Cat Litter Options: Paper, Pine, Clay, Crystals and More

We love our fur babies, but we also have to confront the reality that they're animals, and animals don't have the kind of manners and socialization people do. In particular, they need to be trained to potty properly; in the case of dogs, that means going outside, and with cats, it generally means a litter box.

Cat litter, then, is one of those cat supply necessities that no one likes to deal with, but we all need to have. The question is, what kind of litter should you use? If you're anything like I was, every time you're about to make a choice, you find another blog post or news article about how bad that kind is, and why some alternative is so much better, even though that one has yet more articles about it.

For this post, I wanted to run down all of the possible options you can use for cat litter and talk about their pros and cons. By the end, you should have a pretty good idea of which one will work best for you.

I won't be giving my own recommendation, because there are too many variables, most of all our furry children themselves. No matter how much you think you've picked the right litter, if your cat won't step paw into it, it's not the right choice for you.

Why Picking the Right Litter is Important

Can't you just pick up the cheapest sack of Fresh Step and call it a day? Why is picking the right litter so important?

It really comes down to three considerations.

The first is the health effects of the litter, both on your fur baby and on you and the people (and other animals) living in your home.

Some cat litters, for example, create dust, which can be a respiratory hazard for you and your fur babies. Others might not properly handle bacteria and can leave your home stinking and your family miserable. Some aren't hazardous directly, but can be damaging to the environment, either from their production or from their disposal.

The second consideration is your cat's preference. Some cats are picky about the litter they use, and either want something similar to what they've used their whole lives, or just want something that doesn't bother their sensitive little toe beans. Some might have been used to finding dirt and sand outside and want something similar inside. Some don't care. But a cat that doesn't like their litter is a cat that's going to "miss" the litter box.

The third concern is cost. Some litters are fairly cheap, while others can be surprisingly expensive for what they are. Sure, we'll pay whatever we need to so our feline friends have the best lives they can, but that doesn't mean we should over-pay if we don't need to.

Balancing these considerations is why you need a resource like this one. So, let's dig into the options and see what we uncover.

Clay Cat Litter

Probably the most common type of cat litter in the world, clay cat litter is cheap, plentiful, and beloved by pet parents everywhere.

Clay litter comes in small pellets of dried-out bentonite clay. It has been on the market since the 1940s and was the first commercial cat litter, in fact.

Cat litter made of clay can come in four different forms:

• Clumping and non-clumping

• No additives and additives

Generally, I advocate for litter with no additives, since these tend to be things like perfumes and deodorizing chemicals that are often unnecessary and can be irritating or harmful to your cat.

Non-clumping litter absorbs moisture, so it coats and dries out your cat's droppings. But, since it doesn't clump, it will eventually saturate, and you'll need to change it more often than with clumping litter. On the flip side, you won't have to scoop it as much (since you toss it more frequently).

Clumping litter sticks to itself with the addition of moisture, so it's not just drying out waste; it's sticking to it and forming an easy-to-scoop mass. You save more litter this way, so you go through it slower.

Clay litter is generally regarded as not eco-friendly because of how the clay is harvested and the fact that it doesn't biodegrade. It's also very heavy and can contain silica dust, which is toxic to you and your cat.

Crystal Cat Litter

Crystal cat litter is something you've definitely encountered in your daily life, even if you don't know it. When you open a package and find a desiccant packet labeled "do not eat"? That's silica gel.

Silica crystal cat litter is made of the same stuff. It's very good at absorbing moisture and then letting that moisture evaporate, which means it dries out pet waste and lets the water go, stifling the growth of bacteria that cause odors.

Crystal litter is light and easy to use, can last a surprisingly long time, and is quite low-maintenance. However, it's very readily tracked everywhere since it's basically crystal sand, and it can be uncomfortable to some cats, especially if they have sensitive paws. It also doesn't clump, so you need to extract solids and stir the litter to avoid problems.

Because of the way the silica is processed, it usually doesn't get dusty or cause respiratory issues, though sometimes it can, especially if it comes from a low-quality brand or supplier. It can also be surprisingly expensive compared to other litter types.

Paper Cat Litter

Many of us of an older generation probably remember having pets growing up, and how often our parents would shred newspapers to line a cage or otherwise deal with all manner of pet-related issues. Well, even though print newspapers are on their way out, paper litter still serves the same purpose.

Paper litter comes in pellet form and is generally made out of recycled paper products, often those very same newspapers. The paper is soaked and washed to remove inks and other contaminants, and the paper is pulped and pressed, then shredded into pellet form.

Since paper is a natural product (it comes from wood, after all), paper litter is biodegradable and renewable. It's relatively non-tracking, though you might need a higher-sided litterbox or an enclosed box to keep it all contained. It's also usually quite affordable.

On the other hand, since the paper pellets are on the larger side, some cats don't like them. Paper is also not very absorbent compared to other litters, and the odor control is… let's say mediocre. You'll also go through a lot of it since it's not very reusable, the way other litter can be.

One potential benefit of paper litter is that it's one of the DIY options, if you have a reliable source of a lot of paper and the time and will to make it yourself. I don't blame you if you don't, but the option is there.

Tofu Cat Litter

If you're used to thinking of tofu as that moist, soft brick of stuff in the vegan food aisle, you're way off the mark. Tofu cat litter isn't really tofu; it's just made of the same base material: soy. It's soybean fibers, processed and extruded into pills or pellets.

As an organic litter, tofu cat litter is susceptible to spoilage if it gets moist. It's also somewhat more expensive than many other cat litters, though that's at least partly because it's a relatively new invention.

Why is it popular? It doesn't produce dust and is non-tracking, so it's largely going to stay in and around the litter box. It's natural, and since soybeans are widely cultivated, the material is readily available. It's also easily biodegradable.

Surprisingly, it's fairly good at clumping. Some claim it can even be flushed down the toilet, though that depends heavily on where you live and what kind of sewer system you have. I wouldn't recommend it.

Walnut Husk Cat Litter

If you've ever lived somewhere where walnuts grow, you know they're prodigious producers with a lot of shell for the relatively small nuts inside. Those shells have to go somewhere, and walnut growers found that they made an acceptable natural cat litter.

Take those walnut shells and grind them down into something coarser than sand but smaller than stones, and you have walnut litter. It's lighter than clay litter (not that that's a high bar to clear), but it has a similar texture. It can be clumping, though not to the extent that clay litter clumps, and it's low on dust. And again, as a natural product, it's biodegradable.

On the other hand, it's pretty easy to track everywhere, and it's brown, which means you need to be thorough with your cleaning so you don't miss something. Like other organic litter, it can also go bad.

Uniquely, walnut shells contain chemicals that naturally bind to and neutralize ammonia, which makes it a naturally deodorizing form of litter that can be surprisingly effective.

Pine Cat Litter

Pine is a soft wood that grows very quickly, which is why it's commonly used for all manner of purposes, from furniture to construction. Scrap pine and pine dust from sawmills can be formed into pellets, and those pellets can be used as cat litter.

Pine has a naturally pleasant scent and is decent at controlling odors, and it's low on dust. It's sustainable and non-toxic as well. On the other hand, it is literally compressed sawdust, which some cats won't like. They might also not like the smell, though that varies from cat to cat. It's also very much non-clumping and can be tricky to clean, since the pine pellets dissolve when wet.

Corn Cat Litter

Corn cat litter is similar to walnut litter. It's a crop we grow in immense quantities, and when it's dried out and crushed, it can be used as a litter with a texture similar to walnut or clay. It's somewhat environmentally friendly since it's biodegradable and renewable, though the corn monoculture issue is another concern to some people.

Corn litter is okay at clumping, it's non-toxic, it has no perfume to it, controls odor decently, and it's low on dust. But it's also vulnerable to spoiling, can track around, and has a certain earthy scent that not everyone likes.

Sand Cat Litter

Outdoors, cats will find patches of loose ground, often sandy ground, to do their business. So why not carry that inside and use sand litter?

Sand litter is natural because it's just sand, but not just any sand will do. You need treated sand, which generally means adding things like baking soda to the litter for clumping and odor control. Sand on its own, after all, doesn't really do anything other than be something your cat can dig in.

Like clay, sand doesn't exactly biodegrade. In a sense, it's the result of other things biodegrading, really. It will also track everywhere and will leave every surface feeling gritty. It can be fine in a pinch or for a very, very picky formerly-feral cat, but beyond that, it doesn't have a lot of redeeming qualities.

If you find sand-based litters that are clumping and deodorizing and all the rest, know that it's either actually a silica litter, or it's full of additives to give it those properties. Be sure to know what you're buying!

What's Your Favorite Cat Litter?

Like I said above, I'm not going to give a firm recommendation here. There are pros and cons to every kind of cat litter, and there are even more I didn't mention (like wheat or hay litters, which aren't substantially different from corn or pine litters), and it heavily depends on what your cat likes the most. Try buying small amounts of different litters and trying them to see what works best.

For that matter, leave me a comment! I'm curious what you've tried, what your opinions are, and what your cat likes (and hates) the most. It's always interesting to see what people are using these days, whether it's still the old classic clay, or something new even I haven't heard of yet.