Litter Matters (Cat Litter & Litter Boxes in general)

Member Name: Plumptious

Product:	Cat Litter & Litter Boxes in general
Date:	20/03/01 (4616 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Your floor is kept safe.

Disadvantages: Cats regard a dirty litter tray the same way you would feel about an unflushed loo.

I am currently owned by six cats, and so have had ample opportunity to experiment with what suits them and me best. The solution had to be effective for obvious reasons, and efficient if I was not to spend the best part of the day tending to this particular requirement.


Cat Pearls are tiny pearls about 4mm in diameter. They turn progressively more brown with use and are meant to last a month. All that is required is that solid wastes are removed. They are also known as Litter Secret and other such name variations.

They are the most effective I have come across for locking in smells, but this is very much dependent on the cat having enough of the stuff in the litter box to rake over. Naturally, if any waste is not covered over, the smell will not be prevented.

Sad but true, I recently had a discussion with someone in the trade about this substance. Apparently, the pearls were THE latest thing in cat litter at a trade exhibition they attended. They are all made in China and come in various grades, varying in their ability to lock in smell and liquids.

I have tried all the brands I have come across, but personally have not noticed any difference between them. They are available from pet shops, Sainsbury, Tesco and cat shows. Regardless of brand, they come in the same 3.8 litre bag, although weight is sometimes used as the measurement. Touted as being able to last “One Cat for One Month”, I can well believe it. Prices range from £3.30 in an exhibition bulk buy, slightly over £4 at Tesco, to £7.99 for the original branded product. I have never seen the grade of pearl mentioned on any of these bags.

If you have only one or two cats, and find that the smell is a problem, I recommend this product. Particularly used in conjunction with a closed litter tray equipped with a flap, it should be the optimal solution. No other cat litter achieves the same result with such a small amount of cat litter. I
t is thus particularly well suited to someone who has problems lugging weighty objects around.

It is probably not a viable product if you have a lot of cats. With six cats, I found that most of the pearls had gone within a few days by virtue of adhering to the solid waste which was removed daily. The long lasting qualities were thus obviously not to be fully appreciated in my household.



Weight for weight, cat litter made of clay is the cheapest. There are two main types, clumping and non clumping. The advantage of the clumping type is that it makes it easier to remove the undesirable bits. The main disadvantage of cheap clay litter is that it’s the heaviest option. Definitely not recommended for someone with back problems or who isn’t up to hoicking weights.

Then there are the new super improved litters, some of which are clay or chalk based. Catsan is one of them. It costs from £4.29 for 10 litres – more expensive than normal clay, but ounce for ounce, it does lock more smell than normal clay litter.

My personal preference is wood based litter. My local friendly pet supplier sells it for £5.90 for 30 litres. Pets At Home offer the same quantity for £7.99. I like it because it covers the highest volume of space for money. This means that my motley crew get more to rake over. During negotiations, we have agreed that this is important in a high usage loo.

Paper based litter is even lighter, but more expensive than wood based.



There are a wide variety of cat loos available. Most common are the plain trays. They come in different heights and sizes, in a variety of colours. When selecting one, make sure that your cat can climb into it. This is not as stupid as it sounds, especially if you have a very young kitten.

You are then faced with washing out the tray every day or so. A variety of liquids and cleaners are available for this purpose. I recommend
you check out your local pet store for the bewildering array designed to entice.

Disposable litter trays might be an option, but as they start at £1.50 each, I regard them as an option for very ocassional use rather than an everyday solution. The travelling feline might find these useful.

Litter tray liners are sold in packs of six or more, usually costing 30p per liner. They protect the litter tray, so negating the need for daily washing.


One up from the simple litter tray is the tray with a hood, starting at £15. The hood ensures that more of the smell is kept with the tray. Some even come with a flap and it affords cats and humans a few weeks of entertainment whilst the cats learn to negotiate what is essentially a one way system.
The flap of course, works both ways, but only the one way when there is a cat blocking the door. It doesn’t open at all if there is a cat jammed up against both the inside and outside. Cats soon learn this.

The crème de la crème of litter trays is the Litter Maid. It is a litter tray with a built in motorised rake. Sensors set it in motion, and it automatically rakes clumps out of the litter. It has a posh little ramp leading up to it. The main purpose of the ramp is to catch any bits of litter remaining in the pats paws, so keeping the place tidier. It is available at the equally posh price of £199.

Personally, I don’t like it. For two hundred pounds, I don’t expect to have to do any cleaning at all. The Litter Maid, for all its features, has to be emptied out, and I don’t fancy the idea of having to clean all those little tines on the rake.

My main criteria for cat litter are that
1 – It works, i.e. the cats are happy to use it and it covers what it needs to cover.
2 – I have minimum contact with it all.


My current solution are two large trays covered in black bin bags. The bags only cost 3p each, comp
ared to the official litter tray liners. Both liners and black bags are prone to getting ripped by claws. I prevent this by simply placing old paper or cardboard on the bags. I then put a couple of scoops of wood based litter on the paper.

Maintenance consists of whipping off the bags and replacing with the same. Et voila!
Minimum contact – you have no idea how happy this makes me.


As a final note, I would emphasize that the key is to experiment. One of my cats began to use the floor around the trays. I scrubbed, cleaned and sprayed. All to no avail.


Different cat litters were tried, numerous additional trays were placed around the house. The floor remained a firm favourite.

Perfumed litters were tried. More cats took to using the floor.

Finally, I brought the floor to the tray. A final litter tray was put out. It had a black bin bag over it, and a newspaper at the bottom. In every respect, it was like the other trays. Except one. It was sans cat litter.

The floor has now been demoted to being used simply as a floor. The “empty” litter tray is doing a brisk business.

The key really is to experiment with what pleases you both. After all, all going well, you’ll be doing this for nearly two decades.

Summary: