Feline pine cat litter good or bad?

Does it get rid of the pee odor? Last longer or shorter than fresh step? How well does it clump?What about mixing it half clay litter half feline pine does it still provide the "pine smell". We just added a boy cat to the family and his scent is strong.

Feline pine cat litter good or bad?
Feline pine and stove pellets are made out of the exact same thing, compressed sawdust.. There is no special magic procedure that removes all aromatic oils.. The same kiln drying and pressurization process is used to create both.. The aromatic oils are removed by pressurization which is used by both groups to turn sawdust into pellets..


Now, onto my personal take on the stuff..


I have mixed feelings on it... I really hated scooping it, but, about 6 months ago I quit scooping and just dump the litter instead and put less in the box to begin with.. My cats didn't seem to like it quite as much as the smoother types of cat litter. But, it did work pretty well so long as you didn't scoop.. It does seem to cover fecal smell right away, but, can get to smelling very strongly of ammonia after just a couple days.. My mom swears by the stuff and has used it for her cat for several years now.. It's worth a try, though, I wouldn't pay $7 a bag for it.. They also sell pine pellets at feed stores for goat and horse bedding.. It's sold as being free of aromatic oils, and the 20lb bag for horses is about $3.. I also use the stuff for my rabbits litter pan..


If for some reason you do want to scoop it, just buy a regular plastic litter scoop and cut out ever other plastic grate to make larger spaces for the pellets to fall through..
Reply:My cats hate pine cat litter! If I use it, they perch on the edge of the tray and do their business from a great height, usually missing! I also feel when it gets wet, it is tracked through the house. If you have a boy cat, you will find it's scent is stronger than most - once neutered, this disappears.
Reply:i have 4 cats, and use feline pine, but like the first user, i think it is way over priced. I went to a farmer supply store, and bought a huge bag of horse bedding(pine pellets) for about half the price.
Reply:Feline Pine works great for our three cats. If you're going to use it, I would suggest going to their website and ordering their sifter cat boxes. They really are a life saver. Feline Pine does take away the ammonia smell, but you do have to dump the saw dust out of the sifter bottom about every two or three days or it will start to smell like piny pee.





It lasts quite a long time, especially if you're using the sifters. We have never used clay litter so I'm not sure if it lasts longer or not. Now that I think about it, you did mention clumping, so I've got to say that I know nothing about the clumping version of feline pine. We only use the original pellet type.





Edit: Please do not use the wood stove pellets like the lady above me suggested. Feline Pine has been put through a special process that removes the volatile pine oil that has been found to harm cats. Some stove pellets still have that oil and they have been found to be harmful!





Second Edit: I'm going to go ahead and respond to punk_rawk_grrl's comments. It was my veterinarian who told me to avoid wood stove pellets. When I told him I was going to switch to pine pellets, I asked him if it would be safe to use stove pellets. He advised me to only use pellets that specifically say they are safe to be used as bedding for animals, otherwise I would be taking a chance with my cats' lives. Pine oil is nothing to mess around with when it comes to cats, plus some stove pellets have accelerants added to them which are just as dangerous to animals. I noticed that in your answer you didn't warn the person to look out for accelerants. Does that mean you didn't know about them or that you didn't think it was important enough to mention? Here's a link that gives information about volatile oils and accelerants being present in wood stove pellets: http://www.guinealynx.com/bedding_wood.h...


Here's a site that lists pine oil products as being toxic to cats: http://www.bo-kitty.com/Hazards.html


Here's an article that talks about additives, such as accelerants and binders that are often added to wood stove pellets: http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006...





The brand of "stove pellets" you mentioned, are not just made for use as fuel, but they specifically state on their website that they are also meant to be used for animal bedding. http://www.sbcfiremaster.com/pelletfuelp... This brand of animal bedding is not one that I knew of, nor is it fair to state that it is just a random brand of wood stove pellets. I honestly think that advising this person to just go and buy wood stove pellets without making sure it is a brand that is safe for cats was quite irresponsible of you, and I am not in the least bit contrite for the tone I used when I warned her not to take your advise. The tendency for pet owners to put the cost of pet products over the health and well being of their pets is one thing I do not tolerate well. If it gives me peace of mind to know that I am doing my best to make sure my pets are well cared for, then it's worth the money. I'm planning on calling Firemaster as soon as the weekend is over, to get details about their product before I even think about using it. Did you do that?





By the way, you made negative claims about Feline Pine, yet I didn't see you providing any links to prove your assumptions. For example: "Great product but a waste of money. Why? Because it's the exact same product as wood stove pellets."; "If anyone is saying this is most likely it's the manufacturers of Feline Pine who are losing customers by the busload since they've discovered all Feline Pine is are wood stove pellets with a cat on the bag!". I'm sorry, but I was unable to find that invisible link you provided in your answer that proves these claims.





You seem to have a bit of a double standard in the way you deal with other people. You may want to consider sweeping your own doorstep before you try to sweep mine.





I have edited my comment to say "some stove pellets", since there is obviously at least one brand of stove pellets that publically says they are safe to be used as animal bedding. I am also going to call Feline Pine and ask them personally what makes them different from regular stove pellets and ask them to provide a source that proves this.





Update:


Today I spoke to a representative from Feline Pine. It was a disappointing conversation to say the least. It turns out that Feline pine IS exactly the same as wood stove pellets. The only reason it costs more, according to the very rude person I talked to, is that it supposedly costs a lot to market wood stove pellets as cat litter. He also tried to claim that most stove pellets are made of hardwoods and not pine; therefore, it would not be as absorbent or odor fighting as Feline Pine.





I also spoke with a representative from Firemaster, and she was SO friendly and helpful. She assured me that their product was indeed 100% soft woods (mostly pine) and that their product had been found to be completely safe for cats. She said that they do market their product as pet litter/bedding as well as a fuel source, but that they do not charge more for it because of marketing. She said that the main reason their product costs less than Feline Pine is that Firemaster sells it in bulk and because they also have a large customer base. I asked if she knew if all stove pellets would be considered safe to be used with cats, and she said that she could only vouch for her product. She said that the only way to know if some other brand of stove pellet is safe for cats is to call and make sure before using it. I was very impressed by this conversation, and I intend to try this product with my cats.





I must admit that punk_rawk_grrl was right about Feline Pine being the same as stove pellets. I am sorry punk_rawk_grrl, I was wrong and you were right. The brand you recommended sounds great and I do appreciate you bringing it to our attention. However, I do agree with the lady from Firemaster who said that it would be best to call a company before using their pellets for cat litter. Anyway, that is my update and I hope it helps.
Reply:Great product but a waste of money. Why? Because it's the exact same product as wood stove pellets. Feline Pine can cost up to $5.99 for a smallish bag. Wood stove pellets? They run about $4.99 for a FORTY POUND BAG!





Wood stove pellets are made of compressed pine sawdust and break down once they get wet. They COMPLETELY eliminate the urine odor and do well as making poop smell as well - though I tend to scoop my cat pans at least every other day. When the pellets break down about 75%, dump out the pan. It dumps out DRY which is totally awesome! No sticking clumps like the clay stuff does. I would definitely not mix it with the clay litter - pointless to do that. Just use the wood stove pellets alone.





You can find them at Home Depot, Lowes and other home stores. If you live in a cooler climate you can also find them at most grocery stores - like the Safeways, Fred Meyers and Albertsons here in the Northwest. Another good place to find them is grain/co-op stores in farm areas. Evidentally horse owners use them in their stalls as well.





As far as the boy cat - is his scent strong because he's un-neutered? If so, please get him altered - there's far too many pets needing homes already. And if it's REALLY strong I'd suggest having a vet check him out in case it's due to a health issue.





Good luck and let me know how you like the wood stove pellets. I guarantee you'll never want to use anything else ever again!
Reply:i found no diffrance i brought scented litter liners in the end,

omar