Fresh Step sent me this new item to review for their website, at no charge.
First off, let me say that we’ve been using paper litter for nearly the entire year, so we already have something that works well for us. It doesn’t work for everyone, so I wanted to test this litter to see what I could tell you about it. I do favor unscented litter. There is my #1 bias.
This new litter has the power of Febreze, but they have made improvements vs other Fresh Step scented litters I have used in the past. The thing I don’t notice these fragrances on is actually masking the smell of waste, but the scent on my cats’ little feet when they come up to me for a visit and to hang out with their mother. “Ah. You’ve been in the potty box, again.” – Fragrance.
This time around, the smell on their feet wasn’t quite as bad as it has been previously, but again, I choose none.
As for the low tracking and dust, I think this is not a toot to their own horn. Fresh Step really did get a lower tracking, less dust formula. I don’t have a litter mat out (we’ve been using paper) and the litter was usually confined to a foot or so in front of the litter box we were testing this on. When I first filled the box, I did not have a huge burst of dust come up at me. “A” from me. My boyfriend did not feel the same way I did. It was his idea we switch to paper, and any litter outside the box or any dust, was not good for him. What would you expect?
One item of note: This was the living room litter box. Dismal tried to run the Roomba, and said the particulates from the litter tried to clog the filter on the vacuum, and it needed a bit of maintenance. Maybe use this in a bathroom.
I would also add that this clumps very well. Too well. I had to dig and dig to get it off the bottom and sides of the litter box. Amazing.
This could be attributed to the fact that we were given the 12.6 lb box in a house with four cats and couldn’t keep it deep enough. In fact, that box did not make it an entire week. If you have only one cat, you might be able to get 2 weeks out of it, but that’s just speculation.
Fresh Step does offer a full ten day Odor Free Guarantee:
“We stand by our litter. No matter how much your cats stand in it.
Fresh Step® clumping litters feature 10-day odor elimination with the power of Febreze™. If you find things are getting stinky before 10 days, just download the form below and send it in for a full refund.†”
Read more at Money Back Guarantee
I’m still waiting to find out where this is going to be up for sale. It’s a great new item to try, if it works for your household. Not everyone wants to sift through loose paper soiled pellets, and would much prefer a tight clumping contained scoop of waste removal.
I never found new Fresh Step Clean Paws litter on my cats’ feet on the duvet like I had with old Fresh Step before we changed things up after Tommy’s surgery last year. My basis for comparison are formulas like Ultra or Triple Action. I would get any 42 lb bag of Fresh Step Unscented at Petsmart for an average of $21.