Care / Product guide
Litter and Litter Trays.
The category responsible for more preventable behavioural problems than almost anything else. Get it wrong and your cat will tell you. Not with words.
The litter tray is the single most important piece of infrastructure in your cat's environment. It is not an afterthought. It is not something you buy once and forget about. The tray, its placement, the litter inside it, and how often you maintain it will directly affect your cat's physical and behavioural health.
House-soiling is the number one behavioural reason cats are surrendered to shelters. In the vast majority of cases, the problem is not the cat. It is the tray. The wrong type, the wrong litter, the wrong location, or simply not enough of them.
Three rules before anything else
How many
One tray per cat, plus one extra. Two cats means three trays. This is the universal veterinary recommendation and it is non-negotiable.
How big
The tray should be at least 1.5 times the length of your cat from nose to tail base. Most commercial trays are too small. Consider underbed storage boxes.
Where
Quiet, low-traffic, accessible at all times. Away from food and water. Not next to the washing machine. Not in a cupboard behind a closed door.
Choose the tray first.
The tray matters more than the litter. Start here.
Open Tray
The simplest and most cat-friendly option. Easy to clean, no trapped odours, and your cat can see their surroundings while using it. Most cats prefer this.
Hooded Tray
Popular with humans, not with cats. Traps odours inside, restricts vision, and makes ambush-prone cats anxious. Only use if your cat actively prefers it.
Top-Entry Tray
Looks clean. Requires your cat to jump in and out, which is exclusionary for elderly, arthritic, or kitten-aged cats. Traps odours like a hooded tray.
Sieve Tray
A nested tray system that lets clean litter sift through. Works well with clumping litter. Makes scooping faster but adds cost and bulk.
Automatic Tray
Self-cleaning trays that rake or rotate after use. Expensive, noisy, and many cats are frightened by the mechanism. You still need to monitor output for health signs.
Then choose the litter.
Six categories, two clear recommendations, and one rule that overrides everything.
Clumping Clay
Forms solid clumps on contact with moisture, making scooping easy and efficient. The gold standard for most cat owners. Dusty options exist: choose low-dust variants.
Wood Pellet
Breaks into sawdust when wet. Excellent odour control, low tracking, biodegradable. Requires a sieve tray or regular full changes. Learning curve for cats used to clay.
Tofu / Plant-Based
Made from soy, corn, or other plant fibres. Clumps well, flushable in small amounts, low dust. Some cats dislike the texture. Quality varies widely between brands.
Silica Crystal
Absorbs urine into gel crystals and desiccates solids. Low maintenance but uncomfortable underfoot for some cats. Non-biodegradable. Monitor for ingestion with kittens.
Non-Clumping Clay
Absorbs but does not clump. Cheap and widely available but requires full tray changes more often. Harder to monitor urinary output. Fine for kittens.
Paper
Soft, dust-free, and recommended post-surgery. Poor odour control and does not clump. Not suitable as a long-term primary litter for most cats.
Scented litter
Do not use it.
Scented litter exists to make the human feel better about the tray. It does not make the cat feel better. Cats have approximately 200 million scent receptors. You have 5 million. What smells "fresh" to you is an overwhelming chemical assault on their primary sense.
If the tray smells bad, scoop more often. Change the litter more frequently. Replace the tray. Do not mask the problem with fragrance that may actively discourage your cat from using the tray at all.
What we recommend.
Available in the UK. Tested on the residents of Maison Maleb's.
OKO PLUS
Plant-based clumping litter with excellent odour control. Low dust, biodegradable, and genuinely effective. The litter we use at Maison Maleb’s.
NATUSAN
Wood-based clumping litter. Good odour control, biodegradable, widely available in the UK. A strong eco choice if your cat tolerates wood-based textures.
WORLD’S BEST
Corn-based clumping litter. Flushable in small amounts, excellent clumping, low dust. Premium price but consistently high quality.
TIGERINO
Budget-friendly bentonite clay litter with good clumping. Available on Zooplus. Dustier than premium options but effective for the price.
CATSAN
The supermarket default. Non-clumping hygiene variant is poor. The clumping Smart Pack is acceptable. Not the best but accessible everywhere.
BREEDER CELECT
Recycled paper pellets. Dust-free, soft, and recommended post-surgery. Not a long-term primary litter but excellent for recovery periods.
What it actually costs.
| Type | Monthly (1 cat) | Annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clumping clay | £8 – £15 | £96 – £180 | Varies hugely by brand |
| Wood pellet | £6 – £12 | £72 – £144 | Cheap if bought in bulk |
| Silica crystal | £10 – £18 | £120 – £216 | Lasts longer per fill |
| Tofu / plant | £10 – £20 | £120 – £240 | Premium pricing |
| Non-clumping clay | £5 – £10 | £60 – £120 | Cheapest option |
Estimates based on single-cat households using standard tray sizes. Multi-cat homes should multiply accordingly. Prices reflect UK retail as of 2024.
Maintain it properly.
A clean tray is not a luxury. It is the baseline. Your cat's willingness to use the tray is directly proportional to how clean you keep it.
Would you use a toilet that had not been flushed since yesterday? Neither will your cat. The difference is that your cat has an alternative: your carpet, your bed, or your favourite chair.
If your cat stops using the tray, the first question is always: when did you last clean it?
Scoop daily
Minimum once a day, ideally twice. Remove clumps and solids. Top up litter as needed to maintain depth.
Full change
Replace all litter and wash the tray with hot water every 1–2 weeks for clumping, weekly for non-clumping.
Avoid bleach
No bleach, no disinfectant, no scented cleaning products. Hot water and a mild unscented soap is sufficient.
Replace annually
Plastic trays absorb odour over time. Replace the entire tray once a year, or sooner if scratched or stained.
The non-negotiables.
Seven rules. Some are recommendations. Some are requirements. All of them will make life measurably better for your cat.
- Do: One tray per cat, plus one. This is the minimum. No exceptions.
- Do: Scoop daily. Minimum once. Ideally twice.
- Do: Unscented, always. Scented litter exists for you, not your cat.
- Do: Clumping clay or wood pellet are the safest starting points.
- Do not: Do not use hooded trays unless your cat has actively chosen one.
- Do not: Do not use automatic trays as a substitute for observation.
- Do: Replace the tray annually. Plastic absorbs what you cannot clean.
Considering a self-cleaning tray? Read Electric Litter Trays first.
- The tray is not the unglamorous part of cat ownership.
- It is the part that tells you, earlier than almost anything else, whether something is wrong.
- Pay attention to it accordingly.