Changing cat litter

rita-rabbit

Claire_Bear wrote: »

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

only when comparing it to inferior stuff - Liddles/aldies/ PAH & others do high absorbancy mineral v cheaply & there are premium ones too. `ordinary' Supermarket litter like their food is usually worst quality/value/absorbancy actually

Kimberley

I use Yesterday News for my Bengals. It lasts forever, doesn't hardly track and you get no odour from when they wee. Urine can reek after a while but this litter I find is great.

Claire_Bear

Sorry, I meant more economical than the cheapy supermarket stuff. Of course there's the more expensive litters which are probably better than the wood pellets, judging by the thread 'Cat Litter, it's a minefield', wood litter is by no means the best litter to use, but people have said it's a lot better than the value litters, and works out about the same price overall due to using less etc. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear

BitterAndTwisted

I tried a wood-pellet litter for my cats a long time ago because I preferred the fresh smell of it. One of the issues I had with it was that the pellets broke down into sawdust so it made removing the soiled litter more difficult than the clumping. This could be because I'm a bit more cack-handed than a normal person

Sequeena

Hi I used wood based litter £8.99 for a 30l sack from pets at home!

I completely change my cat's litter tray around every 3 days. During that time I use a nappy sack to pick up poop and top it up a little.

A 30l sack lasts me on average 2 months for 1 cat.

Lilith1980

Thanks for that - it does sound like I am topping up the tray way too much. I have started to use a cup to top it up so I'll seehow we get on.

Thanks all

stebiz

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I tried a wood-pellet litter for my cats a long time ago because I preferred the fresh smell of it. One of the issues I had with it was that the pellets broke down into sawdust so it made removing the soiled litter more difficult than the clumping. This could be because I'm a bit more cack-handed than a normal person

Sequeena wrote: »

Hi I used wood based litter £8.99 for a 30l sack from pets at home!

I completely change my cat's litter tray around every 3 days. During that time I use a nappy sack to pick up poop and top it up a little.

A 30l sack lasts me on average 2 months for 1 cat.

Lilith1980 wrote: »

Thanks for that - it does sound like I am topping up the tray way too much. I have started to use a cup to top it up so I'll seehow we get on.

Thanks all

It really is nice to read about responsible cat owners. My poor mum has cats in her garden, all the time doing their business all over her garden.

Stebiz

Sequeena

My cat is strictly indoor. I've lost too many cats to the road and do not want the same to happen with Cotton. Plus as you've mentioned it saves peoples gardens and they don't kill all the wildlife either

As for using a cup to measure the litter - I've found I can use on minimum 2 cups (perfect for when I'm running low and know I won't get to the shop that day) but I never use more than 4 scoops at a time.

I also have her scratching post next to the tray, she always wants to sharpen her claws after going to the toilet and it saves my furniture

roguebrogue

I usually use the Tesco's own brand litter, I think it's called premium and it's pink coloured.

My cat's also indoor only. I take out her "business" every evening and then change all the litter once a week on bin day

Fire_Fox

Another vote for a large tray that you deep fill with a litter that clumps really well: we use Cats Best OkoPlus which is wood-based but not pelletted, more like large crumbs. I reckon it costs just £1 per week for one indoor cat and I don't have any issues with smell. :T

I hardly bother to top up the litter and don't need to scrub out the tray very often, just tip to one end and use an antibacterial wipes on any dirty areas. Food makes a huge difference to what ends up in the litter tray, the higher the meat content and the lower the grain content the less you will have to clear up and the less smell you will have to endure!

Clay litter is strip mined in the US (air miles) and then end up in landfill forever, so it's horrific for the environment on three counts. Wood or paper-based litters can be composted or flushed so much better; there are also litters based on straw and hemp which are supposed to be super-absorbent and so very economical.