Clay Litters

Pros:

  • Sifts well 
  • Good clumping strength (typically)

Cons:

  • Heavy
  • Sticky/messy— it’s clay =p
  • Typically clay loses freshness quickly
  • Often contains dangerous chemicals/perfumes
  • Contains Silica dust
  • Generally unhealthy for cats

Boxscoop with Clay litter:

There are thousands of different brands of clay litter that range from heavy to very heavy. We recommend a 2-3” litter depth at the center point. At 2” depth it will be easy to sift; at 3-3.5” it will start to become much more difficult, depending on specific brand/formula. Please adjust the litter depth until you find a depth that is efficient and easy to scoop through. Tip: mix 30-50% of grass litter in with the clay to greatly increase clay litter performance.

Boxscoop works very well with most clay litters, but we don’t endorse clay litter. To see why, check out the very bottom of this page after the video.

*** Dr. Elsey's Ultra Premium is much more difficult to scoop than other clay litters. Mixing in a grass litter will improve its performance substantially *** The clay litter in the below video is a basic TidyCats litter. ***

Five reasons we prefer alternative clumping litters like corn, grass, wheat, and walnut:

  1. Urine is 95% water 5% waste. Clumping clay litter is made from Bentonite clay which absorbs, holds and seals the urine in a clump; most alternative litters absorb the urine in a clump, hold the waste and allow the water portion to evaporate. Generally, alternative litters stay fresh much longer (saves $ also).
  2. Bentonite clay contains silica dust— silica dust is known to cause silicosis of the lungs in cats, dogs and humans. It’s also classified as a carcinogen. 
  3. Bentonite clay is produced from clearing wildlife, trees, plants, soil and then mining the clay beneath. It leaves the land useless after. 
  4. Bentonite clay is not biodegradable; in the US alone, approximately 2 million tons end up in landfills each year.
  5. Most clay litters contain toxic chemicals and perfumes. When cats lick themselves clean they ingest those chemicals. 

Important:

If you decide to change to an alternative litter we have several recommended on our instruction page, plus there are many more on the market! Please though, switch your cats slowly. First get them used to Boxscoop and then start mixing in 30-50% of the new alternative litter with the old clay and continue topping up over time until all the clay is gone.