Not to get all cat lady on you, but let's talk for the briefest of moments about my cats. I have two of them and I love them. Despite all the stereotypes that I am forever trying to avoid, these two little critters are darn good company. They're chill, easy to take care of, and handle living in a one bedroom apartment like champs. They also handle sharing a litter box quite well - which, seeing as (again, not a cat lady) I'm not obsessed with cat behavior morning, noon, and night I didn't realize was such a blessing until a few weeks ago when a co-worker confided that they had four separate litter boxes for three cats. Yeah. Who's the cat-crazy one, now?
Anyway.
One of the easiest ways to stick to a budget I've found, is to buy generic whenever possible. Last year, I happened to be running errands in my local Target when I discovered they'd created their own line of pet products - Boots & Barkley - and were now selling cat litter. Hooray! This stuff was about $2.00 cheaper than what I'd normally buy so I snatched up a container joyfully. And for awhile I - and the kitties - seemed pleased to no end with this new litter. Or rather, the cats remained indifferent...which was totally good enough for me. But now I fear that Target has done something to their product, has made some minor switch that probably saved them a penny per container, and in the past four months this stuff has gone from always useable to just awful. Forget clumping. The litter now turns to a muddy cement-like mixture which means emptying the litter box (never a favorite chore) is a total pain. It's suddenly dusty, nonabsorbent, and you use so much every day because again, no clumping, that you end up needing to buy more of the cheap stuff than you would the brand-name. And where's the cents (see what I did there?) in that?
Average Price: about $7 for 20 oz.
Rating: 2 out of 5
4 comments:
You are correct about the new B&B cat litter. The price is up and the quality is down to the bottom. We have used B&B exclusively for 7 years at our animal shelter. Having 40-60 cats at any given time using boxes - we consider ourselves experts in the litter field. What to do now? I know that Target must have used a supplier for B&B litter - but who is it?
O My, how interesting. About 2 months ago I accidentally came across the B&B litter at Target in Casper,Wy on clearance: 27#/$4!! It was far superior to Pet Pride and Precious brands I'd been using that I returned and purchased their last 6 buckets. I just noticed that some have Multi-Cat Scoopable with 2 cats pictured and some have Scooping with one cat pictured. I am using the Scooping and have not had any dust and very little tracking of particles.. and clumping is fine. I called Target Cust Svc and asked why they might be discontinuing such a superior product and could she provide the manuf name. She said to keep checking as it might just be a labeling change. Keri and Cat Ranch, did you notice if your bucket was labeled Scooping or Multi-Cat? Have you contacted B&B to see if they had a packaging problem -- maybe they put the wrong labels on their buckets: regular litter with scoopable labels!! Did they offer any reimbursement or explanations?
I shall check for B&B contact info right now, in case other buckets exhibit your findings . I'm so-o-o glad to hear a shelter that uses scoopable. I don't know how clay litter maintains any users..should be banned. But then I'm appalled to see owners sifting even scoop'g only once a week or less! Glad to come across your comments and will see what more I can find from B&B. I'm at nmorzenti@yahoo.com if you have anything further to report. NIna
I totally agree that the new & improved litter is horrible. The first container I bought was great! Then I got another one that looked shiny & pinkish. Started using it & the dust went everywhere!!! Sometimes a company shouldn't "fix" a product if it's not broken. :-( I am on the hunt for another litter again.
Kimberly
I did a search just to see whether this type of commentary is going on. Not too surprised to find that it is!
I recently got a cat and B&B scented clumping was the first container I bought. It clumped just fine actually...but it had almost zero scent. And when the cat used the box, it actually took on a really bad smell (not ammonia or feces; some sort of chemical reaction, I guess). The whole apartment stunk! I switched to Arm & Hammer and the problem is gone. Now, when little Stanley Walker scratches around in there, it actually acts as an air freshener and makes the room smell NICE for a couple minutes. Go figure!
I usually like Target's products but this litter is indeed totes dudley.
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