My cat tried the cheapest and most expensive litter for 2 weeks—results

For millions of cat owners, cat litter is an essential part of having a feline companion. For me, having an indoor cat means I’ve tried plenty of cat litters over the years to find the best one. But that doesn’t always mean it’s very affordable, so I decided to try the cheapest cat litter I could find in Sainsbury’s and compare it to the most expensive. 

For the first week, my cat had Sainsbury’s Stamford Street cat litter, which retails at just £2.19 for 10L. For the week after, my cat had the well-known Catsan brand, which retails at £7.50 in Sainsbury’s for 10L, a whopping £5.31 more expensive than the cheaper alternative.

By comparing performance across key factors such as odour control, clumping, dust, and price, I discovered some surprising results.

Although the packaging isn’t the nicest, Sainsbury’s Stamford Street cat litter had little to no dust upon pouring it into the litter tray, which was surprising to me. 

When I’ve used cheaper brands or litter in the past, there’s always been a lot of dust, which has made both my cat and me sneeze.

The litter stayed wet for quite some time after my cat Chester used the tray, but there was no residue on his paws, and it eventually dried. 

The actual litter pieces were also much smaller than the Catsan litter, but this didn’t impact anything.

I was pleasantly surprised to find it stayed fresh, with little to no odour, for the week, and I could have left it a few days longer than I usually do. 

Catsan is one of the most well-known, if not the most well-known, litter brands on the market. However, with prices creeping up, and it costing me over £30 a month, it’s becoming unaffordable. 

It’s a high-quality cat litter that isn’t dusty, with packaging designed to make pouring easy. 

But that’s about as good as it gets. I find it doesn’t contain the odour very well, even though it claims to, which is disappointing at this price point.

Comparing the two, I’d definitely opt for the cheaper brand because I couldn’t find many differences. 

With more than £5 between them, I could get many bags of the Stamford Street litter for the price of one Catsan.

Catsan is, of course, more widely available because it’s sold in all supermarkets, so I’d be interested in trying other supermarkets’ own-brand versions.

If you don’t have a fussy cat and you’re looking for a cheaper option that virtually does the same thing, I’d definitely recommend Sainsbury’s own-brand litter.