I have been using clay clumping litter in our two litter boxes. We get it from Aldi and it is about £1.60 a bag. We use 1-2 bags a week. The cat likes it and uses it happily.

However, he is a big boy and getting bigger (a year old Maine Coon), and no matter how quick we scoop out his wee he still leaves a smell of ammonia in the room. The trays are cleaned out and washed out regularly too.

He's having a new friend in September and she has been brought up using Pets At Home wood pellets. Her previous owners have 8 cats and find that litter quite deodorising. We'll probably give that a go first as we'll need to get some in for when his new friend moves in, and it's not too bad at £8.99 for 30 litres.

Any other suggestions?

Have to say silicon is the best I've used but it is dear. Sophisticat do silicon (not as good as citycat or dr martins) but they also do a non-clumping antibacterial which is much cheaper and I have to say very deodorising. Got this in Sains or Tesco (can't remember which). About £4 for 8ltr.

The best litter I've used for odour control is Bob Martin Ultimate Odour Control, but it's ridiculously expensive at £4 for 4 ltrs! Catsan is good, that's about a fiver for 10ltrs.
But as I'm skint at the moment I'm using Asda's own litter with Bob Martin's Litter Freshner and that works quite well (the freshner's on 35p).

i use chick crumb as recommended by most breeders its really good for odour too suprisingly i pay about £7 for 20kg i have 2 cats a ragdoll tom and queen they have 2 huge litter trays and the smell is virtually unnoticeable

Thanks both.

I have a feeling that we have a tin of deodoriser somewhere in the house. I just have to find it!

I take it cats get used to the smell of the deodoriser ok?

Mine doesn't seem to notice the deordoriser, she uses the tray just the same with or without.

Found it in the shed!

Sprinkled it in and it does smell a lot better than before. The big boy has stuck his nose in the litter box seeing what's what. Not used it yet but we live in hope!

Also found some cat san in the shed from a previous attempt. I think it's good stuff but expensive compared to clay.

This is the one we use, it's 3.99 from Sainsbury I think. Have 2 indoor cats and a bag easily lasts a week. The tray is covered and I never notice a smell, hardly even when cleaning it out.

Make sure if you use the wood pellets to watch your first cat (not the new one who is used to them), as a lot of cats don't like the feel of them and will avoid the tray and pee elsewhere. I found this out the hard way (even though I loved the wood pellets as it was lighter and easier to scoop... typical)

Yes, you're right, its from Sainsbury's and is £3.21 8 Ltr (bought some more tonight). I have two big cats as well and it is the best, even better than the silicon, I would say at this stage.


What I've also noticed is that they are happier to cover their mess with it. With the silicon, they were forever scraping the side of their hooded litterbox and never covering the stuff over but they don't seem to mind digging their paws into this. The only other thing I noticed is that the dust when I initially poured into the box caused them to sneeze but it does appear to track less than the silicon.

I'm a recent convert to Pettex Silica. The urine is absorbed into the crystals which remain dry, rather than soggy as you would expect from other cat litter. The drying effect stops the urine releasing any smells. I scoop out the solids and change the whole lot when it's mostly yellow; it may seem expensive but a single bag lasts several weeks.

I use the paper based cat litter. The brand I use is SmartCat which i order through my work but you can also get other brands from supermarkets. I think Bob Martin produce it and Morrisons have their own brand. The only downside to using it is if you have a cat that likes to dig and scratch around in the litter tray for ages - the stuff goes everywhere!

At work we use "The World's Best Cat Litter" (yes it's actually called that!). It's expensive to buy initially but because of the way it clumps, you end up taking less out when you clean the litter tray and so a bag tends to last for quite a while...

I have two Maine Coons, and I find that the silicon litter doesn't do too well with them once they're big. My boy produces so much wee that it seems to overwhelm the silicon!

As mentioned before, chickcrumb is excellent if you can get it, also layers pellets which you can get in pets at home. I am currently using Cats Best Oko Plus, also from PAH, it lasts ages and is a good price too.

I use that for my boy too (athough he's neutered so prob doesn't smell as much). I'd reccomend the Sophisticat non-clumping antibacterial too.

We either get ours from Co-op or Tescos'.

Woody is very happy to use it.

Why is the cat pissing in the house?

I'm guessing he/she is an adult cat, so should be doing it outside.

Nice turn of phrase!

Only if they're outdoor cats (or indoor/outdoor cats).

I have two rescue cats who, for various reasons, will never be able to go outside, so I have litter trays indoors for them.

Ragdolls and Maine Coons are incredibly expensive pedigrees so chances are, they may have some garden time, but spend most of their time in the house, too.

Don't you think it's cruel to keep cats (which are free spirits) in the house permenantly, no matter how expensive they are?

i have had this debate numerous times on here on the advice of my vet it is only cruel to keep a cat in if they are used to going out i have 2 indoor ragdolls neither have ever been out only when supervised in their stroller with us if i was to let them out my insurance will not pay out as the breed states they should not be outdoor cats due to their docile nature

at last someone else who knows about chickcrumb its marvellous stuff and dirt cheap too

Thanks for the advice people.

Maine Coon's are very friendly cats, and along with that they have pretty much no traffic sense. My big boy especially is rather thick. We live next to a dual carriageway and f we let him roam outside we would quickly get a splatted cat. He'd spot a fly, chase it, and not think of the great car looming down on him.

He has the opportunity to spend time outside on a harness and supervised in the garden. He spends 30 seconds frozen to the spot, then goes ARGH and runs back inside. He runs away from open windows too. He doesn't want to go outside, he likes to stay indoors, so he does exactly that.

Both my cats are moggies so price has nothing to do with it. One of mine is virtually feral, in the summer I can go days without seeing her and she never uses a litter tray because she's never here. The other refuses to go out. Occassionally she'll sit in the back garden but only if the door's left often. She certainly wouldn't be happy to be kicked out and left, so she always uses the litter tray.

Although its now more difficult to get as PAH no longer stock it, its worth the hunt. I find its almost on a par with world's best for effectiveness, and it doesn't matter if they eat it, bonus!

Neonhamster: You're not alone there with a thick Maine Coon, my boy's exactly the same, bless him. I once saw Maine Coons described as not graceful, but rather the type of cat that would jump onto a unit, knock everything off it, them fall off themselves, thats him down to a tee I fear!

i am quite lucky i can get it from my local pet shop but as we are quite rural there are loads of farms around here so easy to get i think i pay 6.87 for 20kg so its very cheap and as you say as effective as any cat litter

Believe it or not, some cats are very happy being in-door cats - mine are anyway. However, I do let them them out but they never go that far away from the door and come back in very soon afterwards. My neighbour, like myself has 2 cats and one of them refuses to go out at all.

Like others have already said, if I a cat that was used to going outside was forced to be an indoor cat, then yes it would probably be cruel.

However, my rescue mogs have never been outdoors and were specifically rehomed to me as indoor only cats. I took them to my parents' house for Xmas one year, and thought I'd try to get them out in the back garden, but neither of them so much as wanted to know, not even for a second.

If they were showing signs of being unhappy at being kept indoors, I would have to think about whether they could carry on living with me as I have no way of letting them out - no garden, and I live in a secure block of flats.

Yep Mungamink, that is my boy too! I think the girls are a little more dignified, but the boys are clowns.

He falls off things regularly, especially the 6 foot tall cat tower. He just tends to forget there's nothing to lean on..

He loves being picked up and hugged, but when you let him drop gracefully back to the floor he forgets the graceful part and sprawls with a flop.

Then there's when he gets excited and forgets how big he is. "I'm a tiny kitten!" he thinks, aims at a spot next to the water bowl, lands IN the water bowl and sends it's contents up the wall.

But we love him!