Best Cat Litter That Doesn’t Stick to Paws
What if I told you that you don’t have to pick litter off of the underneath of your socks ever again? Well, I’d be exaggerating, but you can definitely do it far less if you just take a few easy steps!
Most cat parents don’t want to think about it, but when your cat is tracking litter around your house, what they’re really tracking around is their waste. That’s right. Tiny bits of urine and feces speckled all over your home.
It’s not all that fun of a concept to ponder on, but you’ve landed here because that’s exactly what you’re thinking about.
Like I’ve mentioned, you won’t ever get rid of 100% of the tracked litter around your home, but a quality cat litter can help the problem tenfold.
We’ve gotten so many questions pertaining to the best cat litter that doesn’t stick to paws that we decided to investigate it. The question comes from all walks of cat-parent life.
Parents (of human babies, not cats) with young children or children with underlying conditions, people with carpet in their home, people whose cats like to “dig to China” in their box, and loads of other cat-owner archetypes all want to know the same thing.
What litter sticks to cats’ paws…the least?
After eight hours indulging in another one of our passion projects, we’ve come to the conclusion that Fresh Step Scented Clean Paws Triple Action is the best cat litter for those of you looking to keep the litter in the box.
This content has been reviewed and approved by our in-house Veterinarian for accuracy.
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Why You Should Trust Our Review
The magic number eight is the amount of hours Cat Kingpin staff spent researching litter products (not to mention the additional 4 hours it took to write this). There are a variety of ways that we go about researching products.
A huge part of our time is spent on analyzing products’ description as thoroughly as possible. Knowing what’s in a certain item is crucial because companies are able to put things on labels that are somewhat misleading, and sometimes they utilize that ability.
Checking deeply is the best defense against marketing gurus. Those folks are brilliant.
That’s only one of the ways we conduct our analysis. Read on to learn more.
What Features Did We Look For
Use critical thinking to decide what is important about the product being recommended. Then, list out 4-8 features that people need to consider prior to purchasing the product being reviewed.
- Clumping – Clumping litter is a type of litter that adheres to moisture. Due to certain ingredients it has, the litter adheres to any moisture (i.e. your cat’s waste) and forms an actual clump-like ball. The idea is to contain kitty’s waste within that little clump, helping keep the rest of the litter without moisture safe from contamination.Confession: now, when you’re using the bathroom in a box of sand, so to speak, there will be cross-contamination from the dirty litter to the clean litter no matter how well it clumps. But, it’s a fairly small amount and shouldn’t be looked at as a con for clumping litters.The essential purpose of clumping litter is to keep your litter box cleaner. You can wait a bit longer to empty out and clean the litter box itself.
- Non-clumping – It’s what it sounds like. Opposite of its counterpart, clumping litter, this litter doesn’t clump (adhere to moisture). It’s generally preferred for containing odor since it can absorb more moisture.As you can probably guess, the moisture does collect at the bottom of this type of litter a lot more than it does with non-clumping litter. So, you’ll have to clean your box more often.Most of the time, which kind (clumping or non-clumping) of litter you choose is based upon your cat’s preference.
- What is it made of? – Cat litter can be made from tons of different things. For example, clay, wood, paper, citrus, grass, corn, and grain are all possible materials that cat litter can be made from.
- Price – Litter has to be changed regularly, which means you’ll be purchasing litter regularly as well. You probably don’t want to be paying massive amounts of money for your litter!
Who Is This Cat Litter For?
This list is for cat owners who want to reduce the amount of litter that their cat tracks around as much as possible.
This includes parents of young children, parents of children with asthma or other conditions, people who have elderly or sickly people residing with them, people who have carpet or porous flooring, and literally anyone else having trouble with their cat’s litter getting tracked around the house.
This isn’t for cat owners whose cats kick litter out of the box. Your solution can be found here.
Usually we write content of Best X for Y. Meaning, most articles have a specific audience that would really like to review them. Talk about who the product is for and who may not want the product as well. Make sure to mention who it IS for and who it ISN’T for.
How We Choose Our Products
If you were tuned in earlier in the article, you’ve heard a little bit about how we make decisions on the products that we recommend. You learned that studying what’s put into a product is one of our first go-to’s when researching.
Before we can get to that part though, we have to find the items! That’s done both online and in-store usually, but since it is the age of quarantining, we’re keeping our shopping to online, and we hope you’re doing the same if possible!
Online shopping offers one other huge advantage: tons of reviews! Those are invaluable to us because there’s no better way to find out the dirty details of a product. Often, there are a lot of reviews. We take the time to read each one because, truly, they’re that valuable.
Trying to understand the most common problems that encourage cat owners to begin the search for trackless litter gave us great insight into anticipating your needs.
In this area we add to the credibility of how we choose the products in the review. It’s okay to refer back to what was said earlier in the past. Explain how we looked at multiple websites (name the websites) and places to find the best products. Mention how we also look over as many reviews as we could. Further explain how the CK staff really gets into details with products they review and that we do a thorough analysis.
Our Top Choice – Fresh Step Scented Clean Paws Triple Action Clumping Litter
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Pros
- Designed for low tracking
- Inhibits bacteria
- Reward program
- Mostly dust-free
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Cons
- Costlier than others
- Cements if left long
- Unique fragrance
Fresh Step Scented Clean Paws Triple Action Clumping Litter is our top choice because it’s specifically designed to reduce litter tracking out of the litter box. The materials and ingredients used to form the litter include an aspect that is able to reduce the number of bacteria present.
A great feature of the dust-free litter is that Fresh Step offers a rewards program, so you’ll get back some of what you’re spending.
You might notice that this litter isn’t cheap. We wish it was.
Definitely make sure to pick up your cat’s mess on a regular basis because if this litter is left alone too long with moisture in it, it cements pretty well. It really does…
And, it’s okay if you’re taking a while to adjust to the new scent! A lot of other people are, too.
Premium Pick – Purina Tidy Cats Breeze Litter
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Pros
- Pellet form
- Liquid passes through to bottom
- Vastly dust free
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Cons
- Cats may not like texture
- Odor control debated
- Packaging troubles
Purina Tidy Cats Breeze Litter is meant to go with one of Purina’s litter systems, but you can totally use this litter on its own. Many cat owners love the pellet form of litter. It’s quite a bit harder to get stuck in-between your cat’s toes.
The pellets significantly reduce the amount of dust present, and it enables liquid to pass from the top to the bottom of the box, enabling your cat to step on nice, dry litter.
It took some cats a while to adjust to the texture, as it’s a very different feel under their feet.
Some happy customers still complained that this litter doesn’t do a perfect job of controlling odor, but they were okay with it because of the other ‘pros.’ As with most products, be sure to check your litter before you use it because some customers received packages that were damaged in shipping.
Budget Friendly – PetSafe ScoopFree Premium Crystal Non Clumping Cat Litter
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Pros
- Bags are pre-portioned
- Crystals=less dust
- Dries out moisture
- 3 scents
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Cons
- Doesn’t last as long as others
- New texture for cats
- Smells interesting
PetSafe ScoopFree Premium Crystal litter has the advantage of bags that are pre-portioned for one month of usage. The crystal texture dries out moisture of any kind while significantly reducing the dust factor.
Luckily, it comes in three different scents (one being unscented).
The smell of this litter is supposedly something to get used to… Plus, some cats were iffy at first because the texture is so different from other litters.
A few customers found that they needed to change the litter more often than the company anticipated, so they went through the pre-portioned bag a bit sooner.
Other Choice: Purina Tidy Cats Light Weight, Low Dust, Clumping Cat Litter
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Pros
- Unscented
- Odor controlling
- Almost half the weight of others
- Low dust
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Cons
- Box is bulky and heavy
- Can’t close
- Dusty
Purina Tidy Cats Light Weight Litter is popular with people looking to reduce tracking. It’s fabulously unscented, which can be pretty tough to find! Though it’s unscented, it controls odor very well.
A huge part of what helps the litter not track is that it’s so lightweight.
A strange detail…the packaging is literally a box. Not a bag inside a box, but just a box with loose litter inside. Not the biggest deal in the world, but hugely inconvenient for some. This also means that you can’t exactly close it back once you open it. You’ve been warned.
The company claims the litter has a low level of dust, but customers disagree. It’s not quite as low dust as it claims to be.
Other Choice: SmartCat All Natural Clumping Litter
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Pros
- All natural
- Light
- 100% grass
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Cons
- Quality inconsistencies
- Attracts critters
- Cats may find it tasty!
Definitely a favorite of customers, SmartCat All Natural Clumping Litter is made completely of grass, which means it’s all natural. Grass is not heavy, so this litter is super light!
Customers found differences in quality of the litter depending on where they bought it, so keep that in mind. Since it’s grass, it does have the potential to attract critters more than others might! Keep it in a secure spot.
Care and Maintenance
When it comes to litter and litter boxes, regular maintenance is vital for cleanliness and good health for both you and your cat!
Generally, it’s customary to scoop cat waste out of your litter box at least once per day and completely empty and clean your litter box once per week.
Each litter may have different recommendations or requirements, so be sure to follow those! And, if you know that you’re one of those people who need to clean your litter box more often than usual for whatever reason, keep on doing so!
No litter will function the way you want it to if it’s too saturated and too filthy. Plus, your cat deserves a nice, clean box to use the bathroom in!
Answers to Common Questions
Should I get clumping or non-clumping litter?
That depends on you. Most people make their choice on this matter based on their cat’s preferences. They will definitely let you know if they have a problem with the litter you’re using.
There are significant pros and cons to both types of litter, and without looking deeply into each, you may have trouble making the decision.
There is conflicting information as to which type of litter is best to reduce litter tracking.
Does it matter what the litter is made of?
Only if it does to you! Some cat owners are particular about using litter with synthesized chemicals in it and opt for a more naturally made litter. Others have or their family has allergies or sensitivities to certain things.
Why doesn’t everyone use crystals or pellets if they’re so good at keeping off of cat paws?
For the same reason everyone doesn’t drive a Volvo just because it’s supposedly the safest car on the road. One size doesn’t fit all.
You’ll find the same to be true for even the most loved, adored, and coveted products. For every 99 people who would give their last dollar for an item, one person would rather go without than use that item.
That’s the beauty of having so many options today!
What else can I do to help reduce litter tracking?
If you haven’t gotten yourself a mat to put outside of your cat’s litter box, that would definitely be the best next step to take.
Throw a towel down there for now until your mat gets here, but don’t forget to wash it before you use it for anything else!
You could also try putting your cat’s litter box in an area where they have to cross the longest amount of distance to get anywhere within the house. It won’t reduce the tracking overall, but it will reduce the tracking on the things you want to avoid having litter on the most.
Why does it matter whether a litter is low-dust or dust-free?
For tracking, generally, the smaller the particle, the easier it is to get stuck within the hair and crevices of your cat’s paws. Dust is a super small particle, so having a lot of it pretty much ensures minute amounts of tracking.
Don’t be unrealistic though: all litter will contain some dust. The amount varies drastically, but I don’t want anyone expecting the ‘perfect litter’ and being disappointed.
For all other purposes, dust isn’t generally a thing you want a lot of in your home! Even if you don’t have asthma, allergies, or another medical condition you’re living with, constantly breathing in dust particles isn’t ideal for your or your cat’s health.
Final Thoughts
If you’re at your wits end with finding litter e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e, don’t feel alone in your struggle. Know that can help the situation improve significantly by changing your litter and taking the few small steps listed above.
If you’re not sure where to start, you can check out Fresh Step Scented Clean Paws Triple Action, our top pick, to see if it’s right for you.
What have you done to prevent your cat from tracking litter around the house? Do you have any tips or tricks? Wins or fails?
Let us and your fellow cat parents know. Don’t keep tricks all to yourself!
Drop a comment below. We’re waiting to hear from you.
Sources:What is the Best Cat Litter? Non-Clumping vs. Clumping Litter – https://m.petmd.com/cat/centers/litter/evr_ct_clumping-versus-non-clumping-cat-litter
