Litter recommendations please

[3teens2cats]

Just that really. We have had our lovely girls for 10 years and have always used cheap supermarket litter. They go outside so it's not the only place they toilet but we are now hitting the time of year where they stay inside more, especially now they are over 10. The smell isn't too much of a problem because I change it frequently and it's in the bathroom where the window is always cracked open. What is driving me batty though is the bits everywhere. It gets trodden all over the house, it's so messy. The litter tray is a covered one so it only comes out the entrance but it's stuck in their paws and we just find little white gritty pieces everywhere. I have always been reluctant to try more expensive types because I change it every few days so we get through it but maybe it will last longer and not be as bad as I think? Looking at wood pellets? Are they less messy?

Wood pellets are great for odour, even a particularly smelly poo will vanish after a couple of minutes if they cover it over. But there are 2 mess issues, one of which at least your tray is likely to resolve.

Firstly, if you have an enthusiastic digger (looking at you Tobias) the pellets can fly everywhere - I've seen them go up to a foot from the tray. But I have open trays, I'd guess your covered one would prevent that.

The second potential issue is that once it gets wet, wood pellet litter breaks down & turns to almost dust. Again the enthusiastic digger thing means this can fly up into the air & float around to settle elsewhere. The other problem is that yes they can easily track it around the house on their feet, though that can be reduced by having some form of litter mat by the entrance to yours that would trap most of it.

I've tried a few of the less expensive wood pellet litter brands, and have found the Pets at Home one to be the best without breaking the bank. Virtually no dust in the bag, pellets break down enough so they are properly absorbent but slower than some, very good price. Comes in 15 or 30 litre bags.

We have a digger, so I am constantly sweeping! We use Catsan, mainly because that’s what he had in foster care. I deep clean the tray once a week, otherwise it just gets scooped/topped up after he uses it - he tends to wee twice a day and poo once. We have a big spongy mat from Amazon that has kind of little holes in which is designed to catch litter. (I’m not explaining that very well but I think it is actually called a litter tray mat.) There are two other trays in the house but he tends to favour the same one to use.

Our previous cat only toileted outdoors but this boy loves the litter tray and will come in to use it then go straight back out.

Ah, it seems the mess is inevitable

I have the mat thing with the holes in it to catch the litter. But still need to hoover it up!

I do like the cheap clumping clay litter from B&M, it clumps pee into a lump in about four or five hours and then you life the whole chunk out in one go. So empty twice a day. It’s great.

I give the mat a good shake outside the back door a few times a week but yes, it’s definitely not a magic wand!