Dirty Secrets

The dirty secrets at Keep Up Creations are being uncovered!

We're giving you the scoop!

Annikin Einar isn't sure we should tell you our dirty secrets.

Litter is one of those dirty secrets not many talk about but all cat parents need to know about. There are some common elements you may want to consider as you decide which type, brand, or style of litter you will use. Remember, though, kitty (and the budget) has the final say.

• What type of litter is it?

• Is it scoopable?

• How big are the granules?

• How much dust is there?

• Can it handle repeated pee in the same spot?

• Is there a scent/odor control?

• What sort of packaging does it come in?

Dirty secrets start out clean, just as this clay litter appears.

As the Foundling Clowder is numerous, we have experienced many different kinds and brands of cat litter. Here are our reviews of some.

Brand	Type of litter	Scoopable?	Granule size	Dust factor
	Horse litter	No	Pellets	Minimal
	Pine pellets	No	Pellets	Minimal
Arm & Hammer Slide, Multi-cat	Clay	Yes	Small granules	Minimal
Tidy Cat, Tide Care, Comfort	Clay	Yes	Small granules	Practically none
Tidy Cat, Multi-cat Clumping Litter, 24/7	Clay	Yes	Beads versus granules	Moderate
World's Best Cat Litter	Corn	Yes	Small granules	Minimal
Frisco Cat Litter, by Chewy	Clay	Yes	Small granules	Moderate
PetCo refillable litter	Clay	Yes	Medium granules	Extreme
Dr. Elsey's Ultra Multi-cat Strength Cat Litter	Clay	Yes	Small granules	Minimal
Almo Nature Natural Cat Litter	Corn	Yes	Tiny granules	None
Tidy Cat Breeze Litter System	Pellets and pee pad	Yes	Large	None

Brand	Handle urination in same spot?	Scent control	Packaging
Horse litter	No	No	Plastic bag
Pine pellets	No	No	Plastic bag
Arm & Hammer Slide, Multi-cat	Yes	Yes	Cardboard box
Tidy Cat, Tide Care, Comfort	Yes, see notes	Yes	Cardboard box
Tidy Cat, Multi-cat Clumping Litter, 24/7	No	No	Plastic bucket/tub
World's Best Cat Litter	Yes	Yes	Plastic bag
Frisco Cat Litter, by Chewy	Yes, see notes	Yes	Plastic bag
PetCo refillable litter	No	No	Plastic bucket/tub
Dr. Elsey's Ultra Multi-cat Strength Cat Litter	No	No	Cardboard box
Almo Nature Natural Cat Litter	Yes!	Yes	Plastic bag
Tidy Cat Breeze Litter System	Yes	No	Plastic bags

Extra Notes:

Pine pellets: We used warm water to break the pellets down into a sawdust-like consistency. It absorbed the pee satisfactorily and covered the poo quite well. However, the pee did not clump into a scoopable form. After some use, the entire litter box had to be removed, the box thoroughly hosed out, dried off, then refilled. The most positive thing about the pine pellets was the scent. Even the most aromatic of poo was covered with the fresh, clean smell of pine.

Tidy Cat, Tidy Care, Comfort: One of our Foundling Clowder was a front-claw declaw (by his first owners), so when we saw this litter was supposed to be gentle for declaw cats we thought it was worth a try. Initially we loved this litter, as did the cats. It was the preferred litter for months, until we realized that after being in the box for a while it began to lose its clumping abilities. Subsequent new batches of this litter, along with a complete dump and clean-out of the litter boxes, still did not return the clumping power causing us to wonder if the formula had been changed. Also, in the middle of 2024, this litter became increasingly difficult to find available in stores or online.

Tidy Cat, Multi-cat Clumping Litter 24/7: Needing an alternative to the Tidy Care Comfort litter, we tried the company's multi-cat formula. We could not wait for it reach the end of its use; we disliked it that much. It was neigh impossible to open. The plastic pull strap does not have a large enough hole with which to grasp, as well as one must have near Herculean strength to get it successfully pulled all the way around on the first try. This litter did not handle repeat pee in the same location, nor did it help eliminate the smell of poo.

World's Best Cat Litter: Absolutely in love with the lavender scented version of this litter, though the unscented does the same work. At one point, this was the favorite litter of some of the Foundling Clowder. Presently, this is the primary litter as the Almo Nature became difficult to acquire.

Frisco Cat Litter, by Chewy: This product has stayed consistent in its formula throughout our two plus years of using it. The various scents make it interesting for us humans, but of all the scents Frisco provides, our cats preferred the lavender or unscented. The biggest drawback for our continued use of this litter is the dust factor. The best points about it are the price, the delivery to your door, and the customer service when there is a delivery issue.

PetCo refillable litter: Once this was our absolute favorite litter. The price, the absorption abilities, and the refillable portion were some of the highlights. However, sometime around 2021, PetCo changed the formula. Instead of a litter with moderate dust, it became so much dust it was painful to breathe as we refilled the buckets. We literally would come home with our clothes covered in cat litter dust. Imagine what that was doing to our cats' lungs! While the price is still quite appealing, we will not return to using this litter, nor recommend it.

Dr. Elsey's Ultra Multi-cat Strength Cat Litter: For the price, one would think this litter would be spectacular. Nope. While it was not dusty, it could not handle multi-cats as advertised.

Almo Nature Natural Cat Litter: This litter was referred to us by our local small business pet store, Purrs McBarkin'. It was everything the owner told us it would be, and more! No dust, even when poured out quickly. Clumps exceptionally well, even with repeat pee in the same place. One slight layer of litter over the poo completely extinguishes the smell. The only downside is the tracking. Litter catching rugs greatly helped with that, though the caution is if the litter is not removed from the rug prior to getting wet, the litter will clump just as exceptionally on the rug. This makes for a bit of a trial to get the clumped litter out of the rug. This was (until Purrs McBarkin's distributor ceased carrying it) our litter of choice for nearly all our boxes (we have clay in one or two for those cats that prefer something different).

This is Almo Nature Natural Cat Litter being poured from about three feet above the litter box (plastic totes/storage bins at our house). As you can see there is NO dust!

Tidy Cat Breeze Litter System: This is not your classic litter system. The litter "box" and litter are unique to this brand and not really interchangeable with traditional litter boxes. The pellets do not breakdown under urination or over time. They allow the liquid to pass through to the pad held in a tray under the pellets' platform. Cats will still use the pellets to cover their poo but the aromas will not be dampened. If you have more than one cat using this litter system, it is vital to check the pee pad daily!

At the end of the day, our choice will be whatever the cats decide to use. Most recently we were fostering for Laps and Naps Home for Senior Cats out of Black Mountain, NC. The magnificent twelve-year-old tuxedo, Prince, we were fostering really did not like using corn litter. His preference was clay litter, so we provided at least one litter box with clay litter.

The dirty secrets at Keep Up Creations are uncovered!

Now you have the scoop on them!

Think Like a Cat

Multi-cat Reminder

Did You Know?

Disclaimers: We are not compensated, nor even known by, any of the litters reviewed. While others may have a different experience or opinion of the products and brands listed above, these are our experiences.

Dirty Secrets: Cat Litter Product Reviews

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