The Best Cat Litter for Multiple Cats: Review & Comparison

Pros of Clumping Litters

When you are looking for the best type of cat litter for multiple cats, it’s important to understand what makes us select litters that clump in the first place. These are far and away the most popular type of cat litter, and for good reason! They have many pros. Let’s go over them.

The first advantage of a clumping cat litter is that it clumps up when it’s made wet. This is a clear benefit to you because it makes it easier to find urine within a litter box. When you can find it more easily, you can also remove it more easily. This makes urine cleanup quick and easy. You can simply scoop out the urine clumps just as you would with regular feces.

The second advantage is that this process leads to your litter staying cleaner for longer. Since the urine clumps up and stays isolated, you can easily remove it, leaving behind clean litter. This definitely helps you save money and let your litter stay clean and last longer.

Having your litter last longer is a huge benefit to those with multiple cats because of the savings that they will experience. Owning multiple cats can be fun, but it can also be very expensive. This is one of the ways that you can cut down on the costs of being the owner of multiple cats. Litter might not seem like a large expenditure, but it definitely adds up over time.

Disadvantages of Clumping Litters

While litters that clump have a lot of advantages that far outweigh the negatives, you should know any potential drawbacks that come with clumping litters anyway. There’s not much that we can do about changing the characteristics of a clumping litter, but if we are aware of the weaknesses up front, we can take steps to minimize the negative effects.

The lone disadvantage that we can identify with a clumping litter is that they could pose a hazard to kittens. If you find yourself asking, “What is the best cat litter for multiple cats?”, you should probably also be asking yourself, “What safety features does this litter have for my cats?”.

The reason that a clumping litter poses a risk to kittens is that they clump up and make it easy for your kitten to eat the litter, if they’re into that sort of thing. Some kittens do this because they are oblivious to the fact that the litter not there for them to eat. Others are just having fun. Whatever the reason, it’s important that you keep an eye on your kitten and try to prevent them from eating the clumps of litter whenever possible.

They do pose significant health risk to kittens when ingested. The clumps can clog up the intestinal tract and cause health issues. You should supervise your young cat as much as possible when they are using a clumping litter. Training them as soon as possible will help them to realize that the litter is not there to be food.

Features to Look for in the Best Cat Litter for Multiple Cats

When you are looking for the best cat litter multiple cats, there are some features and characteristics that you’re going to want to check on to make sure that the cat litter will suit the needs of you and your cats. Not each of these is essential, and you may choose to ignore some of them. However, the amount of features that a cat litter has will be essential to determining the value.

A good value cat litter will have multiple features that make it an attractive option while still maintaining an affordable price. It’s crucial that you evaluate multiple cat litter options and check on the features of each to determine if your cat litter is a good deal and what could be improved about your cat litter.

Cat Attract in the Best Multi-Cat Litter

Cat attract is the first feature that we want to point out. If you’ve never heard of cat attract, you may be confused. Cat attract is not always the most publicized feature, but if you are trying to teach a cat it can be an invaluable tool.

Cat attract is an additive that is present in some clumping litters. This additive helps to attract cats to do their business in the box. While this may not seem necessary for grown cats who already know how to use the litter box consistently, it’s a great feature for those who are introducing new kittens into a home that already has cats.

Kittens can sometimes be discouraged to use the litter box when they are put into a home with multiple cats. This is because cats are often very territorial when it comes to this and it could frighten the new kitten and make it so that they are hesitant to learn.

Cat attract can help along this process and make sure that your cat learns that the litter box is a good place, not a scary one.

High-Absorbency in the Best Litter for Multiple Cats

The next feature that you want to look at is the level of absorbency in your prospective kitty litter for multiple cats. Generally speaking, cat litters that are made with high absorbency are better for multiple cats. That’s why many cat litters that are advertised as being suitable for multiple cats have a very high absorbency threshold.

The reason that high-absorbency cat litter is your best bet if you have multiple cats is because it has a higher capacity for urine. A more absorbent litter means that it can hold more urine, which means you don’t have to change out the litter box quite as much.

Much of the strategy for having multiple cats is managing and optimizing your workload when it comes to waste control. Having a cat litter with high-absorbency is one of those small things that can help a lot, and it doesn’t even take any extra effort from you.

When you are shopping for a cat litter for multiple cats, be sure to pay attention to what it advertises in regards to the absorbency. Remember that a high absorbency is good and will help you get more of your day back!

Odor Control in the Best Kitty Litter for Multiple Cats

Another highly advertised feature of many kitty litters is the quality of odor control that they provide. Some cat litters advertise that they can virtually eliminate cat odor while others merely claim to contain it. Some don’t combat odor at all.

When you are considering cat litters for homes with multiple cats, the odor control is going to be a very important feature for you. Having multiple cats in a home can cause a lot of different smells, and they are rarely good smells!

Maintaining and cleaning your home with multiple cats is hard enough, so you can help yourself in a big way by getting a cat litter that does some of the work for you. That’s exactly what a cat litter with odor control does. It helps to neutralize odors continuously so that you can have a cleaner, better-smelling home and your cats can live in increased cleanliness when it comes to the odor around their litter.

How Does It Work?

The way odor control works is that is neutralizes odors through absorption properties and it contains the right ingredients to mask the smell of cat waste. Sometimes, this includes carbon or baking soda.

One thing to watch out for is that cats sometimes do not like to use these types of litters. They may find that the smell is not suitable or pleasurable for them and refuse to use it. Though this is rare, it may be best to avoid these types of odor-masking litters for cats that are just trying to learn litter boxes. Once they have it down, that might be the best time to introduce a odor-fighting litter.

If you must have an odor control litter, but have a kitten that is still training on a litter box, you should know that they sometimes prefer carbon over the baking soda smell. It’s not really known why they do, but it’s a helpful little tip if you have a kitten and odor control is a must-have for you.

Above all else, remember that while an odor control litter is great for the homeowner, it’s not always great for the cat. Cats far prefer litters that are free of chemicals and strange smells, so you should always consider that when selecting a litter. A litter will not be very effective if your cats refuse to use it, so be sure to get a litter that has a tolerable smell for your cats and hopefully you’ll find a happy medium ground.

Low Dust in the Best Multiple Cat Litter

The amount of dust that your cat litter creates is very seldom a concern at the forefront of a buyer’s mind, but you’ll realize how important it is once you start to use your cat litter. This problem is amplified when there is a lot of foot traffic coming in and out of the litter box from multiple cats.

Though dust can occur whenever your cats disturb the surface of the litter, this is mostly contained by the top of the litter box, if you have such a box. The problem of dust most often occurs when you are pouring the litter into the box after a litter cleaning.

A lot of dust can kick up in the air when you put litter in your box, especially if the litter that you are using has a lot of small fragments and is very dusty. The dust in the air isn’t good for your lungs, the cat’s lungs, or the smell of your home. Some cat litters mask the smell of urine quite well, but you still don’t want your whole home to smell like litter!

When you are picking out a cat litter for multiple cats, make sure to try and figure out how dusty the cat litter will be. Reading online reviews helps a lot with this, and you can also see through the packaging of some cat litters to get an idea of what you’re dealing with.

The amount of dust is an often neglected feature, but it deserves as much attention as any factor in the decision making process for finding the best product.

Minimal Tracking in the Best Clumping Cat Litter for Multiple Cats

Tracking is another feature that is a little bit neglected when people shop for cat litters. It becomes a real problem when you have multiple cats entering and exiting multiple times a day. Tracking refers to the cat litter residue and debris that gets stuck on the feet of the cat while they are in the litter box, but rubs off almost immediately when they exit.

This can create a trail of gross cat litter starting at your litter boxes and spreading throughout the house. Most people don’t know that there is a way to combat this and just accept having to clean it up each day. However, your selection of cat litter can have an effect on how much litter is tracked from the litter box to the rest of the house.

It is best to select a very fine cat litter to avoid tracking as much as possible. Finely ground cat litter won’t lodge and stick as easily in your cat’s paws, so most of it comes off before they ever exit your litter box. In addition, the specks that do come off outside of the litter box will be harder to see and less noticeable, meaning you won’t have to clean nearly as often to hide the litter tracking coming from your home’s litter boxes.

Another way that you can combat increased tracking from multiple cats being in your home is to use a litter mat. Litter mats are small mats that are placed in front of the entryway to a litter box and help to control the amount of litter that gets into your home. The mat helps to shake and scrape off some of the litter that is stuck on their feet after exiting the litter box so that they don’t get as much on your floor.

By carefully selecting your litter type and composition and by using a litter mat, you should be able to pretty effectively negate litter tracking throughout your home.

Other Considerations when Picking Cat Litter for Multiple Cats

Now that we have the main considerations out of the way, we want to give you some other tips to make your litter shopping experience much more successful. These considerations won’t be relevant to everyone, but you should heed our advice here if you are trying to plan a household that’s going to house many different cats.

Do You Need Multiple Litter Boxes?

This should be a questions that every cat owner should be asking themselves. If you are going to keep multiple cats, you may very well need multiple litter boxes. Obviously, if you are going to have multiple litters, you will want to buy enough cat litter to accommodate that.

With an increased amount of cat litter and boxes, try to shop for deals to lessen the burden on yourself. You can also switch cat litters if your current one is not economical to buy in bulk. You should try to find a cat litter that both delivers good value and will be affordable for you to buy in larger quantities.

If you don’t know if you need multiple litter boxes or are considering it, you should know that having multiple litter boxes in a house with multiple cats is highly recommended. It will help to cut down on fighting and make your cats less territorial. If possible, you should definitely explore the possibility of getting multiple litter boxes for your multiple cats.

Cats Are Picky

Any experienced cat owner knows this, but it bears repeating when we’re talking about selecting a cat litter for your multiple cats. Cats are very picky regarding smells, texture, and everything else that could be considered a characteristic of different cat litters. For that reason, it’s recommended that you buy your cat litter in a small quantity at first to ensure that your cats feel comfortable using it.

If you buy a cat litter in large quantities and it doesn’t work out, you have a lot of wasted money. Always make sure that the cat litter you buy will be suitable for your cats before you commit to buying very large amounts.

Some of the properties that cats might be picky about include clumping vs non-clumping, odor control properties, and even the consistency of the litter.

Be Wary of Allergies

This is perhaps the most important additional consideration of them all. We want to be pleased with the litter that we decide on, but it shouldn’t ever come at the cost of our cat’s comfort. Many cats are allergic to some of the ingredients and dust that is used in many mainstream litters. If this is the case, you should get creative to find solutions that don’t cause your cat to have an allergic reaction.

It’s important that if you do observe an allergic reaction from your cat from using the litter, you change it out quickly and find a solution that will not cause them health problems.