The 5 Best Natural Cat Litters in 2023: Biodegradable

Why go for the best natural cat litters when you have the freedom to choose from various types and sizes of cat litters?

Good Question! But here is the answer!

Clay-based clumping cat litters are highly absorbent, so think about the potential dangers it can cause. If your kitty ingests even a small quantity of such clay-based litter. Did you know, it can cause intestinal blockage respiratory disorders?

Therefore, going for a natural, biodegradable and healthy litter option for both felines and their owners is mandatory. They are hypoallergenic, non-dusty, absorb urine effectively, and clump almost as equivalent to clay litters.

A Quick Comparison (updated in 2023)

The Best Natural Litters for Cats

1. World’s Best Natural Cat Litter – Overall Best

Standing true to its name, World’s Best Natural Cat Litter is made of whole corn kernel and also offers easy and quick clumping. This makes it suitable for multiple cat households as it would not require frequent scooping and cleaning. It is non-sticky and requires no extra scraping or chiseling either.

The litter offers outstanding odor control and does not contain any overwhelming scent. It is capable of containing strong ammonia odors for a longer time, making it efficient and long-lasting. World’s Best Natural Cat litter is also flushable and septic friendly.

Features 

• Material: Whole corn kernel
• Easy to clump and scoop
• Outstanding odor control
• Flushable and septic safe
• 99% dust-free

Moreover, the litter is 99% dust-free and light in weight. It is naturally free of silica and does not cause any allergies. It has no harmful chemicals or artificial scents making it very safe for your cat. The litter also causes less tracking making it our overall best pick.

To conclude, we think this is the overall best natural cat litter.

Pros

• Quick clumping ability makes it very easy to clean and scoop
• Free of silica dust making it hypoallergenic
• Can be disposed of easily by flushing
• Unscented and helps in effective odor control

Cons

• The quality of the product has degraded over time
• The litter is very dusty

2. sWheat Scoop Natural Fast-Clumping Wheat Cat Litter – Editor’s Pick

sWheat Scoop Natural Fast-Clumping Wheat Cat Litter is our choice for premium natural litter for cats as it comes with premium quality and 100% renewable cat litter with no harmful ingredients or chemicals. It clumps quickly and effectively and neutralized odor without any artificial scents, dyes, or perfumes.

The wheat-based clumping litter has noble ion technology that traps the odor particles without masking them with overwhelming fragrances. Additionally, the starch content in the wheat litter helps in quick clumping which makes it easy to clean the box quickly.

Features

• Material: Wheat
• Fast clumping
• Noble Ion Technology for Powerful Odor Control
• 100% Biodegradable and Renewable
• Flushable natural cat litter

This litter is flushable and sewage friendly as well as biodegradable, making it eco-friendly as well as feline friendly. sWheat Scoop is grown by farmers, ground up, and then packaged for use in your cat’s litter box.

Pros

• Renewable and flushable makes it easy to dispose of and reuse
• Fast clumping action due to starch in a wheat-based litter
• Noble ion technology helps in effective odor control
• Contains no harmful chemicals or dyes, making it safe for your cat

Cons

• The litter forms dust easily, which can cause allergies
• The clumps are not firm and break easily

3. Feline Pine Natural Cat Litter – Best Value

Feline Pine Natural Cat Litter is the best affordable litter that is safe and eco-friendly under a budget. Moreover, it is effective in controlling odor and uses no harmful chemicals or artificial fragrances. The natural litter for cats is hypoallergenic and has a pellet-like consistency.

The litter does not clump but can be easily sifted for cleaning. It is non-dusty and light in weight. It has natural saw-dust which is highly absorbent and directly binds to odor particles in order to lock them away.

Features

• Material: Pine
• Neutralizes odor
• Highly absorbent
• Lightweight

The litter has a soft texture that is comfortable for your kitty’s sensitive paws. Feline Pine is a brand that focuses on product quality without hampering the environment, making it very eco-friendly and safe for your kitty. Plus, it is one of the good cheap cat litter you will easily get on the market.

Pros 

• The litter is soft and gentle on cat’s paws
• The sawdust is highly absorbent
• 100% Chemical Free

Cons

• The litter is non-clumping
• The size of granules is too large

4. Naturally Fresh Walnut-Based Cat Litter

The Naturally Fresh Walnut-Based Cat Litter is made from fibrous walnut shells that are effective in neutralizing odor and are known to absorb 3 times better than clay litter. The litter forms tight clumps in as good as 15 minutes making it quick and easy to clean and scoop.

Naturally Fresh is silica dust-free, making it hypoallergenic and safe for the household. The shell-based litter is non-sticky, therefore it requires no scraping and excessive cleaning from the litter box either.

The shells are 100% biodegradable as well as renewable, making it easy to dispose of. The product does not have any harmful ingredients or chemicals making it very safe for your cat.

Features

• Material: Walnut shells
• Quick clumping in 15 minutes
• Neutralizes odor
• Highly absorbent
• Non-sticky
• 100 % Biodegradable and Renewable

Pros 

• Does not contain any harmful chemicals or ingredients
• Clumps very quickly making it easy to clean
• Non-sticky and does not form dust

Cons 

• Does not clump efficiently
• The litter is very sticky

5. ökocat Natural Paper-Based Litter

ökocat Natural Paper Litter is the most safest and environmentally friendly cat litter. It is biodegradable and contains natural paper fiber. The fiber is fortified with a long-lasting plant-based odor in order to eliminate the strong ammonia smell coming from cat urine.

The litter is non-clumping and is a pellet-based non-dusty product. This paper-based litter is highly absorbent, soaking 200% of its weight of liquid and urine. The litter is suitable for multi-cat use. It is absolutely light in weight making it easy to lift, pour, and dispose of.

Features

• Material: Paper Pellets
• Plant-based odor control
• Highly absorptive
• Long-lasting pellets
• Lightweight

The paper-based pellets contain no harmful chemicals, fragrances, or dyes making them totally safe for kittens and adult cats. The product is GMO-free and the soft texture provides a soft surface for your feline’s sensitive paws.

Pros

• Absolutely light in weight making it easy to pour and manage
• Helps in controlling litter box odor effectively
• Does not cause dust or allergies making it safe for the household
• Very absorptive and long-lasting eco-friendly product

Cons 

• Difficult to sift and clump while cleaning
• Does not control ammonia smell from urine

You can also refer our related articles for future reference

• Best cat litter vacuum
• Cat litter for odor control

Buyer’s Guide: Why Choose Natural Cat Litter?

Natural Cat Litters are safe, easy to dispose of, and are made from plant-based materials like corn or wheat which makes them biodegradable. Moreover, they are cheaper in the long run and more cost-efficient than clumping cat litter.

Any cat litter that is made from materials apart from traditional clay litter is referred to as natural litter for cats. These are safe, and non-allergenic, especially for small kittens who are more prone to respiratory disorders and allergies. Additionally, their curious nature would make them ingest the litter at times which can cause intestinal blockage.

Natural Cat Litters are made of various materials like wood, paper, pine, walnut shells, corn, wheat, etc. Some of them can form clumps on coming in contact with moisture but most of them are non-clumping litters.

• Non-Scented: Natural Cat litters are usually non-scented. This is safe for cats who are very sensitive to fragrances and deter from scents and flowery-smelling litter. On the contrary, biodegradable cat litters are usually made of paper, wood, shells, and other safe materials. Therefore, they possess a fragrance that cats like to sniff.
• Odor-control: These materials also offer great odor control. Their fresh odor is very significant, unique, and phenomenal which can effectively reduce the odor of cat urine and feces.
• Non-Dusty: In comparison with other cat litter, these are made of particles having shells and wood. Non-natural ones are usually made of silica dust. They are very small granules that can easily spread on the floors through litter tracking.

They are also light enough to be found in the air, and if you or your cat inhale it, it can cause allergies and other respiratory disorders. Therefore, natural cat litters are safer and form lesser amounts of dust and tracking.

• Easy to Dispose of: Another major benefit of natural cat litters is that they are easy to flush down the toilet. However, one has to be very careful as cat litter can contain harmful pathogens like Toxoplasmic Gondii which are shed from infected cats.

These pathogens can end up polluting the surroundings and can cause a chain of unwanted effects and diseases in the ecosystem which is not desirable.

• High Absorbency: Certain natural litter for cat like paper, corn, etc. have a high absorbent capacity which can effectively absorb urine and moisture quite efficiently like clumping clay litter. Why choose clumping litter when you have better options available?
• Eco-friendly: These types are usually biodegradable as they are made from all-natural materials like wood, paper, shells, etc.

These objects are usually used for making compost or simply can be dug in the soil for biodegradation by environmental microbes. Therefore, Natural litter can be reused and recycled for good.

Types of Natural Cat Litters

Natural Cat Litters are made of various materials like pine, walnut shells, corn, and paper. No one type is suitable for all cats and litter boxes and each type has its pros and cons. We detail you about the few types of natural litter for cats available.

• Corn

Corn cat litter is made from whole kernel corn and is environmentally safe as well as biodegradable. Here are a few more features:

• Safety: This litter is edible and very safe, especially for kittens who accidentally end up ingesting the litter. It is also safe for adult cats who have undergone medical surgery, have been recently spayed, or are going through a medical condition that can cause them to ingest litter.

• Absorbance: The litter has a microporous structure which makes it highly absorbable. The starches in the corn allow it to easily form clumps and make them easy to scoop out as well.

• Texture: The texture of this litter is granular. The granules can be very fine or very coarse which depends upon different brands. The ideal texture is offered by World’s Best Cat Litter which offers medium-sized granular litter. It is non-dusty and does not track easily either.

• Odor Control: Since these litter has high absorbance, it can easily contain the strong ammonia odor that comes from cat urine. Although, it may require frequent replacing as natural litter cannot contain odor for too long. It has a scent that cats usually love.

• Disposal: Corn litter is easy to dispose of as it can be flushed down the toilet or can be used to make compost or soiled in your garden or backyard. Since it is biodegradable, it is eco-friendly and does not harm the environment unlike clumping clay litter.

• Cleaning: Corn cat litter is non-dusty and non-sticky. Therefore, it will not require additional scraping and efforts for cleaning or scooping. However, this litter will only last for a week and will require frequent replacement as it can start stinking eventually.

• Wheat

Wheat-based natural litter for cats is made from naturally processed non-food-grade wheat grains. The features are as follows:

• Safety: Just like corn, wheat is also grain-based litter meaning, it is edible and causes no harm. It is good especially for small kittens who may accidentally end up ingesting litter out of curiosity. However, make sure it does not become a habit as dirty litter can cause some serious health issues upon ingestion.

• Absorbance: Wheat has natural starches that can easily combine with moisture to form clumps. Therefore, they offer excellent absorbance and clumping ability which in turn, makes it easy to clean and scoop the litter.

• Texture: Wheat litter has a consistency similar to clay litters which makes it ideal for transitioning from clumping litter to natural litter. They are small and look like fine granules in terms of their texture.

• Odor Control: The wheat enzymes in these natural cat litters work on the removal of the odor. The starch combines with moisture or urine and also helps in containing ammonia smell. Moreover, the scent of wheat cat litter is not overwhelming but rather simple and natural.

• Disposal: Wheat litter is flushable and sewage friendly, however, you may need to follow some special instructions before entirely flushing it off. Moreover, wheat is biodegradable, meaning it can be used for composting or soiling as well.

• Cleaning: Wheat cat litters can get dusty as they are very fine granules. Moreover, they need to be replaced every week as they cannot contain odor and dirt for too long and may cause the box to stink.

The Pine Litter itself is a recycled material as it is obtained from pine trees, more specifically the used materials that are obtained from lumber processing which are otherwise dumped as waste. The features are as follows:

• Safety: While pine litter is OK to use for adult cats, whether it is safe for kittens is controversial. When it comes in contact with moisture, it forms sawdust which is not very safe if ingested. Kittens who have a habit of ingesting cat litter should stay away from pine litter.

• Absorbance: As pine litter comes in contact with urine or moisture, the litter pellets break and are converted into sawdust. It does not form clumps very easily and the sawdust is not easy to scoop out of the box. You may have to use a sifter. For solid wastes, it dehydrates the poop which makes it easy to harden and separate out from the litter.

• Texture: The texture can be from coarse to fine granules. They are not very soft on the paws and may feel rough upon touching. They become finer in size once they come in direct contact with urine. Usually, they appear like wood shavings that can differ in size. If they are too small in size, they can spread easily and get dusty.

• Odor Control: Pine Cat Litters are good for absorbing moisture and strong ammonia odor that comes from urine. They also help in controlling long term poop odor by absorbing the moisture from solid wastes.

• Disposal: Pine litters do not clump easily and need to be sifted and scooped from the bottom as the urine and waste get soaked and accumulated at the bottom of the litter box. It can also be disposed of by flushing and is biodegradable.

• Cleaning: While sawdust is not known to be very sticky, the variable size of the granules can make it difficult to clump. Sifting is a more convenient way to clean than scooping but this can make the cleaning process a bit messy and dusty.

• Walnut

This litter is made from walnut shells, which is generally waste and is being recycled to use as cat litter. Features are as follows:

• Safety: Walnut cat litter, being made from walnut shells is absolutely safe for small kittens as well as adults. Walnut is totally edible and would not cause harm to kittens if they accidentally happen to ingest it.

• Absorbance: Walnut shells are known to be showing hard clumping action and also show high absorbency. One of the best walnut shell cat litter would be the Naturally Fresh Walnut Based Litter which is absorbent and clumps decently. The clumping action is not as great as other natural or non-natural cat litters.

• Texture: The texture depends upon the brand but it usually ranges from very coarse to medium-sized granules. Cats sometimes prefer the coarser granules over the finer one.

• Odor Control: The odor control in the case of walnut shells is quite controversial as they may not act upon odor almost immediately. However, it has been shown to be mildly effective in controlling odor but not strong ammonia smells.

• Disposal: Walnut shell litter is easy to dispose of as it can be flushed and is biodegradable. Moreover, the dry walnut shells can make excellent compost which can be used as fertilizers for plants.

• Cleaning: Since these are shells, they spread around. Although they are not dusty, their lightweight can cause them to fly and spread on floors very easily.

They have moderate scooping abilities and may not clump easily as well. Walnut cat litters may, therefore, require careful handling.

• Paper

Paper cat litter is usually made of recycled paper and is considered safe, environmentally friendly, and biodegradable. The features are as follows:

• Safety: In terms of safety, these litters are absolutely safe as they cause no dust and are gentle on your cat’s paws. Most of the time, they are made of processed paper or pine which makes it a good option for declawed cats.

• Absorbance: Although the paper may absorb well, its efficiency in terms of absorbance as well as clumping is not great as compared to other natural and non-natural cat litters. Therefore, it also gets difficult to scoop them.

•  Texture: Such litter is like pellets, the size of which may vary from brand to brand. They are very gentle on your cat’s sensitive paws and feel almost feather-like.

However, certain cats may not like the idea of large pellets and deter from using this type of litter. Many cat parents only prefer it because it is the cheapest cat litter.

• Odor Control: There are mixed reviews when it comes to odor control in the case these litters. While some may be absorbent and control odor effectively, others produce a more disgusting odor when they come in contact with moisture or urine.

• Disposal: While the paper is biodegradable, you can also dispose of by flushing the litter. It is not known to cause any problems and is also sewage friendly.

• Cleaning: While the litter is mostly in the form of non-absorbent large pellets, they do not clump very easily, and hence scooping is a hassle.

Moreover, they are very light and may cause litter track leading to an even messier house. Therefore, one has to handle paper natural cat litters very carefully. It needs to be replaced very frequently.

How to Choose the Natural Litter for Cats?

Natural cat litters are available in different types of materials. Each type functions uniquely. However, here is a list of a few common features one should look out for.

Material

Natural cat litters has to be of a material that is comfortable and performs efficiently. As mentioned before, there are various types of materials available in such litters, each of which has a different efficiency in terms of absorbing. A few of them include litters made of walnut shells, paper, wood, wheat, corn, etc.

Clumping

While clumping cat litters usually consist of sodium bentonite that aids in efficient clumping, there are certain natural litter for cats that can clump too. For example, wheat and corn cat litter have a fine texture and are easy to scoop just like clay cat litter.

Paper or cat litter made of walnut shells are less absorbent and possess less clumping ability as compared to clay or any other natural litter.

Comfort

The natural cat litters should be safe and gentle on your cat’s sensitive paws. Some cats that are declawed may prefer a litter that is soft in texture while some cats prefer granular litter.

Most felines prefer clumping cat litter as they are fine granules, gentle, and easy to dig into. If the litter material is not soft and comfortable for your kitty, they may refrain from using the litter box.

Odor Control

The foul smell and odor coming from the litter box are very disgusting. A good natural cat litter should not only be absorbent but also control strong urine and the ammonia smell effectively.

This also depends upon how often you clean the litter box. Your cat may certainly avoid using the box if he finds it smelling dirty.

Dust-Free

Often while cleaning or sifting cat litter, it causes dust clouds. Moreover, litter that is light in weight may form dust clouds or start tracking. This can not only get allergic to your kitty, but also for you.

In the worst cases, it can lead to respiratory problems. The best option is to choose a cat litter that is dust-free or causes minimal dust.

FAQs

Final Note

Now that we know there are various types of natural cat litter available, it all comes down to your and your cat’s preference to choose the ideal litter for your feline’s box. Make sure to look out for a type that is dust-free, has great clumping ability, is easy to dispose of, and offers good odor control.

If you are looking for one of the best purchases in the range, choose the World’s Best Cat Litter, which costs anywhere between $25 and $27.

A great pine-based litter that shows effective clumping under a budget would be Feline Pine Cat Litter which costs around $15-$20.

For a premium quality wheat-based natural litter for cats, choose the sWheat Scoop Fast-Clumping Wheat Cat Litter costing between $25-$30.

Based on the features, we have selected the best natural cat litters that are biodegradable and made of 100% biodegradable materials making them totally safe as well as eco-friendly for use.

What better way to help your cat as well as the environment, isn’t it?

References

1. All Types of Cat Litter Explained – Perromart
2. Types of Cat Litter, When and How to Switch – Hemopet