Our 2024 Purina (Tidy Cats) Cat Litter Reviews and Coupons

Researched & Written by

Sean Green

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Cleaning out the litter box is not the easiest or most sanitary of chores, but you do it daily because you love your adorable kitty cat. Without litter boxes and cat litter, there’d be far fewer housecats in the world, and we’d be missing out on the joys of being a cat owner.

Litter boxes and litter technology have come a long way in the last few years. If you haven’t noticed, there are way more litter products on the market nowadays than your standard clumping clay litters. And before clumping clay cat litters came along, cats were relegated to strictly outdoor living, or they could expect to find newspaper, sand, or even fireplace ashes in their litter pans.

Fortunately for cats and their owners today, there a lot more comfortable and effective cat litter products to choose from today. You can purchase effective clay clumping litters, silica litters, and all-natural litter products that come in an array of different materials. But picking the right litter for you and your pet can give you analysis paralysis when there are so many options. That’s why we’ve been working hard at putting together a list of reviews of some of the most popular cat litter brands on the market today.

Who’s up next? Purina, and their line of litter products called Tidy Cats. Purina is one of the largest and most reputable pet supply brands in the world. They make dog and cat food, pet treats, and cat litter. As one of the most established pet supply brands in the world, Purina’s Tidy Cats line boasts over a dozen different cat litters and auxiliary litter products.

What are the different types of Purina Tidy Cats litters?

Purina offers a wide range of different Tidy Cats litters, and if you like what you read in the review, you’ll be sure to find something that’s going to work for you and your cat. Purina is an established and reputable brand, and their litters are incredibly affordable. Although Purina has more than a dozen litters out on the market, we’ll only cover the most popular of their cat litter products.

We’ll give you a good mixture of the different types of litters they have that can meet a variety of cat and cat owner’s needs. We’ll cover a lightweight formula, a few scented and unscented formulas. Also, it’s important to note that the Tidy Cats litter line is primarily made up of clumping clay cat litters. While the brand does make a couple of paper, wood, and corn litters, most of their products use standard clay.

Tidy Cats Scoop Instant Action Immediate Odor Control Cat Litter

This is the most popular cat litter from Purina Tidy Cats. It’s a clumping clay litter, 99% dust-free, and is suitable for multiple cat households. The litter technology is pretty basic as far as cat litters go, and for the most part, it does what it says it will do on the container. It’s also refreshing to know that there aren’t any weird marketing ploys going on with this product.

The litter uses a medium granule size, so it’s unlikely to be rejected by even fussy cats. It’s also an unscented litter, and the clumping clay action is intense. Strong clumping action makes clean up easier, will also help you stretch a container for longer, and will cut down on ammonia odors. The clumping action from medium-size granules should also keep tracking to a minimum too.

For the price, this litter is an excellent, basic litter that gets consistently good reviews on third-party sites. However, we would caution people and cats with allergies that although this litter is 99% dust-free, it’s impossible to get a clay litter that doesn’t have any dust. While this Purina Tidy Cats litter won’t create a large amount of dust, sensitive people and cats might still be bothered by even minimal amounts. If you or your cat have issues with allergies, you might want to look for a litter that’s made out of something other than clumping clay. Tidy Cats does make a paper and wood, cedar, corn, and pine litter products that are more suitable for cats and owners with dust sensitivities.

Tidy Cats Lightweight 24/7 Performance Clumping Cat Litter

Out of all the litters Purina has in their lineup, this lightweight formula from Tidy Cats is one of the most expensive. However, the product weighs about 50% less than the other Tidy Cat formulas, and it’s super absorbent. Sure, you’ll pay more upfront for this lightweight litter. But, you’ll end up spending far less in the long run because the litter does an excellent job at absorbing moisture and clumping. If you have trouble lifting clay clumping litters, this product from Tidy Cats might be the answer to your problems.

Pound for pound, this litter product from Tidy Cats is more absorbent than a standard clumping clay litter. The litter performs about the same as the litter we’ve listed above, and it’s considered to be 99% dust-free. While most lightweight litters are usually reserved for single cat households, this litter is strong enough to handle multiple cats. Strong clumping action helps trap odors and moisture, so the house won’t smell after several cats have used the litter tray. But be aware that most lightweight formulas will track more readily than a medium to large granule sized clay litter.

Also, this litter does have a slight fragrance to it, with customers on third-party review sites saying it mimics a “fresh fabric” scent. If you or your cat are sensitive to added fragrances, you might want to stick with an unscented Tidy Cats litter. Fortunately, Tidy Cats makes an unscented, lightweight formula for people and cats sensitive to fragrances. We’d also like to point out that cats who are picky and tend to reject litters may prefer an unscented formula.

Tidy Cats Lightweight Instant Action Clumping Cat Litter

This litter is almost the same as the one above it. It’s a lightweight formula, clumps, and locks away odors. It’s also suitable for multiple cat households, but since it is lightweight, it will track more than the standard weight formulas. The only difference between this cat litter and the one we listed directly above it is that it is an unscented formula. If you need a lightweight cat litter without added fragrances, you might want to add this one to your shortlist.

Tidy Cats Free and Clean Unscented Clumping Cat Litter

This unscented litter from Tidy Cats has a special, added ingredient that makes it perform differently than the litters we’ve already listed. The ingredient is activated charcoal, a natural antimicrobial agent. While the strong, clumping clay action in the litter does a great job at trapping moisture and preventing odors from escaping, activated charcoal takes this a litter a step further. Activated charcoal is a natural killer of odor-causing bacteria. As soon as any moisture makes contact with the product, the clay works fast to clump, dry, and trap odors away, while the charcoal kills bacteria on contact. This litter does an excellent job at eliminating odors, but it will track. We recommend getting a litter mat if you want to use this litter because, for the price, the odor-killing abilities are worth the extra tracking.

Tidy Cats Tough Odor Solutions Glade Winter Pine Clumping Cat Litter

Purina and Tidy Cats have partnered with Glade, the world’s biggest air freshener company, to give customers super clean and fresh-smelling cat litters. This litter from Tidy Cats and Glade is still a clumping clay cat litter, and it locks away odors and moistures within a standard, but effective, clay clumping action. However, the litter is also infused with pine, which gives it a cedar-like scent. This is a low-dust formula and is suitable for multiple cats.

The litter does a great job at locking away odors, so the pine scent will smell fresh, and not like it’s trying to cover up urine or feces smells. However, it’s not a good product if you are sensitive to fragrances. Some of the reviews we’ve come across have found the added pine scent to be a little bit too strong.

Purina Tidy Cats Coupons

Every so often, you’ll come across a printed or online coupon for Purina Tidy Cats. But they can be difficult to find when you need one. Cat litter isn’t something you can scrimp on, put off purchasing, or easily substitute, that is unless you have a hankering to go vintage and put some fireplace ashes in your cat’s litter tray, which we do not recommend, by the way.

If you’re in need of a new bag of cat litter and want to give Purina Tidy cats a try, be sure to check out Chewy.com, the world’s largest online pet supply store. Chewy.com offers various coupons and discount codes for a variety of products, including Tidy Cats cat litters.

Purina Tidy Cats Reviews

Up next, we’ll go into more detail on what you can expect with Tidy Cats, including price versus value, odor control, dust-friendliness, and more. Toward the end of the article, we’ll give you our review bottom line and a brief FAQ on Tidy Cats litters.

Price

As far as the price goes, Tidy Cats gives you excellent value for your money. They are one of the most reputable pet supply brands, and their litters do not rely on wacky marketing gimmicks to move the product. You get what you see with Tidy Cats, which is a refreshing quality when most consumers are bombarded with a variety of cat litter products on the market today. A large, 35 lb container of Tidy Cats is about twelve dollars and some change. The scented and lightweight formulas may set you back twenty dollars for a seventeen lb pail.

Absorption

Many clumping cat litters don’t form hard clumps that maintain their integrity as you scoop the tray. That can make clean up time-consuming, messy, and cause you to waste cat litter. Across all review sites we checked out, Tidy Cats cat litters are consistently good at clumping and absorption. Cat owners find that the clumps form quickly, dry hard, and stay intact during the scooping process. Clay clumping litters like Tidy Cats that manage to remain intact will also limit dust and tracking, but more on that later.

Odor Control

Another plus when it comes to Tidy Cats is that the strong clumping action also increases the product’s ability to control odors. On top of that, the activated charcoal in some of the Tidy Cats products will give you longer lasting odor control, too. If you have multiple cats or a sensitive nose, you want something that’s going to provide you with superior odor control. Fortunately, Tidy Cats delivers here.

Tracking

Tidy Cats formulas are considered “low tracking” cat litters, but we’ve found that the brand does fall a bit short on this front. Their lightweight formula is probably the worst offender here, but it isn’t something you can’t overcome. Using a litter trapping mat can help cut down on tracking and keep litter granules near the litter box and away from your furniture. If you have a long-haired cat though, we recommend steering clear of lightweight formulas if tracking is an issue for you. Lightweight granules will get stuck in long fur and end up on carpets and furniture when your cat cleans themselves.

Dust-Friendly

All Tidy Cats litters are marketed as 99% dust-free, and for a clay cat litter product, the claim lives up to those expectations. But the problem is the clay itself, not necessarily Tidy Cats. Clay cat litters will always produce at least some dust. If you or your cat are dust-sensitive, it’s best to steer clear of any clay clumping litters in general. Corn litters tend to be the least dusty.

Flushability

No clay clumping cat litter should ever be flushed, and Tidy Cats is no different. Always dispose of Tidy Cats clumping clay litters in the trash, not the drain. If you want a flushable litter, World’s Best, Garfield, and sWheat make safe flushable cat litters.

Eco-Friendly

If you want an eco-friendly cat litter, then you’ll want to avoid clay clumping litters like Tidy Cats. Clay clumping litters are often produced via a process of strip mining, which is an industry with high levels of pollution. Eco-friendly litters are usually made out of all-natural products like wood, corn, or wheat. The issue is, you will pay a premium for all-natural litters.

Purina Tidy Cats FAQs

• Is Purina Tidy Cats biodegradable? – The clumping clay cat litters we’ve listed from Tidy Cats are not biodegradable. Clay cat litters will take thousands of years to biodegrade, and even longer if they are put into a trash bag and tossed into a landfill. If you’re looking to lower your carbon footprint, you’ll need to purchase an all-natural litter like Weruva, or sWheat. Tidy Cats does make natural corn, pine, and cedar litter that is biodegradable, unscented, and suitable for multiple cats.
• Do Purina Tidy Cats litters contain silica? – No, all Purina Tidy Cats litters are free of silica gels and crystals. The company makes mostly clay clumping litters, wood and corn litter, and a non-clumping clay pellet litter.
• Can you purchase Purina Tidy Cats litters in resealable bags? – All of the Tidy Cats litters we’ve listed in the review come in large containers, or pails. Most of them have easy pour spouts built into the container. A few of the Purina litters come in bags, but we did not find any that were resealable. The buckets and containers of Tidy Cats are strong enough that you can reuse them for materials other than cat litter.
• Is Purina Tidy Cats safe for kittens? – Purina’s Tidy Cats line of litters is safe for adult cats. But the Purina company makes a cat litter called Yesterday’s News that is safe for kittens. The litter is made out of unscented recycled paper and is soft enough for kittens. It is a biodegradable material, too.
• Does Purina Tidy Cats make any litters that are not clay clumping litters? – The only litter the brand makes that isn’t clay litter is the Tidy Cats Pure Nature cat litter. It is made out of wood, cedar, corn, and pine. Tidy Cats does make a non-clumping clay litter and a pellet-based clay litter. Pellet litters are sometimes a better choice for cats that have been declawed, or have recently had surgery or are sensitive to dust. Pellet litters usually emit less dust than a standard clay clumping litter.
• Can you use Tidy Cats in a mechanical or self-sifting tray? – Yes, Tidy Cats litters are safe for mechanical or self-sifting trays.

What’s our Purina Tidy Cats 2024 Review Bottom Line?

If you need a high-quality cat litter that won’t ruin your budget and you’re not too worried about environmental impact, Tidy Cats is an excellent brand to use. You get an excellent value for an affordable price, and the products all offer superior odor control. The litter will give you a strong clumping action that makes clean up easier, and most of the litters on offer from Tidy Cats are suitable for multiple cats.

Unfortunately, they don’t make a long-haired cat litter for minimal tracking, and you’ll probably want to invest in a litter mat. If you’re willing to pay, you can get a litter that performs better when it comes to dust and tracking control. Also, if eco-friendliness is essential to you, Tidy Cats only offers one biodegradable, earth-friendly litter option which might not be suitable for you or your cat. It’s also more expensive than the other Tidy Cats litters.

But overall, we think Tidy Cats is a no-fuss, reputable litter brand that will give you a good value for the money you’d spend a container. Don’t forget to check out Chewy.com to get a discount on your first order of Purina Tidy Cats litter.