The wiffey accidentily bought non-clumping cat litter last week.
Sigh…
I didn’t realise what the difference would be untill I tried to use the stuff. The cats might as well just be crapping on the basement steps. At least I wouldn’t have to turn over a bunch of damp litter to find the cat crap. You have to dig through the stuff with the strainer to find the poop and the cat pee just goes right through to the bottom of the litter box. ?? Why? What minion of Hellfire Demon Spawn would design such stuff and what sort of creature would take pleasure in using it? There must be a market for the stuff otherwise I wouldn’t think they could make a buck by just leaving it on store shelves untill someone accidentily buys it. Like the wife did. URRR!
The clumping stuff works soooooo much better. Cat pee and poop turn into large chunks of litter debris and are easily removed from the litter box. The telltale ammonia smell is gone too. Hands down a better product.
It would be like someone still stocking store shelves with used corn husks right next to the toilet paper. People we have clumping cat litter, it is time to move on.
I’d assumed it should be moved to the automobile department, to be used as traction on slippery spots in winter.
I use “non-clumping” litter for my ferrets, but it’s not the clay-based stuff that you could mistake for the clumping kind. (Clay-based litters aren’t recommended for ferrets, IIRC for respiratory issues.) I get litter called Yesterday’s News, made of pelletized recycled newspaper. It’s absorbent, I think it might even be flushable (I don’t do that, so read the label first), and it’s non-toxic to my lil furballs.
I dunno. I myself have never spent more than four consecutive hours under the same roof as a cat, so I can’t judge whether this is alarmist, or a real cause for concern.
The stuff we normally get is like 99% dust free. It also doesn’t seem to expand all that much. I haven’t noticed any warnings on the bags.
Haven’t tried to grout with it yet, although there is a crack in the garage floor…
My cat won’t use it. How she can tell the difference I do not know, but she just sits and howls if there’s anything but the standard clay Fresh Step in her box. If I ignore her she’ll get in the box and do her business over the side.
I don’t bother digging through it though, so the fact that it doesn’t clump doesn’t matter to me at all. The whole thing just gets dumped out and refilled weekly.
Yesterday’s News is not flushable. There is a cat version available. The ‘pellets’ are smaller, and there’s a little more dust, but otherwise it is good for ferrets, available in larger supermarkets, and a little cheaper.
Clay isn’t so much a respiratory tract issue as it is a urinary track issue. Ferrets are very low to the ground, as you well know. Clay can clump in places it ain’t supposed to clump. There is a clumping litter that’s supposed to be safe for ferrets, Nature’s Miracle, but I haven’t tried it. When I can get it, I also like using wood pellets. Very absorbent, and cheaper than the pearl litter.
A good non-clumping litter should absorb urine, not trickle to the bottom. I liked using non-clumping with litter box liners when I had a cat. I preferred it over sifting through clumping litter, and IMO the non-clumping controlled odor between cleanings better.
I tried Swheat but it seemed to get moldy/smelly much more than Yesterday’s News.
I had stayed away from most wood litters because I thought cedar/pine could cause respiratory issues - perhaps the non-“aromatic” woods aren’t as much of a problem?
I use the feline version of Yesterdays News for my feliners.
We used to use Tidy Cat, but Yesterdays News is much cleaner and hold the stench much better.
We tried the scoopable, but one of my cats wouldn’t take to it at all. Sat alongside her box and howled. Bern doesn’t like change that much.
We also tried the crystals, but they weren’t that great either.
Cedar and pine are problems. Pelleted wood litter is very different than wood shavings bedding (and pellets are much more absorbent). It’s almost exactly like Yesterday’s News (where does paper come from, anyway ) and is just as if not more absorbent. It’s just not easy to find.
I used to have a cat who was a serious litter kicker. I shudder at the thought of the powdery litter that would have been EVERYWHERE if I’d used clumping. I found out that a combo of the store-brand litter and the store-brand crystals (about fifty-fifty) kept the smell completely down and the cat didn’t mind. I don’t think he was picky about that sort of thing.
We tried the scoopable stuff for about a month and we went back to the cheap clay stuff.
One of our three just absolutely refused to use it and started leaving us gifts in the corners of a couple of the rooms. One, a long hair, got sick after about two weeks of using the stuff and got well not long after we converted back to the clay stuff. The other used the clumping litter but would walk around for up to two hours afterwards shaking his paws as if it were saying, “Yuk, what is this stuff?”
We did something of an experiment and put out two litter boxes of with each type of litter and all the cats preferred the non clumping. To tell the truth so do I. It always seemed, I don’t know, demeaning to go “treasure” hunting every day or so.
Now I just take it all out. The cheap stuff is a lot less expensive and since I live in a rural area, 1. I can drive around with it in the back of my pickup for weight until my cats need it. 2. If it is in the back of my pickup and when I need traction I just reach in and get it and use it for traction. 3. The road to the ranch is dirt and can get really pitted and pot hold. Used clay-type kitty litter can be dumped into the holes and after it gets rained or snowed on a couple of times and then driven on a bunch of times is like concrete. My smooth/solid driveway and road leading up to my place is the envy of my neighbors.
Every day.
My problem with the non-clumping litter is that the urine doesn’t get scooped out. It just stays in the llitter box until you change ALL of it. I don’t like that. Smells after a couple of days.
I swear by Feline Pine (pine pellets). I know strong pine and cedar odors can be lethal to pet hedgehogs, but I’ve never heard of a cat having problems with them. Mine doesn’t seem to, but then, I don’t keep one of those covers on the box.
Anyway, with Feline Pine, “solid waste” is easily located and removed, and urine is instantly absorbed and causes the pine pellets to “fluff up” in the affected area. The bottom of the pan never gets all soaked and disgusting like it can with clay litter.
I wouldn’t touch the crystal stuff or the clumping stuff. For one thing, I have a disgusting dog who likes prospecting in the litterbox when I’m not looking. (What can I tell you? That’s why they’re called dogs, not sanitary engineers.) I wouldn’t want to risk him eating the clumping litter.
I used clumping for my kitties until a couple of months ago when my oldest cat started rebelling and pooping on the floor. The vet did a bunch of tests to make sure that there wasn’t something else wrong with her, then suggested I change to non-clumping to see if it made a difference, and it did. She hasn’t pooped on the floor in months.
To keep the amonia smell down, you can get a special scented baking soda by Arm & Hammer made especially for litter boxes. I scoop daily, but once a week I totally clean the litters, washing, drying the boxes and then use the baking soda to cover the bottom of the box, then fill with litter. There is less of an amonia smell now, using non-clumping.
With my two cats, I used clumping, then the crystals, and finally regular old litter. Maybe my cats are unusual, but there’s no difference in odor among any of the different types. No difference in how long they last. Two weeks and it’s time for a fresh start.
Yep, I don’t scoop or nuthin’; they use the box for two weeks, no complaints, no difficulties digging, no odor, then I change the whole kaboodle. They’re healthy and happy according to me and the vet. Am I the only one?
With 4 cats we feel like the clumping litter would cause a major problem. Namely, the first cat’s clumps would get broken to bits by the remaining 3 cats during their turns. We use non clumping clay litter, use a relatively small amount, and change it once or twice a day. It doesn’t smell unless you let it get really disgusting and isn’t any more work than sifting through clumps.
) and is just as if not more absorbent. It’s just not easy to find.