About.com Rating

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

1. Litter is very sandlike, so urine flows through to the pad.
2. There did seem to be a minimum of urine/ammonia odor
3. Fresh Air Litter does not contain any sodium bentonite, the substance which makes clumping clay litter so potentially hazardous to cats and kittens.

Cons

1. No litter boxes are sold by ThePetLoo.com, and I was unable to find the exact size of the pad. Therefore it is hit and miss when buying a litter box elsewhere to exactly fit the size of the pads

1. The litter does raise a certain amount of dust when scooping the poop, and again, when disposing of the litter.

Description

• Developed and sold by ThePetLoo.com.
• The litter is apparently a type of clay litter treated to eliminate silica dust, and is non-clumping.
• Available in single boxes with one carbon pad, and double boxes with more litter and two carbon pads.
• The single box weighs nine pounds, is advertised to be a two-month supply, and the retail price is $21.99.
• The double box weighs 14 pounds, and is priced at $33.99.
• According to the company, bacteria in the feces interacts with the cats' urine to create ammonia, the powerful odor that is partially responsible for unpleasant litter box odor.
• The patented carbon pad is claimed to eliminate the majority of the bacteria, thus reducing the ammonia odor substantially

My Conclusions About Fresh Air Cat Litter

The folks at PetLoo.com were exceedingly cooperative with me, when I was asked by a PR rep to test their cat litter for a potential review.

Since that product had just recently been released for sale, they originally sent me only a small box of litter and one litter pad. The pad was so small that the corresponding size of the litter box I purchased was too small even for Jenny, my smallest cat. She is long enough that her butt hung over the back of the box, and you can imagine the results.

I emailed the PR company's rep, relating the problem, and asked if he could send me a second box and pad, and I would get a larger box and combine the two pads and litters to fill it. It took awhile for him to get back to me, and when he did, he said to just toss the existing litter; that it was being replaced with an improved version of the litter.

When the 14 pound box of litter arrived with two carbon pads, I measured the pads to get an approximate size for a litter box. I found one at my local feed and grain store, and brought it home. I quickly discovered that the two pads did not fit side-by-side in either direction, without some necessary surgery, which was what I performed. After cutting one of the pads to fit pieces in around the second pad, I filled the box with the suggested amount of litter.

As was predictable, the cats were very interested in this new litter - a phenomenon they've exhibited several times over the years. However, all four of my cats are compulsive diggers. Jaspurr, especially, acts like a dog digging for a bone, or an outside cat burrowing down to catch a mole. Along with the litter, they were digging up corners and strips of the liners, too. It is almost impossible to "rebury" a narrow strip of litter box liner, once it has been "unearthed," as it were. Wearing latex gloves, I did the best I could, because I wanted to give the test a decent amount of time in order to form a fair opinion. However, after a week, the litter box and contents had devolved to the state apparent in the second photo here. The white pieces visible sticking up inside the box are the corners of the full-size pads and pieces of the strips, and the dark matter in the box is self-evident. At this point I scooped the box then dumped the litter and pad into the garbage.

My cats' digging propensity must not be unusual, as ThePetLoo.com's FAQ section on its website addresses that issue with two suggestions:

1. For Extra-Large Litter Pans:
   Purchase three 14 pound boxes of litter and use 1 1/2 boxes to fill the litter box. The theory is that with deeper sand, the pad will not be disturbed.
2. If Your Cat Digs Simply for the Love of Digging:
   Remove the pad, and change the litter out after 30 days, rather than the 60 days with the pad.

The Bottom Line

The theory behind the development of Fresh Air Cat Litter seems sound on its surface. I did notice that with the original formula of litter, although urine spots appeared darker on the surface, they disappeared after a short period of time after scooping the feces. They also disappeared after a longer time even when not scooped. I took that as evidence that the urine was filtering down through the substrate to the pad.
I was concerned about several allegations in the FAQs.

Under "Cat Litter - important things you need to know!" a statement was made: "Ammonia gas,[is] the leading cause of Upper respiratory infections in cats?" I might agree that ammonia gas may be a leading cause of asthma in cats. I personally have to wear a mask when using ammonia as a cleaning agent, because I have asthma. However, Upper respiratory infections in cats are caused by either a virus or bacteria. While it may be theoretically possible that the cat feces-related bacteria which produces the ammonia, could be inhaled along with the ammonia to cause a URI. However, I'd prefer to see studies on that particular allegation.

Certain other statements in the FAQs seemed to be "over the top." For example, the response to the question, "Why is Fresh Air Cat Litter So Awesome?"

As tested with the small litter box which the pad fitted nicely, I would recommend this system for kittens or very small adult cats. Ideally, if ThePetLoo.com also sold two litter boxes of appropriate sizes for both the nine-pound box and the 14 pound box, I would recommend the system with few reservations.



I was initially supplied with two liners for a litter box and two boxes of litter (for a large cat). Since PetLoo.com does not sell appropriately sized litter boxes, I purchased one from another source.