Best Cat Litter For Kittens

Whether you’re bringing home a kitten soon or you just brought your new family member home, making sure your kitten has the best cat litter can help you both avoid any unwanted accidents. Kittens are forming their habits early on, and you want to make sure they are happy with their litter before solidifying any bad habits.

Best Cat Litter For Kittens: What To Know

• There are many types of cat litter, including clumping vs non-clumping and scented vs unscented. 
• Natural cat litter, like pine, might be the best option for sensitive kittens.
• Picking a quality litter early on is important for forming your kitten’s habits and expectations.

The best cat litter for kittens depends entirely on your kitten and what they want. Regardless of their preferences (which you will learn over time), you want to avoid using any cheap litter. Cheap litter can come with dust, potentially clogging up your kitten’s tiny nasal passages. Also, clumping litter could get caught in your kitten’s paws. When they groom their paws, they could end up eating litter which can cause digestive problems.

While buying one of every type of cat litter would be nice, this isn’t very realistic. Instead, spend time researching different litter options to try and determine the best fit for you and your kitten.

Steps Before Buying Cat Litter For Kittens

Before jumping in and buying litter for your kitten, consider the following steps:

Step 1: Consider odors

Litter boxes carry odor, but you can easily minimize bad smells with the right type of litter and litter box. Scented litter is the easiest way to mask bad odors and scented litter isn’t bad for cats, but many kittens don’t react to it well. In fact, we recommend staying away from scented litter even though it’s perfectly safe for cats.

The type of litter you choose can help a lot. For example, pine litter is great at absorbing odors. Also, a well-ventilated litter box will keep odors from lingering in your home.

Related: How to Keep Cat Litter From Smelling

Step 2: Any allergies?

Both humans and kittens can have bad allergic reactions to litter boxes. First and foremost, if you or your kitten shows signs of sensitivity to dust, then avoid any clay litter or a similarly dusty option. Next, consider whether a healthy cat litter option, such as wheat cat litter, might cause allergic reactions in your home. 

Step 3: What’s a long-term solution?

Remember that kittens are forming life-long habits early on. So, are you picking a litter that you want to stick with for years to come? Depending on your preferred litter box situation, consider an option that provides a long-term benefit to you and your kitten.

Step 4: Automatic litter box

Automatic litter boxes, like the Litter-Robot 3, help reduce odors, minimize cleaning time, and keep the litter box fresh for your cat. If this is something you’re interested in, then getting your kitten used to the automatic litter box early is a great idea.

6 Best Cat Litter For Kittens

You should have a pretty good idea of what type of litter and box you want to use at home for your kitten. If you’re still shopping around, here are some of our favorite litter for kittens.

BoxiePro Deep Clean Clay Cat Litter

BoxiePro Deep Clean Clay Cat Litter is a clumping clay that doesn’t create dust — essentially the best of both worlds. This scent free option is high quality, so you won’t have to empty the litter box for a deep clean as often. If you don’t know where to start, this is a safe pick.

ökocat Natural Wood Cat Litter

Perfect for anyone interested in a natural cat litter option, ökocat Natural Wood Cat Litter is a clumping litter that’s great at capturing odors. Consider this option if you want a dust-free, clumping, 100% natural kitten litter. 

Fresh Step Advanced Lightweight

A great option if you’re shopping on a budget, Fresh Step Advanced Lightweight cat litter is a clay clumping litter that’s super easy to work with. Low-dust and unscented, Fresh Step has been a popular option for kitten and cat owners for years. 

Purina Tidy Cats Scented Litter Pellets

If you’ve had a positive experience with scented pellets in the past, then Purina Tidy Cats Scented Litter Pellets are a safe pick. While not popular among all cat owners, scented litter does help mask odors quite a bit — perfect for any particularly stinky kittens. This litter works best if you buy the matching litter box, but that’s not a necessity. 

Arm & Hammer Feline Pine Platinum

Arm & Hammer Feline Pine Platinum is a great affordable option if you want to use a pine litter for your kitten. Again, pine is a good option if you want to use a natural litter while avoiding clay or silica crystals. 

PetSafe ScoopFree Premium Crystal Cat LItter

If you plan on using an automatic litter box, then crystal or silicat cat litter is a must. PetSafe ScoopFree Premium Crystal Cat Litter is one of the best options on the market and a good place to get your kitten started with crystal cat litter.

Why You Should Try Different Litters For Your Kitten

Trying different cat litters with kittens is crucial for a few reasons. Firstly, kittens have individual preferences, and what works well for one may not be suitable for another. By experimenting with various types of cat litter, you can discover which one your kitten prefers in terms of texture, scent, and overall comfort. This can help ensure that your kitten consistently uses the litter box, promoting good litter box habits from an early age.

Secondly, some kittens may have sensitivities or allergies to certain litter materials or ingredients. By trying different litters, you can identify and avoid any potential allergens, preventing discomfort, skin irritations, or respiratory issues. Additionally, kittens’ needs may change as they grow, so periodically exploring new litters can help you adjust to their evolving requirements, whether it’s better odor control, improved clumping, or easier maintenance as they become more independent in their litter box habits. Overall, experimenting with different cat litters ensures that your kitten’s specific preferences and needs are met, promoting a positive and healthy litter box experience.