Thursday, June 2, 2016

Garfield Cat Litter - a review


Update March 2017: I recently purchased this product on sale at PetSmart. I was thrilled to find it and I ordered 12 bags of it. When I put the product in the litterbox I was nearly instantly disappointed with it. The first time I scooped the box the litter clump fell nearly apart and the individual grains went everywhere. I thought maybe my cat had just gone and it didn't have time to gel, so I waited a bit before scooping again, and again all of the clumps broke apart leaving behind a lot of used litter. Very quickly the box started to stink of old used urine soaked litter. I had to throw it all out and I returned the rest of the product.  What is so sad about this, is how good it was. It also bothers me that you have to open at least two bags of the litter to get full coverage of an adult sized litter box; you won't know if it works for you without a considerable investment (because the litter is still not cheap)

I'm sorry to say, I no longer recommend this product.

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Back in February, I was trolling Twitter and Facebook for posts about Global Pet Expo. I was trying to live vicariously through the people who were lucky enough to be there. One post caught my eye, it was about a new cat product.

Garfield Cat Litter, of all things. A "celebrity" sponsored cat litter? really? All I could think of was 'what a gimmick', but I was trolling to learn about new products, so off I went to learn about this.


On their website, one of the first things they promote is that it is plant based. This is important to a lot of people who are unhappy with the idea of using clay for their cat litter. Personally, I have been very disappointed by 'natural' and 'plant based' litter so I immediately became skeptical this would be any good.

I did like the claim that it was chemical-free. They also make the claim that they add no fragrances or chemicals. I am not a fan scented litter, so to me, this is a very good thing. I also liked that it is white. Cats with irritated bladders end up with a lot of blood in their urine and this can be hard to see with regular clay litters.

I kept searching the website to figure out what it was made of and sadly it is not listed there anywhere, but if you ask them, they tell you that it is made out of cassava root and corn.

One thing that is on the website is a link to request a sample. That impressed me.  I contacted the company. I explained who I was and that I would like to try the litter.  The woman that responded told me she was still at the expo but she would get some out to me when she returned.

Just recently, May 22nd to be exact, I was in a position to put the litter out for the foster kittens.  They sent me two bags. One bag filled up a kitten sized litter box by a couple of inches. It seemed much more than was necessary in that little box but I didn't think it would be enough to fill up a regular sized litter box and I wasn't prepared to try to put some back in the bag.


The new litter garnered some interest initially but no actual use. I'm not sure why they were put off by the new litter initially but they preferred to play in it vs answering the call of nature. I had put that box in the spot where they were used to going before and I put the box that was there where the other litter boxes were. I guess it was just different enough for them to be skeptical of it.

A day and a half later I realized that had changed.


I had wondered if they were having an issue with how deep the litter was and was in the process of separating it out into two boxes when I realized we had clumps.  Pretty impressive clumps too.


One thing I really liked was how cleanly the clumps came off the bottom of the box. With regular clay litter when you remove a clump there is usually a dusty clay circle where the clump was, this had none of that. The more I scooped, the more I realized it has a slightly different texture and thus a bit of a different sound when I scoop, almost a bit like playing with sand beads.

Time and time again, the pee clumps came up off the bottom of the box easily and did not leave a trace. Sadly, the kittens seemed to refuse to poop in the box. I couldn't imagine why. I was holding off on doing this review hoping that they would change their minds; eight days later they finally did.

I will admit to you that I really really like this litter.  It is dust free and it clumps really well. It is nice and easy to maintain. I lament that they don't make it is bigger packages so I could start using it for The Crew. Hopefully, in time, they will and it will be available to purchase at your local stores instead of just at Amazon.

Usually, when I do a review I like to add in anything that can be seen as a negative. Personally, I learn more about a product by what went wrong for people than what worked. When I see 100% glowing reviews I assume they are paid ads and I don't take them as seriously.  The only "negative" is the kittens took some time getting used to it which is to be completely expected when changing up something so important to a cat. I suppose I could list the fact that it only comes in five-pound packages and that it is only sold on Amazon as negatives, but if you only have one cat and you have Amazon Prime, you might think that is awesome.

What do you think? Is this something you might want to try?

24 comments:

  1. Hi Connie and kitties,

    I've tried a number of cat litters over the years. Some of the ones I would have preferred were made from wheat and were AWFUL in terms of clumping. The cats actually thought it was meant as some kind of fine delicacy?

    We've been using Tidy Cats 4 in 1. While my cats like it, I don't honestly care for it. I hate supporting ANYTHING by Purina--to include the popular Friskies food. Natural ANYTHING is best for cats and people alike.

    I would LOVE to give this product a try. They do give out samples? I'll look into it :] Thanks!

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  2. This definitely sounds like something my human would like to try with us! She hates clay litter with a passion because of the way it's mined, and also because it tends to be heavy and dusty and generally unpleasant. We use corn-based litter and a silica-type sand and use both - this sounds like it combines the best of both worlds, texture wise.

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  3. Oh, this looks interesting. We aren't sure about cassava root, but we use corn-based litter now and are really happy with it. If this improves the dustiness, it's worth taking a look if they start making bigger bags.

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  4. Mom doesn't dare even think about changing our litter.

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  5. Yes, this is one I would definitely try out. Thanks for the review!

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  6. we had seen that around and wondered about it....it certainly would be nice with kittens (mom is trying to do the math and has no idea how many 5 pound bags it would take to fill the regular boxes though - haha)

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  7. This is curious. I use clay litters only because the cats prefer them, and when I've tried introducing other litters (slowly, one scoop at a time) I reach that critical mass where they start avoiding the box. It does sound interesting and I would give it a try.

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  8. We too have tried several different kinds of litter, and have finally decided that we will try something new only when a new cat comes into the household. I did not try any corn litters, because several friends told me that their cats would eat it! Walnut litter went over like a lead balloon, and every variation I've tried caused more problems as the cats didn't like to use the litter box! However, this is a great review; you've covered the items that I would want to know about, so maybe there could be a future for this product in our house. Thanks!

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  9. This looks like something our mom would enjoy cleaning. We will ask for samples too.

    Emma and Buster

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  10. Does sound a bit gimmicky but it is not easy to get Garfield's endorsement. By it's nature it should be dust free. My home is dusty as king Tut's tomb from litter dust! Changing cat litter brands is a bit like handling unexploded bombs--you may be sorry. Running low or out of litter could be bad when you need to make an Amazon order for a refill. Interesting review howevr.

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  11. Hmmmm, this looks inneresting and promising. We don't like scented litters and would prefer not to use clay but have found the others lacking. They don't clump and if TW doesn't mix them with clay litter, I won't use them. If this doesn't crumble instead of clump and they make bigger bags, it may be something to try.

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  12. We've never liked the plant based litters for some reason. So we probably wouldn't like this one either. Though it does look interesting...and we like how it clumps well.

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  13. Great review. With 13 cats, I probably couldn't afford it, but it would be fun to try. I like the artistic looking clumps :)

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  14. We totally agree! Got a sample bag and was really pleased with it.

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  15. Anonymous10:21 AM

    I have 2 cats, 14 and 15 years old. Their urine has become very strong smelling. I'm desperate for anything to help control the odor. No mention of how this works in that respect.

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  16. Anonymous1:00 PM

    BEST LITTER EVER. Paws down! I - um, Kissy Marie, my 10 year old calico - has been using this for only a couple of weeks now, and there is NO TURNING BACK. I found it at my local grocery store, a 10 lb. bag, for $10.99. NO dust. Extraordinary clumping that doesn't break apart, and NO wet spots which contribute to smell - odor control, by the way, is also excellent. My singular complaint is tracking. I'm using the larger grained (purple bag) litter; I have an Omega Paws rolling litter pan (which I also very highly recommend, especially coupled with this litter, makes pan duty almost enjoyable!) so grain size matters. I'm in a very small, 700 sq. ft. apartment, so it might not be so noticeable to others, but I find it on the couch and her window seat. It scatters a bit on the linoleum where her pan is, but here's the thing: it's so darn easy to sweep up I happily concede to this problem. Other litters seem to stick in the broom and scatter anew when I sweep; not this stuff! And there's a big bonus: the color. At the time I switched, Kissy Marie was suffering with a urinary tract infection. It was helpful to be able to note whether she was still passing blood. Because UTIs aren't unusual in housecats, I find this to be particularly helpful. Buy it, it's absolutely the best thing out there!

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  17. Thank you for the very informative review. The only problem was I never did hear anyone say how it works when you flush it. I would be very happy if it really is flushable. Having to lug bags of used litter to the trash gets old fast and I have been doing that for 45 years. Looking forward to trying this new litter. Just got a store coupon bye one get one free. Hope my 4 year old picky female likes it. She does not usually like non clay based litter. My 12 year old male does not care one way or the other just give him a place to go and he's happy.

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    1. Considering it is plant based and thus I am guessing mostly starch, I would say it would flush just fine as long as your cat didn't produce huge clumps. I won't flush it because we are on a septic system and so everything here stays here and having multiple cats I don't want to risk it. If I had one or two cats and was on a sewer system I would totally flush it.

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    2. The clumps are like concrete. I would never put it in my toilet, and I AM on sewers. I haven't tested a clump by putting it in water, though...I can't wait for this litter to be gone so I can be done with the mess. I have litter ALL OVER the place!!! Never seen it track like this stuff does. UGH

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  18. I was prepared to like this litter; I wanted something long lasting and firm clumping. The bag says less tracking and easy scooping. OK, so I have been using this for about 3 weeks. The clumps are firm, yes. But they stick to the bottom and sides of the pan and I have to kick the sides of the cat pan if I even hope to break them free. There was no using the scoop to free them, as the sides of our pan are curved. Odor control seemed ok, but it doesn't stick well to poop, and my cats don't like working to cover their business so basically after they scratched a couple times and it wasn't covered, they left it. There is virtually no dust, but the mess is unreal. I have this litter all over the house. I find it in the living room, down the hall and around the cat pan it is simply a disaster. I don't know why my cats track it like they do, but with three adult cats, you can imagine the mess - I have to constantly be sweeping and vacuuming up litter. I would not buy this litter again. I would use it if they sent it free, but I am going to be trying the new Arm and Hammer version called Slide, because I am hoping I won't have to fight to get the clumps loose!!

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    Replies
    1. I wonder if the batch you got was the same batch I got and it wasn't well mixed, because mine didn't clump at all.

      I recently tried the Slide litter and did a post about it, even sharing the url to a rebate for free box. I really like it and it is what I am not using in my upstairs litter box.

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  19. Anonymous10:39 AM

    I love, love this litter but I'm trying to find more info on cassava, one of the ingredients. Anyone have any info? I found some when Google and I'm worrying if they can pick up contaminates.

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    Replies
    1. a cassava is a starchy root vegetable, a bit like a potato.

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  20. Anonymous4:47 PM

    I recently took in a poor little thing someone obviously dumped some time ago (seems to be the norm for many an a$$hole around here in AZ) & was surprised that she was still alive, though struggling to even breathe in the summer/monsoon weather out here... now only if I can get my dogs/ wolf hybrids to accept the fact that she lives here now - though stuck pretty much in a room w a big walk in closet. Anyhow, its been ages since I last had a cat & tried grabbing a bunch of cat stuff the day I was planning on sneaking her inside. �� Last minute run to grocery store (Fry's), I was intrigued by what I saw in this bag, so I grabbed one - all w the bag of silicon litter I was originally there to buy. So I ended up w both bags & decided to layer a box w the silicone litter on bottom, this Garfield cassava/ corn blend on top, and all I can say is I love it! I do clean the box out every day (2x) w a plastic bag on my hand (way I pick up after dogs) & pee is almost like a work of art the way it filters thru & hardens. Yes, it does stick to bottom, but easily pulls off w no mess. #2 isn't quite as clean dried as #1, but the silicon stuff mixed in also seems to address most of this issue. As far as tracking is concerned, I have more of the silicone litter everywhere vs this stuff! But regardless, anything is better than clay litter or any other natural litter. So what if I have to vacuum for a minute, she also has a ha it of kicking it out of the box too (which I have sitting on my youngest dog's pee pad that this tiny kitty seems to like to scrunch up around the box too. All I can think of is that she's now safe from the kills heat & everything else out there & am just happy that she even uses the litter box in there.

    Thus IS also flushable - though urine turns clumps hard as a rock, you just way a few minutes to dissolve a bit first before flusing.

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