Litter Me This

August 17, 2005 2:45 PM

I use Fresh Step Premium Cat Litter and a Littermaid litter box for my two cats. Recently, when emptying the vacuum cleaner and cleaning the AC filters, I have realized just how much litter dust there is in the air. I really like the scoopability of the brand I'm using, but I'd like to find another type of cat litter that works well with the Littermaid, yet doesn't stir up so much dust all the time. Got any recommendations?
posted by abbyladybug to pets & animals (23 comments total)

I use EverClean "Low Track" litter and don't have that problem. Also, a hooded litter box.
posted by nicwolff at 3:06 PM on August 17, 2005

We're using Feline Pine and loving it. Add to that a hooded litter box, and we have zero noticeable dust.
posted by DakotaPaul at 3:16 PM on August 17, 2005

I use World's Best Cat Litter. It clumps and has no discernible smell. I used to buy Fresh Step but the perfume and dust really got to me.

I have a guy who is very particular about his litterbox and using litterboxes like these (scroll about a quarter of the page) really improved things.

I also like the basically odorless version of Ever Clean too.
posted by Sully6 at 3:23 PM on August 17, 2005

Feline Pine rules, but it's dusty. We keep a lid on top of the box that helps a lot.
posted by Nelson at 3:28 PM on August 17, 2005

I've been using Swheat Scoop and I am pretty happy with it. Low dust, and you can flush the clumps (as long as you aren't on septic, and you let it sit about ten minutes). It can also be composted. I haven't used it with a Littermaid box, however, so I can't say how well it would work with your box.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 3:41 PM on August 17, 2005

We are just into the first three days of using the new Tidy Cat's for Small Spaces - which claims to be 99% dust-free. There is a difference. We're permanently changing over.
posted by ericb at 3:46 PM on August 17, 2005

Feline Pine rules, but it's dusty. We keep a lid on top of the box that helps a lot.

Hmm...we must have the dust-free version of Feline Pine, cuz we don't have any.

Or maybe it's that hooded litter box and the air filter nearby. ;-)
posted by DakotaPaul at 4:04 PM on August 17, 2005

Pretty Kitty and Pumpkin are so cute! I'm moving to Boston in 10 days. More Beantown kitties on the way!

These are great suggestions, everyone. Thanks!

Anyone used the Swheat kind with a Littermaid?
posted by abbyladybug at 4:06 PM on August 17, 2005

I loved Feline Pine. It's the only litter I found that completely covered up urine odor. It's essentially compressed pellets of sawdust, which dissolves into sawdust when it gets wet. The sawdust settles to the bottom of the pan, so he didn't track any dust. It was also economical because you didn't have to completely change the litter each week. Just tap the box to ensure all the sawdust settles to the bottom, push aside the pellets, and remove the sawdust.

Unfortunately, after my cat started going outside, he decided he didn't like Feline Pine anymore. He wanted something with a more dirt-like texture.
posted by luneray at 4:07 PM on August 17, 2005

I wonder if the Littermaid Privacy Tent keeps dust at bay as well as the fitted hoods.
posted by abbyladybug at 4:15 PM on August 17, 2005

I use the world's most expensive cat litter, Oops I meant World's Best Cat Litter in my Littermaid with good results.
posted by Ferrari328 at 4:30 PM on August 17, 2005

A 2nd vote here for World's Best Cat Litter. It is low-track, low-dust, and really clumps well and covers odor completely.
posted by joshwa at 4:52 PM on August 17, 2005

Oh good grief. Now I've gone and put my girls on Catster. Darn the Internet! Jeep
and Maggie. What have I gotten myself into?!
posted by abbyladybug at 5:24 PM on August 17, 2005

We use Precious Cat, because for whatever reason, it's the only stuff our cats will use. They say that this version is good for mechanical litter boxes. The stuff we use is really great; if we switched to a littermaid, I'd try this first.
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:11 PM on August 17, 2005

Oh good grief. Now I've gone and put my girls on Catster. Darn the Internet!

Well, when you pit your kitty against others on KittenWar.com, you start to understand why your friends are concerned and begin comparing you to the crazy Cat Lady of Beacon Hill.
posted by ericb at 6:20 PM on August 17, 2005

Or her.</a.
posted by abbyladybug at 7:43 PM on August 17, 2005

Bad code, but you get the idea. My cats aren't too finicky about litter, so I may just try a few of these out and see which they like best and which has the least amount of dust. It seems there are a few brands which have been mentioned several times. I'll stick with those.

And if anyone has that privacy tent thing, please let me know if it has any effect on dust.
posted by abbyladybug at 8:30 PM on August 17, 2005

I hate to start an argument, but I found that World's Best Cat Litter didn't cover the smell of urine at all. I would come home from work every day to a house that smelled like the cats peed all over it.

I empty the litter box into a big trash can in the basement which then gets emptied around once a week. But still, other litters I've used (I use Fresh Step now), don't stink up the house.
posted by patgas at 7:19 AM on August 18, 2005

After becoming extremely dissatisfied with the littermaid (even through four different kinds of litter, it just became nastier and nastier - because it doesn't actually scrape the bottom of the pan, and it's not deep enough to hold enough litter to effectively clump) and finding that I had to scoop it by hand anyway when cleaning it, I tossed it and replaced it with a deep litter pan. I switched to World's Best, and I find that it clumps well enough that cleaning the litter box is actually less of a hassle now than it used to be.

Also, on the advice of my vet, I added another box in a different location.
posted by Caviar at 2:18 PM on August 18, 2005

Lately I've been using two kinds of litter: a bottom layer of unscented scoopable (though I don't scoop) and a thin top layer of clear crystals. I'm not attached to particular brands; I just get whatever's discounted at the time. The top crystal layer keeps the dust and tracking way down.

I have a very tolerant cat, though. Pretty much any brand or combination of brands is fine with him.
posted by tangerine at 3:32 PM on August 18, 2005

I'm also finding that my littermaid works less well over time. I do manually scrape the litter off the bottom of the pan about once a day though. Still, I think the interim scooping is helpful. I wonder if there's some sort of coating on them when you first get them that wears off over time.

When you have the two layers, don't they mix together easily?
posted by abbyladybug at 3:44 PM on August 18, 2005

Does Feline Pine work with Littermaid?
posted by abbyladybug at 7:30 PM on August 18, 2005

Abby, the layers don't mix together. The scoopable granules are much smaller than the crystals, so they filter to the bottom.

I just use a liner and ditch the whole thing every week.
posted by tangerine at 2:05 PM on August 19, 2005