The 5 Best Cat Litters, Tested and Reviewed

To help you find the purrfect cat litter, we tested 29 litter products from a variety of brands, made from a range of materials, including clumping clay, absorbent crystals, and biodegradable pellets. Each litter is tested with real cats and kittens, and scored by humans on important factors from odor control to tracking. We also talked to the owner of a non-profit cat rescue and full-time professional cat sitter—two people very familiar with the pros and cons of different types of litters—to get the scoop on their favorite types of cat litters and what to consider when picking the best litter for your kitty.

We’ll start by saying that our tester and their cats were so impressed with this litter that they switched-out their usual litter autoship for Boxiecat’s BoxiePro Probiotic Clumping Clay Litter. If you haven’t heard of Boxiecat, it’s a premium litter brand with several styles of litter, including versions with natural probiotics that “self-clean” the litter by consuming the bacteria introduced by your cat’s waste. Our tester cats included a 13-year-old domestic shorthair with sensitive paws, 4.5-year-old Maine Coon, and 4.5-year-old domestic shorthair who only likes using gravel-style litters. Outr tester used the litter in three types of litter boxes: a Play On Litter Pan, a plastic underbed storage container, and in an automatic litter box.

Right off the bat, they noticed that the litter was very fine with a rounded shape and that it had no noticeable scent. They said that two of the three cats used the litter box within an hour of replacing the litter with Boxiecat. They also mentioned that their kitty with sensitive paws seemed to prefer the feel on her paws over previous litters they’ve used. There’s still a little bit of dust and tracking with this litter, but our tester said they found it to be substantially reduced. They also praised the odor control—and that it even held up after not being scooped for three days in-a-row—but that it did lose a bit of odor-controlling strength toward the end of the month after being used in a house with three cats.

One standout feature of this litter is its use of probiotics to break down bacteria in the litter box, resulting in less odor and ick. When your cat uses the litter box, the probiotics activate and “eat” the bacteria from your cat’s waste. We especially love this in terms of tracking. We all know how gross it can be to find little remnants of used litter on our furniture and floors. With Boxiecat BoxiePro Probiotic litters, it feels (and is) more hygienic. Our tester also said that the clumping power of this clay litter was notable and made it easy to scoop. The biggest concern our tester had was the price, which they said is nearly twice as much as their previous litter, but they felt the odor control and soft texture of the litter made it worth the upgrade.

Available in 16-pound and 28-pound bags

Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal Multi-Cat Litter efficiently binds together upon contact with moisture and remains intact while scooping. The small granules have a texture similar to coarse sand and, remarkably, we found it produces little to no dust. Plus, it doesn't track as much as many other brands we tested either, so you won't see little paw prints of dust, or too many pieces of litter on your floor.

Clump & Seal Multi-Cat is technically scented, but it's very faint—the Arm & Hammer litter smells mildly like baking soda, with a floral, fresh laundry overtone that's hardly noticeable unless your nose is right on top of it. Still, while it's not noticeably or heavily scented, it is effective at covering up odors, even when we left the box un-scooped for a few days (sorry Wally!).

True to its name our multi-cat households loved the Clump & Seal Multi-Cat formula, but it can get a little confusing when you see the Clump & Seal label on store shelves, since there's a dizzying variety of similar sounding products, including Clump & Seal Slide, Clump & Seal Slide Multi-Cat, Clump & Seal MicroGuard, Clump & Seal with Odor Blasters, and Platinum Clump & Seal. We've tested six different Arm & Hammer formulas, and so far the Clump & Seal Multi-Cat is our favorite. It seems we’re not alone, either—professional cat sitter and owner of Such a Treat PDX, Jessica Cornella, says that varieties of the Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal line are the most popular among her clients, too.

For proper disposal, this litter should be placed in the trash and never flushed. The litter comes in a recyclable cardboard box with a handle for easy pouring and storage. It's moderately priced and readily available at a variety of retailers. It's also available in 14, 19, 28, and 38-pound boxes.

Available in 14-pound, 19-pound, 28-pound, and 38-pound boxes

How We Picked

Testing: We tested 29 cat litter products, from clumping clay to pellets, with dozens of feline testers lending their expertise. We purchased each cat litter and sent it to a volunteer's home, along with a written methodology to guide them through long-term testing.

Testers documented their cats' and their own initial impressions of the litter assigned to their home. For several weeks, testers evaluated their designated cat litter taking note of the manufacturer's claims on features such as fragrance, odor masking, clumping quality, level of dust, amount of tracking, and how well cats took to the new litter. Finally, our testers observed how effective the litter was at helping keep their cat's bathroom tidy and ready for the next visit.

After reviewing feedback paired with numerical scores across different categories, we categorized and ranked our selections.

More We Recommend

Best Biodegradable: Tuft & Paw is a pellet-style litter made from soybean byproducts. This tofu litter is a solid fragrance-free choice that dissolves in water and has remarkable odor-absorbing abilities. We love that it was not only effective at eliminating odors but also produced no dust. The smell pellet shape also proved to drastically limit tracking since we found it didn’t tend to stick to our tester cat’s paws as much as other litters.

This litter turns urine waste into scoopable clumps, but does not cover solid waste—a slight issue for our older cats that had become accustomed to their experience with sand-like litter. One such cat (who shall not be named in order to protect their identity) reacted to the new tofu litter with an act of silent protest where they relieved themself outside of the litter box for the first time since kittenhood. That said, some cats may need a few days to get used to the change in texture and smell.

Initially, this litter was only available via a monthly subscription through the Tuft and Paw website, but it's now available for one-time purchases, in one size only,  from major online vendors. Depending on the number of cats in your home, a monthly supply will consist of one to three resealable bags.

Available in 9.5-pound resealable bags

Best Crystals: Fresh Step Crystals Premium Scented Cat Litter is made with silica gel which fully absorbs cat pee and the associated odor. This crystal litter has a large size that is more akin to small pebbles versus sand or gravel. This bigger format prevents tracking exceptionally well, a huge plus, particularly for households with hard floors. We experienced absolutely no tracking or dust throughout our real-world testing.

Although this litter does not officially have health monitoring properties (but this version does), when I used this litter with my cat, it inadvertently alerted me to urinary issues twice, possibly saving my cat’s life the first time. Since the litter absorbs urine and the pieces are large, I was able to notice when the clear and white pieces turned pink and red, a sign that my cat was peeing blood, prompting me to take her to the vet where she was diagnosed with bladder stones. One drawback to the large size of these litter pieces is that they can be harsh on sensitive paws or young kittens with smaller paws. That said, we tested this litter with a kitten, and it worked out so well that our tester said they will be using this litter on the regular as the cat grows up.

This litter is our favorite crystal litter because of its approachable price and the fact that it doesn’t require being changed-out as frequently as clay litter. Plus, the larger size pieces do a great job at absorbing urine and odor for the duration of the litter’s use. Overall, it’s a fantastic bargain that’s widely available, and we like that it’s available in a convenient 8-pound option for folks who only have one litter box in their house. Daily maintenance of scooping out poop and stirring litter is recommended, and every three to four weeks, the box of litter should be fully refreshed. On average, crystal litter, like this one from Fresh Step, tend to last longer than clay-based litter.

Available in 8-pound and 14-pound bags

Best Value: Our tester said the 12-pound jug had a similar feel as a bulk-size laundry detergent, and it was easy to open and pour with the twist-off top cap and handle. One of the top things they appreciated about this litter was how strong and well it clumped, stating that it clumped urine better than any litter they’ve used before and didn’t leave any soppy wet parts. They tested it with their 4.5-year-old cat who is a repeat offender when it comes to kicking litter around. Unfortunately, they didn’t notice less of a mess with this litter, which was used in a covered litter box.

They also noted that there was no odor during the testing period, which is likely attributed to the litter’s antibacterial properties which it says eliminates 99% of odors. According to the company, this was tested by a 3rd-party lab, which discovered that this litter kills three types of bacteria and prevents odor-causing bacteria from forming. Although this litter is priced significantly lower than other litters, our tester was also delighted to find that it lasted longer than their regular litter, even though they used less litter. In fact, Cat’s Pride Antibacterial Scented Litter is designed so that its 12-pound jug has the same function as 20 pounds of similar clay litters—yet another reason why this litter is a great value.

Available in a 12-pound jug

Other Cat Litters We Tested

Pretty Litter Cat Litter: Pretty Litter changed the market when they came out with their revolutionary color-changing fine-grain silica litter that helps to identify possible urinary health issues. We have been big fans of the health monitoring capabilities and the litter’s generally good odor control, but the non-clumping version can get stinky and turn yellow after a couple of weeks (especially in multi-cat households). We look forward to testing the new clumping version, however.

Arm & Hammer Cloud Control Platinum Multi-Cat Clumping Litter: This litter shockingly delivers on its no-dust promise, and it uses Arm & Hammer baking soda to help control and neutralize nasty odors. However, we’ve tested many Arm & Hammer litters and found this one to be one of our least favorite when it comes to reliable clumping.

Ökocat Paper Pellet Cat Litter: This biodegradable litter originally snagged a spot on our top list as our ‘best pellets’ pick, but it has been usurped by subsequent pellet-style litters we’ve since tested. As an absorbing litter, it has notable odor control, but we didn’t like that when it tracked, the larger pellets were noticeable and a bit unhygienic.

Scoop Away Unscented Clumping Clay Cat Litter: This clumping cat litter is a fragrance-free, reasonably-priced option that successfully minimizes odors with an anti-ammonia additive, has very low dust, and is still effective when used in multi-cat households. We did notice a little bit of tracking, though it primarily stayed near the litter box.

Purina Tidy Cats Naturally Strong Clumping Clay Litter: Made from natural clay, this fragrance-free clumping litter has long been a favorite of ours, particularly as one of our top choices for eco-friendly litter. Activated charcoal keeps litter odorless, there’s practically no dust, and the clumping power is strong—almost too strong, sometimes, as we’ve found we’ve had to go in with more than one round of scooping for side-lodged waste.

Sustainably Yours Natural Cat Litter Large Grain: Another eco-friendly pick, this litter is made from 100% cassava, and works well at masking odors, though we’ve noticed that power fades significantly as the litter ages between full refreshes. The larger grains provide less tracking than the smaller-grained versions, but we found it doesn’t quite clump as rock hard.

Why Trust The Spruce Pets?

This story was updated with real tested results by K.Alex Beaven, a lifelong cat owner and current support human to @hellomisterbo. Other stories Alex has written for The Spruce Pets include The Best Kitten Foods, Best Bone Broth for Cats, and Best Lickable Cat Treats.

We also also picked the brains of two people with extensive first-hand litter experience, Devin Bennett, owner of the nonprofit cat rescue Here Have a Kitten, and Jessica Cornella, owner and professional cat sitter from Such a Treat PDX. Jessica scoops and sniffs different cat litters on a daily basis, while Devin is well-versed on managing different types of litters and subsequent odors in a multi-multi-multi-cat household where the cats are always changing.