whats the best kind of cat litter for the least amount of mess?

[Lotusblossom]

just got a cat and it's great and all the only downside is that sometimes the cat gets poop on its paws when it goes to the bathroom.. this is a real nightmare because then the cat tracks poop everywhere and I have bad anxiety about leaving the house because of it! I was going to try wheat litter but I just don't know if that will make the situation worse or not.. I've been using the sand kind and the sand has been getting stuck to the fur with the poop which is not fun trying to get off..

 

[-Blue-]

How old is your cat? Are they still a kitten? I know when the two of mine were kittens and first started using a litter box that they often got messy. They don't do it anymore. It's just something you have to do for them when they're still young and learning.

You could try for clumping litter so that their messes will be lumped together and easily scooped out. They have other types like shredded wheat-like substance litter, or yesterday news from Purina? is made from recycled paper. So it's in pellet form like those wooden pellets people burn for their pellet stoves.

Be sure to clean their litterbox fully every other week or so. If you leave their messes in their, they will start going outside the box/over the edge and or could get urinary tract infections and other health-related problems. But so long as you scoop daily and give it a good cleaning and fresh litter every other week (or so) they will be happy campers.

 

[Nunnafinga]

When I had cats I always used a regular,non-clumping clay litter and never had any problems with it sticking to my cats.I've had several cats over the years and I don't remember any of them getting poop on their paws when using the litter box.Is your litter box on the small side?I had a large 20 lb. cat and I got her the biggest litter box I could find so she could have space to move around in it and not feel cramped.Maybe your cat doesn't have enough room in the litter box to do their thing properly.

 

[Kitsuragi]

i use corn litter, it's super duper easy to clean up even from carpet. i use it over clay since i find it's not as smelly and my picky cat likes it more.

 

[amemome]

Asking the vet is always number 1. I think forums can only really give you anecdotes but your cat's vet can look at your cat physically and tell you what might be going on!

As for litter and litterbox, I agree with posters saying bigger litter box. I had an open-style litterbox in the largest size I could find and I think my cat had a much easier time using it as opposed to a smaller litter box since she had ample room to adjust herself and step around the poo/pee. I also always had it filled at least 1/3 or 1/2 full and scooped it religiously, every morning and evening as well as throughout the day if I was home. I used clumping litter with the "cat attract" scent though I don't think "cat attract" actually impacted how well my cat used the litter box. You might want to consider, though using clumping litter is prone to causing dust and other respiratory irritation.

Realistically, you will not be able to have a spotless house — you can minimize tracking and litter spread by placing litter mats around and vacuuming frequently though.

Additionally here are my two cents for what you can do for poo in fur (generally).

I had a longhair cat and "dingleberries" were rarely an issue so I think you might want to take a look at what in your cat's diet is making its poop wet enough to get on its fur.

If your cat has long hair, ask your cat's vet for a hygiene cut and they can trim your cat's fur around the butt and legs so less poop gets on it. That helped my cat with the occasional dingleberry.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I personally use Arm & Hammer Clump and Seal with my cats and it's amazing. it scoops super easily, it doesn't produce any dust, it does a great job in keeping the smell at bay, and for the quality/quantity it's quite affordable.

I would also recommend getting a litter box that has a lid, keeps litter from getting outside the box and it minimizes odor as well.

 

[Lotusblossom]

just wanted to update.. it's a kitten but growing very fast at four and a half months old and we just got him.. it's a Maine coon! he still steps in his poop when he goes to the bathroom even though I got him a bigger litter box. I tri3d the wheat litter and didn't like it as much as sand because it doesnt clump as good, especislly the pee. i mixed it with sand and its better but still not digging the wheat so to speak! I thinknnext I'm going to try clay