Choosing the best cat litter

One of the best ways you can prevent cat urine odor and have happy kitties is to choose a great cat litter.  Picking a great cat litter is important because it helps encourage your cat to use her litter box, reduces the smell of cat urine odor as well as cat feces odor, and makes the cleanup job easier on you.  Most cats aren’t too fussy about their cat litter, and that’s good for you as it will give you more options.

The first thing you should consider when picking a cat litter is whether you want single-use litter or scoopable litter.  Each has their advantages and disadvantages.  With single-use litter, you change the litter box every day.  This means that you must discard the full box and fill it each time you change the litter.  It also means you will go through much more litter, which is usually much more expensive.  The biggest advantage of this litter, however, is that your cat always has fresh litter, which usually means the litter box won’t smell as much. 

With scoopable litter, you don’t change the litter everyday, and instead scoop out the urine and feces and discard it.  You can always throw away scoops in the garbage, but some types of scoopable litter can be flushed down the toilet, assuming your sewage system can handle it!  Scoopable litter’s biggest advantage is that you’ll use less litter, which is usually cheaper in the long run.  It’s biggest disadvantage is that you might end up with a smelly litter box if you can’t get all of the urine or feces out when you scoop it, or if you wait too long between fully changing the litter out.  Usually, you should fully discard and refill scoopable litter about every week or so, depending on how many cats you have.

Some cat litter has deodorizer built in which is useful for trying to keep the odor down.  Some cats are allergic to certain types of deodorizer though, so if you have a cat with allergies, be sure to check with your vet.  The amount of deodorizer in the litter usually has to do with the number of cats the litter is designed for.  If you have a multiple cat household, look for a cat litter that’s designed for multiple cats as it will have extra deodorizer to help reduce the smell, as well as other features such as long-lasting odor protection.

When it comes to the material your cat litter is made from, there are plenty of choices.  Lots of cat litter is made from clay or some combination that includes clay or similar minerals.  These litters are inexpensive, but can produce a lot of dust when you change them, and many contain non-natural chemicals.  Another choice is a natural litter.  Natural litters are made from products such as corn, pine shavings, wheat, wood, and other natural products.  These litters are highly effective at controlling odor and are also good for your cats too.  As an added bonus, most natural litter can be flushed down your toilet, eliminating the need to dispose of the scoops in the garbage can. 

For most cats and people, a natural, scoopable litter will be the best balance between cost, odor, and hassle, without compromising your cat’s health.  Situations and cats do vary, however, so you may find you need a different type of cat litter to make you and your kitties happy.