Arm and Hammer Essentials Natural Litter

Arm and Hammer has a cat litter called Essentials, it is an all natural cat litter. The litter is made with corn product and I have found it to last a lot longer then any of the clay litters. Clay litter is not that great for you or your cat with the dust that it creates and I have found many of the 99% dust free litters still have a decent amount of dust when you pour them.

The Essentials has worked the best for me between keeping the odor down and also no dust. It is lightweight so the bag that is about 10 lbs will last longer then the 20 lb container of clay litter. I can't express how much better this has worked for our household and it is all natural and better for my kitty too.

You can buy it in stores and I usually buy it at Walmart since it is a little cheaper there.

 

I've actually never clarified this since you point it out. What is the difference between the scoopable and regular litter exactly. I mean, I would think they are all scoopable?? But perhaps I don't understand what the definition is. I thought it was just an indication it would clump so that you can remove (scoop out) the urine spots easily?

Also, I'm curious as to what makes the natural litters considered natural? What components are present? I assume the others are bad for you, your family and cats/other pets because the dusty litters have a higher chance of inhalation with use. Is that most of the problem? Perhaps other chemicals present that aren't pleasant as well, I'm sure. As this is often the case.

 

Essentials litter is made with all corn products and does not have dust when you pour it. The corn has many uses so you are also not hurting the environment to make it. It doesn't contain anything that will hurt you, your cat or your family. Clay litter is something they have to mine for the clay and it creates dust in the cat pan which can get into the lungs. The clay litter is also not good for the environment because of the process they go through to obtain this clay. Regular litter is probably not the right term for me to use, I probably should have picked not scoopable. I was referring to the regular clay litter that is not scoopable. This litter will not clump the urine and if you try to scoop it, it just spreads throughout the pan. It is cheaper because you have to throw it out every couple of days since you cannot scoop the urine out.

There are different non scoopable litters, some are newspaper based too. I hope I answered your questions!

 

Oh! Many thanks dconklin for the clarification. This is good information to know if I ever get back to owning a cat and am looking into litter. I always wondered how people managed to choose what litter is best for them and their cat.

I wonder how much more expensive does the Essentials litter end up being because it is a corn containing product. I know corn can be a tough one a lot of the time since there have been so many uses for it. Sadly, the costs of grits have gotten rather outlandish since corn ethanol and many other things have come to light for using it. Although I believe in the right location corn tortilla has managed to remain reasonably priced, however there could be a portion of flour to it that has increased to off set things....

I'm not sure I understand how it being made of corn avoids the dusting property either, I had always assumed that was a function of how the litter is made (is powdery vs crystalline or clumpy). I never realized clay litter was the name for the either and that they had to mine it as well. Are there any home products you know of that could be used instead of these options? That are still fairly reliable naturally?? Newspaper based sounds like an interesting idea.

 

The dust is from the clay, not the process of making litter. If you have the newspaper litter, there is no dust either.

The Essentials is actually about the same price as regular litter but the 10.5 ounce bag lasts longer then the jugs of regular litter. At least it did for us. So it really saved us money in the long run.

 

I just started using this myself trying to eliminate allergens for my asthmatic kitty. I really like it. No dust, clumps just as well as the clay scoopable stuff, lasts longer, and eliminates odor well. It is a little more expensive here but it last longer so it really doesn't matter. It is really perfume-y when you first pour it in which was a concern for me but the smell doesn't last long, maybe an hour or so.

 

I have not come across any non-scoopable cat litter yet unless I count home-made litter boxes filled with sand. The cat litter which I use doesn't really have that much dust either. I suppose that corn litter works but somehow I don't feel quite right about using something that can be made into food.

 

It's made from the cob not the actual corn so you're not wasting food. I would have been concerned if they were doing that!

The non scoopable litter is usually sold in big bags because you have to dump the whole box every few days and costs a lot less per bag. But as you are wasting most of it having to dump it, it really isn't cheaper in the long run. It also doesn't do much for the smells and odors. It looks like a type of gravel.

Scoopable litter looks more like sand or very fine gravel.

 

Oh, really? Than that's different. The cob is actually something that's thrown away anyway. However since they are non-scoopable, doesn't seem to be such a good material for cat litter.

 

It is scoopable, it is just not clay litter. I find that it clumps better then the clay does. The clay often leaves little pieces behind when you are scooping, and the corn litter did not from my experience.

As HappyRocinante said, the smell is a little strong when you first pour it in but it goes away quickly. It has a stronger corn smell. It works for me better then any of the clay litters that I used and it lasts longer then other litters have.

 

If it's scoopable, then it's worth looking into. We plant corn where I used to live and the cobs were just thrown away. Maybe just some rudimentary equipment is needed to turn the cob into cat litter.

 

I am not sure exactly how they make it, but I know it is made with corn and all natural. Maybe you can figure out how to make your own litter and save some money I find it clumps better, but I have just had some bad luck with other litters.

 

I think I will just try to dry the cob and cut it into small bits and pieces. The main thing is whether it would actually absorb the cat urine.

Just thought of something. We can get dried coconut husk very easily here. Actually there are factories producing dried coconut husk cut into small chips for use in planting flowers. Maybe that can be used as cat litter, too. Definitely very much cheaper.

 

I use "The World's Best Cat Litter" that is made from corn. Don't know what part of corn it comes from, but it's yellow particles. It clumps fine and coats the number 2's as well. Since I got a second cat, we changed to the same make but a different blend that is suppose to help obsorb smells better. It works just as well. It says its dust free but there is still a dusty residue. I use this product because its flushable for one, and also, when cats groom, there are times when litter gets caught in between their little toes that they injest. Eating clay, intentionally or not, will plug them up for good besides just not being healthy for them. For a 28lb bag, it cost about $32 USD. We used the recycled newspaper stuff when Gemma was declawed. We didn't like nor did Gemma, but it wasn't as dusty as the corn litter. Its not nearly as user freindly as the World's Best.

 

I use Arm and Hammer Essentials and I like it. I have used a variety of different clay ones in the past but I do find them way too dusty and with a lot of them they track the liter around the house and makes
for a messy clean up. I stick with the Arm and Hammer now and I always buy it at Walmart because the price is really good there.

 

I been using Tidy Cat and I don't really seeing it being dusty but I will look into that one