When you’re working with regular clay-based cat litter, the litter smells horrid, it’s not natural, and produces so much dust that you’re practically suffocating yourself. The dust from this kind of cat litter can even make you sick. This is why people prefer plant-based and natural litters like the grass seed cat litter.
Grass seed litter in particular is preferred for its high clumping and low dust formation. It’s natural and biodegradable and can be found chemical-free, which means there are no harmful additives in it. Grass seed can also be repurposed as compost for horticulture.
However, grass seed litter, since it’s so small and lightweight, tends to get everywhere, known as tracking. Plus, it’s quite pricey. Also, it should be avoided if you’re allergic to the ingredients.
But all things aside, which litter is the right one for your cat? Here are the top 4 reviewed.
Pros And Cons Of Grass Seed Cat Litter
Here is a short video introducing the litter to show what it looks like, how it works, and more information about it.
Pros
- Natural and eco-friendly
Usually, this type of litter is made from one ingredient, grass seed. Clay litter, on the other hand, can be pretty bad for the environment as to acquire the material, they must strip mine for it.
- Clumping
This type of litter might be the best natural litter that also clumps. Clumping litter is way more convenient as it can help control odor better and you don’t have to clean the litter box out as often.
- Deals with odor well
It is good at trapping odor within the clumps of the litter, and the natural scent of the grass helps counteract the smell of your cat’s waste.
- Healthy
Again, since it natural, if your cat accidentally consumes this litter it is not that big of a deal since the litter doesn’t contain any chemicals or other ingredients that could be dangerous.
- Paw-friendly
This cat litter is basically just a bunch of very fine particles of seeds, which makes it very soft. If your cat just had a declaw or has sensitive paws, this litter is a good option to use.
- Can be dust-free
Some customers claim that this litter produces the least amount of dust out of any litter they have ever used. Some brands might be better than others but generally, this litter does not have too much dust.
Cons
- Can make a mess by being tracked and kicked out of the litter box
Since this litter is so lightweight, it is very easy for it to get out of litter boxes. Your cat might accidentally kick it out while digging her own waste and it can also easily track.
How To Offset The Cons Of This Litter (Tracking)
For the most part, grass seed cat litter is a great option as a cat litter. But, most grass seed litters track a lot! This can make what seems like the perfect litter into something frustrating when you have to sweep and vacuum the litter on the floor all over your home.
The easiest way to start solving this issue is with a litter mat. A litter mat near the litter box will be the first thing to stop the spread of litter. Next, keep the litter box clean as much and as often as you can. Tracking happens because the litter in the litter box is wet. If you can scoop the wet litter out of the litter box quickly, you can stop a lot of the tracking.
Another easy way to minimize the spread of litter is to purchase a litter box that is plenty big, and also has tall walls. The tall walls will shield litter from being knocked out, and a large box allows your cat to comfortably take care of business. A small litter box cramps them up, and they are more likely to step in wet spots.
How To Use Grass Seed Cat Litter
How To Scoop
Grass seed cat litter is a clumping cat litter, so to scoop it, just look for the clumps of cat litter to scoop out, and you should be good.
How Often To Scoop
The frequency at which you scoop grass cat litter is very similar to scooping any other kind of litter. Cat owners should scoop once to twice a day. Ideally, you would scoop every time your cat uses the litter box, but twice a day will also work.
How Much Grass Litter To Use
You should use about two to four inches of litter. Don’t use any more or any less as too little cat litter can result in your cat not being able to dig in the litter box which will cause issues, and using too much is just a waste of litter. To learn more about the ideal depth of cat litter, read here.
How To Switch To Grass Seed Litter
Now that you have learned more about grass cat litter, you might be interested in switching to this kind of litter. In order to do so, start off by putting a very small amount of the grass litter mixed in with your old litter. Slowly mix more of it into the old litter every time you scoop and clean the litter box. This will allow your cat to get used to the new litter and not have any litter box avoidance issues because the change was too abrupt. Soon enough, your cat’s litter box will only have grass seed cat litter and the switch will have been successful. Get more tips on successfully switching litter here.
Quick Look
The 4 Best Grass Seed Litters
The SmartCat is a fine choice as a grass seed cat litter and it excels at containing no dust, clumping exceptionally well, and being scentless. It is also extremely lightweight, which is nice for people who do not want to have to deal with picking up and scooping heavy litter.
With that being said, since this litter is light, tracking can happen a lot. The tracking with this litter can be frustrating. It is also not the best at masking and containing smells coming from the litter box.
Like I mentioned earlier, the clumping is great. It clumps very fast after coming in contact with liquid which means that the clumps of litter are near the top of the litter. This also means the urine does not seep all the way to the bottom of the litter box preventing the litter at the bottom from getting wet and cementing to the litter box.
Pros
- Very light for those who don’t want to pick up and scoop heavy litter
- Rapid and effective clumping
- No dust
Cons
- Tracks everywhere, creating a mess.
- Smells when the litter box is not cleaned often enough
Good Earth is one of the best grass cat litters for concealing the scent of the litter box and for easy scooping.
Many customers of this product report smelling absolutely nothing and for those that do smell something, the smell is a pleasant earthy scent. Like most grass litters, it clumps quickly and efficiently, which makes scooping straight forward and painless.
This litter is known to track, so it is best to have measures in place to cut down on the amount of tracking to as little as possible. These measures include keeping a litter mat directly next to it, trimming the hair around your cat’s paws, getting a large and tall litter box, and to maintain the litter box as much as you can.
Pros
- Transition to this litter is smooth
- Little dust
- Overall safe
Cons
- Tracking
- Often out of stock
Frisco grass litter is a popular choice that is light, has good clumping, smells nice, and has other good qualities.
The particles of this litter are soft, and small which means it feels nice for your cat to stand on and dig in. Like most grass litters, this one doesn’t produce dust. Customers report that the bag lasts a long time so don’t be afraid of the price point as it seems expensive at first, but the bag lasts a while to make up for the initial price.
Similar to other grass litter, it does track, so be prepared to clean up after this litter and put things in place to stop the tracking. The clumps of this litter form very strong which makes scooping them out a breeze. One problem cat owners have with this litter is some cats don’t take to it so even though it is a pretty good litter, if your cat won’t use it, then it doesn’t matter how good of a litter it is.
Pros
- Easier to manage and clean up
- Clumps tightly together for easier scooping
Cons
- Insects can be attracted to this litter
- Some cats don’t love it
The Almo Nature is not our top pick because it is more dusty than other litters on this list.
But, it is great at forming clumps and very competent at keeping the smell of the litter box to a minimum. Since it is more dusty, it does track. The team at Kitty Cat Reviews recommends placing a mat at the base of the litter box to keep litter from ending up in every corner of your house. The texture of this litter is sand-like which cats seem to like.
This product does not have any chemicals in it which is great for your piece of mind. A common complaint with this litter is that it doesn’t last as long as one would hope.
Pros
- Completely natural
- Amazing at absorbing insanely bad odors
- Clumps up and absorbs urine efficiently
Cons
- More dusty than the competition
FAQ
Is grass seed litter safe for cats?
Grass seed litter is safe for cats. A lot of these products ensure that they don’t use pesticides or chemicals. They are a much healthier clumping alternative to clumping clay litter as grass litter doesn’t contain sodium bentonite. Sodium bentonite is known for messing with and causing obstructions in the digestive system of cats if consumed. Grass cat litter is also usually dust-free, which is healthy for the respiratory system of cats. Grass cat litter is natural making it a lot healthier than other litters. Sometimes the only ingredient in these litters is just grass seed.
Can cats be allergic to grass seed cat litter?
Yes, cats can be allergic to grass seed cat litter. For the most part, grass seed cat litters produce not that much dust, so if the allergy is just minor than maybe the grass seed cat litter will not cause a reaction in your cat. If you are worried or notice reasons to believe your cat is allergic to the litter, take a visit to your vet to discuss the best path moving forward.
Can you put used grass cat litter in the garden?
Yes, you can put the used grass cat litter in the garden if you don’t plan on eating whatever it is you are growing in the garden. If the garden is purely just for appearance, then it is all good to put the used litter in there. If you do plan on eating food from the garden, then you can not put the used litter in there. Cat waste can contain some diseases, so it is not a good idea to mix your cat’s waste with potential food.
Is grass seed cat litter flushable?
In most instances, grass seed cat litter is flushable. With that being said, flushing any kind of cat litter is usually a bad decision. First off, even though the litter companies say that the products are flushable, there is still a chance the litter causes a blockage in your plumbing system. If this were to happen, it would be a very costly nightmare. The second reason is cat litter can be a carrier for a nasty parasite by the name of Toxoplasma. Flushing litter can further the spread of this parasite which is not wanted. From flushing it can be spread into the water, which affects humans and all other life that relies on the affected water.
Can you use regular grass seed for cat litter
It is not common for someone to go DIY and used regular grass seed as cat litter. But since, grass cat litter is just grass seeds, I believe it is possible to buy a bag of regular grass seeds to use as litter. This should work to a certain extent but obviously this litter is not going to be nearly as good as buying the commercial product designed to work as cat litter. That being said, you can get a lot of regular grass seeds for pretty cheap from a home improvement store, so if this option does work, it will be very cost efficient.
References
Blaine is a pet owner and animal lover. His two passions of cats and blogging met and KittyCatReviews was formed.