Does everyone prefer the regular formula with the sifting litterbox or do you use the clumping kind?  Which do you think is better?

Hi there

I don’t use it, but my two cats do! I am just the maid here, do the shopping. What I buy is the regular formula in the large bag, mand it lasts a very long time (almost a month) two cats using the product.
I have tried the clumping only once because I was out of my area and saw it and tried it. It was very acceptable, seemed to be used up faster though.

Have yourself a great day!

I’ve only used the Original formula - all I’ve ever seen available in Canada.  But I love it, the smell is great and not tracked everywhere in the paws!

I’ve used the original formula for several years now. I only recently started to see the clumping formula on the shelves, and then only at Target, though I imagine it’s at the pet stores too. My brood are perfectly happy with the original, so I don’t see a need to switch just yet. What’s with this sifting litterbox? Is it the one one the website? I’ve seen a few sifting boxes out there, but I wasn’t sure how they’d work with the pellets. That and my Mooshu is a big kitty who likes to dig a lot, so I have to make sure any box I get is big enough for him.

All in all I am VERY happy with the Pine!! It was a lifesaver after the hurricanes in ‘04. I took a small bag with me each time we evacuated, put some in a small travel-size box and used the rest of the bag to help prop it up for when mr big shot stood up on the rim to go. Anyone else have a male cat who feels the need to pee on the litterbox wall?? Mooshu may have been having size issues, but you could never tell we had cats in the hotel room! The hotel was very pet-friendly - I even saw great danes being loaded in - but after a few days of hunkering down, you could really tell some people didn’t have it so good!

Coming back home was the true test! We lost power for 2 weeks - twice! - and didn’t have clean running water for a goodly chunk of either of those times. Can you imagine… try putting a normal clay-filled litterbox for two scared-out-of-their-wits felines in a hot, humid, dark shuttered house baking in the Florida heat with no water or A/C for two weeks… *WHEW!!!* I’d been to other houses like that - the stank just smacked you upside the head when you open the door! But not my house!! :D The only thing that still beat you up was the heat and humidity!  It was suprising how much FP controlled the odor, escpecially since we were scooping sporadically by fading flashlight and couldn’t tell if we were getting everything or not. I did notice a touch more wood-y pine-y scent, but then again, that could have been from all the plywood…

i use the original, and love it!  however, i go through the litter faster than the bags and you guys say...is it because i dont have a sifting litterbox?  i only have one cat ( i use two boxes as i have two levels) and i change them weekly because it seems so sawdusty.
amy

I too just use the original.  It works well for us and I do not have a sifting litterbox.  I just follow the directions on the FP product bag.

Hi there!
I use the clumping because it is closer to what they had before.  I am interested in trying the other kind.  However, my cats did not take well to the crystal stuff I tried, so I’m not sure if they would like the bigger pellets.  How would you guys go about trying to acclimate them to the pellets?
Hope all are having a good day.
Kayti

I never had to do much to get my cats used to anything when changing litters, I guess they’re just not that picky. I did follow the instructions and put a layer of pellets over their existing litter (the all-slilca beads at the time) but I only did that for one week rather than several since they took to it so rapidly. Week 2 was full-on FP. Honestly, with my cats I think all I have to do was pour something diggable in a box and let them have at it!

As for how long it lasts me, I have two cats and I change out the litter every two weeks, just like on the instructions. I sometimes take a little longer if I’m being a bad mommy and let work exhaustion get the better of me for a day or two. *smacks hand* It does get sawdusty, but that’s the point, you just keep the pellets towards the top. I did put a de-tracking mat outside the box to catch some of the excess sawdust, but it seems to fall off pretty fast: I only have dust near the litterbox, it doesn’t track all over the house. I don’t have the sifting box (as already mentioned above) but I think I’m going to get one when it’s time to switch out boxes. I think it might make things a little easier one me, but I don’t think the cats will care one way or the other.

I didn’t have problems switching litters, so I guess I’d recommend following the instructions on the bag, though if your kitties are fussy you may need to keep adding a little more FP over a few more weeks than I had to do. If you have two litterboxes, I’d probably do as someone else already posted… can’t remember which thread… and put one box of regular and one box of FP out so they can get used to the texture and all. The pellets aren’t hard or sharp, they’re just bigger than the granules of most litterbox fillers out there. I personally find it less scratchy than the clay stuff, and you don’t get that big cloud of nastiness kicked back up in your face. I think it should be a little easier on you elvenkayt, since you’ve already been using the clumping kind for a little while… they’ll already be used to the whole Pine thing. Perhaps put a layer or two of the pellets under the clumping stuff and see how it goes?

Hey! That poster was you!!

Yes, that was me!  I’ve never successfully transitioned from one texture of litter to another.  It always fails.  I didn’t even think to slowly add it to the current stuff, I always just tried the second box swap.  Thanks for the suggestion and I’ll let ya know how it goes. 

And a raspberry right back at ya!
Kayti

fruit is good for you…

Definately let us know how it goes. I remember having to do the slowly but surely method with my pickier cats a looong looong time ago, and that was just switching from one brand of clay to another, and from regular to clumping. Some cats are just more sensitive about these things. But since your brood are already using the clumping feline pine,and thats basically the texture the pellet FP turns into, it should be a little easier for you. Just get a small bag of the original and add it little by little, Id put most on the bottom, where they’ll notice it after they dig in, but I’d sprinkle a few pellets on top. I probably wouldn’t add more until they seem to be fully ok with it, and if anyone starts acting up, reduce the amount right back to where they were comfortable with it.

Hope it work out for you!!

I’ve used Feline Pine Original since 1994 or 1995. It’s the only “store bought” litter I’ve ever used. I used to put wood shavings in the litterbox when I had horses and we bought shavings by the truck load, which killed the urine odor better than anything in my friends’ litter boxes.

I started using the Scoop when I discovered a kitten I was fostering didn’t like the pellets. The shelter had given me a bag of plain clay litter, but after one day, I couldn’t stand the stench and switched the kittens to Feline Pine.

I’ve converted almost every cat owner who visits my house. When they find out I have 8 litter boxes, and they can’t smell one 10 feet from them, that is in dire need of changing at the end of the month, they ask what I use and where to get it.

When I start catching little whiffs of urine odor when I walk into a room with a litterbox, I know its time to change litter. Usually, I change the “pee” boxes once a month and the “poop” boxes every 6 weeks. Yes, my cats use different boxes for each function! There’s some overlap, but two boxes are definitely designated by my cats as urinals!