Clumping cat litter is one of the most popular types of cat litter. It’s easy to clean, reduces waste and saves money.
In this buying guide, we’re going to take a look at the best clumping cat litter.
At a Glance: Our 7 Top Picks
If you want a quick comparison of our top picks, have a look at the table below. If you want to know more about that product, click the ‘Read Our Review’ link.
Dr Else’s Ultra: The Best Clumping Cat Litter
4.4 out of 5.0 stars
Dr. Elsey’s Ultra produced very little dust, clumped well and was excellent at trapping odours. It also tracked very little.
Ever Clean Extra Strong: The Best Scented Option
4.4 out of 5.0 stars
Ever Clean’s scented clumping litter does a fantastic job of trapping odours. Even soiled litter smelt fresh.
Catsan Ultra: Good Value & Well Reviewed By Users
4.2 out of 5.0 stars
Catsan Ultra is well-reviewed by users and for good reason. It does everything well and it’s also very well priced.
Cat’s Best Wood Litter: The Best Biodegradable Litter
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Cat’s Best wood-based clumping litter produced very little dust, clumped well and locked in odours. And it’s compostable.
The World’s Best Cat Litter: Best Flushable Clumping Litter
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
If you’re looking for cat litter you can flush, The World’s Best Cat Litter is the best. It clumps well but won’t block your waste pipes.
Premium Tofu Litter: Best For Kittens & Cats Who Eat Litter
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Safe to eat so perfect for kittens and cats that have a tendency to eat their litter. It absorbs liquid and locks in smells very well too.
Sanicat: The Best Cheap Clumping Cat Litter
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
If you’re looking for a cheap clumping litter, choose Sanicat. OK, it’s not quite as good as others, but it’s nearly £1 per kilo cheaper than ur second cheapest option.
Why Should You Trust Our Recommendations?
At Pet Checkers, we spend every day looking after all kinds of cats. And that means we scoop a LOT of litter!
This puts us in the unique position of being able to use and test lots of different cat litters on a daily basis.
We also have close ties to various cat charities like Cats Protection who use even more litter than we do. This means we can consult with them to get their thoughts and recommendations.
All of our recommendations are based on real research, testing and experience.
How We Picked
When choosing which cat litters to test, we did three things;
- Leaned on our own experience as professional pet carers
- Talked with our customers to get their thoughts
- Looked on consumer websites like Amazon to read real customer reviews
This gave us a range of litters to test.
How We Tested
We tested our chosen cat litter in two stages;
1. In Our Lab at Pet Checkers HQ
We took several litter trays and poured 3 inches of cat litter into each one. We then graded each cat litter on;
- Cost per kilo – we calculated the average cost of buying litter online. Then we weighed the bag to get the cost per kilo.
- How dusty it was – we took note of how much dust there was when pouring the litter into the tray.
- How well it clumped – we syringed 100ml of water into each litter tray and left it for 15 minutes.
We then took the best performers and tested them in a live environment.
2. In a Live Environment
We chose a few trusted customers whose cats either already used one of our chosen products or were happy to try it.
We then further graded each product on;
- How well it clumped (again) – testing with water is one thing, we wanted to know how our chosen litters clumped with actual urine.
- How well it masked odours – call us gross, but we sniffed the clumps of litter when we scooped them.
- How much it tracked – every time a cat used the litter tray, we wanted to see how much stuck to their paws and how far it tracked.
Clumping Cat Litter Reviews: A Closer Look at Our Top Picks
After testing 20 different clumping cat litters over 6 weeks we’ve narrowed our recommendations to our 7 top picks.
So let’s take a closer look at why we think these are the best.
1. Dr. Elsey’s Ultra: The Best Clumping Litter For Multiple Cats
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cost (per kilo) | Around £1.94 |
| Dust | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Clumping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Odour Control | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Ease of Scooping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Tracking | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.4 out of 5.0 stars (4.4) |
In our opinion, Dr. Elsey’s Ultra cat litter is the best clumping cat litter for multiple cats.
It performed well in all our tests.
When pouring into the litter tray, it produced very little dust and during the urine tests, Dr Elsey’s Ultra was quick to clump. They weren’t super hard but they were easy to scoop. Most of the time, the clumps were pretty flat so they never stuck to the bottom of the litter tray. If your cat likes to pee against the side of their litter box, it can be a bit of a pain to clean. That said, this is the case for other cat litters.
It also did a fantastic job of trapping smells. Out of the bag, it smells pretty neutral and it stayed that way, even when soaked in urine.
Because it clumped and trapped smells so well, there was very little waste. In our live tests, a bag of Dr Elsey’s Ultra lasted longer than any other brand.
It also didn’t track as much as other brands we reviewed. This is heavy litter that, in theory, should prevent tracking. In reality, though, it does track. Just not as much as others.
To further prevent tracking, a good quality cat litter mat will help.
2. Catsan Ultra Clumping Cat Litter: Good Value and Well Reviewed By Users
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cost (per kilo) | Around £1.76 |
| Dust | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Clumping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Odour Control | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Ease of Scooping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Tracking | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.2 out of 5.0 stars (4.2) |
Catsan Ultra Clumping Cat Litter is very well-reviewed online by users. With good reason because it does everything well.
Pouring it into a litter tray produced a little dust, but not enough to cause concern.
Its tiny grains clumped quickly and the clumps themselves were easy to scoop. We had no issues with wet litter sticking to the bottom of the tray.
It also did a good job locking in odours. There was a faint whiff when we sniffed the clumps (yes we did!). But apart from that, we couldn’t smell it.
Catsan Ultra is very fine so it does track a little bit. That said, it’s not enough to put us off.
And at around £1.76 per kilo, it offers excellent value for money.
3. Ever Clean Extra Strong Scented Cat Litter: The Best Scented Clumping Cat Litter
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cost (per kilo) | Around £2.05 |
| Dust | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Clumping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Odour Control | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Ease of Scooping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Tracking | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.4 out of 5.0 stars (4.4) |
At £2.05 per kilo, Ever Clean Extra Strong Scented Clumping Cat Litter is a litter more expensive than our top pick. That said, it performed well in our tests and it’s also very well-reviewed online.
While pouring, there was a bit of dust but there was much less than other brands we’ve tested.
We found that Ever Clean Extra strong clumped very well. We found its tiny litter granules were quick to form hard clumps. And thanks to its quick clumping, it doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the litter box.
It also did a brilliant job of trapping odours and kept the litter box smelling fresh. We’re not normally fans of scented cat litters, the mix of poo, wee and lavender makes us want to barf.
We’re not even sure what the scent is, it just smells fresh.
We found that because Ever Clean was so fine, it did track a little bit. Again though, we weren’t put off by it.
4. Cat’s Best Wood-Based Clumping Cat Litter: The Best Biodegradable Option
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cost (per kilo) | Around £2.05 |
| Dust | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Clumping | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Odour Control | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Ease of Scooping | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Tracking | 3.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars (4.1) |
If you’re looking for the best eco-friendly cat litter, then try Cat’s Best Original Wood Clumping Litter.
In our pouring test, there was almost no dust at all. Which is good news for your cat’s respiratory system.
We found it clumped well too. The clumps weren’t as hard as the concrete-like balls of clay litter, but it was still easy to scoop and clean. And because it’s not clay, there’s no risk of it sticking to the sides and bottom of the litter tray.
The porous nature of the wood did a good job of locking in odours. We didn’t notice any smell at all while scooping.
And because it’s made from wood, it’s biodegradable. This means instead of sending it to landfill, you can compost it or put it in your green waste.
It does track a bit though. The grains are small and light and we found they stuck to furry paws, especially on long-haired breeds.
At around £2.60 per kilo, it’s one of the most expensive litter on our list. We guess that’s the cost of being conscious of the environment!
Read our review of Cat’s Best Original Cat Litter.
5. The World’s Best Cat Litter: The Best Flushable Clumping Cat Litter
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cost (per kilo) | Around £2.44 |
| Dust | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Clumping | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Odour Control | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Easy of Scooping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Tracking | 3.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars (4.2) |
We don’t recommend flushing cat litter, especially when it contains your cat’s poo. That said, customers ask us about it all the time so we figured we’d include a flushable option in our list.
So if you’re looking for a flushable cat litter, The World’s Best Cat Litter is your best option.
It’s made from sustainably grown corn which means it’s biodegradable. So as well as flushing it, you can compost or put it in your green waste.
When pouring the litter, there was some dust. It wasn’t a big cloud and it soon settled.
Thanks to its porous nature, it clumped well and locked in smells during our live tests.
It clumps pretty well although they’re not very hard. We found that large clumps did sometimes break up. That said, they never crumbled so it was still easy to scoop. Also, the fact that the clumps aren’t very hard is a good thing if you intend to flush it. Big hard clumps will likely block your pipes so you need them to be a little softer.
The individual grains of the World’s Best Cat Litter are small and light. The result was that it tracked quite a bit. It was easy to hoover up though.
At around £2.44 per kilo, it’s not cheap. That said, if you prefer to flush used cat litter, it’s worth the cost.
6. Premium Tofu Clumping Litter: Best For Kittens and Cats Who Eat Their Litter
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cost (per kilo) | Around £3.23 |
| Dust | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Clumping | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Odour Control | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Easy of Scooping | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Tracking | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 4.5 out of 5.0 stars (4.4) |
Ordinarily, we’d advise against using clumping cat litter with kittens until they’re around six months old. The danger of them eating it and it causing intestinal blockages is real. The same goes for older cats that have a tendency to eat their litter.
But this is an exception.
Premium Tofu Cat Litter is safe for your cat to eat. Even humans can eat it.
It’s a pellet style litter so it contains pretty much no dust. And it doesn’t track all over the place when your cat leaves their litter box.
The pellets are super absorbent and form spongy clumps that lock in smells very well. As such, scooping is easy.
Tofu cat litter is also biodegradable so instead of throwing it in your general waste bin, you can put it in the green waste bin or compost it.
All this safety comes at a cost though. At around £3.23 per kilo, it’s super expensive when compared to other cat litters. That said, it’s really the only clumping litter that’s safe for kittens.
7. Sanicat Coarse Clumping Cat Litter: A Good Budget Option
| Criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cost (per kilo) | Around £0.80 |
| Dust | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Clumping | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Odour Control | 3.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Easy of Scooping | 3.5 out of 5.0 stars |
| Tracking | 4.0 out of 5.0 stars |
| Total Score | 3.8 out of 5.0 stars (3.8) |
At around £0.80 per kilo, Sanicat coarse clumping cat litter is the cheapest on our list.
Because it’s quite coarse, there was very little dust when pouring it into the litter tray.
In our lab tests, it clumped perfectly. That said, during real-life use, we found it did stick to the bottom of the tray on occasion. This made cleaning it a little messy. Especially if a cat peed against the side of the tray.
We thought the odour control of Sanicat was decent. It wasn’t quite as good as some of the other litters we tested but it did trap smells. It was only when we were scooping the tray that we noticed a bit of a whiff.
It didn’t track as much as other products we tested either. We found the coarse granules fell off cats’ paws instead of sticking to them.
If you want a cheap clumping cat litter, use Sanicat.
A Word About Online Cat Litter Reviews
While shopping for the best clumping cat litter, you might have read lots of customer reviews. If so, you’ll have seen that different people review the same product very differently.
Here are two reviews for our top pick, Dr. Elsey’s Ultra.
The good;
“I must say the cat litter works extremely well for clumping and did not have any bad scents. This is also the LOWEST dust clay litter I have used and I have tried other brands before. I’ll definitely continue using this litter from now on…”
The bad:
“It’s the worst litter I’ve used. The litter becomes like sticky cement when wet, and does not minimize odors. I cleaned my little boxes and added this litter 5 days ago. This litter is being thrown out today and I’ll be returning to my normal brand…”
You might wonder how two people could have such opposing views of the same product.
Here’s why;
Cat litter is a natural product. Clay, corn, wood, it’s all natural. And natural products vary in makeup. In our experience, it’s common for two bags of the same litter to be very different.
For example, one bag of litter might contain more dust than another. This can affect how it clumps, locks in odours and tracks.
We’ve based our recommendations on our experience of using cat litter every day since 2013. So we’re happy that our recommendations are the best.
