Freya and Siggy love their litter boxes. We have two cats and four boxes. Two on the main floor. One outside our bedroom. And one in the basement.

We use open trays rather than ones with covers. Alongside each litter box is a small broom and scooper.

I use as brown paper bag (large lunch size) every morning in scooping the pee and poo.

I spent several months trying out various kitty litters and found two that are inexpensive–one high-end and the other, low-end.

We’ll start with the low-end first: Special Kitty.

This large 20-pound tub is less than $6 at Walmart. It clumps well and masks much of the odors. It doesn’t leave much, if any, dust, and the cats like its small grainy grey texture.

The manufacturer states:

• Long-lasting fresh-scented smell control to keep your home smelling fresh
• 99% dust free for a cleaner pour
• The litter’s tight clumping formula makes scooping your cat’s box a breeze
• Great for multiple cats
• 20-pound jug includes a handle for convenient maneuverability and easy pouring
• The see-through build helps you know when it’s time to pick up some more

The best kitty litter by far was Fresh Step Extreme Odor Control Febreze Scented Clumping Clay Cat Litter.

It really does eliminate odors and has the best clumping of every brand that I tried. The cats appreciate the larger granules.

The manufacturer states:

• The purr-fect solution for the stinkiest litter boxes with Ammonia Block Technology that helps trap and eliminate litter odor for up to 10 days.
• Paw-activated Mountain Spring fragrance with the power of Febreze helps keep the room smelling fur-esh and clean.
• 99.9% dust-free formula helps you and your kitty breathe easy.
• Extra scoopable with ClumpLock technology that forms tight clumps as it absorbs liquid—no stinky crumbles left behind.
• Simply add a little more litter to re-fur-esh the box.

The 25-pound tub costs more than twice that of Special Kitty, but the quality is worth it, especially when you have kittens, as we do, who fight over who gets to use which litter box and when.