[asking]

The clay cat litter I use gets all over the house. My two male cats track it everywhere. I tried a brand that had shiny round beads, but that was worse because the little bead went skittering all over across my hardwood floors and I was still finding them here and there a year later.

Is there some trick to cat litter that I'm not getting?

I have a rug in front of the cat box, but I find actually small mountains of litter on it. One of the two cats actually throws litter out of the covered box. I have the largest cat littler box I could find because the larger of the two cats doesn't really fit into anything smaller. He has a tendency to hit the side of the box, so it's covered...

I don't like the odor of scented cat litter, so it has to be unscented.
Finally, if it was something I could compost or otherwise responsibly dump on rural property, we wouldn't have to put tons of clay in the landfill every year.

Any thoughts appreciated!

[Akoue]

Is it a clumping litter? I've found that with clumping litter you still get some on the floor but it isn't nearly as bad as with non-clumping litter. My favorite is Arm & Hammer (big orange box).

One thing you might try is putting a sheet of plastic under the litter box. This makes cleaning the inevitable spills a lot easier.

You might look for a litter box lid that has a door of some kind. You can also attach some cloth to the lid you have now, covering the opening. This will keep more litter in the box and it will wipe the cats' fur as they pass through, which means that they'll track less through the house.

[asking]

Oh. I was afraid of this!

Arm & Hammer is what I'm using.
Big orange box, blue lettering for unscented...
It clumps.

The litter box is so heavy I can't lift it. So I leave it to my older son, who takes his time. All I can do sweep in the general area. But they still track it seemingly miles from the box.

I will try a cloth across the opening (hoping that big kitty #1 doesn't pee on it).

Sometimes when the cats are in my lap, I can pick litter out from between their toes. Plus if I use scented (when unscented is out of stock), they stink of it, as if it's all over them.

Thanks!

[Akoue]

Oh. I was afraid of this!

Arm & Hammer is what I'm using.
Big orange box, blue lettering for unscented...
It clumps.

The litter box is so heavy I can't lift it.

Yep, that's the one. You need a spotter to get it into the house.

. But they still track it seemingly miles from the box.

There are rugs you can get that trap the litter better. Pet stores often carry them. You might also try a soft brush. You obviously can't brush them every time they go to the bathroom, but maybe a quick pass once or twice a day.

I'll give this more thought and see what else I can come up with.

[asking]

Thanks, Akoue.

I can just barely lift the box of litter at the grocery store, if I'm careful. It's the catbox full of litter that I can't move.

I have a rug, but it's a braided rug. Maybe I should switch to something fuzzier and add the privacy curtain. We can brush the cats more often.

[Akoue]

I thought of something else: You can get hand wipes that are safe for cats and wipe their paws of with them. Like the brushing, it's a pain, and unlikely to be something you'd do every time they use the litter box, but it would cut down on the total quantity of litter that is making it to the far reaches of your house.

It sounds like the big guy is a little too fastidious about covering his poop and pee and as a result is getting litter everywhere and is stepping in his own pee while he digs, causing more litter to cling to his feet.

[linnealand]

You might want to consider investing in a "litter catcher mat," which might be more effective in catching extra litter bits than the rug you described. The idea is to catch as much extra litter as you can before the kitties get a chance to "litter" your house with it.

I saw a great little litter box house with a custom sized litter catcher mat somewhere online a few months ago, but I haven't been able to dig up the same model yet. I did, however, manage to find some similar products that are based on the same sort of idea. The difference, though, is that the model I saw a few months ago had a slightly better litter catching system. Here's a link (yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder; in any case, these are a bit more pleasing to look at than the classic open-plastic-box-with-bag-and-litter model): Designer Cat and Rabbit Litter Box Houses

As an extra thought, I was just wondering if your litter box is kept in an area that is prone to getting a little water on the floor (like a bathroom or a laundry room)? If so, could it be that your cats might be getting their feet damp while they're on their way to their litter box? Wet paws could transform into clay covered slippers in a flash, and they probably wouldn't get clean enough through traditional rug-passing methods.

I think Akoue's suggestions were great, but aren't they always? I also suspect that at least one of your cats might be stepping in his pee, or being to fastidious in his concealing of the evidence. I would have recommended that you consider investing in a larger box, but it sounds like you've already got that down. In that case, you might want to try adding more litter to the box; if the litter is deeper, it might absorb the pee better.

In terms of the litter itself, it sounds like you two have got a good one. Still, since you asked, I'll throw out a couple of other things that come to mind that you might like. If you have a natural or whole foods supermarket in your area, you'll probably find a number of environmentally sound kitty litter options. I've read some good things about a so-called "Clumping Wheat litter," which is also supposed to be good for reducing odors. If you find a litter that you're happy with, but you're not thrilled with its odor blocking powers, you can always add a little baking soda to it. You can also find plenty of eco-friendly kitty litter options and reviews online.

Here's a site that might be worth your while:

Biodegradable Kitty Litter

You know, there's always the alternative method, which is completely litter free. Toilet training. ;)