Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK

Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: tortie on August 30, 2009, 00:47:23 AM

Title: cat litter
Post by: tortie on August 30, 2009, 00:47:23 AM
does anyone else use the crystal clear/white granual type cat litter, i was talking to the girl in the shop about my house occasionally smelling of cat pee with the other types of litter and was getting pricey with constantly cleaning the tray, it was very expensive and the lady in the shop didnt actually know if it worked as well as they claimed, so she let me have it cheap providing i gave them feed back on it..................................well i have to say i really dont think i will go back to the pellet or grit/clay type, it does exactly what it says on the packet, all i've done is remove solids, i'm really chuffed with it, there is no cat pee smell at all, they claim one tray should last one cat one month so i'm testing how long it lasts, so far i'm impressed, has anyone else tried this type of litter
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Kay and Penny on August 30, 2009, 12:08:33 PM
I tried it once but it had a smell about it which I didn't like :sick:

have just switched, after seeing it highly praised on here, to OKO Best Wood based clumping, and I must say I cannot smell a thing with it, it is light, I can burn it on my fire, and it is going to last very well ;D

boy, does it track though  >:(
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Gillian Harvey on August 30, 2009, 17:09:45 PM
I didnt like that type of litter either, I could definitely smell pee when I tried it and it didnt last nearly as long as they claim I found.

I also use Cats Best clumping wood litter and no smells from that at all - but do agree Trigger - the tracking does my head in sometimes LOL!
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on August 30, 2009, 17:24:52 PM
Someone I adopted a cat out too used that and they liked it while they only had one cat, but when they got a second, they changed.
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: miriambuddy on August 30, 2009, 22:23:13 PM
I'm also a recent cats best oko convert and am very happy with, no smell. Just make sure you have a good dustpan and brush for the bits that escape!
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: LadyJane on August 30, 2009, 22:41:02 PM
I started out on the white/clear crystal type however soon moved onto cats best and then cats best gold and have never looked back!
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: tortie on August 30, 2009, 23:53:13 PM
i've never heard of or seen oko cats best brand, is it a online thing only, can someone post a link
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Kay and Penny on August 31, 2009, 11:27:59 AM
Pets at Home sell it, on line and in their shops
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: LadyJane on August 31, 2009, 11:49:43 AM
I've seen Cats Best in Pets at Home.  The Gold one I buy online from zooplus as I've not seen it in the shops.
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: tortie on August 31, 2009, 22:25:42 PM
ahhh, errrm...........i'm banned from our pet at home store, the staff didnt aprieciate being educated on how to PROPERLY look after chinchillas :censored:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: miriambuddy on September 01, 2009, 09:29:59 AM
I get my cats best oko from Jolleys aka www.Pet-Supermarket.co.uk
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Millys Mum on September 01, 2009, 09:42:12 AM
ahhh, errrm...........i'm banned from our pet at home store, the staff didnt aprieciate being educated on how to PROPERLY look after chinchillas :censored:

 :rofl: :rofl:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Mark on September 01, 2009, 09:49:31 AM
If anyone is ordering, try this code as I think it is still valid for 10% off  ;)

BRD10
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on September 01, 2009, 10:35:56 AM
This thread has saved me searching for the old oko thread!  I've now been using pure oko (ie uncontaminated with anything else) for about a month and am not overly impressed tbh.  It doesn't clump well for starters.  It's fine if they go in the middle of the tray and cover it, but if the pee against the side of the tray, it doesn't clump well and all breaks up when you try to scoop it.  And it doesn't soak in well either.  This morning I had a yukky pool of pee at the edge of the tray.  One of them (Jaffa most likely) had peed against the side of the tray and it had rolled down the side and was just sitting on the top of the litter.  Some had soaked in obviously, but not all of it (maybe it was a fresh pee) and even when I scooped litter over it, it still broke up when I tried to scoop.  It's not that good with odours either.  acceptable, but not as good as the golden grey.  There's also a sort of damp sawdust smell most of the time (as opposed to urine smell).  If I sit on the floor, on a level with the tray, I can smell it.  It's not really bad, but I didn't get any odour with the golden grey unless they'd just done something.  I think I will try it with some litter freshener - I have some simple spray on stuff - so I'll see if that makes a difference.  It's horrendous at tracking too.  I don't really want to go back to clay litter so I will stick with this for a while longer but I think I will then try worlds best.

On the plus side, it's light to carry and doesn't make the nappy sacks so heavy the bottom falls out, and it's not clay so doesn't make Jaffa sneeze.  It's an ok litter, but not the best I've used by a long way.
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Mark on September 01, 2009, 11:03:52 AM
I find it clumps fine. If I go to do a tray and there is a puddle on top, I go and do another tray and by the time I go back, it has clumped. I find the clumps hold together well. I certainly wouldn't go back to any kind of clay clumping with 5 trays + I'm concerned about the health issues with it. I agree it tracks but so does any other litter and it is easy enough to sweep up with a dustpan & brush - the one they sell in PAH is perfect.
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Dawn F on September 01, 2009, 11:10:17 AM
I've been using clever cat (rose scented  :evillaugh:) on the tray outside mils bedroom while she is here - the tracking does drive me crazy with oko but I imagine clever cat is made out of some horrible chemical
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Lottie (Team Svartalfheim's) on September 01, 2009, 12:49:17 PM
Ahhh litter my favourite topic  :evillaugh:

I've tried so many types of litter but I love Oko. As three of mine are entire I think the fact it doesn't stink with their wee speaks well for Oko and its odour absorbing properties. I find Oko even better than WBCL extra strong. The litter does track everywhere but it's easily swept up/hoovered.

With the Oko clump problem Suzanne, are you putting the depth of litter it suggests in the tray? If there is a fresh wee when I come to scoop I put a bit of litter over the top of the fresh one and then do the other trays and then do that one last by which time it's clumped nicely.


I've only found one silica litter that is any good for not stinking with my lot and it's the Bob Martin one in a cardboard box that looks like polystyrene balls but all the others stink as soon as one of the girls or Pinball uses it. I use the BM one for shows or if we are going away but I wouldn't leave litter in a tray for weeks like it says you can as after all you wouldn't wee in a toilet for 4 weeks without flushing would you!!!  :sick:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on September 01, 2009, 15:07:54 PM
I put several inches in the tray, Lottie.  I think it's just because my boys, Jaffa in particular, tend to use the edges of the tray and Jaffa tends to spray the side of the tray so it runs down into a puddle at the edge.  And the clump it forms is long and thin so can't be scooped up in one go.  It disintergrates when I try to get it up.  When they go in the middle or far enough away from the edge so that it doesn't stick, the clumps are fine.  I dont want to go back to clay clumping, but I'm not too keen on the oko.  I have to keep apologising to visitors and explain that I am trying out a new litter!  The tracking is bad for me because I have a plain, green carpet.  So large pieces of beige litter show up terribly.
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Kay and Penny on September 01, 2009, 15:21:53 PM
looks to me as if the answer for all us Oko Best users is to pebble-dash our floors so the trails don't show up :evillaugh:


seriously though, does anyone use one of those rechargeable hand-held vacuum cleaners to mop up bits of litter, as I am wondering if it's worth getting one
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: HellyB on September 01, 2009, 15:22:11 PM
Im going to try using oko litter how long do you think it will last with 6 cats?  and is it really good with odour control??
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Dawn F on September 01, 2009, 15:26:35 PM
it does last a long time, I've got 3 trays and the big bag lasts about 10 weeks (ish!)
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: HellyB on September 01, 2009, 15:32:03 PM
Ive got 4 trays so it should last a couple of months then?
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Lottie (Team Svartalfheim's) on September 01, 2009, 15:54:15 PM
Ours have their litter trays in their room which is laminate so I just sweep and hoover ('helped' by the cats) it each day. OH is threatening to put a doormat outside their door as the carpet through the lounge/stairs/landing is a deep red so you can imagine how delightful Oko looks on it! :tired:  Luckily I've persuaded him to build me a litter tray house for in their room in a few months time so hopefully they'll get less all over the floor.

We've got two of those hand held ones for the cats and they are good for if they've made a heck of a lot of mess halfway through the day to hoover up any small bits the dustpan and brush leave behind without having to get the big hoover out (plus Boopy doesn't think the handheld one is a toy so leaves me alone to clean :evillaugh:) plus it's handy for hoovering the outside cat house without having to run extension leads out from the kitchen to plug the proper hoover in outside. The brush bit on ours is also handy for hoovering scratchposts  ;D
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Janeyk on September 01, 2009, 16:49:31 PM

seriously though, does anyone use one of those rechargeable hand-held vacuum cleaners to mop up bits of litter, as I am wondering if it's worth getting one

I sometimes use one (if I remember to charge it up  :innocent:)
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Dawn F on September 01, 2009, 16:52:27 PM
I had one Trigger but it was pretty weak to be honest - I've got a little dustpan and brush on top of each tray now!
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Kay and Penny on September 01, 2009, 17:29:23 PM
when you say little, do you mean smaller than the usual dustpan?
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Dawn F on September 02, 2009, 09:28:11 AM
yes its small, I know in Italy they use them for brushing crumbs off the table, I think I got them in wilkinsons or somewhere like that
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Mark on September 02, 2009, 09:46:28 AM
They have stopped selling them. I have a few of them. Although full-size, the PAH one is excellent as the edge of the pan is silicon and goes flush against the floor so easy to sweep up. Also the bristles are really soft. So much easier to use than others I have tried and only £1.49  ;D
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on September 02, 2009, 11:28:49 AM
I am finding it quite economical.  I scoffed at the guidelines on the packaging that said a bag (small one) would last 2 cats a month, but I filled the tray with one bag a couple of weeks ago and I'd say top ups will use one bag per month, which works out cheaper than the clay clumping.  Although I will need to start over every other month so that will be an extra bag needed then. 
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: tortie on September 02, 2009, 14:10:19 PM
it does last a long time, I've got 3 trays and the big bag lasts about 10 weeks (ish!)


i have 6 cats and three trays also, it seems to be the mostly recomended for odour control AND value for money sooooooooooo.......i'm gonna colour my hair put some sunglasses and a big coat on and sneak into p@h  :sneaky: repeating to myself i will bite my tounge....i will bite my tounge
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Mark on September 02, 2009, 14:20:54 PM
They only sell the standard 10L bags in there for £7.29
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on September 03, 2009, 08:17:30 AM
I couldnt get to PAH last week, so got a bag of Tidy Cat from Co-op - it might be a lot cheaper, but it is so heavy and hard to get back out of the tray, so will be getting some OKO on Sat.
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: tortie on September 07, 2009, 08:34:09 AM
so far i'm quite impressed with OKO thanks for the recomemdation, i dont think i would have bought another woodbased litter after the last bag as the cats just didnt like it, especially at £7.25 a bag, but after this thread i'm glad i did try it, it does clump nicely and theres no smells AND the cats like it, and yes i see what you mean about tracking,  :evillaugh:  which is another thing i thought i would ask...................in P@H there were anti tracking mats that go in front/under trays.........................anyone tried those
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Dawn F on September 07, 2009, 08:38:59 AM
I have them but they only help a little
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: tortie on September 07, 2009, 09:15:33 AM
not worth the money then  :lol2:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Dawn F on September 07, 2009, 09:23:01 AM
probably not!
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Mark on September 07, 2009, 10:02:12 AM
I have one in the kitchen and it does catch a lot but not all. The problem is getting the litter out of it is a pain - The back door is a floor down from the kitchen so not an option.

I am thinking of trying a Turtle Mat type mat to see if that is any good. The small turtle mats are over £20 so I will probably buy an equivalent called Dirt Trapper. Apparently, they are identical but about 1/2 the price (Not to be confsed with the JML ones which are usless  :evillaugh: )
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on September 09, 2009, 12:46:32 PM
I have a mat and it does catch some, although it's not as effective as when I used a finer grained litter.

I've noticed that the oko reduced in size with sifting!  It gradually becomes sawdust so that I have a mix of very fine, sand like sawdust and larger pieces of oko in the tray  ;D 
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Lottie (Team Svartalfheim's) on September 09, 2009, 14:04:12 PM
I use a deep pile bathmat as a litter mat
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Millys Mum on September 09, 2009, 20:55:10 PM
I dump it when it gets dusty, doesnt absorb as well and the dust ends up wiffy  :sick:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: tortie on September 09, 2009, 23:31:37 PM
oh well.......i think i might just keep sweeping the floor as seems to be  just as effective (and cheaper)  :evillaugh:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Sanchi on September 09, 2009, 23:36:55 PM
If anyone local to Rowley Regis uses Chick Crumbs for litter (or, er, has chicks!) I have a near on full 20kg bag that I don't need... free to pick up if anyone wants it. The idea being that it's flushable, natural, OK if kitty eats it etc ;D My boys had a great time piddling everywhere instead of in their new litter....including one of them leaving a lovely puddle in the cup of my bra (erm... I don't usually leave them on the floor!)

I can't really put it in the rubbish and my partner won't eat it  :P :Crazy:

The boys voted and Catsan won.....

I have 3 trays (3 cats but two of them go out.. :scared: :shocked:).  I put a liner in each, some news paper on top of the liner then about 1-2 cm of litter (enough to cover a doodie). Then all three are changed completely every day (if used) - if they do a poo during the day / evening I just shove it in the litter locker thingy which also gets emptied daily. Plus I vacuum everywhere once a day to get all the litter and fur up.

I used to have a mat for tracking but the litter got wedged in it so tightly that I spent more time trying to get the litter out of it than it would have taken to vacuum the entire room super thoroughly!  :shocked: :shocked:




Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: AliCat on September 09, 2009, 23:48:55 PM
Is it me, or does World's Best look like couscous?
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Sanchi on September 09, 2009, 23:56:26 PM
It does!! But it tastes awful.

I was tempted... :shy: :-[
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: AliCat on September 09, 2009, 23:59:29 PM
I really hope you are joking.  :rofl:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Sanchi on September 10, 2009, 00:13:52 AM
I really hope you are joking.  :rofl:

 :-[ :-[ I really did  :-[ :-[

I have also tried their cat biscuits bleh bleh bleh  :sick: :sick:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on September 10, 2009, 10:07:40 AM
I dump it when it gets dusty, doesnt absorb as well and the dust ends up wiffy  :sick:

If I have to dump the whole lot when it starts to get dusty, it is going to work out expensive  :(

I cant believe anyone would try to eat cat litter  :rofl: :rofl:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Sanchi on September 10, 2009, 10:35:49 AM
I dump it when it gets dusty, doesnt absorb as well and the dust ends up wiffy  :sick:

If I have to dump the whole lot when it starts to get dusty, it is going to work out expensive  :(

I cant believe anyone would try to eat cat litter  :rofl: :rofl:

In my defense, I am a little bit silly and it was made from corn lol.... I'll try anything once....I might try the chick crumbs later  :rofl:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Mark on September 10, 2009, 10:38:24 AM
As long as you didn't eat a clump, I'm sure it was fine  :evillaugh:

Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Sanchi on September 10, 2009, 13:31:33 PM
 :shocked: You mean cous cous kitty litter doesn't come in chocolate cluster flavour ??  :shocked: :shocked: :Crazy:
Title: Re: cat litter
Post by: Kay and Penny on October 11, 2009, 18:54:12 PM
resurrected to say I bought on of those rechargeable carpet sweeper jobs on E-Bay, and have found it very good at getting up stray bits of litter from hard floors and mats

and as a bonus it is fantastic at getting up pet hairs from rugs - it lifts hairs the vacuum cleaner leaves behind :wow:

so no more bending down with dustpan and brush for me ;D