How to Choose the Right Cat Litter?

There are more options than ever. Here's how to narrow it down without overthinking it.

Choosing cat litter used to be simple. You went to the store, picked up a bag of clay, and that was that. Now there are entire aisles to navigate — clumping, crystal, corn, tofu, cassava, scented, unscented, lightweight, flushable.

Most of the decision comes down to a few things that actually matter. Once you know what to look for, the rest falls away.

Start with your cat

This sounds obvious, but most people choose litter based on what they want. Low tracking. A tidy tray. Fair enough. But the cat is the one standing in it every day, and they have preferences they'll make very clear if you ignore them.

Most cats prefer a fine, sand-like texture. It's closer to what they'd dig in naturally. Pellets and large granules work for some, but if your cat is scratching the floor beside the tray instead of inside it, texture is usually why.

Unscented is almost always safer. Cats have roughly fourteen times more scent receptors than we do. What smells like gentle lavender to you can be overpowering to them. If your cat starts avoiding a new litter, fragrance is the first thing to reconsider.

Clumping matters more than you'd think

A litter that clumps well is easier to keep clean. Firm clumps scoop out in one piece. Soft ones break apart, leave residue, and mean you're replacing the whole tray sooner.

Clay has done this reliably for decades. But plant-based litters have caught up — and in some cases pulled ahead. Tofu litter clumps fast. Cassava starch clumps tighter. The material matters less than the result: can you scoop cleanly, every day, without the clump crumbling on the way to the bin?

If you can, the litter is doing its job.

The chemistry of odour

Every litter claims to control odour. Few explain what's actually happening.

The smell from a litter tray isn't one thing. It's a sequence. Fresh cat urine contains urea and uric acid. Within hours, bacteria start breaking urea down into ammonia — that sharp, stinging smell you recognise. Left longer, the ammonia breaks down further into mercaptans. These are sulphur-based compounds. They're also what gives skunk spray its smell. That's what you're dealing with when a tray hasn't been cleaned in a couple of days.

So when a litter says it "controls odour," the question is how. There are really only two approaches.

The first is masking. The litter contains fragrance — lavender, citrus, "ocean breeze" — that covers up the smell underneath. The ammonia and mercaptans are still there. You're just not noticing them as much. When the fragrance fades, the smell comes back.

The second is neutralisation. This is a chemical process. Baking soda — sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO₃ — reacts with the acidic compounds in urine to form neutral sodium salts, carbon dioxide, and water. In simple terms:

NaHCO₃ + acid → neutral salt + CO₂ + H₂O

The odour-causing compounds are converted into something that doesn't smell. No fragrance needed. No layering one scent over another. The chemistry does the work.

This is why Snow uses baking soda as its second ingredient. Cassava starch handles clumping. Baking soda handles odour — not by covering it up, but by breaking it down at the molecular level.

If the ingredient list mentions fragrance, you're getting a perfume. If it mentions sodium bicarbonate, you're getting chemistry.

Dust and why it matters

Some litter produces a visible cloud when you pour it or when your cat digs. That dust isn't just a cleaning nuisance. Fine particulates can irritate airways — your cat's and yours. Over time, in a small laundry or bathroom, it adds up.

Clay litters vary widely on dust. Plant-based options tend to be lower, though it depends on how the granules are made. Tightly compressed granules shed less. Loosely formed ones crumble.

Terra — our litter designed for automatic tray systems — uses BASF dust-binding technology to lock loose fines to each granule. It matters when a machine is doing the scooping and airborne dust can interfere with sensors. Snow achieves low dust differently: two tightly bound ingredients with nothing loose to shed.

If your cat is picky

Some cats reject new litter outright. They'll hold it in, go elsewhere, or stand at the edge of the tray looking deeply unimpressed. This is normal. The tray is one of the most routine parts of their day.

Transition gradually. Mix a small amount of the new litter in with the old. Increase the ratio over a week or two. Most cats adjust without drama when the change happens slowly enough.

If they remain unconvinced, go finer in texture and lighter in scent. Those two adjustments solve most refusals.

What it comes down to

The right cat litter clumps firmly, produces minimal dust, controls odour without hiding it, and has a texture your cat will stand on. Everything else is secondary.

Start there. Your cat will tell you the rest.