Purina Tidy Cats Litter Review 2024: Pros, Cons, & Final Verdict

Tidy Cats: It’s a popular household name among those who have indoor kitties. The company is a subsidiary of Purina (known for pet food), and it specializes only in cat litter of various types. One of the selling points of Tidy Cats Kitty Litter is that it can tame litter box odor even if you have multiple cats.

Since Tidy Cats offer various types, formulations, and scents of cat litter, it’s likely most cat owners (and cats) will find something they like. Their clumping litters advertise tight clumps and powerful odor control for a fresh litter box all the time, which any cat owner will attest is important not only for aesthetics but also for their kitty’s happiness and willingness to use the box.

My cat Peanut and I personally tested out three of the most popular Purina Tidy Cats Kitty Litter varieties to see if we liked them, which ones we liked best, and if any issues would cause us not to purchase them in the future. Read on to learn more!

At a Glance: The Best Purina Tidy Cats Kitty Litter Varieties

About Purina Tidy Cats Kitty Litter

Let’s get to know a little about the company and whether this type of kitty litter is right for your cat.

Who Makes Tidy Cats Kitty Litter and Where Is It Produced?

Tidy Cats is its own brand, and its parent company is Purina, which is a well-known supplier of pet food and treats. Purina is actually a subsidiary of Nestlé, which acquired Purina in 2001. While Nestlé has manufacturing plants in various areas of the world, Tidy Cats Kitty Litter is processed in Bloomfield, Missouri.

Who Is Tidy Cats Kitty Litter Best Suited For?

Tidy Cats Kitty Litter is for people who have indoor (or indoor/outdoor) cats. While someone with one cat could certainly benefit from this brand, it is marketed toward those who have multi-cat households due to its excellent odor control.

With several varieties available, it’s likely there’s a style that will appeal to most kitties and their owners. For example, those who prefer not to have to pick up a heavy box of litter will appreciate the lightweight litter varieties. There are both unscented and heavily fragranced versions available (as well as other options in between), so most people’s scent preferences can be met.

The instructions on the lightweight kitty litter varieties that I tried all recommended scooping daily and dumping every two weeks, so this would be a good option for those who want to freshen the litter daily but don’t want to have to completely change it every week.

Finally, since Tidy Cats Kitty Litter is widely available on Amazon.com, Chewy.com, and most grocery stores, anyone who shops at any of these places routinely won’t have trouble finding it and adding it to their normal shopping lists.

Who Might Do Better With a Different Brand?

Tidy Cats Kitty Litter won’t appeal to every kitty or every cat owner. Some cats are finicky about their litter, and those who prefer textures other than the ones Tidy Cats carries might not make the switch easily. For example, some cats prefer paper pellet litters; in this case, a picky kitty might not accept Tidy Cats.

Some households will want to spend less on cat litter and might prefer a less expensive brand. Also, some cats might not be able to tolerate the dust from this type of litter due to health issues or recent surgery; in that case, a litter made without clay might be recommended.

What Is Tidy Cats Kitty Litter Made Of?

Tidy Cat carries various types of kitty litter, and they have different ingredients. Here are some of them:

Packaging and Opening the Kitty Litter

I received three varieties of Tidy Cats Kitty Litter, and all came in similar packaging: a cardboard box with a thick plastic bag inside, which contained the litter. The product name and description were on the outside of the boxes; the bag inside was clear and unmarked.

Note that this isn’t exactly what you will see as the first image on Amazon or Chewy. While the product images on these sites are in full color, the box you’ll receive will be in grayscale.

The box opened easily enough, and inside, two of the plastic bags were intact, while the Tidy Cats Lightweight 24/7 Scented Clumping Clay Cat Litter must have had a small hole somewhere because there was some loose litter in the box. This didn’t affect the function or make it messier to pour, however.

These were lightweight, about 17 pounds each, so carrying them to the master bathroom, where my cat’s litter box is, wasn’t a problem. While the boxes have cutouts on the sides, though, there’s no top handle, which was slightly inconvenient.

When it was time to open the plastic packaging, I did need scissors despite the box advertising an “easy-open bag inside,” and advising the user to pull off the perforated top to pour. On all three boxes, I did check the bag carefully for any type of perforation and didn’t find any, so scissors it was!

A Quick Look at Purina Tidy Cats Kitty Litter Varieties

Recall History

Tidy Cats doesn’t have any recall history; according to Purina, the company has been producing cat litter for 70 years.

Reviews of the 3 Best Purina Tidy Cats Kitty Litter Varieties

Now it was time to pour the litter into the box to see how it smelled, how much dust there was, and how Peanut liked the different varieties.

1. Tidy Cats Lightweight 24/7 Scented Clumping Clay Cat Litter

The first litter we tried was the Tidy Cats Lightweight 24/7 Scented Clumping Clay Cat Litter. I poured it into the litter box, and within a couple of minutes, Peanut was investigating. I noticed it had a not-quite-mild scent, but it wasn’t unpleasant or very strong.

Peanut is used to a very mildly scented litter, so I wasn’t sure how she’d react; she didn’t seem to mind, though. Within a few hours, she’d used the litter for all of her bathroom needs.

When I went to scoop, the litter had clumped well, mostly in one solid mass with just a few tiny extra clumps that didn’t make it into the first main clump. I would say this was good clumping. It wasn’t wet and it didn’t fall apart.

By the second day, the fragrance of the litter had changed. I wouldn’t call it pleasant, really, and I’m not sure that it was completely covering the smell of the cat poop, though there was no ammonia smell. I’d say the “odor free” aspect of this litter was moderate at best.

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2. Tidy Cats Free & Clean Lightweight Unscented Clumping Clay Cat Litter

When it was time to change the box, we decided to go with the Tidy Cats Free & Clean Lightweight Unscented Clumping Clay Cat Litter. As promised, it truly seemed to have no scent that I could detect, and like the previous variety, it was pretty dust-free. Peanut again came over to investigate on her own.

Again, she used this litter with no problem. The clumping action was about the same, though I’d say this one might have clumped more fully than the previous variety. It was easy to scoop and the clumps stayed together.

The unscented version had no masking ability for the cat poop, but again, I didn’t notice any ammonia smell from urine. I did notice that Peanut did kick more of this litter around, though I don’t know if it was a stronger effort to cover her elimination or if it was just a coincidence, as she isn’t the tidiest kitty when it comes to keeping her litter in her box at all times.

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3. Tidy Cats Lightweight Glade Blossoms Scented Clumping Clay Cat Litter

The last litter variety we tried was the Tidy Cats Lightweight Glade Blossoms Scented Clumping Clay Cat Litter. The fragrance was strong: Even when it was still in the sealed plastic, I could smell a very pungent chemical odor.

When I opened the bag, Peanut was nowhere to be found. I called her over and she gave it a quick sniff and left. I didn’t have high hopes that she’d use it, but she ended up surprising me later that same day.

The clumping ability was the same as with the others: a nice, tight clump that didn’t fall apart or seem wet. Also, again, there was no dust.

I poured the litter into the box in the morning, and since it was in our master bathroom (attached to our bedroom), I had reservations as to whether I’d want to leave it there overnight since I didn’t want to be smelling Glade air freshener all night. The good news is that the fragrance did actually diminish throughout the day and in the subsequent days, and it did control odors very well.

Our Experience With Tidy Cats Kitty Litter

All in all, this was a good experience. The packaging wasn’t amazing, but it’s clear on the Amazon and Chewy websites that it’s a cardboard box with side cut-outs, not a jug or a box with a top strap to make it easier to lift and pour. With that being said, the litter itself is lightweight, so while the boxes were bulky, they weren’t heavy.

Peanut used all three types of litter, and they worked as they were supposed to. It was easy to scoop both liquid and solid waste and there was no dust. The odor control on the unscented and lightly scented varieties wasn’t perfect, and the fragrance of the Glade-scented variety was overpowering for the first day or so, but altogether, I’d purchase this again.

If I had all three litters to choose from, I would probably choose the Tidy Cats Lightweight Glade Blossoms Scented Clumping Clay Cat Litter as my first choice because the odor control was very good. I would, however, pour it in the morning and leave a window open to help the fragrance dissipate before bedtime, as our litter box is close to our bedroom. In a home with the box located in a laundry room, garage, or basement, this step probably wouldn’t be necessary.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Tidy Cat Kitty Litter varieties I tried all had some good points: They were virtually dust-free, they clumped well, and my cat accepted them. They were also lightweight, which made pouring easy. On the other hand, the plastic inside the boxes wasn’t “easy-open” as the package indicated (though it was no problem to just use scissors to open them). The odor control ranged from just okay to very good; the very good control came with a very strong fragrance at first, though.

All in all, I’d buy this product again, and I’d recommend it to anyone with indoor cats who needs a moderately priced lightweight clumping kitty litter.

• Looking for a non-clumping option? 10 Best Non-Clumping Cat Litters – Reviews & Top Picks