Purina Tidy Cats Non Clumping Litter System, Breeze XL All-in-One Odor Control & Easy Clean Multi Cat Box - 18 lb. Box

So, I put off writing this review for several months because I wanted to give my cat a chance to put it to the test...I think I am at the point now where I can give this litter box system my heartiest endorsement (two paws up)--with the caveat that EVERY CAT IS AN INDIVIDUAL and so your experience may vary. However, having said that, I will give you some background and the specifics.I am a retired veterinarian, and in my years in practice dealt with *many* inappropriate elimination cases. I dealt with so many, in fact, that I made a point of going to lectures on feline urinary health and behavior at every conference I went to, just to stay on top of things so I could make the best recommendations I could to my clients. Inappropriate urination in cats is a frustrating subject to say the least, and the steps I would cover with a client were often not things a client wanted to or even could do. Luckily all of this experience came in very handy over the summer when I realized my cat--who had a history of lower urinary tract inflammation in the past--was no longer peeing in his litter box. To add to the standard frustration, this cat 'o mine is a highly anxious cat who is fearful of everyone but a very select few, of every noise, of any change in his world. I knew getting to the bottom of why he stopped using his box and fixing the problem was going to be a challenge..."The Baby", as he has become known (despite being 11), is our only cat, as he was the youngest of four and the only one still surviving. He inherited a very large litter box that we cleaned at least once a day, hidden in a little alcove off our kitchen. He spends the majority of his day on the top floor of our three level townhouse, but space up there is limited as far as fitting in a second box, and as a long-haired cat he tends to track litter everywhere. It was easy enough to sweep up litter from the kitchen floor but I *hated* getting into bed and finding grains of cat litter on my sheets, or trying to vacuum all the litter that was stuck in the carpet fibers on the stairs.The rule of thumb when it comes to cat litter boxes is you should have one more box than you have cats--so ideally we should have two boxes for him. It's the first thing I would tell a client who had a cat peeing out of the box. I *knew* this, but I absolutely dreaded the thought of adding another box upstairs. I started asking google about alternatives to clumping litter, in hopes that I could find a trackless litter that my crazy cat might accept. I found an article that referred me to this box and right away I become hopeful--to be honest, it sounded too good to be true. I tend to be a skeptic, and I know that behaviorists in general do not recommend a lot of the litter boxes that *people* find the most agreeable, because, believe it or not, cats do not share our preferences when it comes to boxes that: hide the sight and smell with a cover, make cleaning "easier" with automated scooping, or have most of the other gadgets and gizmos marketed to make cat litter boxes more people-friendly. The unfortunate truth is, the box needs to be *cat* friendly if you have any hope of getting your cat back in the box and not peeing on your under-the-bed storage for your swimwear (ask me how I know that).Alright, so this box seemed to check the right boxes--no cover, no noises, nothing to spook a fraidy-cat away. We got the XL box since The Baby is a large cat and he is used to a big box. I wasn't sure how he would take to the new substrate (the litter is made up of little cylinders significantly larger than clumping litter grains, though smaller than recycled newsprint litter if you are familiar with that). I followed the instructions on introducing your cat to the box TO THE LETTER. I had added a small litter box with clumping litter to our guest bathroom tub about a week before that he thankfully began using again, so I put the new box just outside the tub and added a couple little poops and a small clump of urine to it to show him its purpose--no good. I lured him into the new box with treats and praised and pet him while he was in it. I put treats in the furthest corners to force him to step into it but he did every sort of cat acrobatics to avoid putting his body all the way in to reach them. I stopped cleaning the box in the tub. I added some of the new litter into the old box so he would get used to the feel of them. One thing I think helped was that I purchased some inexpensive cat-attract--sort of a crushed herbal mix that probably has some catnip in it--and I sprinkled it liberally into the new box. That was a little more tempting than the treats in getting him to stand in the box. I also took off the high-sided rim that goes around the XL box, so he would feel like it was more open. Finally, after more than a week without him even once using the new box I made a drastic move--I got rid of the old box altogether, put this new one into the tub, and crossed my fingers. Downside to this--it could freak him out and cause him to go back to those nice soft under-the-bed storage bags our clothes are in. Thank the heavens for us it worked--that day we found the first poop in the box. Success! But would it last??About a week later we moved the box (sides still off) to the landing of our stairs between our main and upper levels because a neighbor would be cat sitting and it was an easier location to clean it. The good news is, The Baby likes it there, and he has continued to use the box ever since. I will note that The Baby has never been a digger in the box, and rarely if ever buried his poops. I was taught that a cat that likes his litter will spend a good amount of time digging and kicking. Well, since we changed him over, he has become a hearty digger/kicker, even going so far as to completely bury his poops about half of the time. So as far as the cat is concerned, this box is an A+.But, you ask, how well does it please his family? Well, after working out a system for the pee pads, I am continually amazed by how EASY this box is to maintain. Do the litter bits get tracked around the house? Well, to a very small degree, but I can usually just pick up the offending bits and toss them back in the box. I also set the box on one of those honeycomb sorts of cat mats, and it does most of the work of collecting the stray bits that he enthusiastically kicks out. Does it smell? It can--but that has forced us to stay on top of it, which for us simply means switching out the pads twice a week instead of once a week as advertised for one cat homes. The pads are *incredibly* absorbent--more than I ever would've guessed, and we buy the generic pads that are 40 in a box. So long as we change the pad twice a week, the only time we smell it is when we are actually changing it. We do it on trash night, and dump it in the trash bag right as it is going outside. I have yet to have one leak any urine, and The Baby is a copious pee-er. I bought one additional 3.5# bag of litter after adding some of the first two to his old box, but after about four months of use I think I've only gone through about half of that bag. We used to go through SO MUCH clumping litter and getting rid of it was a pain. Every time I open the old litter tub we use to hold his scooped poops and see how little stuff is in there I have to chuckle.As I write this, I just asked my husband if he could think of any downsides with this litter system and he thought for a sec or two and then gave me a firm no. Maybe the only one is the initial investment, considering that it may not work for every cat. But in the long run, this box has cut down substantially on litter costs, since we use so little of it.So to wrap this up: 1. Little to no litter tracking, which has eliminated my #1 pet peeve about having a cat. For real--I am a veterinarian who HATES litter boxes and I'd probably not get another cat for that reason. Unfortunately I am married to a cat lover, so you might say this system has been good for our marriage! 2. No more back-busting boxes of litter (yes, even the lightweight stuff strains my back) or especially bags of used, clumped cat litter going out on a regular basis. 3. No "Litter Box Smell"--no ammonia smells around the box. We keep it on the landing now and never notice odors in the living room or the bedrooms unless he JUST took a poop. The little scoop that comes with it is great for letting unstuck bits of litter fall back into the box (don't try to use a regular scoop, this works fine). 4. NO MORE URINATING OUT OF THE LITTER BOX...knock on wood, The Baby--with some time and a lot of patience--eventually came around to using this system, and in truth actually seems to prefer it over his old stuff.Why may this NOT be the right box for you? Well, there are a few reasons I can guess. One would be if you have more than one cat. The pads are absorbent but only to a point. If you have two or more cats using it you are definitely going to be changing out the pads more than twice a week, and this could become a cost issue. Also, unless you are bringing the bag right outside, you don't want these pads just sitting in your trash bag because it WILL smell to high heaven. We tried keeping the used ones in the poop tub (we use one of the old plastic, resealable litter tubs to make scooping easy) and it ended up being very gross--the urine would actually condense on the lid of the tub when it was sealed and would start to leak out into the tub; it was a total mess.Finally, as a veterinarian I feel compelled to make a few points. The first is important--every cat really is an individual with very specific likes and dislikes. Just because my scaredy, neurotic, FLUTD cat took to it eventually, not every cat will. Unfortunately there is not a good way to know that without trying it out. If your cat doesn't like it, it's not his or her fault, and it's not the box's fault. It just is. Go slow and be patient and observant. The second is even more important--if your cat is peeing out of the litter box, *take your cat to the vet before going any further*. Cats rarely stop using the box without a justifiable reason, and there are numerous medical reasons that MUST be ruled out, for your cat's health and because you are not going to stop inappropriate urination with litter box changes alone. Anything from lower urinary tract inflammation, to diabetes, to kidney disease, to your new kitten, to your new sofa, to a malfunctioning washing machine making noise next to the litter box could be to blame and you will need a vet to help you to figure that out. Thirdly, I just want to give props to the Purina company for this system and for ALL of their products (I stress ALL because as a vet I feed all of my pets Purina diets as well). Companies like Purina have been given a very bad rap in the the media in recent years, and by unproven pet food companies that play on your guilt and love for your pet to get you to spend unnecessary dollars on expensive diets. I have seen firsthand the type of research that goes into every Purina product, whether it is a new litter box or a prescription veterinary diet, and I always feel confident when I recommend their products that my client will be getting a quality, thoughtfully designed, *thoroughly vetted* one. I do not work for Purina, and I get NO financial recompense for recommending their goods over any other company. I simply speak as a pet owner, an animal lover, and as someone who has had the opportunity to get a close-up view of them and their competitors. I like to give credit where credit is due, and so I say that Purina gets my business.

Update: Later Jan 2023I wanted to update on the actual Breeze product as I'm doing the full on clean and refresh right now. I do NOT like it. There is something about using the huge pine pellets that turn to saw dust that lessens the ammonia smell that transfers to the plastic and transfer it does, regardless of which product you use. BUT, I'm cleaning the box that had the Breeze pellets and the breeze pee pad and my god does the plastic SMELL SO STRONGLY of ammonia. Since the pee just falls through the pellets it's just straight up pee on the plastic grid and straight up pee on the pee pad. Our larger box w/ the pine pellets also gets some urine on it but not like this and it does smell of cat pee a bit and I still hot water rinse, 409, rinse, enzyme, wipe and it's good to go but w/ the Breeze pellets I'm needing to do 2x the wash and 2x the enzymes. Also, you don't lift the full lid until you're going to do the full clean, which I just did, and there was a good few table spoons of dried/drying urine that fell OUTSIDE the slide out tray and onto the base of the litter box instead. The tray slid in properly so I'm not sure how that happened so I'm triple cleaning the base of this thing. So, i don't think they are worth the cost based on this and my own priorities with a litter solution. Still using the box but putting pellets into it when i'm done cleaning it.Update: Jan 2023So I've been using the below method for a few months now AND I actually did use the full Breeze System for a hot minute so I want to update everyone.First - the below system I will continue to use but if I still lived in a small apartment on the 3rd floor w/ just my one domestic short hair, I would NOT! The Modkat litter box w/ a clay + Litter Genie and the Modkat litter liner I changed every 4 months was MUCH easier to do. MUCH! I also had more money back then and the one cat so I'd prob also consider the actual Breeze system as it is sold (see below for my thoughts on that).I feel with figuring out a litter situation you need to choose what your priorities are because there is always going to be some sort of give and take. For me, now, with a 16lb beast of a ragdoll kitten and my mature 10lb 7 year old calico short hair, my priorities are no litter sticking into booty hair (ragdoll), no tracking and odor elimination. Bcs of that, the pine pellets w/ the breeze boxes + large honeycomb litter mat is superior, even if it's kinda high maintenance. Both cats really prefer to use the one large box in our "cat closet" in our bedroom so I need to dump the pine shavings into our compost, which I've placed tucked away by a garage door close to our house for easier access. Once the pine shavings come to the top of the plastic grate, you're too late, you'll leave pine shavings behind that fall to the floor below. Because of this, DEFINITELY use a large litter mat! You do not want pee pine shavings on any raw floor, esp not on hardwoods or tile w/ grout, which all of our litter boxes are over. Even when I'm diligent, which isn't 100% of the time, some pine shavings do end up on the litter mat. I drag the full box off the mat 1x a week to vacuum up any of the shavings, which isn't a lot now that I'm more diligent w/ dumping them after each pine shaving swipe.Since having my house NOT smell like I have cats is a top top priority, once every month to month and a half I will do a FULL clean of all the plastic and refresh all of the pine pellets. I'll vacuum off all the shavings that made it to the base of the box, I'll clean and disinfect everything w/ 409 and then use Nature's Miracle, including the top, and both between parts of the honeycomb mat, to get rid of any residual pet smell. Since the cats highly prefer 1 box I really only do this to the 1. If they spread out their usage I could probably get away with doing it once every quarter or so but then I'd have to do this w/ all the boxes. All this said, I still very much prefer this method.I like these carbon pee mats I'm using bcs they are more sturdy and when I dump the pee shavings into the compost the mat stays put. I'm trying a diff brand of carbon mat in hopes to cut costs ever more bcs the ones I'm currently using are $1/mat. I can update later which brand I prefer. The Breeze mats are FLIMSY and flop around and I got pee mat on my hand the only time I used them for my process. GROSS! Also, pine pellets from a farm store really are superior for minimizing litter tracking. The big downside w/ the farm store pine pellets is if you get a kitty w/ a sick belly and liquid poo. I basically sat near the box all day and IMMEDIATELY went to scoop everything in and around the poo place. This was unfun and I missed clay clumping litter during that moment of my life.The ACTUAL FULL Breeze System:Our ragdoll had some poop issues so I decided to try out the Breeze pellets in our smaller box since it said it would dehydrate poop in the process of letting pee go through the pellets to the mat below. I wanted to do just the clay I had used but he thinks it's a place to sit so anytime I'd bring that out, he would go straight to it and lay in it. He never used it but my Calico likes to use it. The pellets DO dry out poo (unsure how it does w/ liquid poo), which is great but she also poops hard tar turds as it is so this wasn't really necessary for her. It IS definitely less work than the pine pellets but the Breeze ones DO track more than the big pine pellets and when you step on them, it's like stepping on a tiny lego, it SUCKS! The carpet outside the bathroom this box is in is the same color of the Breeze pellets so I've stepped on quite a few. Also, as I've mentioned I'm a diligent steward of the litter but there's still kind of a pee smell w/ the Breeze pellets. Not terrible but I just like the pine pellet situation more. Also, you def need to use 2x what Breeze recommends bcs 7lb for a small box and 14lb for the big don't even cover the entire green area. If you're into and can spend 4-5x the amount and want less stress and hassle, I would say the Breeze system, as they sell it, (box, pellets and mat) are pretty great! It def tracks less than anything else I've used, BESIDES farm store pine pellets.</end update>-----------------------------------------Original Review:I've had my one cat for 7 years and we had a great routine going w/ her litter. My house NEVER smelled like I had a cat, her box and litter catching pad situation was perfect for minimal-ish tracking and all was fine. I was using the Modcat top entry with clay (until I realized it was bad for lungs) and the large honeycomb litter catching pads.Then... we got a long haired rag doll a few months ago and our litter box world was flipped. I'll save you the woes of all we tried but let's just say this trial and error period left us vacuuming and washing things perpetually and wiping a lil backside WAY TOO MUCH! NO ONE wants poo on the sheets!A friend recommended this system and full disclosure, I read and watched some reviews and I NEVER tried it w/ the Breeze Pellets. We have been using the OKO long pellet cat litter, which clumps, and I saw you could use equine pellets with this. I live in the sticks and near 3 farm stores so I can get 40lb of equine pellets for $6.50 and that is enough to fill our 2 large and 1 small Breeze box for a month. I wasn't sure about non clumping because I've ALWAYS used clumping but that was also an appeal because I use the Litter Genie and when I went from clay to a more natural material I was burning through bags SO FAST!I DO use the pee pads because the pellets don't catch everything but 2-3x a day (the smell of poo usually has me running to it immediately) I check the 3 boxes we have and scoop whatever poop is in there, throw that into the Little Genie and use a pretty hefty metal litter scooper to swish the pellets that turned into saw dust down through the... filter? What ever you want to call it. Because we have 2 cats and they do tend to prefer one box I do need to empty the saw dust from the tray into the garbage every other day. So far we make it almost a week before the pee pad starts to smell like pee (I love my cats, I do NOT want our house to smell like we have cats).The equine pellets are the most superior thing I've found for tracking! OKO long pellet was OK but they break up and still get stuck to the kitty toes and def won't work in this system. I don't think I've had to vacuum up a single piece of litter since we switched. Also, it does NOT stick to my long haired cats lil tush! We have started to shave his back side too just to help w/ things. I can't comment on the breeze pellets because I knew it wasn't sustainable financially long term so what's the point of changing things up so drastically so quickly w/ the cats?I feel I need to make a note too because I feel like some people get this so they don't have to scoop as often. This does not save me time, this saves me from stepping on litter, money on litter and litter genie bags and any risk of pee smell. This is NOT a magical box. You can NOT expect to let your cat do its business in it for a full week or... *gags* 2 (I've seen some of your reviews and I AM judging you) and not scoop and have it not be absolutely disgusting. I've seen some people give awful reviews and they post pictures of their boxes and it's COVERED in cat poop! Do you want to step on a bunch of poop before you get to a toilet that has poop on the lid before you do the 2? NO! If you do, just know your cats have MUCH higher standards for cleanliness. Litter boxes should be scooped NO LESS than 2x a day people. TWO TIMES A DAY! THIS WILL NOT LET YOU NOT SCOOP LITTER EVER AGAIN!That said, I love it. I love the box, the pads are great and who knows about the pellets but equine bedding is the jam! I DO recommend this!Note about the second picture. That is not pee sawdust in the tray but just the small bits that fell through the filter when I put the equine pellets into our new 2nd box but it gives you a good idea for seeing how the full system I use works.