Let's Talk Litter!

This site has been up for a little over a month and it is time to get into routine publication.  I have a number of topics I want to discuss, but right now I want to discuss cat litter. Why litter? Litter, because we have 3 cats, and good litter is key in this household.

What I want from my cat litter:
Safety - I want the litter to be safe for my cats and for my family (so as little dust as possible)
Smell - I don't want my litter to smell like anything (not even something pretty)
Convenience - I want the litter boxes (all 4 of them) to be easy to clean
Cost - the cheaper the better, but I will not compromise safety, smell or ease of cleanup for a cheaper brand.

Growing up my cat always had clay cat litter, I didn't know there was any other option for litter. Why clay?
Clay cat litter is cheap! Don't believe me.... take a walk down the cat litter aisle you will find most bags of clay cat litter are fairly cheap; if you're lucky you'll see a bag or two of alternative litter options.
There is no science as to whether or not clay cat litter is safe for cats or for people. In other words, there are no studies to prove safety or lack of safety.  I don't use clay cat litter because of the dust when the box is cleaned, and when the litter is added to the box. This can't be good for me, my family or my cats. There is also some controversy around the method in which clay litter is collected (strip mining). My other complaint about clay litter is the collection of wet on the bottom of the box that becomes like concrete (and smells).

When we found our kitties (brother and sister) I opted to use Swheatscoop. I purchased Swheatscoop because I inadvertently believed it was a good environmental option. I thought the product was a use of remnants from wheat manufacturing. Instead it's wheat grown specifically for cat litter.  I was a Swheatscoop customer for many years. I found Swheatscoop to have as much dust as clay litter. It did a decent job controlling the odor, but like clay litter the wet would accumulate on the bottom like concrete.  What I loved most about Swheatscoop was the loyalty rewards. In every bag came a coupon, collect 14 and get a coupon for one free bag of litter (the same size as the previous 14 bags you purchased).  Then one day I got a letter in the mail from Swheatscoop that they were discontinuing the loyalty rewards program. Since this litter was messy, hard to clean and no better on the lungs than the clay litter, I opted to check out other litter options. (Business owners take note, reward your customers and they will be loyal, discontinue those rewards for personal gain and you may well lose loyal customers).

My current litter choice is Blue Diamond walnut litter. This litter is made from Walnut shells (grown in the USA) and is biodegradable if properly disposed of. I find that it does not have the dust that I had with wheat or clay, and it DOES NOT cake to the bottom of the litter box.  I also find that I use way less litter than the clay or wheat versions.  Since I like to support local businesses I tend to get my cat supplies from PetSaver in Greece or Pittsford.

I ran out of litter and did not realize it, so late one Sunday I ran to PetSaver, I just missed the store hours by 5 minutes. Since I also needed to grab some groceries (we'd been out of town for the weekend) I decided to grab litter at the big W.

The only non-clay litter I could find was a recycled paper litter. I poured the pellets into the empty litter boxes and I was wary. The litter seemed hard and not inviting for a cat. Seems my cats agreed with me. They did not bury their business and used the very edges of the box (presumable so they didn't have to stand on the pellets for long).  This litter also lacked odor control.

We went back to Blue Diamond.

I would love to use compost for my litter and a local company Community Composting has been promising a kitty litter composting program.

I have not been paid or received any compensation for my opinion about any of the above litter brands. This is purely my personal experience and opinion.