumping and we LOVE it. Pros - Nice fresh scent, cats love the texture, no gross chemicals to control odor. Cons - it can track since it’s very lightweight, after a while the clumping becomes less effective, and we find that we have to do a complete hose down every two weeks at the least. But shouldn’t we do that anyway? Cats like a clean bathroom, too, after all!
We find that there’s not a ton of odor control, but since we started feeding our cats homemade stew 9 months ago their litter just doesn’t smell nearly as much. I guess if you want to be able to clean your cat’s litter less than twice a day, this isn’t really the litter for you. But if you don’t mind keeping it clean, this stuff is great!
15 danielleon 16 Nov 2008 at 12:13 pm
I’ve tried Shweat Scoop & Feline Pellets, both which worked fine, but the wheat was too dusty and one of my kitties has bad allergies. I wanted to try Feline Pine clumping, which I currently use, but it does have a few drawbacks. No matter what it says on the package, it still has dust. After my kitties scratch around in there, their faces are covered in dust. And yes it tracks everywhere. I have to sweep the floor or vacuum every night so they don’t track it all over the house.
I clean 1x a day and it still gets smelly. for some reason, they don’t like to scratch over their poo with this litter! I don’t get it!
But I was very excited for flushable litter. I hated using plastic bags and living in an apartment forced me to put them in the regular trash for a day or two before I took out the garbage. So the flushable part is definitely the best part of this litter!
I’ll be trying a few different litters soon along with Bio-bags since I moved into a house. I just desperately want to find a litter that isn’t dusty, makes them want to scratch over their poo, and doesn’t smell up the basement within 10 minutes of cleaning it!
16 Mom of 6catson 16 Nov 2008 at 3:11 pm
I really like that someone else did the homework on litter.
We use World’s Best Multi and really like it. Clumps well and doesn’t smell.
I haven’t tried the pine myself but it was used at one of the shelter outreaches at which I volunteered. Too powdery. I don’t like the fact the urine is still in the box and I can’t scoop it out. The pine clumping might be worth a try if I feel the need to change.
The newspaper stuff REALLY smells bad. I have walked into houses and shelters where the peed on newspaper smell is overwhelming. The newspaper doesn’t seem to neutralize any of the ammonia smell from the urine. Maybe it just needs to be changed more often but I won’t take the chance of stinking up my house.
Luckily, so far, my guys aren’t picky about the litter but like like another comment, I am. Until corn becomes too expensive I’m sticking with World’s best.
On another note, I have used the auto litterboxes and I do like the fact I don’t have to scoop the box daily, but cleaning them is a nightmare. World’s Best litter helped a lot. Since it is lighter, the box had less problems scooping and it doesn’t turn into wet clay mounds stuck to every nook and cranny in the mechanics. If you have one or maybe two cats the auto scoops are ok. With multi cats I had to empty the resevoir so often I may have scooped a box. Emptying and cleaning a plastic litterboxes is SOOO muchless time consuming and with a couple drops of bleach, I know they have been totally sanitized.
17 jeanetteon 17 Nov 2008 at 6:23 am
Papurr scoop is the absolute best - but unfortunately, the manufacturer sold off the litter part of their business. You cannot find it anywhere anymore!! I can’t find much info on the company that bought it, so I have no idea if it will be available again.
18 Claireon 17 Nov 2008 at 6:58 am
In case you care,
I’m pretty sure that Arm & Hammer products are tested on animals.
(see http://www.caringconsumer.com/pdfs/companiesDoTest.pdf)
19 Princess Momon 17 Nov 2008 at 7:33 am
wow what an amazing article thanks so much for taking the time to do this.
We have 2 cats one boy one girl and use yesterdays news … love the idea of the Feline Pine box, it frustrates me that i have to throw so much litter out I am sure its not good for the environment, will keep my eye out for it .
Also thanks for the ideas on the covered boxes - its not nice when we have visitors over with kids to have the litter boxes exposed so will love to hear comments from anybody on some tips as my babies hate anything covered.
Thanks once again for your amazing insight and advice.
20 jtkon 17 Nov 2008 at 8:43 am
Papurr has a number you can call on their website.
FOR THE EARTH CORPORATION
21644 N. 9th Avenue, Suite 203
Phoenix, Arizona 85302
Tel: 800-791-5916
Website: http://www.PaPurr.com
I am interested, but I want right now to second the Feline Fresh recommendation–I love this litter, and my cat does too! Now if I can just find it in my remote coastal area.
21 Mindyon 17 Nov 2008 at 3:52 pm
I work at a Natural Pet supply store and we carry the following:
World’s Best (one of my favorite clumping ones)
Nature Miracle
Yesterdys News
Swheat Scoop
Close to Naturenow soybean (I haven’t tried it yet due to the cost)
Healthy Pet Products: Milled grain (my favorite non clumping it’s made from wheat); PPod (clumping with a mint smell, very fine so it tracks a lot but controls odor pretty well and it’s made of pea pod/plant fibre); Dust free fiber (non clumping)
Feline Pine (I also love this one for clumping and odor but it tracks a lot because it’s so light)
22 Wendyon 17 Nov 2008 at 5:41 pm
Have anyone used Littermate kitty litter additive? I am planning to use it with Green Tea Leaves cat litter for better clumpability but not sure if it is dusty. Thanks.
http://www.littermate.com/
23 Kateon 18 Nov 2008 at 10:15 am
I’ve tried a number of natural litters (Schweat, World’s Best, etc.), but eventually resorted back to clay. My cat prefers it, it doesn’t hang on to that acrid cat-urine smell, and I don’t have to replace the entire thing so often.
IMO, the best clay litter out there is Precious Cat. There’s very little dust, and it has a texture more similar to a rough sand than a fine silt. No perfume, but controls odors really well. Not a bad consolation prize after the frustration of dealing with messy, smelly natural litters.
24 Dorion 18 Nov 2008 at 11:56 am
Thanks for continuing to test natural litters! The small granules definitely cause tracking, but I’ve started using a ribbed soft rubber litter mat called Cats Rule that seems much better at reducing tracking than most mats and is very easy to clean/vacuum. Also, the cats also seem to like the texture and don’t try to hop over the mat like they did with the old spikier one. The colors and patterns of the mats also are more contemporary — bold stripes — I have one in black and white and another in blue. A few are pictured on the catsrule.com site, and I got mine from Target.
25 Zoeyon 18 Nov 2008 at 2:10 pm
Thank you for the litter review. I tried the Swheat Scoop litter and my cats sunk in it like they were in quick sand. They seemed a little startled by the experience and refused to go in the litter box after that. I will give one of the other litters a try!
26 Tiffany Harveyon 18 Nov 2008 at 2:23 pm
I love the pine litters, but they are so hard to find. At least, the inexpensive kinds. (My husband vetos the $10 Swheat Scoop).
I know we’ve used Feline pine clumping before, as well as a random bag of Disney brand ‘Aristocats’ litter that we found (it actually was a great pine litter), and perhaps another brand or two I don’t remmber. But they don’t carry them at our normal grocery store, and seem to dissapear from places we’ve bought them before, so we normally go with clay.
I found it odd that you said the Feline Pine didn’t cover the odor. We found the pine litters to be much better with odor control than clay, but not as good at clumping. The best was when we had about half pine and half clay in the box, which was able to do both jobs well.
27 tonkaon 20 Nov 2008 at 5:23 pm
Okay, went out yesterday and bought Close to Naturenow Organic Soybean Cat Litter.
What was 2, is now 1 furbabe, that was switched from clay to Worlds Best. The switch over went well, they plopped right in and did there duty. I like WBCL, minimal tracking, mod/min dust and no little critters.
Today I switched to Close to Naturenow and the my girl hesitantly approached the litter box and when she reached it she started to “eat” the litter. This was not good, particularly since she’s been on a diet :). So, before leaving for work, I gave her a bit extra on the food and had enuf WBCL left to leave a nice layer on top of the Close to Naturenow.
Close to Naturenow smells and if I have to smell litter so far I’d take WBCL. I can’t see this being low tracking but we’ll see. It’s almost like sawdust. She hasn’t used it yet so can’t comment on clumpability and odor control, but will update and let ya know. I’m not really liking it but we shall see and in any event will use up the rest of the bag.
28 Kellyon 21 Nov 2008 at 12:41 pm
I tried to order the feline pine litterbox off of the website, but because I’m in Canada, it said to call. When I called the phone number listed, it went to a person’s voicemail. I’m wondering if this is correct, or if the wrong ph# is posted on their website. I didn’t leave a message in case it was the wrong #. Does anyone know anything about this? Much appreciated, thanks.
29 Sarahon 24 Nov 2008 at 9:14 pm
instead of feline pine pellets, I buy animal bedding pellets at the hardware store. MUCH CHEAPER. But I need to find a scooper that will let the pellets fall through; mine seems to be too narrow.
30 jennyon 26 Nov 2008 at 1:18 pm
Right now I use the Arm & Hammer Essentials..I like the perfumey smell, mostly because my chubby cat leaves toddler sized poops..
I thought I had finally found a litter! Life was easy again!
Wrong.
Yesterday and about a week ago, my other cat pooped on my bed!
She sleeps there too..
She’s healthy. I know she hates my other cat..Why the poop on the bed? After doing some research and using my brain..I’ve come to the conclusion she hates the perfumey smell..
I’ve used Feline Pine and PaPurr..but when chubby was sick ( diabetes) I changed litters because I thought that was the problem..after the doctors diagnosis of diabetes I stuck with the Arm & Hammer..hmmm
31 Nicole Eon 15 Dec 2008 at 9:48 am
I buy the Disney Aristrocats Pine litter. It doesn’t dust and it is scoopable. Best of all I can’t smell the littler box through out the house. The only down side to it is that I can only find it at the local grocery store Jay C Store/ Krogers. I have tried walmart and Pet Smart but had no luck. If anyone knows of any other stores that might carry this product please let me know.
32 Tinaon 17 Dec 2008 at 11:11 am
I use a Better Way - Flushable. It’s got Cat Attractant in it and its biodegradable. When I used it in a litter box, there was dust issue, but my cats loved the litter a lot. Now that I’m training them to use the human toilet using Litter Kwitter, the Better Way is real handy. I’m debating using Precious Cat Attractant to persuade them to use it more instead of my floors :p