Make Mine Pine

"My cat litter, that is.  A couple years ago mom switched us from that messy scoopable clay litter to the pine pellets.  At first they felt funny under our feet, and they were kinda loud.  But after a while we realized that this was a definite improvement.  The pine litter is all-natural and not fumey with chemicals like clay litter.  It smells naturally nice (just imagine your little paws walking through a pine forest), it doesn't create a cloud of dust that coats everything (our fur, the floor, the furniture), and it's better for the environment.  We love our pine litter.  It makes it more pleasant to go to the litterbox.  I guess there are other non-clay litter options that are just as good.  I even found an organization called Cats Against Clay that is working to get the word out about why clay litter is bad.  Mom is going to tell you more."

I had heard that clay litter was not environmentally friendly.  That's a good enough reason for switching.  But my main impetus was to get rid of the clouds of dust that formed when I poured clay scooping litter in to the litterboxes.  With four cats and multiple litterboxes, this clay dust was blanketing everything.  Even with covered litterboxes that were stationed in a closet with a partially closed door, I found that furniture, bed linens, and yes, cats' coats, were becoming coated, and this was just disgusting.  It was a mess to clean up, unpleasant to breathe, and very unfair to the cats.  I knew that there were other options, so I took a leap and tried the Feline Pine pellets.  There wasn't much of an adjustment period.  Even though I initially mixed some pellets with the old litter, the cats took to it pretty quickly.  I was very happy a short while later when I was using the pine pellets exclusively.  No more mushroom dust clouds!  I could breathe better, the cats could breathe better, the litterboxes smelled better, and we could see our television screen without dusting it daily.  I wished I had made the switch years ago.

I don't know much about Cats Against Clay, but I applaud their effort to fight against clay litter.  It's for everyone's benefit.  I hope they will provide information on good kitty litter alternatives.  In the meantime I'll do that here. 

• Pine Pellets: While I started with the well-known Feline Pine, I sometimes also use ExquisiCat Pine.  They're interchangeable, so I just buy what's on sale at the time. 
• Scoopable Pine: Feline Pine makes a scoopable pine version, and it clumps amazingly well.  I stick with the pellets because they are less messy outside the box (consider picking up a few stray pellets as opposed to a trail of "sawdust" that the cats track down the hallway).  You'll get the same benefits from the pellets or the clumping pine, so it's just a matter of personal preference.
• Scoopable Wheat: One of my cat-sitting clients switched to Swheat Scoop, so I get to try this stuff when I watch her cats.  It clumps as well as the scoopable pine, so it's another good option for those of you who prefer a clumping variety.
• Corn Litter: I haven't tried corn litter, but Nature's Miracle makes a clumping variety that got 4.6 out of 5 stars at Petco.com, so there must be cats out there who like it.
• Paper Pellets: These varieties are either marketed as recycled newsprint (Yesterday's News brand) or just plain paper.  The idea of recycling newspaper is a good one, and the concept of cats peeing on current events is a bit funny.  Personally, I wonder how well the paper can really hold up, but there are several fans of this variety on Petco.com.

If you decide to try one of these litter alternatives, I applaud you!  I've applauded some of my cat-sitting clients who have recently switched to pine or wheat litter.  I truly believe these are a better choice for the health and comfort of our cats, ourselves, and for the cleanliness of our homes.  Just be sure to make a gradual transition so your cat has time to adjust.  Don't be afraid to experiment with more than one of the non-clay varieties to find something that works best for you and your cat(s).  I know that I'm never going back to clay litter.  Curry, Zorro, Willie and Grayson would kill me!