Parenting-Furkids

Cats => Caring For Your Cat => All About Litter => Topic started by: Middle Child on February 08, 2019, 05:45:14 PM

Title: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on February 08, 2019, 05:45:14 PM
Does this brand have a fine grain clumping formula? I can't tell by the descriptions and they don't provide pictures.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on February 10, 2019, 10:58:37 AM
Well I have ordered a bag of the Ultra. Going to be running out of Cat's Pride in a month and I need to find something to replace it.

Not happy that it comes in 40 pound bags. Have no idea how I will get it in the house once it is delivered. Would prefer 20 pound recyclable jugs.

I notice they have a grass litter as well.  I do have SmartCat here but Queen Eva is the only one who uses it.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Lola on February 10, 2019, 01:01:29 PM
I just use the Ultra.  It is big pieces.  That is one of the reasons I like it. 
It also comes in 18 lb bags and 20lb boxes.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on February 10, 2019, 01:32:55 PM
I did not see those choices on Amazon.  Oh yeah now I see them on Chewy, but I want free shipping, and I can't order enough 20 lb boxes on chewy for that until I know if I like it.

 The ultra as described as having both big and medium grain pieces. I don't know if my cats will be able to adjust going back to large litter pieces, after having the fine grain for so many years.

I wish they made a fine grain clumping clay litter.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on February 14, 2019, 05:24:10 PM
The litter was delivered today, the box was simply dropped in a pile of snow at the far end of my sidewalk.  Fortunately the sidewalk is solid ice at the moment so I was able to push the box, on it's side, all the way to my door, where I simply turned it end over end over end until I got it in the house.

It remains to be seen if the cats will like it, or if I will.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Lola on February 15, 2019, 11:54:04 AM
I've changed litter several times (due to weight of bag - no issues with actual product), and I always end going back to it.

Out of 6 cats, no one has any issues with it. 
I like the no perfume-y smell.  Cats appreciate it as well.  :)
It has the least amount of dust, of any brand that I have ever tried!
Clumps very well.
NOTHING sticks to their feet.  No litter pieces all over the house.  No white kitty foot prints.  No having to lick their feet clean.

Having an all tile home, a person tends to notice a lot of the negatives that come with many litter brands.  Trust me, this one has the least!

Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Pookie on February 16, 2019, 09:54:29 PM
Thanks for the information, Lola!  Maybe someday, if/when I have a kitty again, I'll give it a try.  Is it expensive compared to other litters?  (I haven't bought litter is several years, so I have no idea anymore).
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on February 18, 2019, 06:15:44 PM
Thanks Lola.  I do remember you always go back to the Precious Cat Ultra.  Pookie, it's about the same as what I was paying for Cat's Pride natural clumping clay.

I did litter boxes today.  Usually I only have to change out boxes once a month, but with the one box having that light crap in it, it only lasted 2 weeks.  The other box was a bit longer than a month, but the Cat's Pride Natural I was using (that has been discontinued) was always okay even at 5-6 weeks (except for during Jennie's illness)

Anyway so today the end result is one box with Cat's Pride (the kind I like, I have about a month's worth left) one box with the Precious Cat Ultra, and the usual one box with SmartCat grass litter.  That box never needs changing out.  Queen Eva is the only one who uses it, and only a few times a week, pee only. It scoops out cleanly, leaving no broken clump bits, no residue on the box, and no odor.  I haven't dumped it in years.

First user (I didn't see her) was Queen Eva and she used the Cat's Pride. I know it was hers because of size and location of clump.  I don't know if she investigated the Precious Cat Ultra first or not.  There were paw prints in it but they have to walk through one to get to the other, so that doesn't mean much. It didn't look like she dug around in it at all so maybe she didn't even notice it was different.

Mazy cat as usual requested my attendance on her trip down.  She jumped up and used the Precious Cat box.  she didn't seem to notice the litter was different.  She pawed at it once, squatted, peed, got out and turned around and half buried the pee, and hopped down.

I didn't see a lot of litter coming out on her feet.  And the pee clumped INSTANTLY.  I think I've found my replacement litter.

But boy that stuff is heavy once it's wet.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Pookie on February 18, 2019, 09:46:55 PM
Quote
I didn't see a lot of litter coming out on her feet.  And the pee clumped INSTANTLY.  I think I've found my replacement litter.

multistars multistars multistars  thumbsup1  :)
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on February 19, 2019, 06:10:04 AM

First user (I didn't see her) was Queen Eva and she used the Cat's Pride. I know it was hers because of size and location of clump.  I don't know if she investigated the Precious Cat Ultra first or not.  There were paw prints in it but they have to walk through one to get to the other, so that doesn't mean much. It didn't look like she dug around in it at all so maybe she didn't even notice it was different.

Mazy cat as usual requested my attendance on her trip down.  She jumped up and used the Precious Cat box.  she didn't seem to notice the litter was different.  She pawed at it once, squatted, peed, got out and turned around and half buried the pee, and hopped down.

I didn't see a lot of litter coming out on her feet.  And the pee clumped INSTANTLY.  I think I've found my replacement litter.

But boy that stuff is heavy once it's wet.

Exact same scenario this morning lol.  Queen Eva's little clump was in the same corner of the same box.  Mazy cat led me down and had her same pee in the Precious Cat box, but this time she spent more time sniffing before peeing and more time digging around to bury after. 

One final thing, I just need to see that Queen Eva will use the PC litter.  She usually poops in the box the PC is in, (Mazy cat prefers to poop in the other box) and she is due to poop today.


Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on February 20, 2019, 04:59:26 AM
Queen Eva did poop yesterday but she did not use her usual box, which has the Precious Cat in it.  She used the other box. So she has not used the Precious Cat litter yet.

Mazy cat appears to prefer the Precious Cat and has used it exclusively for peeing. She did poop in the Cat's Pride box but that is because she always poops in that box.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on March 02, 2019, 07:03:26 AM
Queen Eva pooped in the Precious cat box this morning! bananamiddlechild
 It's the first time she has used the PC.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Pookie on March 02, 2019, 12:25:44 PM
multistars
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Lola on March 02, 2019, 12:55:32 PM
Since the brands are close to being the same-ish, have you thought about mixing new brand and old brand? Maybe 3/4 old and 1/4 new.  Just an idea...
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on March 02, 2019, 02:04:23 PM
Since the brands are close to being the same-ish, have you thought about mixing new brand and old brand? Maybe 3/4 old and 1/4 new.  Just an idea...

You think they are similar?  I think the two litters are extremely different! The Cat's Pride is a very soft fine litter, light in color.  The Precious Cat is larger pieces, rougher, and with dark bits mixed in.

Both are heavy but the Dr Elsey's Precious Cat is heavier when wet that the Cat's Pride.  I don't care about that though, I do love the instant hard clumps.

 When I am down to the last of the Cat's Pride I will mix them in the box that is currently still all Cat's Pride to segue that box into all Precious Cat.  I am not to that point yet.  With only two cats, both healthy and raw fed, I am going through very little litter, comparatively speaking.

The Cat's Pride is lasting much longer than I expected it would.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Lola on March 02, 2019, 03:42:55 PM
You think they are similar?  I think the two litters are extremely different! The Cat's Pride is a very soft fine litter, light in color.  The Precious Cat is larger pieces, rougher, and with dark bits mixed in.

Both are heavy but the Dr Elsey's Precious Cat is heavier when wet that the Cat's Pride.  I don't care about that though, I do love the instant hard clumps.

 When I am down to the last of the Cat's Pride I will mix them in the box that is currently still all Cat's Pride to segue that box into all Precious Cat.  I am not to that point yet.  With only two cats, both healthy and raw fed, I am going through very little litter, comparatively speaking.

The Cat's Pride is lasting much longer than I expected it would.

"Same-ish" as in clumping.  One isn't paper or crystals.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on March 02, 2019, 04:02:07 PM
"Same-ish" as in clumping.  One isn't paper or crystals.


Ah. Ok.  I was thinking of it from the cat's point of view, not the human. No question the Dr Elsey's Precious Cat is a better clump. The Cats Pride is okay (the discontinued one I mean, not those horrible "light" litters which is all they sell now), but does better if you let it sit a bit before scooping.

The Precious Cat clumps instantly. Not a single break off, even if I scoop immediately.

I really just can't wrap my head around why those "light" litters seem to be so popular.  They do NOT clump. They just turn to mush. And they track like you wouldn't believe.  And some of them, such as the Fresh & Light in the green jug, even the ones labeled "unscented", stink of heavy perfumes.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on March 03, 2019, 08:34:57 AM
Queen Eva peed in the Dr Elsey's Precious Cat box today. bananamiddlechild.

And rolled in it too. Sigh. However on a brighter note, even though I've always felt the Cats Pride was low dust, there was not as much dust on her fur from rolling in the Precious Cat.

I just worry about her ingesting it.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Pookie on March 03, 2019, 10:25:36 AM
And rolled in it too. Sigh.

 funny2

Is she a horse in a cat costume?   Silly7

I hope she rolled in it BEFORE she peed in it.   fingerscrossed
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on March 03, 2019, 11:26:57 AM
funny2

Is she a horse in a cat costume?   Silly7

I hope she rolled in it BEFORE she peed in it.   fingerscrossed

It appears she did this time, but there's no guarantee of that.

I have more happy things to say about the Dr Elsey's Precious Cat Plus litter.  I cleaned today for the first time in 3 weeks.  (edit-I don't mean I haven't scooped the litter boxes for 3 weeks.  I mean housework type cleaning) I swept down the stairs and swept the entry area where the litter boxes are. The pile of tracked litter and dust resulting from this sweeping was less than half what it normally would be after three weeks.

Hmm.  Wait.  Just had a thought.  There is one less cat, though, so I guess that would make a difference as well. Especially as the last few months Jennie was visiting the boxes about 5 x as frequently.

HOWEVER, the tracked litter particles that were swept into the pile from my broom were almost exclusively of the fine grain Cats Pride variety.  There were only a few pieces of Precious Cat and I suspect those fell off of Queen Eva's body after her rolling session.

A person at work had, after trying other litters, begun using the Cats Pride on my recommendation when she got her new 4 month old kitten 6 months ago and is as dismayed as I am about the loss of it.  However one of the litters she tried early on (also on my recommendation) was the Dr Elsey's Precious Cat plus.  She said she didn't like it because it stuck to her cat's feet.  It wasn't the tracking she worried about but she said the litter pieces seemed to actually STICK to his feet and she worried about him ingesting them.

Her cat is a very large cat (and not even full grown yet!), I don't know if that is the difference.  He also tends to spend a long time playing  (digging and kicking) in the box so that may contribute too.

I have checked Mazy cat's feet after leaving the box (much to her annoyance) before she has had a chance to jump down onto the litter mat and there is no litter stuck to her feet.

I think Cats Pride has done me a favor.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on April 05, 2019, 04:58:14 AM
Oh here's mine right on top.  And I searched both Dr Elsey's and Precious cat and the search did not bring up any threads.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on September 09, 2019, 04:46:36 PM
I am no longer happy with this litter. I wonder what they've done differently. The person I work with who used the Cat's Pride on my advice also went to Dr Elsey's (on my advice) after the Cat's Pride was discontinued.

She's been having trouble for some time but I was still happy until the last bag. (She uses Chewy, I use Amazon)

Now, it simply turns to cement on the bottom of the box.  Trying to dig it out, it falls apart and leaves little bits of pee clumps all over the box. No wonder it stinks after barely over a week.

This is not because I don't have enough litter in the box.  I have at least 4 inches, and more when I start a fresh box.  If I scoop it right away, I have no problems. So it's okay with Mazy cat's pees most of the time because she always tells me. But Queen Eva is a stealth pee-er. And the longer the pee sits in the box, the further down it sinks until it has adhered to the bottom of the box, and like I said has to be dug out with a chisel, and falls apart into little pieces.

So now, once again I am looking at the grass litters.  The SmartCat is the one I've always used (Queen Eva is the only one who ever uses is). It's non-GMO project Verified as well,, which I really like but it is almost twice as expensive as the Dr Elsey's grass litter ("Touch of Outdoors" -I hate cutesy names by the way).

I have sent them both some questions, and am starting the transition with the SmartCat since that's what I have here.  I hope if I go slow enough I can acclimate Mazy cat to it.

Once I start moving closer toward full transition I'll start a thread on grass litters.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Lola on September 09, 2019, 08:14:48 PM
Your cats dig through 4 inches of litter... wow! 
The boxes that we have that are anti-microbial protected... no sticking.  The others... pee clumps tend to stick when the litter gets low.  My experience anyway.  I buy from Amazon and Chewy. 

PS
I use heavy duty steel scoops.  Duranimals Durascoop is the brand.  They help a lot scooping a clump that sticks to the bottom, when I let the litter get low.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Middle Child on September 10, 2019, 05:18:20 AM
No they don't dig through 4 inches of litter.  That's the point of having it that deep. Supposedly it's to keep the pee on top, not sinking through to the bottom of the box.

I heard from Dr Elsey's, the "touch of the outdoors" litter is not grass litter it is clay litter with chlorophyll added.

I'll look into the scoops, thanks for the tip. I never had these problems with the Cat's Pride.

The grass litter does not stick when peed on and doesn't smell.  I know because sometimes I forget to check the grass litter box since Queen Eva is the only one who uses it . I might find a pee that may have been there for weeks for all I know, all dried up,  but it lifts right out.

It's the cost of the SmartCat that is the problem, but supposedly you use so much less it evens out.  Maybe I'll be happy with a mix of the Ultra and the SmartCat.

We'll see.
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Lola on September 11, 2019, 04:49:49 PM
No they don't dig through 4 inches of litter.  That's the point of having it that deep. Supposedly it's to keep the pee on top, not sinking through to the bottom of the box.



Pee clumps stick to the bottom for me also when the litter runs low.  I don't know any way around it, with the non-stick kind of boxes.  I know people that top off boxes with new litter, when the old runs low.  Buuuuut I find it gets stinky.  Plus, I think it is kind of gross.  I let a box run low, dump, clean, and refill with all new litter.  The LAST thing I want is for my home to smell like dirty boxes.  Ugh!

Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Pookie on November 01, 2019, 09:29:37 AM
How is this litter when it comes to odor control?  Kitty's poops are enough to make the area declared a hazmat site.   :-X  I'm hoping the digestive enzymes/probiotic will help, but was wondering about this litter.

Of course, it would help if she actually COVERED the poop after she's done.  I scoop right away but even then . . .
Title: Re: Question's about Dr Elsey's Precious Cat
Post by: Lola on November 01, 2019, 09:56:57 PM
If she doesn't cover it, NOTHING will help!