# Clay Litter vs. Natural Litter



## CassiandRJ (Jun 7, 2010)

We have been using chicken feed as litter for some time now and it's come to the point where I am just so fed up with the ammonia stink!

When we were using fresh step we had NO odor issues, but decided to switch due to the fact that Lyric has asthma.

We are all cooped up in one room, as I do not want to expose my kittens to my fiancés mothers' cats. They have never been checked out by a vet at any point in time, and don't have any of their shots. After all of the ordeals (sicknesses) with my kittens, I do not take anything lightly when it comes to them.

We have an air purifier running 24/7, also.

Do you think it would be safe to switch them back to fresh step, or any clay litter in that matter?

Cassi


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

I just started using the Worlds Best Cat Litter. It works amazingly well so far. It also is GREAT with absorbing odors. The only time I smell anything is right after they do a smelly number 2 before they cover it up.

Its also natural; made from corn.


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## thenakedorchid (Sep 15, 2010)

I second the World's Best Cat Litter. There's hardly any smell to it; really it just smells like corn. No ammonia smell. In general I don't like the idea of using clay litters as the cats may ingest the litter when they clean themselves. I can't imagine it would be a good thing for them to have too much clay (especially clumping clay) in their systems. I know I read this one article somewhere written by a breeder who kept losing kittens after they developed digestive issues due to ingesting clumping clay litter. I'll try to find a link.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

If one of your cats has asthma, I'd avoid clay litter if at all possible. I don't know how much similarity there is between cat and human asthma, but I have asthma and I know clay litter was a real irritant for me.

I too use World's Best, and it's fantastic. It clumps like clay litter (except the clumps aren't cement bricks that are impossible to scrape off the box, it flakes off the box nicely) without the concern of the silica and other lung irritants.

I find the litter itself smells better (less chemical, more natural) and as long as you clean the litterbox regularly it shouldn't smell bad (i.e. once or twice a day, if you let it go longer than that, it does start to stink, but it should be cleaned regularly for the sake of the cats anyway).


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## OsnobunnieO (Jun 28, 2004)

Maybe I'm one of the few who has problems with ammonia smell with natural litters. At the moment I'm using a mix of World's Best and Swheat Scoop. With fresh litter it smells fine but after a couple of uses (even when scooped regularly) I can smell the ammonia type odor from the hallway outside the room most of the boxes are in. I think its because it doesn't always clump super well so there is always a little "used" litter mixed in as I'm scooping. I'm sure the problem would improve if I completely changed out the litter more often than I do, but the stuff is so expensive!

I still haven't looked into feed stores for plain old chicken feed (which is basically all the World's Best is anyway) but may seriously look into it if I think it would help the situation.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Hmm, that's interesting Osno. I don't completely change the litter super often, and I'm pretty sensitive to smells, but I tend to not notice any issues with the World's Best (although I've never tried it mixed with Swheat Scoop). it clumps pretty well for me, so I can usually scoop it all out just fine. I do a full litter change once the litter starts getting low and I start noticing a smell that isn't solved by scooping.

I am super meticulous about scooping _everything_ though, even the tiniest crumbles. I sift around the box with the scoop to make sure I get it all. Also sometimes stuff sticks to the bottom and builds up over time (this was even worse for me with clay litter since it really would not come off), so that may be contributing to smell? I occasionally miss those bottom clumps if the litter level is pretty high and I don't scoop deep enough.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

The thing with clay litter and asthmatic cats is the dust. Azalia is not asthmatic per se, but has seasonal allergies of unknown origins and her attacks are very similar to asthma. At the height of allergy season, she is the worse. 

When dealing with clay litter, I personally find that the most dust is generated when you are initially filling the box or entirely emptying it out. The slower you pour, the less dust in the air. Azalia never has a problem with the litter I use and I usually alternate between the Arm & Hammer Multi Cat or the Fresh Step Clumping. I would say buy a small box and try it out for a few days to see how your cat does. Usually asthmatic cats have different triggers and the clay litter may or may not be one of them for your cat. *However, if your cat is severely asthmatic, I would not take the chance...only you can gauge this.*

If you do decide to try it out, when emptying out the box completely or refilling it, try to have the cat out of the room to avoid any increase in dust inhaled. Let us know how it goes.


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## NinjaCat (Oct 6, 2010)

I used chicken feed for a while with only feces odor problems, which were solved with using a natural litter deodorizer. I switched back to WBCL recently because of the dust factor. The only chicken feed I can get in my area has quite a bit more dust than WBCL and one of my cats had a problem with it. All of my cats prefer the WBCL over both clay and chicken feed. I'm not fond of the actual smell of WBCL, but it's not too bad. I can only smell it when I get right near it and when I'm scooping it. 

As long as you have enough boxes and scoop it at least daily you shouldn't have odor problems.


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## thenakedorchid (Sep 15, 2010)

FWIW, I use WBCL with a disposable litterbox called the WonderBox. It looks a lot like thick papier mache. Fluids have never leaked through for me, even though I kept the first ones twice as long as was recommended (about a month to 6 weeks; I kept mine a little over 2 months). Supposedly it lets things "air out" a bit. It seems to be true as there is no ammonia smell. Even my parents who are un-thrilled about me having cats never say there is a litterbox smell in my room.


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## CassiandRJ (Jun 7, 2010)

Thanks everyone!

We scoop everyday, a lot of the time we scoop multiple times. I think the biggest issue we have is that while using chicken feed, it doesn't clump tight enough and breaks apart, leaving pieces of pee'd on litter which in turn makes it stink.

Cassi


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

I've been using chicken feed for 3-4 years; all in all, I'm very pleased with it, especially the lack of urine odor. My home is quite small, less than 700 square feet, and I have 13 indoor cats using 9 litter boxes. I clean them twice a day and, believe me, they have plenty of deposits each time. Chicken feed does have one drawback --- the clumps take longer to harden and they never get as hard as cement. Since it's the only "minus" I've found, I can live with it. I use a large scooper with a little wider spacing, and I'm more gentle with shaking out the good litter. 

I do think some brands of chicken feed make better litter than others. I've tried two other brands when going to my regular feed store wasn't convenient, and and I was disappointed both times.


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## bluegoo06 (Nov 24, 2010)

I have been using the feline pine scoopable. I really like it more than the clay litters. It does track quite a bit, but using litter mats does help. I have my boxes in a spare bathroom, on tile floor. So a sweeping every other day seems to be fine. 

Its nice not to have a dust cloud when I scoop the box. It doesnt clump quiet as good as clay, but if you learn the correct scooping techique it seems to be just fine. Litter sticks to the side of the box more, but it scoops off the bottom very easily if you sift the litter to one side of the box and scoop up the remains. I chose the pine litter, because I heard lots of horror stories of the WBCL and corn bugs in it. The smell of pine trees in my bathroom doesnt bother me either, I rather like it. The smell of pine dispates pretty quickly.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

bluegoo06 said:


> I chose the pine litter, because I heard lots of horror stories of the WBCL and corn bugs in it.


Interesting. I ended up avoiding Swheat Scoop for that reason (lots of reviews on amazon about bugs) but have yet to have that problem with WB. Hopefully I won't!


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## thenakedorchid (Sep 15, 2010)

Yuck! I haven't had any bug issues with WBCL. I did use Feline Pine (scoopable) for awhile, but the tracking was ridiculous and the stuff would get caught in my girls' fur all the time - especially their tails. Not to mention that the clumps formed with Feline Pine often seemed to break apart on contact.


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

I went online and looked up WBCL reviews, and I was surprised to see so many negative reviews.

Though it seemed that most people who gave it a negative review didn't scoop daily or said they had to scoop at least every other day and it was a hassle to scoop that often. I thought you were supposed to scoop every day anyway (sometimes twice a day).


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

raecarrow said:


> I went online and looked up WBCL reviews, and I was surprised to see so many negative reviews.
> 
> Though it seemed that most people who gave it a negative review didn't scoop daily or said they had to scoop at least every other day and it was a hassle to scoop that often. I thought you were supposed to scoop every day anyway (sometimes twice a day).


Yeah, I definitely notice that if I don't scoop at least once every day it does start to smell, but at that point so many clumps have built up in the litterbox that I'm sure the cats hate it too. It's _good_ that it starts to smell if I'm not prompt about it, because then i'm sure to stay on top of cleaning it.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I guess I am a compulsive scooper because I have to scoop at least twice a day every day.


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