Cat Litter : Ratings of Sources

Our AssessmentIn this thorough article, author Alyn King tests five different brands of cat litter, using his own cat as the guinea pig. King dislikes the dust created by Tidy Cats clay (not to mention the fact that his cat tracked it all over the house), and he's suspicious of the sodium bentonite used in the Arm & Hammer clumping litter. The top choice here is Feline Pine, which King likes because it is flushable, biodegradable, sweet smelling and low on dust. Also, "one bag of this litter lasts forever," he says.

Our AssessmentMarina Michaels, who doesn't trust clumping clay cat litters, goes into great detail about non-clumping alternatives, trying out many of the brands with her cat. She recommends Yesterday's News (made out of recycled newspapers) and Feline Pine (made out of pine pellets) as environmentally friendly, non-clumping litters, although she says her cats aren't especially comfortable with the relatively large Feline Pine pellets. She criticizes World's Best Cat Litter for not using organic corn. But she still cites it, along with Swheat Scoop as the two best non-clay clumping litters.

Our AssessmentDarlene Cheek, who runs a "cattery" and has 14 cats living in her home, compares six cat litters. She recommends Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat line of litter for "special needs" cats, but admits that it's expensive. Cheek says that World's Best Cat Litter is dusty and messy (which runs counter to the opinion of most other reviewers). Tidy Cat Clay Litter is good for kittens under 6 months old, which should not be exposed to clumping litters. Tidy Cat Crystals are expensive and do not clump, but they provide the best odor control available. She concludes that Tidy Cat for Multiple Cats, a clumping litter, is the best choice all around.

Our AssessmentModern Cat is a blog that provides reviews of pet products along with useful information for cats and cat owners. In this second part of a comparison test, the author tests three natural cat litters. PaPurr Scoop does a good job at odor control, but it's hard to find. Swheat Scoop Multi-Cat Strength has better clumping than regular strength, but it still has a lot of dust. Feline Pine Clumping clumps well, and cats like its texture better than the pellet version, but it doesn't control odor well. She also reviews the dual-level Feline Pine self-cleaning litter box, and reports that Arm & Hammer High Performance natural clumping litter has changed its name to Essentials and added a stronger perfume. The first part of this comparison is available through a link at the beginning of the article.

Our AssessmentThe writer of this article doesn't compare specific brands, but he disapproves of the recent use of such exotic materials as "paper, corncob, orange peel, wheat, wood, grass, silica and peanut shell" for cat litters, noting that cats' sensitive footpads are most comfortable with fine-grained clumping cat litters. The only brand specifically recommended here is Scoop Away Unscented.

Our AssessmentThe pet-supply retailer Petco is a good source of customer reviews for cat litter. Particular favorites here, based on average ratings and number of reviews, are World's Best Cat Litter, Fresh Step, Tidy Cats and Feline Pine.

Our AssessmentThere aren't as many reviews here as at specialty pet-supply websites, but there are a few litters that have received favorable ratings from more than one or two users. The highest-rated litters during our most recent visit were Fresh Step Crystals Refill Cartridge, World's Best Original and Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Ultra.