Dr. Elsey's Ultra Unscented Cat Litter vs Special Kitty Odor Control Cat Litter

There's a Reddit post of someone switching away from Special Kitty specifically because the smell 'wafted throughout the whole house' no matter how often they cleaned. Dr. Elsey's controlled odor well in a multi-cat home according to Good Housekeeping's tester. With litter, odor failure isn't a minor inconvenience — it's the reason you're buying litter in the first place.

Dr. Elsey's forms rock-hard clumps that lift out clean — Good Housekeeping clocked daily scooping at 20 seconds. Special Kitty's clumps are softer and more prone to breaking apart mid-scoop, which means digging around for crumbled pieces and a dirtier box over time. Soft clumps also mean more litter gets wasted as it mixes back into the clean layer.

Good Housekeeping explicitly flags that Special Kitty tracks more than premium options and recommends keeping a broom nearby. Dr. Elsey's medium-grain bentonite is specifically sized to reduce tracking. If your litter box is in a visible area or you walk barefoot, this difference shows up every single day.

A 40-pound bag of Dr. Elsey's is genuinely awkward — heavy, hard to pour without spilling, and a two-handed job every time. Special Kitty's 14-lb screw-top jug is lighter, easier to store, and pours cleanly. If you're managing litter solo or have any mobility limitations, this isn't a trivial difference.