Top 9 Best Cat Litters for Odor Control That Actually Work

Cats are pretty easy to take care of. They instinctively know how to use the cat litter box to do their business, and they’re meticulous about grooming themselves. Like humans, they prefer their ‘bathroom’ to be clean and odor-free, so they can do a number 1 or 2 in peace.

No one (yes, not even your pet) wants the ever-present smell of cat urine and feces, which, if uncontrolled, can cause your cats to eliminate waste elsewhere. This is why choosing the best cat litters for odor control is important.

Choosing a cat litter that works for you and your cat is not as easy as you might think. There are many different kinds in the market, and you need to expend the same amount of care into selecting the right one for your feline as you do for his food.

It’s important that you know about all the types of cat litter before making your choice. (We’ll get into that in the latter part of the article.) But for now, let’s review some of the top cat litters in the market and why they may or may not be the right one for your cat.

Best Cat Litter For Odor Control: Clumping

A clumping cat litter offers a cat owner an easy way of cleaning up messes.

1. Dr Elsey's Multi Cat Ultra Premium Litter

Dr. Elsey's is a top choice for cat owners seeking powerful odor control without the use of added fragrances.

Made from natural clay, this unscented, hypoallergenic litter is perfect for households with allergy sufferers, offering a clean and fresh environment without triggering sensitivities.

Its 99% dust-free formula helps reduce airborne particles, making cleanup easier and helping to keep your home tidy.

The hard-clumping action ensures quick and easy scooping, while the low-tracking formulation keeps litter where it belongs—inside the box, not on your floors.

Designed with multi-cat households in mind, this litter provides paw-some odor control naturally, without relying on perfumes or harsh deodorants.

It’s also ideal for use in sifting or mechanical litter boxes, offering convenience and freshness in every scoop.

2. Fresh Step Advanced Multi-Cat Litter

This Fresh Step litter is specially designed to tackle the toughest odors in multi-cat households.

With advanced ClumpLock® technology and Ammonia Block, it locks in liquids and odors on contact, making scooping effortless and preventing messy crumbles from being left behind.

This powerful litter offers rapid liquid absorption to keep your cat’s litter box clean, dry, and comfortable.

It’s infused with a clean, fresh scent and guarantees up to 15 days of odor control with the added freshness of Febreze.

Easy to pour and store, this clumping litter also features a low-dust formula that helps reduce mess on floors and nearby surfaces.

Whether you have two cats or ten, it delivers long-lasting freshness and reliable performance you can count on.

3. Purina Tidy Cats Tidy Max 24/7 Performance Litter

Purina’s litter product offers powerful, round-the-clock odor control that’s perfect for busy, multi-cat households.

With advanced technology that stops ammonia odors for up to 2 weeks, this litter keeps your home smelling fresh day and night.

Its 99.9% dust-free formula helps reduce mess and maintain cleaner surfaces around the litter box.

The moisture-activated Power Pieces work hard to absorb liquids and trap odors on contact, while forming tight, easy-to-scoop clumps for hassle-free cleanup.

Designed for long-lasting freshness and convenience, Tidy Max delivers reliable odor defense and performance you can count on, 24/7.

4. Arm & Hammer Platinum Clump Seal Cat Litter

This product is designed to make litter box maintenance cleaner, easier and more pleasant for both cats and their owners.

Featuring powerful moisture-activated odor eliminators, this litter effectively neutralizes both liquid and solid waste odors on contact, keeping your home smelling fresh.

With Cloud Control Technology, it virtually eliminates airborne dust, so there's no cloud of nasties when pouring or scooping.

It also includes Dander Shield Technology to help reduce airborne dander, making it a great option for allergy-sensitive households.

The hypoallergenic light scent offers a gentle alternative to strong fragrances, while still adding a touch of freshness.

It forms rock-hard clumps for effortless scooping and boasts minimal dust and low tracking—so your floors stay cleaner. Ideal for multi-cat homes, it delivers powerful performance with every use.

5. Naturally Fresh Walnut Clumping Cat Litter

This litter offers a clean, eco-friendly solution for cat parents looking for a natural alternative to traditional litters.

Made entirely from 100% natural walnut shells, this all-natural litter is free from chemicals, toxins, clay, corn, and grains—making it a safer choice for both pets and their humans.

It forms tight, easy-to-scoop clumps in as little as 15 minutes, helping to prevent messes from sticking to the litter box.

The dust-free formula not only reduces tracking but also supports better respiratory health for sensitive cats and pet parents.

It delivers effective performance while keeping things gentle, natural, and sustainable.

6. World’s Best Cat Litter for Multiple Cats

This product combines powerful odor control with the calming aroma of 100% all-natural lavender oil.

Ideal for multi-cat households, this naturally scented litter is a great choice for cat owners who prefer a fresh, fragrant litter box experience.

Its concentrated formula traps odors and forms small, tight clumps on contact, locking away waste and eliminating ammonia smells before they spread.

Made from natural compressed corn, it’s 99% dust-free and free of silica dust, making it a healthier option for both you and your cat.

Plus, it’s flushable and septic-safe, offering an environmentally friendly, easy-to-dispose-of solution.

With less litter waste and no nasty smells, cleaning the box becomes quicker, cleaner and more pleasant.

Non-Clumping Litters

Non-clumping cat litters offer excellent moisture absorption at cheaper prices.

1. PetSafe ScoopFree Premium Crystal Cat Litter

Say goodbye to daily scooping with PetSafe ScoopFree Crystal Cat Litter—the ultimate solution for a cleaner, fresher-smelling litter box.

Designed for hassle-free maintenance, this litter system uses a disposable tray that you simply remove and toss when it’s time to clean up—no scooping required.

The fresh-scented crystals work hard to absorb urine and dry out solid waste, effectively minimizing unpleasant odors before they start.

One tray lasts up to 30 days in a single-cat household, giving you more time to enjoy your pet without the daily mess.

The plastic tray lining adds an extra layer of protection, forming a powerful barrier against leaks to keep your floors clean.

Plus, the low-tracking crystals are gentle on your cat’s paws, won’t stick to their feet, and are 99% dust free, helping to keep your home cleaner, too.

With this product, you can finally spend less time cleaning and more time loving your cat.

2. Tidy Cats Breeze Unscented Cat Litter Pellets

This litter pellets offer a smart, vet-recommended solution for cat owners—especially those with respiratory sensitivities, or households with multiple cats.

These innovative non-clumping pellets are designed to let urine pass through, allowing it to be absorbed by a separate pad below, while solid waste stays on top, making cleanup quick and easy.

With 99.9% dust-free performance, this litter is ideal for keeping the air—and your home—clean, and it’s gentle on sensitive noses.

These unscented pellets provide powerful odor control without fragrances, making them a great choice for cats or humans who are scent-sensitive.

Each bag can last up to a month, offering a neat, low-maintenance alternative to clay litter.

Plus, the pellets help keep floors and paws clean, reducing tracking and mess. Trusted by vets and loved by pet parents, it is the perfect blend of convenience and care.

3. Feline Pine Cat Litter

This litter delivers powerful, natural odor control with a gentle touch.

Crafted from simple plant-based ingredients, this litter features highly absorbent, sustainably sourced pine shavings—made only from reclaimed lumber, so no new trees are cut down.

Combined with the natural deodorizing power of baking soda, it works instantly to neutralize odors, especially tough ammonia smells, without the use of harsh chemicals or synthetic perfumes.

The pine shavings act like thousands of tiny sponges, soaking up moisture and locking away odors on contact, keeping your cat’s litter box fresh, dry and clean.

Lightweight by design, Feline Pine is less than half the weight of traditional clay litters, making it easy to pour, change and refill—without the mess of heavy dust clouds.

Low in dust and gentle on paws, this litter is the ideal choice for cat owners looking for an effective, natural and environmentally responsible solution that’s tough on odors but kind to your feline friend.

Types of Cat Litter

A lot of cat owners suffer from cat litter confusion from the sheer amount of choices available in the market. It doesn’t stop at finding out what cat litters are considered good buys or whether a clumping or non-clumping litter is better. You also have to make a choice on what kind of litter you must purchase.

We aim to make it simpler for you by listing down each kind and what makes it better or not than the others. Here are the more common ones.

1. Recycled paper

Litter that is made from recycled paper is turned into either granules or pellets. Recycled paper cat litters are an excellent choice if you are looking for something dust-free, highly absorbent, biodegradable, and a renewable source material. However, they have a few cons too.

Cat litters that are made from paper absorbs moisture from the bottom. That means that you have to dig through the bottom of the cat litter box if you want to remove the soiled litter. Recycled paper is also more expensive than some other types of litter, and these can be harder to find in stores.

2. Corn and Wheat

Corn and wheat offer superior odor control. They are also biodegradable, easily sourced, low in dust, and highly absorbent. But corn and wheat can be a problem ingredient for many pets.

The danger of using corn or wheat cat litters lie in the humid environment they are used in. Humidity attracts mold, and the aflatoxin mold, which is particularly poisonous to pets, loves corn and other grain. Using corn material for litter increases the risk of aflatoxin mold spores attaching itself to and growing on the litter particles. Moist corn litters can also be a breeding ground for bacteria growth and bugs.

3. Silica gel crystals

Silica gel crystal cat litters are made of small beads of silica crystals. These offer excellent absorbency and odor control. Although they can be more expensive than other types of cat litter, they last long and can hold much urine waste so it all balances off.

However, silica gel can be harmful to your cats if ingested over a long period of time. Also, some cats, particularly senior ones, do not like crystals because these can feel too hard on their paws. There is also the fact that silica is not environment-friendly nor easy to dispose of.

4. Grass

Grass cat litters are fairly new, but it has a long list of benefits including having excellent clumping ability and superior odor control. It’s also non-toxic, comes from a renewable source, has a soft texture, and is extremely lightweight.

Some cons, however, still exist for this type. Number one is the price and the next is the amount of tracking involved.

5. Pine

Pine litters are made from pine wood fiber that comes from lumber scraps. They may be in the form of pine pellets or granules. They have a natural scent that controls the smell of waste. They’re also environment-friendly, do not track, and are easily disposed of because you can use them for mulch or flush them down the drain.

But, pine litter has sharp edges, which may not be so pleasant for your cat. One other major drawback is that it does not stay in solid form after absorbing moisture. It instead turns into a mixture that looks like wet sawdust, making it hard to scoop the soiled ones and clean your litter box.

6. Coconut

Litters made from coconut are the most absorbent in the market and a 5lb. bag reportedly has the same absorbency as a 20 lb. bag of clay litter. They are dust-free, lightweight, non-toxic, comes from a renewable resource, absorbent, and makes for easy cleanups.

Every product has its flaw, and coconut litters are no different. Their main problem is tracking. Because coconut litters are light, they get everywhere. There is also the matter of pricing because these are far more expensive than many other kinds of cat litter.

7. Clay

Clay litters are probably the easiest to find anywhere, and the least expensive too. It’s divided into two types: made of bentonite and made of other clay. Bentonite clay clumps, while other types don’t. Bentonite clumping clay typically offers better odor control, while traditional clay is cheaper.

The disadvantages are mostly the same for both types. They’re dusty, easily tracked, heavy, and you can’t dispose of them easily. There is also the problem of strip mining when choosing bentonite clay, so environment-friendly it is not.

8. Walnut

Walnut litters are made from ground up walnut shells. They’re biodegradable, safe, environmentally-friendly, and made from a source that would otherwise be discarded.

However, they don’t clump as well as other types of litter. The odor control is not the best too, which is why walnut usually relies on additives to mask odor.

And there is also the possibility of walnut litters causing skin allergies and other allergic reactions in people that are averse to nuts.

Clumping vs. Non-Clumping Litter

Now that we’ve explained the different types of litter, let’s move on to whether you should buy the clumping or non-clumping kind. How does one compare to the other? Which kind is the best cat litter?

As always, the choice is dependent on what you and your cat prefer. Your budget and time also plays a role. For example, someone will pay a premium for an all-natural and non-synthetic cat litter.

Some will pay more attention to the price, some will look at the way the litter works (how well it absorbs odor, etc.), and some will want something that saves them time from cleanups (less tracking, no dust, etc.).

There is no perfect cat litter for everyone, but most cat owners usually find one that ticks off most of the boxes in their list. To get find the one that’s best for you, you might have to get through a few products to test each one.

1. Non-Clumping Cat Litter

Non-clumping litter has been around longer than the clumping ones. They’re good at absorbing large amounts of moisture. More often than not, they’re also cheaper than clumping cat litters.

However, cleaning up is more difficult because the urine can pool in the bottom of the cat litter box once the non-clumping litter becomes saturated. Also, soiled non-clumping litter often mixes with fresh ones, so it will be hard to separate the two.

2. Clumping Litter

Clumping litter used to be made of bentonite alone, but recently, lots of natural alternatives have come out. A kitty litter designed with a clumping formula makes soiled litter easy to scoop out because they form solid, hard clumps.

This means that your litter box stays fresher and cleaner longer. The clumping feature also allows odors to be trapped more effectively.

How Do You Keep a Cat Litter Box From Smelling?

Choosing the best litter for your household doesn’t mean your home will automatically be free from foul smells. You still have to take preventative steps in keeping your home from smelling “cat.”

Here are some you can take to keep your house smelling good, so your guests will remark on your cat’s cute looks and not his litter’s smell.

1. Find the right cat litter.

The best cat litter differs for each cat and owner. You may need to go through a few types to see what’s best for you and your kitty. Some cats aren’t bothered by scented litter, while some dislike any hint of scent. There are also cats who don’t like the feel of sand on their paws, while other felines are uncomfortable with walking on crystals.

Once you find out what kind your cat likes, you also need to ensure that it can control odor well too. One way to do this is to set up a litter sniffing test. Buy a small-sized package of cat litter and put some inside a small container. Add a ¼ cup of liquid ammonia to the cat litter and wait several hours then sniff. If it masks the odor well, then it should be fine to use for your cat.

2. Scoop daily.

It’s important to remove waste daily to cut down on odor. Add new litter to replace the amount of litter you scooped out.

3. Clean the cat’s litter box.

Even if you scoop out all the urine and feces daily, you will still need to clean all of your cats’ litter boxes once a week. Empty out all the old litter. Wash the boxes with soap and water, then dry them out under the sun. Replace with fresh litter when the box has dried off.

4. Place all cat litter boxes in a well-ventilated area.

It’s probably instinct to hide the cat litter boxes where no one can see them, usually somewhere dark and closed up. However, by doing this, the odor remains concentrated in that area and will be unpleasant for your cats. If it becomes too unpleasant for them, they may decide to go elsewhere.

5. Try natural cat litter deodorizers.

Baking soda is a natural deodorizer that doesn’t mask odors. Instead, it absorbs them. It’s non-toxic and definitely safe to use with cats. You can also try using a charcoal litter box liner or filter, which offers superior odor control. Like baking soda, charcoal filters are non-toxic and inexpensive.

6. Consult a veterinarian.

Sometimes smelly waste is due to a cat’s diet or poor health. You can ask your vet for a recommendation on what dietary change your cat needs to undergo or you can bring your cat for a checkup to ensure that he is completely healthy.