Curiosity Killed the…

Pixel was the old gray cat Mike had when I met him. She was the first cat I ever lived with. What astounded me most of all about living with a cat was kitty litter. Those little pieces (which can be so sharp) were everywhere! All over the floors, even in the bed and her box was far from the bedroom. I forgot what litter-free carpet felt like after awhile.

And the dust! It was horrible. Every time I added new litter to her box I’d get hit with a mushroom cloud. Every time Pixel scratched, I’m sure she got a face full of it too.

Mike used Tidy Cats. I think it was the cheapest brand the grocery store carried. After Pixel passed away I vowed to never use Tidy Cats (or Jonny Cat again).

Oliver came into our lives when he was 18 days old, too young to use a litter box. But it was bound to happen and I needed an alternative.

I picked up a bag of Yesterday’s News (like Tidy Cats, it was made by God-awful Purina). I liked that it came from recycled paper and that the pieces were big.

It was perfect for kittens because it doesn’t clump and clumping litter is not safe for little baby kittens. (Everything a kitten is curious about goes in his mouth and clumping litter is not something a kitten should be digesting.)

Yesterday’s News was great litter, Oliver liked it and so did kitty number 2, Annie. I liked that the pellets were so big; it made it easy to clean up and they never traveled far from the box. My only concern was that it was from Purina, a company I did not want to support.

I tried Feline Pine for awhile but I just couldn’t get over the smell, a little too earthy for my taste. Though I did appreciate the large pellets.

To my delight I found Good Mews not long after. It was the same shape and texture as Yesterday’s News but it wasn’t put out by Purina. I was in Heaven. Until we adopted Penny. It was great for one, and even 2 cats, but not for three.

From Good Mews I switched to Healthy Pet’s Dust Free Fiber. I loved the way this litter smelled fresh from the bag. Like Good Mews it was non-clumping (which I didn’t mind) and the pieces were a good size so the kitties didn’t track it around the house.

But with the addition of Stella, our fourth cat, I knew it was time for a clumping litter.

I chose World’s Best Litter as a friend of mine raved about it years ago. It had an odd smell but it clumped very well. The tracking wasn’t too much of an issue and I loved that it was flushable and practically dust-free.

But then Oliver decided he liked it a little too much. When I would pour clean litter into the boxes, he would eat it. Since I couldn’t watch him all the time, I had to switch. Again.

Now I’m not a fan of adding deodorizers to my litter. If boxes are cleaned regularly (once or twice a day) they do not smell. I currently have 5 cats (Finnegan is the latest addition) and my 4 boxes don’t stink. That said, I bought the lavender scented litter from Vetbasis with the sole hope that Oliver wouldn’t eat it.

He didn’t, but I didn’t feel right about forcing strong scents upon the noses of my kitties. But like World’s Best, I did like the flushable and dust-free aspects.

The last litter I tried was made by Next Gen Pets, their Green Tea Leaves litter. I love this litter. I love it so much. When I open a new bag I love that it smells very faintly of Chinese restaurant green tea. It clumps softly, is flushable, and dust free.

Best of all, Oliver doesn’t eat it.