Changing cat litter

Lilith1980

Hi, we currently buy wood-based litter from Mr T's which costs £4.46 per 10 litre bag.

I'm finding this to be expensive as we use a bag per week - or maybe we are just changing our cat's litter too much?? We clean 'his business' twice a day - once in the morning and by the time we come home of an evening it's a bit full so we clean him out again and top it up with some more pellets, otherwise he won't use it if it's too messy.

I just wondered if I changed to a cheaper cat litter and it wasn't wood-based (say, clay) would this bother the cat? I wasn't sure if they were fussy about where they did their business!

Thanks

BitterAndTwisted

In my experience all cats are fussy about pretty much everything! If you're considering changing the cat's litter I would change it gradually as the wood-pellets are very different to a clay-based litter: they look, smell and feel completely different.

ETA: If you are thinking of changing over to a clay-based litter you could do worse than have a go with the one which Lidl sells. It's less than £2 for a 12 litre sack which lasts my boy Stanley about a fortnight.

cyberbob

How many cats do you have? Just the one?. Buying bigger bags is more economical. We use pets at home non clumping and for 25 litre its 8.99. I dont like clumping litters as if you get a cat that eats it or your dog manages to eat some it can cause problems

We have 6 cats and get through 2 bags a month. Ive used wood based in the past and found it needed changing far more often.

spike7451

I get a 5l bag of the wood stuff from the CoOp for £2.00,normally last's Daisy 2 weeks,I only scoop out the messy bit's & top up with an old mugful once a day.
The trick is not to fill it too much initally & when you've cleaned out the business,stir the new & old together.

geri1965_2

I use the Tesco Value litter which is less than £2 for 10L (even cheaper for Morrisons own brand). One bag lasts me 3 weeks or so, I take out the solids once or twice a day and replace the whole lot once a week.

BitterAndTwisted

I do the complete opposite of what Spike does: I have the litter-tray quite deeply-filled so that his wees don't reach the bottom of the tray. This means that the clumps of soiled litter are easier to lift out, then I top up with some clean litter and mix that in. I do this twice a day. His tray isn't changed completely that often as I feel there's little need because the litter always seems clean to me once I've tidied up. I haven't asked Stanley what he thinks but he seems quite content to use it at any time.

rita-rabbit

Lilith1980 wrote: »

Hi, we currently buy wood-based litter from Mr T's which costs £4.46 per 10 litre bag.

I'm finding this to be expensive as we use a bag per week - or maybe we are just changing our cat's litter too much?? We clean 'his business' twice a day - once in the morning and by the time we come home of an evening it's a bit full so we clean him out again and top it up with some more pellets, otherwise he won't use it if it's too messy.

I just wondered if I changed to a cheaper cat litter and it wasn't wood-based (say, clay) would this bother the cat? I wasn't sure if they were fussy about where they did their business!

Thanks

Alot of manufactured wet cat food does produce alot more `waste' than other food.

However I find clay/mineral does last longer than wood - but doesn't smell as nice (I won't use the scented clay as I don't think it's healthy for the cat - nor do I use the long lasting stuff except if they are being left alone for say - a few days - for the same reason). I think Ottos cat's best is the best litter (no pun intended) but often mix cheap clay with it to `stretch'/keep costs down!

Lilith1980

Hi, thanks for your replies

We only have the one cat and it sounds like we're topping up the litter by too much. I don't top it up each time we clear stuff out but normally every other time. But we normally just pour it in from the bag when maybe using a mug-full like spike7451 does will prove more economical.

I just feel that we could be using something which is just as effective but cheaper so it sounds like a good idea to introduce gradually. Think I will buy one bag of wood and one bag of clay the next time and put the clay in little by little.

Claire_Bear

Wood litter is supposed to be more economical due to the fact that it's more absorbant and you use less. If you put a deep layer in to start with, you'll need to remove less when it gets soiled. If it's only a thin layer then when the cat does a pee, it will spread along the bottom of the tray resulting in you needing to scoop and get rid of a large percentage of the litter and topping it up. If you put a deep layer in, then the pee will come out in one bit clump and you'll only need to top up a little bit, making the bag last longer. I'm currently going the other way and replacing clumping clay litter with the wood pellets, I'm doing it gradually too so my cat gets used to the new smell and feel of it I too only need to top up the tray by about a cupful every day once I've scooped, so my current 10l bag should last me a while

Lilith1980

Maybe I need to be doing what you do Claire Bear?

We do put a deep layer of litter in the tray but I think I am taking too much of the litter out when cleaning his tray. I clear out the clumped together bits but take out other bits as well just to make sure I get it all out. Maybe a bit of OCD there lol

Claire_Bear

Sometimes I do the same when the clump breaks up into smaller clumps, then I chase them round the tray and end up scooping some clean litter out as well, but I had the same problem when I used clay litter. One advantage I found with clay litter over wood pellets though was that with the wood litter, the pieces are so big that they don't fall through the gaps in the scoop, whereas with clay, when you get the clumps on the scoop and shake it, the clean litter fell back into the tray just leaving the dirty clumps behind. I think it's ok if there's a couple of little dirty bits left in the tray though, as people have said if you put the new litter in and stir it around a bit it's alright, and then just completely empty the tray and start fresh again every week or two.