Brit Pet Review

I appreciate a litter tray isn't very interesting, but it's an essential for any cat owner and having wasted plenty of money over the years on unsuitable trays I thought a review would be appropriate. Ideally your cats should have one litter tray each plus a spare. We have a ridiculous four in total, one being a spare we keep on another floor and yet another spare kept in the catio.

I have used plenty of different cat litters over the years and I keep coming back to wooden pellets. It's affordable, doesn't track everywhere, and it's relatively decent at managing odour provided you clean out the poop as soon as possible. My only issue with it was the amount of time I'd spend each morning painstakingly sifting out the sawdust with a litter scoop.

To use wooden pellets effectively, you need a sifting tray. I soon found there is not a lot of choice of sifting trays in the UK. Luckily, Brit Pet sells a sieve system imported from Australia. However, as you can imagine, it's somewhat pricey. They do discounts for those buying multiple trays (I didn't actually ask when buying two as I think it's more aimed at catteries and breeders who need large amounts) but regardless, it's worth the money when you factor in how much less litter you will be going through.

https://brit-pet.com/

I went with the standard tray which is plenty big enough for a moggy. I also purchased litter scoops which clip onto the trays for easy access, and a guard which stops your cats kicking the litter out. Whilst mine have never been particularly messy in that regard, I'm glad I got the guards as the sieve tray is pretty high up so it gives them a bit more privacy whilst they're doing their business.

You pop in a couple of handfuls of litter into the base tray like so and then fill up the sieve with around 2cm - 3cm of litter. The pellets in the base tray will absorb the urine so you need to empty it every few days before it clogs up the holes and refill it. This part is a tad annoying as you'll get sawdust everywhere as you lift the sieve tray, so I shove it on top of the other tray to keep the mess to a minimum and then bung the contents of the base tray into a bin bag.

The reason the litter lasts so long is because you don't need to clean the tray as often as regular trays. Brit Pet suggest you do it every 4 - 6 weeks. I personally do mine every fortnight as it's getting a bit stinky with wee by then, and I live in fear that I have gone nose blind to what my visitors can smell 😳

You also keep the majority of the litter rather than chucking it out. Using a spare tray, move the remaining pellets into it with a litter scoop. Once you've cleaned the trays, you move the old pellets back in. I top mine up with an extra scoop of fresh litter and after that, I'm just topping up the base tray and sieve tray as needed. One 10kg bag generally lasts me a month for the two main trays they use.

My one criticism is that it is more time consuming to clean the trays. Sifting the old litter and cleaning multiple sections, especially the sieve tray that can get clogged up easily, does take me a lot longer. It always feels like a break the alternative weekend when I clean the basic trays I keep upstairs and outside. That said, when I compare it to the length of time it would take me daily to sift out the sawdust, I think it's still worth the money and effort. Especially if you have less stinky kitties that can go longer than a fortnight before their litter trays have to be cleaned!

I also get my pellets from Brit Pet as they've been the best I've bought to date. They don't disintegrate easily, the bags are a good size for me to lug around, and they are generally delivered next day, in wrapping rather than a box. Whilst admittedly not great for the environment, I hate having litter delivered in a great big whacking box that I then have to cram into the recycling before Opal can chew on it and spit out bits of cardboard all over the house.