2/9/09

A couple of thoughts on cat litter

Over the weekend, I brought my kitty to come and live with me in Pasadena, thus needing to reinstate the litter box. I apologize to those of you who haveno history with litter because this will be boring and irrelevant.

Anyway, I couldn't remember what kind of litter I used to use so I just bought some Fresh Step. As soon as I poured it into the box it stunk and then I remembered: FRESH STEP IS THE WORST LITTER. I don't know what's wrong with it, but it stinks on its own and seems to amplify anything that goes into it. Keep your distance and do not buy this litter.

Instead, buy Arm and Hammer Litter. It's the best! It really does a good job controlling the stink. I get it without a scent. And if this wasn't enough litter talk for you (and if you dare), click here.

9 comments:

atomique47 said...

I got tired of all the dust (especially because I lived in a studio) so I switched my cat over to the feline pine pellets. My cat got used to it quickly and it never smelled! It lasts a long time and instead of the dusty clay smell/ chemicals it smelled like pine. Much better! If your cat isn't too freaked out by new things, try it.

Doug said...

I second the pine pellets. Flushable too!

Pretty Little Things for Home & Life said...

For the record, we use the Walmart "Special Kitty" brand. Regular clumping, and our cats love it! We used to buy the Unscented until one emergency trip yielded the only available option : SCENTED. I have bought nothing but the scented since. I find it makes a huge difference and isn't overpowering or anything. Never heard of pine pellets.....mind oyu, pine makes me sick...

sparklerawk said...

I use World's Best Cat Litter. It has a nice arrogant name. :)
It's clumpable, flushable (but that doesn't really matter since you should never ever ever ever flush kitty litter & it's contents), absorbs order pretty well and doesn't have much of its own scent. It also doesn't contain any silica, which makes me less paranoid.

i suwannee said...

feline pine changed our lives. it doesn't smell. it doesn't track anywhere around the house. the dust is compostable. you just flush the poop down the toilet. you use less. it costs lest. done deal.

Anonymous said...

This time around with my newest kitty, I taught him to use the toilet. It takes a while but its worth it. There are kits you can buy, but they are expensive and the homemade kind can be modified to suit your kittys quirks.
Start by putting your litterbox ontop of the toilet. Let your cat get used to it there. Next, get an aluminum tray and sort of shape it down into the toilet bowl suspended above the water and fill it with litter. I used packing tape to secure it. Then when kitty is comfy with that, poke a pen sized hole in the tray so kitty gets used to the sound of litter falling in the water. Gradually in tiny steps make that hole bigger and bigger until finally all you have left are some aluminum remnants taped to the rim of the bowl. Then take it all off. A second toilet is really necessary for this but I actually cut the tray in half so the toilet was half usable. I wanted my extra toilet back. It took my cat 5 months start to finish but I have two small kids who come in and dance around noisily every time the poor cat is trying to take care of business. I'm sure he would have learned much faster if he was left to it.

laure said...

anon--that is incredible! only question is about the spray of litter when the kitty 'digs'. My cat goes nuts and if she didn't have a lid on her box would certainly spray the litter into the next room. When it's on the toilet, does yours dig as much?

Anonymous said...

hmmmm. I guess I didn't have to deal with litter spray. I suppose you could house the tray over the toilet until all the litter is gone. If its something that needs getting used to you could also make the cover smaller and smaller as there is less and less litter. Eventually there is so little litter that's its really just a token gift to keep kitty happy and "fooled". Now that he uses no litter at all he does "scratch" around the edges of the toilet. I leave the toilet seat up because he seems to have better balance on the toilet rim. I even put little no slip bathtub stickers on it to help him out. There are some pretty cute ones now like little polka dots that match your bathroom colors but I opted for white so you don't really see them.
Each time you see kitty there give him a treat, he'll get it pretty quickly. Then only give treats when he is successful. Soon he'll start charging the toilet everytime you go in there yourself!

Anna Schafer said...

At last! The search is over. Here's a cat litter that’s non-toxic, affordable, and actually works-- and it’s not packaged in plastic. http://printablepetcoupons.com/cat-litter-coupons/