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Arm & Hammer Essential Natural Clumping Cat Litter. It's light, absorbent, and smells like the piney woods. I just bought three bags of it, because it's on sale. Because it's being discontinued *sob* My cats love it. I love it. I need suggestions on how to replace it. What I like about it: it's more like a bunch of pine needles than a bunch of little chunks of clay. It doesn't seem to track as much as the clay stuff. It really seems a lot more biodegradable than what I used before. What I hate about it: Well, I don't hate it, but it does have kind of a strong smell when I add it to the box, and stronger smell when I completely empty and refill, which I do occasionally. And of course it's being discontinued. Based on what I just bought, I have about three months.
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Apr 3, 2014 05:29
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Are you absolutely devoted to having a cat litter that clumps? Because if not, my favorite litter by far, is a bag of this. I use this with the cats and rabbit. The rabbit's used litter goes right onto my plants as compost. The cat's need to go in a special bin for aging and decontaminating before going into soil production. It's biodegradable, fairly light, smells quite neutral, and oh man, it is CHEAP. That 40lb bag will last me two months with the three critters, and it costs 7 bucks with tax at Tractor Supply. Cons are that it does not clump, cats may not accept it readily as it is a little weird, and it will track a bit if kitty steps in recently soaked litter. You do need to have a feed or farm supply store to get it from, or perhaps a small pet store would order it in for you. Suspect Bucket fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Apr 3, 2014 |
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Apr 3, 2014 17:31
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I used to use World's Best Cat Litter because it worked really well but it would track dust EVERYWHERE. So I switched over to Dr. Elsey's Cat Litter and there is no dust now. And, it's also $20 for a 40lb bag instead of $40 for a 40lb bag.
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Apr 3, 2014 18:03
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I really like the new arm and hammer ULTRA LITTER!! In the black box. It has a non-offensive scent and my cats love to poo poo in it! What I like about it: it's really fine grained and that seems to help with tracking. If you've ever used tidy cat litter with those giant BB sized grains of clay... Stepping on that crap really sucks. The arm and hammer is more like sand consistency. Also it covers up horrible poop smells pretty fast, as soon as they bury it the smell is gone. What I don't like: having a box of cat poo poo in my home  (This is not related to the litter)
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Apr 3, 2014 18:33
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World's Best Cat Litter is my favorite and I don't have any tracking or dust issues. However, my litter boxes are sitting on anti-track carpets because my previous litter had tracking issues. Whichever litter brand you try, look online for coupons as first time users can sometimes get pretty sweet deals.
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Apr 3, 2014 18:38
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Our catte absolutely loves the plain old PetCo litter with about a half cup of baking soda mixed in per fill. It's like scooping rocks out of a little quarry when we clean the box and I haven't really noticed any tracking. The chunks are big enough she likes kneading at it and I think she enjoys the tactile feel from scooping it. I would definitely suggest you give it a shot for 10 bucks.
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Apr 3, 2014 21:39
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God damnit, I am on my last bag of the Arm & Hammer essentials. Thanks for the heads up on this.
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Apr 4, 2014 16:26
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Spermy Smurf posted:God damnit, I am on my last bag of the Arm & Hammer essentials. Thanks for the heads up on this. Well now, wait. I went to the A&H website to try to find out what was up, and if they had somethnig new--and it's still on there, still advertised as "New!" and doesn't look like they're discontinuing it. What it looks like is the store is no longer selling it (and they aren't--the stuff was on sale for half price last week and this week it's all gone). So I went to the "find a store" option and...there was a long list of all the stores near my house that supposedly carry it. However, they actually don't. Safeway/Kroger/Target, no pet stores. So this looks like one more thing I will have to order from the Internet, but it looks like it's still available. My cats have never actually been that picky about their litter. But I am...
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Apr 4, 2014 20:01
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Does anyone have any good recs for unscented cat litter? I hate those godawful laundry detergent smells, they make me sneeze, and I can't get in my good cat huffin' if I'm sneezing my rear end off. (I might look into that horse stabling pine stuff, but more alternatives are good!) I'm not near a petco so sadly their generic's not an option.
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Apr 4, 2014 20:14
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I recently tried Swheat Scoop and I'm sad that I never tried it earlier and had always stuck with clay litters  With the clay litters I'd always end up with a fine coating of dust on everything after a while, not to mention it can get pretty stinky. Also trying to dump out 4 boxes full of clay litter was hell (that stuff is heavy).Swheat Scoop doesn't leave any dust on things though! And there's no dust when you scoop or pour it. Clumps up fine too! It just kinda smells like damp cardboard and there's no crazy perfumey smell. The last thing that I LOVE about it is that it only weighs like half? of what the clay litter does. (I tried that new Tidy Cats 90% lighter litter or whatever and OH MY GOD it smelled like someone poured out a whole bottle of Febreze on the floor... It made my head hurt and there's no way that is supposed to be good for a cat. Consequently none of the cats touched that box) It also costs the same / cheaper than clay litters for the amount you get!
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Apr 4, 2014 22:50
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RedTonic posted:Does anyone have any good recs for unscented cat litter? I hate those godawful laundry detergent smells, they make me sneeze, and I can't get in my good cat huffin' if I'm sneezing my rear end off. (I might look into that horse stabling pine stuff, but more alternatives are good!) I'm not near a petco so sadly their generic's not an option. Another great thing about the compressed pine pellets is that there's no chemicals, perfumes, or unnatural stuff. It's just compressed pine dust and shavings. Not nearly as bad as the old pine bed shaving we used to kill hamsters with. Here, I made ya'll a video on how it works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTVtf4dNKug (i swept and disinfected the floor in between emptying the box) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRawUe8HR18 I forgot to mention, but you can stick your face in the raw pellets and not get much of a scent at all. Just like fresh sawdust. Or Home Depot. Actually, smells a lot like the Home Depot lumber aisle. Suspect Bucket fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Apr 4, 2014 |
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Apr 4, 2014 23:03
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Thank you, oishii and Suspect Bucket! I hate the clay, christ.
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Apr 8, 2014 16:51
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I like the walnut-based litter from Blue Buffalo. It's unscented, clumps pretty tight, and has small grains. The dark brown color is a little off putting at first. It manages odors pretty well and doesn't weigh as much as clay litter, and is much less dusty (although I wouldn't call it dust free). I just add a little bit of Cat Attract to each bag and it works like a charm.
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Apr 8, 2014 17:04
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I use the Blue Buffalo non-clumping pellets for my hedgehog and really like it. It has a pleasant smell and isn't dusty. It does get crumbly after it gets wet though.
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Apr 9, 2014 04:51
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RazorBunny posted:I like the walnut-based litter from Blue Buffalo. It's unscented, clumps pretty tight, and has small grains. The dark brown color is a little off putting at first. It manages odors pretty well and doesn't weigh as much as clay litter, and is much less dusty (although I wouldn't call it dust free). This stuff is the best cat litter I have ever used. I never smell cat poo poo or cat piss anymore and it's flushable, so I just scoop right into the toilet. It is a little pricey (not quite as bad as World's Best) but if you have a big pet store nearby they will probably have Blue Reps that have five dollar off coupons.
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Apr 11, 2014 15:42
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Hand of the King posted:So I switched over to Dr. Elsey's Cat Litter and there is no dust now. And, it's also $20 for a 40lb bag instead of $40 for a 40lb bag. This is what I use as well. No smell, very low dust, and it's not too expensive.
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Apr 11, 2014 17:07
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I use World's Best for my two cats and I love the odor control and clumping. But there's dust EVERYWHERE. And any time I put a mat in front of the litter box, one of my cats thinks it's OK to poop there.
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Apr 11, 2014 17:37
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Hand of the King posted:So I switched over to Dr. Elsey's Cat Litter and there is no dust now. And, it's also $20 for a 40lb bag instead of $40 for a 40lb bag. I switched over to this after some impatience with Swheat Scoop. Definitely less dust, and I love the lower price.
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Apr 11, 2014 20:18
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Hand of the King posted:So I switched over to Dr. Elsey's Cat Litter and there is no dust now. And, it's also $20 for a 40lb bag instead of $40 for a 40lb bag. I used Dr. Elsey's for a few months but had issues with it. Anytime the cats peed near the bottom or the sides of the box it would harden like cement and was almost impossible to clean out if the boxes. It also weighed a ton and was hard for me to lift. I did like the price and how long it lasted though. I'm currently using Nature's Miracle litter but I'm not loving it either. Will have to try some if the other brands listed in this thread.
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Apr 11, 2014 21:28
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Has anyone tried the toilet training kits for cats?
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Apr 11, 2014 21:53
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Digging and burying waste is an instinctual thing that cats are hardwired to want to do. Suppressing that urge is like trying to suppress the urge to scratch- sure, people exist who have cats who are Not Allowed to Scratch Anywhere, but here in this forum as cat people we know that an appropriate outlet for the instinctual behavior is a good thing. Also the cat is probably just gonna crap on the bathroom floor
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Apr 12, 2014 01:55
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I'll put in another vote for the Blue Buffalo walnut litter. We use the multi cat clumping and it works like a charm. There's some dust, but nothing near to what World's Best puts out. The dark color does make it a bit of a challenge when it comes to a visual check of the box if your lighting is dim. But it's great at keeping odors down and clumps very well. Our local PetSmart often has it on special for 3 bucks off the large bag with a Pet Perks card. This is the third litter that we've used and by far, the best.
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Apr 13, 2014 16:05
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I can't use clay litter because James has Cat Asthma (also Cat Acne) so we've been using World's Best, but the dust is unreal. I'm totally gonna try the Blue Buffalo stuff now.
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Apr 14, 2014 08:41
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What ever you do, DO NOT buy world's best. Anyone who recommends it is a delusional poo poo head who simply forgot how wonderful clay litter is. When you first buy it, it seems kinda cool. Has a nice earthy smell to it, and it's corn based so it is totally wholesome and stuff obviously. Then you start to see problems. 1) Your scoops won't work for poo poo anymore. This stuff isn't nearly as fine as traditional litter and it takes 5x as long to clean it. I cannot put it into words just how frustrating cleaning this poo poo is. Try cleaning your current stuff with a garden spade for a week. Should be pretty close. 2) It will track everywhere. I'm not kidding. You know that little patch of grossness that extends 2 feet from your litter box? That is now your entire house. It will be in your bed, on your couch, on your counters. I really loving meant everywhere. 3) It absorbs smell soooo well. This is actually pretty impressive for 1 or 2 days and then the entire box stinks. I honestly had to dump and replace 4-5 times as often as before. Ordinary litter might stink a little while there is poo poo in it, but it dissipates after you clean it. I was recommended this poo poo by my brother and his girlfriend. They ranted and raved about it non stop. When I eventually told them what assholes they were, they admitted they had gone back to using costco litter. I guess they had Stockholm syndrome or something.
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Apr 15, 2014 14:03
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Came in here to recommend the Blue Buffalo litter, but found outI was late. Get some kinda kick protection, though, since it IS lighter and my cats occasionally launch it a foot or two when they bury their poo poo.
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May 10, 2014 20:13
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Moriatti posted:Came in here to recommend the Blue Buffalo litter, but found outI was late. I never really thought about this as an issue because I have a weirdo cat who slam kicks like twenty times every time he goes into the box so I've always just assumed people account for this already.
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May 12, 2014 06:47
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Ferryll posted:World's Best Cat Litter is my favorite and I don't have any tracking or dust issues. However, my litter boxes are sitting on anti-track carpets because my previous litter had tracking issues. I used to use World's Best and liked it because I was so easy to deal with, but when I got Theodore (second cat) the shithead started eating it because I guess corn is delicious? I've read that cats eating clay litter is a very bad sign, but I can only imagine a cat eating corn litter is just the cat being dumb. I had to switch to clay litter and there have been no problems. It's called Precious Cat and it doesn't track or smell at all. And Teddy doesn't eat it, the little jerk.
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Jul 19, 2014 20:04
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Daily Forecast posted:
FYI that's the "Dr. Elsey's" litter everyone's been recommending in the thread. I would also recommend it, it still tracks but isn't very dusty. A bit dusty but nothing like the 'jugs' of clay litter. edit: my local pet store sells blue and red bags of this stuff but as far as I can tell from the packaging there is no difference between the two? (website says blue bag is hypoallergenic and 99.9% dust-free, I will test this next time I buy a bag, I've been buying the red bags) mr. nobody fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Jul 20, 2014 |
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Jul 20, 2014 00:07
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Mine only sells the blue, so that's all I've ever had experience with (other than their Cat Attract), but from reading, it sounds like the blue Ultra "combines the heavy non tracking granules of the Classic with a medium grain clay." Classic being the red bag. So it sounds like the granules overall are larger in the red/Classic bag? I love Dr. Elsey's though.
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Jul 20, 2014 03:35
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Canadian Bakin posted:I'll put in another vote for the Blue Buffalo walnut litter. We use the multi cat clumping and it works like a charm. There's some dust, but nothing near to what World's Best puts out. The dark color does make it a bit of a challenge when it comes to a visual check of the box if your lighting is dim. But it's great at keeping odors down and clumps very well. Our local PetSmart often has it on special for 3 bucks off the large bag with a Pet Perks card. I don't know what it is with my cats and Blue Buffalo litter but it doesn't work at all. It works well for the first couple weeks and then it stops clumping. The pee clumps just fall apart as soon as you touch them and then it tosses up this rancid piss-smelling dust and I have to hold my breath to scoop because it's so irritating. I tried it out again recently because so many people recommend but it just does not work for me.
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Jul 26, 2014 00:24
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mr. nobody posted:FYI that's the "Dr. Elsey's" litter everyone's been recommending in the thread. If you go to Dr. Elsey's/Precious Cat webpage, they have a mail-in rebate posted there for a free bag of cat litter - scroll all the way to the bottom and look for the "free litter fax form." We've been using Feline Pine non-clumping for years now (although I haven't yet cracked the bag of the stuff since they sold out to Arm & Hammer). I love it - it doesn't track like clay litter, I don't have litter dust all over my house, and Aslan smells so much better (he doesn't smell like clay litter - a smell I don't think you realize is even there until it isn't). We also have the "shakable" two-tier litter box that they sell under the "feline pine system" - it really makes clean-up a breeze. basicblack fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Jul 26, 2014 |
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Jul 26, 2014 06:26
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Sorry for the thread necromancy, everyone. I need to seriously redact my last post. We're most of the way through a new bag of Feline Pine (since they sold to Arm & Hammer) and we're not happy with it in our household. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Cat is doing just fine - but the stuff now tracks terribly all over the place and the odor control is NOT what it used to be. Can anyone recommend a new product for a cat with VERY long, fine hair (Ragamuffin)? We switched away from clay litter because we didn't like how the "dust" got on everything in the house and the way it made Mr. Cat smell...
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Oct 9, 2014 23:06
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I have been using Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Ultra and have been loving it. But the last 20lbs box I bought has been awful! Very little odor control, clumps broke apart easily. Did I get a bad box or did they suddenly change their formula?
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Oct 10, 2014 07:10
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basicblack posted:Sorry for the thread necromancy, everyone. I need to seriously redact my last post. We're most of the way through a new bag of Feline Pine (since they sold to Arm & Hammer) and we're not happy with it in our household. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Cat is doing just fine - but the stuff now tracks terribly all over the place and the odor control is NOT what it used to be. Can anyone recommend a new product for a cat with VERY long, fine hair (Ragamuffin)? We switched away from clay litter because we didn't like how the "dust" got on everything in the house and the way it made Mr. Cat smell... I'm bumping this, since we are hoping to make a litter run this weekend. Thanks! 
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Oct 14, 2014 18:01
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We ended up rehoming our cat for a multitude of reasons but before we did so, we spent almost two years trying to figure out why he would pee on everything except his litter box. Turns out, we had to mix two different kinds of litter together for him to be happy with it. It was about 40% pine shavings and 60% cat attract litter. It was an immediate, overnight improvement. YMMV, but try different things and don't be afraid to experiment. This is a cat that for YEARS couldn't handle multiple litter boxes, in varying places throughout the house (both as an only cat, a cat and old dog, and a cat + old dog + 2 puppies). We gave him every opportunity to succeed and finally found what did it. Don't be discouraged, and if something doesn't work - maybe rather than continuing to use it even though it doesn't you can donate it to your local shelter and get something else that might work instead (don't keep using it if it doesn't work, just because you paid for it). Just in case anyone is curious - we rehomed Leonidas because he thrived in upstate NY where we lived, but didn't do well before/during/after the move up there. When we found out we were moving, we interviewed dozens of people and found someone who is really happy to have him. He now is an only pet, goes on outside walkies and gets loads of 1-on-1 attention. We even still chat with them occasionally and he is doing very well.
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Oct 14, 2014 22:31
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Lava Lamp Goddess posted:I have been using Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Ultra and have been loving it. But the last 20lbs box I bought has been awful! Very little odor control, clumps broke apart easily. Did I get a bad box or did they suddenly change their formula? It varies batch to batch it seems. My current bag has pretty bad odor control too. No issues with clumping though.
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Oct 15, 2014 03:40
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fknlo posted:It varies batch to batch it seems. My current bag has pretty bad odor control too. No issues with clumping though. Yeah, I figured as much. I switched to Arm & Hammer Clump and Seal for multiple cats and so far it is great. I can get 28 lbs for around the same price as 20 lbs of the Precious Cat and I think it has a really pleasant scent and seems to clump well. It is very fine so I'm not sure about how bad it tracks though. I also think Target carries it so I don't have to make a trip to the pet store to purchase it.
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Oct 15, 2014 05:07
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