topic Re: Pine Cat Litter in Community Chat

Pine Cat Litter

lvenjay — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 20:34:42 GMT

I have noticed that the quality of the pine cat litter (Feline Pine and the store brand) has gone down, in my opinion. Reading the reviews on Petsmart about both pine litters confirmed that other people felt the same way. Evidently, another company bought the product and "improved" the litter.

In my opinion, the litter dissolves faster than before (so I have to buy more often) and has an unusual smell - to me quite unpleasant. It also sometimes has a sticky, almost tarry residue on the bottom of the litter pan which I never had before.

Some customers, when they reviewed the product, suggested instead to go to a farm store and buy 40 pound bags of wood pellets, used in wood stoves. I recently went to a CAL Ranch Store and bought a bag of 40 pound pellets for $4.99 (Lignetics brand). I typically pay at least $14.99 for a 40 pound bag of pine cat litter, unless it is on sale or I have a coupon.

I found, in my opinion, that the wood pellets did the same job as the pine litter, smells better and doesn't have any tarry residue in the bottom of the litter pan. In fact, it works like the pine litter used to before it was improved. (and looks the same since it is also made out of reclaimed pine)

For those with multiple cat households, like me, this can save you money and I think, is better and more natural for my cats.

I was so glad I had read about this and thought I would share, for anyone interested.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

Southernfriedchick — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 23:54:31 GMT

Yes, the quality has changed for the worse, since Arm & Hammer bought the company. It no longer has the wonderful, clean pine scent and the pellets are gray. I have used Feline Pine since it's intro'd.

Such a shame!

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Re: Pine Cat Litter

lvenjay — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 00:51:00 GMT

If you can find these pine wood pellets for wood stoves, it is like the original feline pine, in my opinion.

I am glad it is not just me that noticed. I am sure whatever they have done, it is to make more money.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

Tinkrbl44 — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 03:08:37 GMT

OMG, I didn't know Petsmart had product reviews !!!

I just bought Feline Pine for the first time last week ..... and am not impressed. After reading lots of packages, I expected more from this brand .

Has anyone tried the crystals? I met a woman in the cat litter aisle that said her husband is into cat rescues and she has anywhere between 2-6 cats at any given time. She said the crystals (silica) is probably the best she's ever used.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

lvenjay — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 05:53:21 GMT

I tried the crystals a long time ago. With so many cats (I do rescue), I found them too expensive, but I have a friend with just one cat that uses it and swears by it.

Pretty much all kinds of litter track and my cats tracked those little crystals around the house. Barefoot, they kind of hurt! I was always sweeping them up. But there is no dust, which is a benefit.

Luckily, there are so many different kinds of litters. I loved Feline Pine until the changes, but am quite pleased with the wood pellets I found at the farm store. The sales clerk that helped me was not at all surprised. He said many people use them for cat litter and in fact, they had a display right by the cat aisle. (They also sell cat food there like Call of the Wild.) It was a very interesting store which I had never shopped at before.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

Southernfriedchick — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 20:47:43 GMT

On 11/12/2014 lvenjay said:
I tried the crystals a long time ago. With so many cats (I do rescue), I found them too expensive, but I have a friend with just one cat that uses it and swears by it.

Pretty much all kinds of litter track and my cats tracked those little crystals around the house. Barefoot, they kind of hurt! I was always sweeping them up. But there is no dust, which is a benefit.

Luckily, there are so many different kinds of litters. I loved Feline Pine until the changes, but am quite pleased with the wood pellets I found at the farm store. The sales clerk that helped me was not at all surprised. He said many people use them for cat litter and in fact, they had a display right by the cat aisle. (They also sell cat food there like Call of the Wild.) It was a very interesting store which I had never shopped at before.

Do the wood pellets have the pine smell? I loved the Feline Pine smell.

I'm checking our Farm Co-op for the pellets this weekend.

Arm & Hammer haven't responded to my complaints in my email and I didn't get a howdy!

I don't have to have the pine scent, but I truly enjoyed changing litter boxes just for the scent. Plus, the bags hardly weigh anything, compared to the clay litters.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

lvenjay — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 21:13:10 GMT

Yes, to me it has the scent. Maybe not as strong as the original feline pine, but better than it smells now.

I also like that it doesn't weigh very much and that you only have to scoop the solid waste, not the urine, which means less work. Plus, it seemed to be environmentally friendly.

Several people have remarked that they get no response from complaints. I also sent an e-mail complaining and have complained at PetSmart, but as long as people buy the product, I do not expect any changes.

I hope you find it and like it. This is all I plan to use in the future and I can't beat the price!

Re: Pine Cat Litter

goodstuff — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 22:45:22 GMT

I buy store brand scented clay litter; it's cheap and works just fine. It doesn't clump. I scoop out the solid waste with a slotted scoop, shake off the excess, and flush it. Then I stir up the litter to redistribute damp litter and help it dry out. Works for us and has for years.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

Southernfriedchick — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 18:47:32 GMT

Ivenja,

Thank you for the pertinent info on the wood pellets. I didn't make it to check on the wood pellets, but I will when our weather gets warmer tomorrow or Monday. I'm excited to check it out and will let you know.

By the by, our temps are predicted to soar to 25 degrees by Monday. Yippee!

Are you on FB? I am.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

lvenjay — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 04:34:11 GMT

I am so sorry for you and others that are in this very cold weather. It must be miserable, especially for any outside animals without shelter. I currently live in a warmer climate.

No, I don't do facebook. Sorry.

Let me know what you think of the pellets. I sniffed them as I changed a litter pan today and I thought, "Yes, that is pine!" Love the smell.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

lvenjay — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 04:36:03 GMT

Goodstuff - It sounds like you have a great system! I find the clay litter heavy for me to lift and change in litter pans. With several litter pans and a multicat household, it adds up. But I think each person has to find what works for them and their cat(s).

Re: Pine Cat Litter

Tinkrbl44 — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 18:46:45 GMT

On 11/12/2014 lvenjay said:
If you can find these pine wood pellets for wood stoves, it is like the original feline pine, in my opinion.

I am glad it is not just me that noticed. I am sure whatever they have done, it is to make more money.

Do the wood pellets serve any other purpose? I'd never heard of them.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

lvenjay — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 19:57:03 GMT

My understanding is that the wood pellets were originally designed to be used in wood stoves, either as starter or as fuel.

I do not know if the feline pine creators found that this worked well as litter and went from there, but I do suspect the wood pellets were first used as fuel, not litter.

These pellets look just like the pellets in feline cat litter. The salesperson told me people also use the wood pellets for bedding for animals, especially small animals like guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets. Because of this, they locate a stack of the bags of pellets by the pet aisle, in addition to the fuel aisle.

The pellets are made of compressed wood (pine) shavings or leftovers from other wood projects. So it is basically a way to recycle otherwise not used wood. That is what first attracted me to the pine litter, because it seemed to be environmentally safe.

When I first bought the feline pine and the store brand pine litter, it smelled like pine and worked quite well. About a year ago, the products were revised. Since then, the smell is almost chemical in nature, the litter dissolves faster requiring more frequent purchases and there is now sometimes a layer of dark, wet, kind of gooey stuff at the bottom of the pan when I empty it. This didn't happen before. I suspect they have now included an additive which wasn't in the litter before.

The pine pellets I bought at the feed store appear to be similar to the original pine without any additives, in addition to be quite a bit less expensive.

Re: Pine Cat Litter

Southernfriedchick — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 22:27:09 GMT

Ivenjay,

I'm calling tomorrow to see if it's in stock. If it is, off I go.

Besides being a lot lighter in weight, the thing that impressed me was no stinkin' litter, after 3-4 days.

Thank you again. By the by, My DH and I did rescue about 10 years ago and due to health issues in the family, we had to stop, but the 'hood cats that come by know where food and water is. I also carry bags of food and jugs of water in the trunk of the car...just in case.