To help you find the best cat litter, we tested 29 litter products from a variety of brands, made from a range of materials, including clumping clay, absorbent crystals, and biodegradable pellets. Each litter was tested with real cats and kittens, and scored by humans on key factors, from odor control to tracking.
We also talked to the owner of a non-profit cat rescue and full-time professional cat sitter—two people very familiar with the pros and cons of different types of litters—to get the scoop on their favorite types of cat litters and what to consider when picking the best litter for your kitty.
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Credit: Boxie
What We Like
- Boosted with probiotics that tackle litter and waste bacteria
- Hypoallergenic formula (for cats and humans) with no added fragrances
- Excellent clumping and odor control
We’ll start by saying that our tester and their cats were so impressed with this litter that they switched out their usual litter autoship for Boxiecat’s BoxiePro Probiotic Clumping Clay Litter. Right off the bat, they noticed that the litter was very fine with a rounded shape and that it had no noticeable scent. Two of the three cats used the litter box within an hour of replacing the litter with Boxiecat. Their kitty with sensitive paws seemed to prefer the feel of the new litter over the others they’d used previously.
Although there was a slight amount of dust and tracking, we found it to be substantially less than with other litters. And the odor control was superior and even held up after not being scooped for three days in a row, though it lost some of its odor-controlling strength after a month of use in a house with three cats.
One standout feature is that the litter uses probiotics to break down bacteria in the litter box, resulting in reduced odor and ick-factor. When your cat uses the litter box, the probiotics activate and “eat” the bacteria from your cat’s waste. We especially love this in terms of tracking—since it can be gross to find little remnants of used litter on furniture and floors, it feels more hygienic with this probiotic litter.
We also found the clumping power to be notable, making it easy to scoop. Our biggest concern was the price, but the odor control and soft texture of the litter make it worth the upgrade.
Available in 16-pound and 28-pound bags
Meet Our Testers
Our tester cats included a 13-year-old domestic shorthair with sensitive paws, a 4.5-year-old Maine Coon, and a 4.5-year-old domestic shorthair who only likes using gravel-style litters. Our tester used the litter in three types of litter boxes: a Play On Litter Pan, a plastic underbed storage container, and an automatic litter box.
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Credit: Amazon
What We Like
- Effectively masks odors
- Clumps easily and remains solid during scooping
- Low dust and very minimal tracking (even with a cat prone to tracking litter)
True to its name, our multi-cat households loved the Clump & Seal Multi-Cat formula. We’ve tested six different Arm & Hammer formulas, and so far, the Clump & Seal Multi-Cat is our favorite. It seems we’re not alone, either—professional cat sitter and owner of Such a Treat PDX, Jessica Cornella, says that the Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal line is the most popular among her clients, too.
Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal Multi-Cat Litter efficiently binds together upon contact with moisture and remains intact while scooping. The small granules have a texture similar to coarse sand and, remarkably, we found it produces little to no dust. Plus, it doesn’t track as much as other brands we tested, so you won’t see little paw prints of dust or too many pieces of litter on your floor.
Clump & Seal Multi-Cat is technically scented, but the scent is very faint and smells mildly like baking soda, with a floral, fresh laundry overtone that’s hardly noticeable unless your nose is right on top of it. Even without a strong scent, it was effective at masking odors, even when we left the litter box unscooped for a few days (sorry, Wally!).
Available in 14-pound, 19-pound, 28-pound, and 38-pound boxes
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Credit: Tuft & Paw
Tuft & Paw is a pellet-style litter made from soybean byproducts. This tofu litter is a solid fragrance-free choice that dissolves in water and has remarkable odor-absorbing abilities. We love that it not only effectively eliminates odors but also produces no dust. The small pellet shape also proved to drastically limit tracking and didn’t stick to our tester cat’s paws as much as other litters.
The litter turns urine waste into scoopable clumps, but doesn’t cover solid waste—a slight issue for our older cats, who are accustomed to their experience with sand-like litter. Some cats may need a few days to get used to the change in texture and smell. Depending on the number of cats in your home, a monthly supply will consist of one to three resealable bags.
Available in 9.5-pound resealable bags
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Credit: Target
Fresh Step Crystals Premium Scented Cat Litter is our favorite crystal litter we’ve tested because it doesn’t need to be changed out as frequently as clay litter and comes at an affordable price. It’s made with silica gel, which fully absorbs cat pee and the associated odor. The crystals are larger than sand or gravel and more akin to small pebbles. The larger format prevents tracking exceptionally well, a huge plus, particularly for households with hard floors. We experienced absolutely no tracking or dust throughout our real-world testing.
Although this litter doesn’t officially have health monitoring properties (this version does), when I used it with my cat, it inadvertently alerted me to urinary issues twice, possibly saving my cat’s life the first time. Since the litter absorbs urine and the pieces are large, I was able to notice when the clear and white pieces turned pink and red, a sign that my cat was peeing blood, prompting me to take her to the vet, where she was diagnosed with bladder stones.
One drawback to the large size of these litter pieces is that they can be harsh on sensitive paws or young kittens with smaller paws. That said, we tested this litter with a kitten, and it worked out so well that our tester will be using this litter regularly as the cat grows up. Plus, the larger-sized pieces do a great job at absorbing urine and odor.
Available in 8-pound and 14-pound bags
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Credit: Amazon
Although Cat’s Pride Antibacterial Scented Litter costs significantly less than other litters, we were also delighted to find it lasted longer than other litters we’ve used, even when using less litter. In fact, it’s designed so that the 12-pound litter has the same function as 20 pounds of similar clay litters—yet another reason why this litter is a great value.
The 12-pound jug had a similar feel to a bulk-size laundry detergent, making it easy to open and pour with the twist-off top cap and handle. Our tester found that this litter clumped urine better than others they had used before and didn’t leave any soppy wet parts.
We also noted that there was no odor throughout testing, which is likely attributed to the litter’s antibacterial properties, as it claims to eliminate 99% of odors. According to the company, this was verified by an independent lab, which discovered that this litter kills three types of bacteria and prevents odor-causing bacteria from forming.
Available in a 12-pound jug
Meet Our Tester
Our tester was a 4.5-year-old cat, who’s a repeat offender when it comes to kicking litter around, and unfortunately, we didn’t notice less of a mess with this litter, which was used in a covered litter box.
Other Cat Litters We Tested
- Pretty Litter Health Monitoring Cat Litter: Pretty Litter revolutionized the market with its innovative, color-changing fine-grain silica litter, which helps identify potential urinary health issues. We have been big fans of the health monitoring capabilities and the litter’s generally good odor control, but the non-clumping version can get stinky and turn yellow after a couple of weeks (especially in multi-cat households). We look forward to testing the new clumping version, however.
- Arm & Hammer Cloud Control Platinum Litter: This litter shockingly delivers on its no-dust promise, using Arm & Hammer baking soda to help control and neutralize nasty odors. However, we’ve tested many Arm & Hammer litters and found this one to be one of our least favorite when it comes to reliable clumping.
- Ökocat Paper Pellet Cat Litter: This biodegradable litter originally snagged a spot on our top list as our ‘best pellets’ pick, but it has been usurped by subsequent pellet-style litters we’ve since tested. As an absorbing litter, it has notable odor control, but we didn’t like that when it tracked, the larger pellets were noticeable and a bit unhygienic.
- Scoop Away Unscented Clumping Clay Cat Litter: This clumping cat litter is a fragrance-free, reasonably priced option that effectively minimizes odors with an anti-ammonia additive, has very low dust, and remains effective in multi-cat households. We did notice a slight amount of tracking, although it primarily remained near the litter box.
- Purina Tidy Cats Naturally Strong Clumping Clay Litter: Made from natural clay, this fragrance-free clumping litter has long been a favorite of ours, particularly as one of our top choices for eco-friendly litter. Activated charcoal keeps litter odorless, there’s practically no dust, and the clumping power is strong—almost too strong, sometimes, as we’ve found we’ve had to go in with more than one round of scooping for side-lodged waste.
- Sustainably Yours Natural Cat Litter Large Grain: Another eco-friendly option, this litter is made from 100% cassava and effectively masks odors. However, we’ve noticed that the effectiveness fades significantly as the litter ages between full refreshes. The larger grains provide less tracking than the smaller-grained versions, but we found that it doesn’t quite clump as hard.
How We Tested the Cat Litter
We tested 29 cat litter products, from clumping clay to pellets, with dozens of feline tester lending their expertise. We bought each cat litter and sent it to a tester’s home, along with a written methodology to guide them through long-term testing.
Testers documented their cats’ and their own initial impressions of the litter assigned to their home. For several weeks, testers evaluated their designated cat litter, taking note of fragrance, odor masking, clumping quality, dust level, tracking, and how well cats adapted to the new litter. Finally, our testers observed how effective the litter was at helping keep their cat’s bathroom tidy and ready for the next visit.
After reviewing feedback paired with numerical scores across different categories, we categorized and ranked our selections.
What to Look for in Cat Litter
Type and Materials
Traditionally, the most common material used for cat litter is bentonite clay, which enables the formation of clumps upon contact with urine. Bentonite clay litters are popular because they’re easy to scoop and fight odors, but there are some environmental concerns associated with this material, in part because it doesn’t biodegrade.
Crystal cat litter is made from silica gel. It is highly absorbent of urine and odor. For most households, a box of litter lasts a little bit longer so it helps cut down on monthly waste. It’s also less dense than clay so the litter is lightweight. (This is a different material than the silica dust mentioned below.)
There are also biodegradable litters, like the Tuft & Paw Really Great Cat Litter, Ökocat Paper Pellet Cat Litter, and Sustainably Yours Natural Cat Litter. These litters are made with natural materials, like soybeans, paper, and grains, which will eventually deteriorate. They are also often made with eco-friendly materials or in an environmentally friendly manner.
Dust
Clay litters are also often dusty—meaning there are small dust-like particles released into the air when pouring, scratching, and scooping the litter—which can aggravate respiratory ailments and allergies, cause feline urinary problems, or even have carcinogenic properties (when it contains silica dust). All the selections on our list produce little to no dust.
If dust-free is a priority for your home, Arm & Hammer Cloud Control and Ökocat Paper Pellet Cat Litter both emit absolutely no dust.
Odor Control and Fragrance
According to Cornella, “most litters do a fine job of either masking or eliminating odors,” noting that “wood, silica, and clay tend to work really well” in her experience. A variety of odor-fighting methods are found in cat litter, including activated charcoal, baking soda, and enzymes that break down bacteria.
Eliminating detectable odors from a litter box helps keep the space ready for your cat’s next bathroom break, and if you have more than one cat, it’s important to keep odors to a minimum to help prevent a cat from taking their business to areas outside of the litter box. On top of the odor-fighting, some cat litters or litter deodorizers have a fragrance, which may be ideal for you but less so for your cat.
Tracking
For Devin Bennett, tracking is one of her main concerns when it comes to litter. Most cats instinctively try to cover their waste by kicking litter on top of their poop and pee. This can cause granules of litter to get stuck in their paw pads. Most of it comes off around the litter box area, which is easy to sweep up.
There are a few litters that don’t track at all, but none of the selections on our list should lead to tracking throughout your home. Bennett says that when it comes to tracking, she has had the best luck using a combination of tofu litter and top-entry litter boxes. A cat litter mat can also help prevent tracking.
Texture
We all know that cats can be picky—finicky, even. This is no different when it comes to the texture of their litter. Cornella notes that your cat’s comfort should be top of mind when selecting a litter. A cat’s paws—especially those of kittens or senior cats—contain a lot of nerve endings, which makes them particularly sensitive.
Litter texture runs the gamut from fine-grain sand to soft natural fibers and compressed materials to tube-like pellets or rock-like pebbles. If your cat isn’t taking to a litter, it might be because it doesn’t like the way it feels.
At a minimum, you should fully empty and replenish cat litter once a month, but every two to three weeks works for many. This can easily increase to weekly if your cat relives themself often and/or if you have more than one cat sharing the litter box. Daily scooping to remove pee and poop is always recommended.
Cat litter is primarily made with one of the following as the base: clay, silica gel, pine, wheat, grass, corn, walnut shell, or paper.
Clumping litter is often made of bentonite clay. Crystal litter is usually made of silica gel, which is absorbent and can provide odor control. Natural litter is an environmentally friendly option made from recycled paper products or plant-derived materials, like wood shavings or corn.
Proper litter box maintenance starts with the right box and tools to suit your cat’s habits and needs. Most cat owners prefer clumping litter since it makes spotting waste easier and allows for faster clean up. Clumps of waste should be scooped out daily if using clumping litter, but the full litter box should be deep cleaned once a week or every four to five weeks, depending on the type of litter you use.
Used litter should always be emptied into an air-tight trash bag. Some litter is flushable and smaller clumps can be disposed of there, but you should never flush the entire contents of the box. Eventually, you’ll need to empty and thoroughly clean the entire box using unscented dish soap and paper towels. Non-clumping litter will need to be cleaned more often due to the build-up it can cause at the bottom of the box while clumping litter can be removed in small quantities daily and replaced less often.
When bringing home a new kitten, litter training them is one of the first things you should do. It’s recommended to start your new cat in a “transition room” that’s safe, comfortable, and isolated from other areas of your home. You should place the cat’s food and water at one end of the room and the litter box at the other. Right after it eats or drinks, immediately take it to the litter box to establish good habits.
If your cat does use the litter box properly, reward it with a toy or treat to help seal in place its new routine. They should be allowed to explore the area—avoid scooping out waste right away, let it remain to remind them where to properly go to the bathroom.
Most litter should just be disposed of in the trash. Some brands, like Garfield Cat Litter, can be flushed directly down the toilet in small amounts since it’s biodegradable, but keep in mind that many municipal waste systems and septic systems are not suited to handle cat waste. Non-biodegradable litter should never be flushed.
Litter boxes should be scooped at least once a day, placing clumps in a trash bag. To avoid odors, you might want to invest in a Litter Genie that seals waste at the bottom and keeps any smell contained throughout the week. On trash day, simply take out your secured plastic bag of litter and waste and dispose of it with the rest of your trash.
Why Trust The Spruce Pets?
K.Alex Beaven is a writer for The Spruce Pets, a lifelong cat owner, and current support human to @hellomisterbo.
We also interviewed the following experts who have extensive firsthand experience with litter:
- Devin Bennett, owner of the nonprofit cat rescue Here Have a Kitten. Devin is well-versed in managing different types of litters and subsequent odors in a multi-cat household where the cats are always changing.
- Jessica Cornella, owner and professional cat sitter from Such a Treat PDX. Jessica scoops and sniffs different cat litters on a daily basis.