If you have a cat or kitten in your home, kitty litter is a necessity. Here is a general review of the types of kitty litter available to help you choose what's best for your cat and lifestyle.
Instructions
First of all, you want to make sure your kitty box is in a place it will not offend, yet be easily accessible for cat use and for you to clean. Keep your cat litter at least 2" deep. One exception might be if you are using an automatic self-cleaning cat box. This will have a fill-to-here line to set the height of the litter. These self-cleaning boxes work with clumping cat litters only. You need to know what kind of box you will be using to choose the best cat litter.
Research different cat litters. There are lots of commercial brands on the market. Surveys reveal that most people prefer scented cat litters. And most cats prefer unscented! Most commercial cat litters are made of natural clay. Although this is a natural product and it is reasonably eco-friendly, clay is not disposable in the toilet. And clay is NOT for compost heaps. If you dump your clay cat litter outside, it will become a slippery, gunky pile of sticky clay when it gets wet, then it will dry hard as a rock just like (guess what!) dried clay!
Compare health and convenience issues. Sodium bentonite is the usual material used in clumping cat litter. Although there has been some concern, so far there seem to be no actual facts that establish any harmful effect on cats. Advantages of clumping cat litter is that it tracks less than most other litters and is easy to clean. Most are NOT flushable. Arm & Hammer has a product made of baking soda rather than clay. No clumping litter is recommended for use with kittens since the dust can cause health issues.
Test cat litters to find what's best for your cat. The best cat litter for you won't work well if your cat doesn' like it! Crystal cat litters need less changing due to the crystal absorbency. People like them for this reason, but cats sometimes find the sharp crystals to be hard on their feet.
Consider going ecological. Wood chips, corn, shredded newspapers, sawdust and some others are wonderful recycling ideas and can make some of the best cat litters. Not all cats will agree, however. A 'best-rated' natural product is 'Feline Pine'. It is made of pine pellets, smells good, is eco-friendly and cats seem to love it. You need to acclimate your cat to it when young, however, since many cats are difficult to switch once used to clay litters. Another successful product is 'World's Best Cat Litter' which is made of corn. This one will clump. 'Swheat Scoop' is yet another, this one being made of wheat kernels. These are all bio-degradable and flushable. Again,it may not be easy to switch an adult cat's litter without some resistance from your cat!
My recommendation is to go for a cat litter your cat likes. I personally prefer the biodegradable types, but lose out to my cat. If your cat won't use the cat litter box, you will have more problems than selecting cat litter! The best solution is to train your young kitten to the litter you like -- if you can!