Litter tracking and how to stop it

Litter tracking can be a real nuisance - find out how to stop litter in its tracks!


Litter tracking tips

Litter tracking can be a real nuisance. Even if your cat uses the litter tray perfectly, tiny bits of litter and dust inevitably stick to paws and fur, and are deposited around your home. 

Litter tracking is usually worse around the litter tray itself. Most of the litter on your cat’s paws will fall off within a few steps of the litter tray. Some will travel further afield. Once in the environment it is easily spread around your home. 

If you have multiple cats, particularly if you are a cat foster parent or a breeder, you may find yourself permanently attached to the hoover on a mission to eradicate the tracked litter. 

Here are our top tips to stop litter tracking, and free yourself from the hoover! 

Litter tracking tips

  1. Get the right litter tray

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The first tool in stopping litter tracking is to use a good litter tray. Over the years we have tried more litter trays than we can count. Our favourite litter tray is a hooded corner litter tray, which you can find here. The hood really helps reduce the amount of litter that finds its way out of the tray. The corner design makes it very sturdy, so even an excitable litter of kittens won’t manage to kick it over.

We have also tried a top entry litter tray, which you can find here. This was a good design, and did help reduce tracking, but not all of our cats were willing to use it. Perhaps if you introduce this to your cat when he is still a kitten, it could be a good option. (#affiliatelink)

  1. Choose your litter wisely

All litters create dust. Even the litters marketed as dust free create dust and result in litter tracking. But some are far worse than others. There are also other factors to consider when choosing a cat litter. We have found that the best litter to reduce tracking is Breeder Celect newspaper cat litter, but this litter needs to be changed daily or it starts to smell. A good all-rounder is a wood chip litter, available on Amazon or in store from Pets At Home.

  1. Invest in a litter mat 

Litter tracking mat

These litter mats don’t solve the whole problem of tracking, but they do help significantly. Place the litter mat around the litter tray. As your cat gets out of the litter tray, most of the litter will be caught by the mat. You can then simply tip the mat out as needed, and wipe it down to keep it fresh. We like these mats, available from Amazon here, but there are multiple products available that are very similar. (#affiliatelink)

  1. Get a robot hoover!

robot hoover for litter tracking

All of the steps above will significantly reduce the amount of litter tracking, but will not eliminate it completely. A good hoover is vital! Recently, we inherited a robot hoover. After being very dubious about its ability to hoover, we are total converts! We have the Eufy in an entry level model, and it is brilliant: you can buy it here.

You can also get far more advanced models with additional features - have a look at a more advanced Eufy model here. The more recent generation of robot hoovers can even avoid small objects (like a sock or a stray poo, to help avoid making a bad situation worse!) We pop our robot hoover on each night before we go to bed, and wake up each morning to a clean floor.

What next? Robot mops!

We are so impressed with our Eufy that we are about to invest in an additional model that also mops the floor as well! If you like the sound of a newly mopped floor each morning, have a look at this model. There are other manufacturers in the robot hoover space, but we have only tried Eufy so far, and are so happy with it that we are staying with it for our mop-robot.

Litter tracking doesn't need to leave you permanently attached to your hoover. Follow these tips, and let us know if you have any more! 

Read more about choosing the right litter for your cat here.

We are expert breeders of British Shorthair kittens. We have years of experience, and have tried pretty much every feline-focused solution available! All of the products we suggest have been tried and tested by us. We do use the Amazon affiliate for some items, but only ever recommend items tried and tested by us, so you can make the right choice first time around.