Best cat litter

Cat perusing cat litter in tray
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Our feline friends are notoriously fastidious about where they will choose to relieve themselves, and often it’s only trial and error that lets you find the right litter for your finicky fur baby. There’s a staggering variety of cat litters available, including litter made from clay, paper, wood, corn, and even walnut husks, with each having their own benefits for both you and your cat. Whether you are looking to avoid odors, dust, or reduce the chances of your cats tracking their mess through your house from their litter boxes, we’ve found the cat litter solution for you.

Top pick

Packet of cat litter

(Image credit: Amazon)

Dr. Elsey's Premium Clumping Cat Litter

A no dust, odor-reducing, easy-scooping cat litter

This clumping hypo-allergenic cat litter is 99.9% dust-free. The litter clumps together when it gets wet making it easier to sift out waste and reuse unaffected litter. 

Pros:

  • Low dust
  • Hard clumping
  • Traps odors

Cons:

  • Some tracking

Add to this that it’s great at trapping odors and the moisture reducing clumps stick together a lot more than other brands to make it very easy to scoop, and you’ve got a winner of a cat litter. Because it isn't totally dust free, you will find some tracking in your house, but it isn't nearly as bad as with other kitty litters.

Best odor control

Packet of cat litter

(Image credit: Amazon)

Fresh Step Advanced Clumping Cat Litter

Say goodbye to unpleasant smells with cat litter incorporating Febreze odor-removing technology

Using the power of Febreze’s smell-extracting smarts such as activated charcoal and Ammonia Block Technology, this litter is designed to fight odor on contact and keep fighting it for up to 10 days.

Pros:

  • Controls odor
  • Smells good when walked on
  • Won't stick to your cat

Cons:

  • Dusty

This litter is comprised of larger particles meaning they won’t stick to your feline friend’s fur as much as other brands and so it’s more likely to stay in the litter tray where it belongs. This litter also releases a scent, that smells like Gain laundry detergent, when your kitty walks on it – meaning your room stays fresher longer.

Best eco-friendly

Box of cat litter

(Image credit: Amazon)

ökocat Natural Wood Clumping Cat Litter

A cat litter made from plant materials

This chemical-free cat litter is made from sustainably sourced, responsibly rescued natural wood fiber, ensuring you and your kitty won’t be breathing in silica dust.

Pros:

  • Made from plants
  • Biodegradable

Cons:

  • Sticks to kitty

The wood fiber absorbs liquids on contact so wet waste won’t be tracked through the house, and clumps form to allow for easy scooping and sifting. A great natural product that doesn’t cost the Earth in more ways than one. This litter does tend to stick to fur more easily than others. We suggest placing the litter box on a towel to help collect some of the litter from your cat and it steps out.

Best biodegradable cat litter

Packet of cat litter

(Image credit: Amazon)

Naturally Fresh Walnut-Based Alpine Meadow Scent Multi-Cat Quick-Clumping Cat Litter

A biodegradable super-absorbent cat litter made from walnut shells

This clumping cat litter is three times as absorbent as leading brands of clay litter, helping to eliminate odors and making cleaning up a breeze.

Pros:

    Cons:

      Made from the fibrous material of the walnut shell, it contains no chemicals or toxins. The fact that it’s 100% natural makes it a great eco-friendly option, particularly as it is biodegradable and therefore compostable. While the manufacturer says this litter is dust-free, many, many users have complained about the dust that is tracked around their homes and that becomes stuck to the littler box resulting in extra scrubbing in order to get it clean.

      Best corn-based litter

      Packet of cat litter

      (Image credit: Amazon)

      Garfield Cat Litter Ultimate Clump

      A fast-clumping and dust free cat litter made from biodegradable natural ingredients

      This is a great sustainable, flushable, biodegradable, lightweight, and dust-free cat litter made from corn. The white-colored litter means you can detect potential health issues by spotting color changes in urine easily.

      Pros:

      • Biodegradable
      • Clumps
      • White colored

      Cons:

      • Prone to bugs

      This one featuring Garfield on the packet is made from corn and Cassava, a shrub native to South America. This tiny grain litter naturally clumps when exposed to moisture, meaning you can easily sift and scoop waste from the tray. It’s soft on your cat’s paws, free of chemicals, and good for the environment. Because it is made from corn, there is the potential for there to be bugs in the product when it arrives. It also makes a naturally good habitat for some bugs already in your home.

      How to choose the best cat litter for you and your cat

      Why you can trust PetsRadar Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

      Pleasing your cat when it comes to bathroom choices can be a complicated business. Different litters suit different feline temperaments, but you also need to think of your convenience(!) too. Our top choice is Dr. Elsey's Premium Clumping Cat Litter which does a top job of clumping, masking odors, and keeping dust to a minimum. If you are looking to stop odors from the get-go, then the scented and odor trapping Fresh Step Advanced Clumping Cat Litter is worthy of your attention.

      If you are looking for more ecological options check out Naturally Fresh Walnut-Based Alpine Meadow Scent Multi-Cat Quick-Clumping Cat Litter which is made from walnut husks or the fast-clumping corn-based Garfield Cat Litter Ultimate Clump. Both are biodegradable and sustainable meaning your cat litter is eco-friendly and compostable.

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      At Pets Radar, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As experts, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your life. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. Our detailed product overviews balance objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is easy.

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