Our 2024 Fresh Step Cat Litter Reviews and Coupons
Quick Guide
What’s the biggest downside to owning the best pet in the world? That’s right. It’s the litterbox. Cue sad trombone music now.
There really isn’t anything pleasant about scooping poop, but there are few things you can do to make the process a little less nasty on you, and give your cat a litter they will like and be sure to use.
For starters, you can invest in a mechanical, self-sifting litter box, so your chore is less hands-on. But choosing a high-quality litter that clumps, locks away odors, and does an excellent job of forming a hard ball of waste for easy clean-up will make this chore less unpleasant. Good litter will also ensure that your cat will actually use the litter box and not do his business elsewhere in your house.
We’ve been hard at work putting together comprehensive reviews of some of the world’s most popular cat litter brands. Our reports cover absorbency, odor control, price versus value, and more. Up next on our review schedule is Fresh Step, one of the biggest, global cat litter brands. We’ll go over the different types of Fresh Step cat litters so you can choose a product that is right for you and your cat.
Popular Fresh Step Cat Litters:
What are the different types of Fresh Step cat litters?
The Fresh Step brand has been around for many years, so it’s well established and has a good reputation. Fresh Step offers a wide variety of different cat litters, and we can’t cover all of them today. But, we’ll go over the most popular of the Fresh Step litters.
Fresh Step Triple Action Scented Clumping Litter
When you invite a new visitor to your home, you don’t want them realizing you have a cat because your house or apartment smells like a litter box. But what’s worse than the smell of cat pee? The smell of cat pee and cheap perfume. A good, high-quality scented litter is hard to find, but this scented litter from Fresh Step is pretty darn good at locking away unpleasant ammonia odors and leaving behind a clean, unobtrusive smell.
The triple action in the product’s name refers to the three-step formula the litter uses to eliminate odors from urine, feces, and bacteria. The litter combines three different materials and cat litter technologies to create a litter that does what’s advertised and does it efficiently too.
This Fresh Step scented cat litter uses clumping, sodium bentonite clay that has natural, antimicrobial properties, so bacteria are killed as soon as they hit the material. Once the litter gets wet, it forms a hard clump quickly to lock away odors, germs, and make clean up easier. A litter that forms hard, dry clumps like this one will also help the litter tray last a little bit longer before you need to change it.
The next ingredient in this litter from Fresh Step is activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is an all-natural filtration and purification material that’s used in a variety of products and even medical procedures. The activated charcoal in this cat litter drastically reduces smells bacteria produce.
What’s the third way this litter keeps your house smelling fresh? It is infused with a natural plant extract that is activated when the litter gets wet. That plant extract is what gives the litter a fresh, clean scent. So, easy cleanup, bacteria-killing, and odor-killing properties make this an excellent cat litter to try from Fresh Step.
The bentonite clay combined with the activated charcoal does an excellent job of eliminating offensive odors from urine and bacteria. So, the added scent from the plant extract does not have to work as hard to perfume the litter. Inferior scented litters have to rely too much on scent additives, which can give them a urine mixed with cheap perfume smell when your cat uses the litter box. This litter won’t do that.
Fresh Step Clean Paws Triple Action Low Tracking Cat Litter
This litter from Fresh Step is very similar to the one above. It uses a three-pronged attack for eliminating nasty odors, locking away bacteria, and leaving behind a clean, fresh scent after your cat uses the litter tray. This litter is clay clumping, too, but the only difference from the litter listed above is that it is a low-tracking formula. The litter uses a larger, heavier granule size, so they are less likely to be tracked all over your house. It’s a good product to use if you have a long-haired kitty.
Tracked litter is not only unsightly, and it can cause the home to smell. Tracked litter can also increase the chances of humans being exposed to parasites and other bacteria present in cat urine and feces.
While this litter does an excellent job of cutting down on tracked granules, it isn’t as fast at clumping as the litter we already listed. That has to do with the size of the granules, not their quality. Larger granules take a little bit longer to clump and dry than smaller granules. But, the difference here isn’t very noticeable, and the clumps do an excellent job of hardening so the litter tray will be easy for you to clean.
Fresh Step Lightweight Extreme Cat Litter
This Fresh Step Lightweight cat litter uses the same, triple-action formula as the litters above. But, this litter comes with a couple of extra features that you and your cat might like.
The litter is a clay clumping litter that dries quickly and forms easy-to-clean, hard balls that lock away odors and bacteria. Activated charcoal and plant extracts are used for further odor control. But, the litter also uses Febreze to neutralize any more odors that may escape the clutches of the clay and charcoal. What else? It’s also extremely lightweight.
The granule sizes used in this cat litter are 30% lighter than standard cat litters. So, you will get far more absorption per pound of the litter with this product from Fresh Step. This cat litter will give you excellent value for your money, and the lightweight formula is easier to scoop, pour, store, and carry. The only caveat is that lightweight litters may not be a good choice for long-haired cats.
Fresh Step Multiple Cat Scoopable Clumping Cat Litter
This is one of the most popular cat litters from Fresh Step, and it is an excellent product to use if you have multiple cats. The litters are also infused with Febreze, making the product one of the best odor control cat litters on the market. As soon as this clay clumping litter gets wet, the litter will do its job to form a quick, hard clump that locks away odors. And the Febreze infusion kills any lingering smells. For multi-cat households, it’s crucial that you get a cat litter that will do an excellent job of eliminating odors.
Fresh Step Crystals
Fresh Step Crystals is a silica gel cat litter that does a great job of eliminating odors and bacteria. The crystals are small and incredibly soft on your cat’s paws, too. Cats will often reject litters that are too hard or use large granules. Your cat is less likely to reject these small, soft crystals when you put the product to their litter tray.
The litter is easy to scoop and is a dust-free cat litter for added safety and cleanliness. The crystals are also lightweight even after they absorb moisture, so it’s easy to clean, too. It’s not a clumping litter though, and you also can’t flush this litter.
Fresh Step Litter Coupons
It’s almost impossible to find Fresh Step coupons either online or offline. But, you can purchase Fresh Step from Chewy, the world’s largest online pet supply store. Chewy.com offers coupons on their site so that you can try a bag or a box of Fresh Step litter for below retail price.
When it’s time to pick out a cat litter, you have to consider what your cat needs, and what features you can live with, including how absorbent the litter is, if it does an excellent job of odor control, and what kind of value you’ll get for your money. Below, we’ll go over a few more aspects of Fresh Step Cat litter in more detail.
Fresh Step Cat Litter Reviews
Price
Fresh Step Cat Litter is a famous, name brand litter that offers an array of different products to choose from. Fresh Step litters are not the cheapest litters on the market. If we were going to be incredibly picky about Fresh Step, this would be our biggest “con” about the brand. But for what the quality of litter you get, and it’s superior odor control, Fresh Step litters are overall a good buy.
Absorption
Fresh Step litters are clay clumping litters. Litters that use clumping sodium bentonite clay are some of the most absorbent cat litters you can buy. Fresh Step litters do an excellent job of absorbing moisture and locking it away into hard, dry clumps. Cat litters that offer superior absorbency don’t just lock away odors, and they make your life better in a multitude of ways. For one thing, they make clean up easier, since there is no liquid pooling at the bottom of the tray. Absorbent litters also keep the house smelling fresher for longer. And, absorbent litters also save you money because you don’t have to clear the tray as often, and when you scoop, your scooping and scraping out less litter. Litters that clump well also cut down on tracking.
Odor Control
Fresh Step cat litters consistently poll well across a range of third-party review sites when it comes to odor control. Their unique and effective use of Febreze, plus bentonite clay, plus activated charcoal and an additional plant extract make these some of the freshest-smelling litters on the market. You would be hard-pressed to find an honest review of Fresh Step complaining about the lack of odor control because, with this brand, odors are eliminated in three distinct steps, and with three highly effective components. Owners of multi-cat households, who can’t stand the smells associated with a litter box will really like using a Fresh Step cat litter.
Tracking
Finding low-tracking cat litter is difficult. For starters, heavier, larger cat litters tend to do an excellent job at cutting down on tracking naturally. Fresh Step cat litter products do an excellent job of cutting down on tracked litter, especially if you choose their product that is specifically designed with larger, heavier granules. However, the other Fresh Step cat litters do a decent job of keeping tracking low compared to comparable brands and cat litter products. Even their lightweight cat litter formula won’t cause your cat to track many granules through the house.
Dust-Friendly
Fresh Step cat litters are low-dust formulas. If you have a cat that’s sensitive to dust or is allergy prone, it’s a good idea to use a cat litter product that is low-dust or even hypoallergenic. While Fresh Step litters are not hypoallergenic, they are dust-friendly. For cats that suffer from respiratory problems, you will need to find a hypoallergenic cat litter formula to keep your kitty healthy and comfortable when using the litter box. Dust-friendly cat litter formulas are also good for human’s health, too. Cats can carry parasites that are carried in litter dust. Inhaling contaminated litter dust can make you sick. Regardless of what cat litter you use, you want to get a low-dust formula.
Flushability
Clumping clay cat litters should never be flushed down a toilet or rinsed down a drain. Clumping clay formulas like the Fresh Step line of cat litters must be disposed of in a trash can. If you were to flush one of these litters, you’d end up with a massive plumbing bill.
Eco-Friendly
Fresh Step cat litters use sodium bentonite clumping claws, which are not eco-friendly. Bentonite clays are often pulled from the earth via the process of strip mining, which causes pollution. If eco-friendliness is important to you, other reputable cat litter brands provide effective and eco-friendly cat litter you can buy.
A Fresh Step Cat Litter FAQ
- Are Fresh Step litters biodegradable? – The Fresh Step clay clumping litters are not biodegradable. However, Fresh Step does make a silica gel litter, which is biodegradable.
- Do Fresh Step litters come in resealable bags? – The majority of Fresh Step cat litters are sold in easy to pour and store cardboard boxes. A few of the Fresh Step cat litters come in bags, but they are not resealable. We recommend using a durable, plastic tote with a scoop for storing cat litter if you do not have a resealable bag or a box. Scooping litter from a box can also be easier on the back and joints than lifting a large container or box of cat litter and trying to pour it into a litter tray.
- Can you put Fresh Step cat litters in a mechanical or self-sifting litter tray? – Fresh Step recommends only using their Fresh Step silica gel crystal cat litter in their proprietary litter tray. All other clay clumping cat litters from Fresh Step should not be put in a mechanical or self-sifting tray.
- Do Fresh Step silica crystal litters clump? – No, the silica gel crystal litters from Fresh Step do not clump, but they do lock away odors for supreme odor control. It is recommended that cat owners who use Fresh Step Crystal litter occasionally stir the litter to prevent pooling at the bottom of the tray.
- Which Fresh Step litter is good to use for sensitive cats that tend to reject most litters? – Fresh Step Crystal litters are ideal for cats with sensitive paws. The silica gel crystals are small, lightweight, and small enough that your cat is unlikely to reject the litter. The Fresh Step Lightweight Extreme is also a good choice if you want a clay clumping litter instead.
- Which of the Fresh Step cat litters will last the longest? – Fresh Step Lightweight Extreme and the Scoopable Clumping litter will last the longest and give you the ability to stretch a dollar, while still keeping your home and cat clean and happy. Both of these litters use Febreze-activated technology, which will give you the highest levels of freshness. Each litter tray will last for as long as two months without needing to change out the entire box, but it depends on how many cats you have.
- Why do the Fresh Step Crystals change color? – When your cat uses Fresh Step silica crystal litters, the crystals will turn blue when they come into contact with moisture. That is supposed to happy, and all it tells you is that the litter has been used. Again, you might want to stir the litter to after it has been used to keep any liquid from pooling at the bottom of the tray and making a hard-to-clean mess.
- If you switch to Fresh Step litter, how can you make sure your cat won’t reject it? – It can take cats a few days to get used to a new litter. Sometimes, switching to an entirely new litter can cause your cat to reject the litter tray. But what you can do to prevent this from happening is put half of your old litter, and the new litter you want to introduce to your cat in the litter tray for about a week. After a week, you can change out the tray and fill it entirely with new litter. This should give your cat a chance to adjust and lower the chances of your cat rejecting the litter and peeing outside of the litter box.
What’s our final verdict on Fresh Step cat litters?
If you’re looking for a cat litter brand that does a superior job of controlling for odors, Fresh Step is an excellent cat litter brand to try. Their triple-action cat litter formula and their partnership with Febreze means you’re guaranteed to get a cat litter that’s going to keep your home smelling fresher for longer. Fresh Step cat litters are also low-tracking and offer a range of specific cat litters that will be sure to meet your needs and meet the approval of your cat. Don’t forget to check out Chewy.com and get a box of Fresh Step to try for below retail price.
