Feline Pine (Church and Dwight)

The original pine litter, and a venerable name meeting a bench that rewards modern clumping. Feline Pine is a Church and Dwight brand, the same stable as Arm and Hammer, and the pioneer of pine litter. It arrives at No. 48 with sixty two, a litter whose strengths and limits are both old and honest.

Its better marks are odour and sustainability. Odour scores three and a half, the natural resin in the timber doing quiet, genuine work on smell, and sustainability the same three and a half, a renewable, biodegradable pine made from sawmill offcuts, a real green credential. Tracking is respectable at three, the pellets staying reasonably put.

The figures that hold it back are the ones a modern litter is judged on. Clumping scores three, because in its classic form Feline Pine does not clump at all but breaks down to sawdust as it wets, demanding a sifting tray and a patient owner. And dust is the lowest mark on this stretch of the list at two and a half, the pine throwing more fine particles, especially as the pellets break down, than the engineered leaders allow.

What you are buying is a piece of litter history, a renewable, odour absorbing pine with a loyal following among owners who prefer a natural, non clumping box. It asks for a sifting routine and tolerates more dust than the top of the list, which is why it sits where it does. For the traditionalist who wants pine and a clear conscience, it remains a genuine choice. A pioneer, honoured but not flattered by a strict bench.