Fresh News Recycled Paper Original Pellet Cat Litter, 12 Pound, Non-Clumping, Unscented, Made in USA

Tl;dr perfect for one cat home. No tracking! Everyone's situation and set up with their cats is a little bit different, but for my house and pet, this litter is perfect! I have one petite cat (6lbs) that lives in my small urban apartment with us. Our cat box is in our dining room in a cabinet designed to hide the box. The box is right in our faces (and noses) so we scoop it pretty much immediately after she goes poop. For our set up, having a low tracking litter was really important. I had previously tried the Tidy Cat breeze system because of a recommendation from a friend who said it didn't track at all, but I hated that fussy set up and the poopy pellets that got smeared and left behind after scooping really grossed me out. I was hesitant to try another pellet litter after that, but the clay i had switched to was getting all over our house. I tried Fresh News begrudgingly, but have been so pleasantly surprised. My biggest barrier to trying this litter was the fear that the pellets would get smushy and soggy after being peed on, but that hasn't been the case at all since we keep the box so clean. I think if you let the cat pee on this litter and then left it for two days, then yes, it would get soggy. But every time I scoop it i also mix the pellets around so that no wetness accumulates in the corners. I really like that this litter is environmently friendly, inexpensive, non tracking, unscented, no dust, and doesn't get stuck in my cats nails or paws. This is perfect for us! I'm really glad I gave it a try.

I love this brand, and generally so do my cats. I have two cats and a small apartment, so I am in constant need of odor control. I also use A&H powder every few days (or after a super stinky go) to make the batch last longer. I've been informed by several house guests that they did not know the litter box was in the same room as them. These don't disintegrate at least while you are using them, and I don't think you should flush them (though you probably could given what they are made of). The scent isn't very strong at all, but I also use other stuff to mute the scent. My favorite thing about this is that there isn't litter granules everywhere. Yes, sometimes the cheeky little fluffs bring some out with them (usually the dry ones), but it is so so easy to pick those up and dispose of them or do a quick sweep. They changed something in the last year, so the smell out of the bag is far more neutral, but it used to smell sort of like a library/freshly opened newspaper for a while after you used it....which I liked, but probably most people didn't. I am my consistent goal is to not have my apartment become a clear cat lady house (smell, litter everywhere, depression hanging in the air), and these are an integral part of keeping that goal.

I’ve used a lot of different kitty litters over the many years. This recycled paper litter is the absolute best ever! It’s very highly absorbent, to the point of feces shrinking to small dried pieces. I have 4 indoor cats and the multi cat extra scented litter is even better! Truly reduces smells drastically until there is none! So not only is this litter cost effective, it’s good for the environment. Because the pellets are biodegradable. It does take some getting used to scooping it out effectively due to the pellet shape versus traditional clay or other types of litters. I recommend using the corner of your scoop to pick out the feces without wasting littler. The urine soaked is very easy as usual.

I have 2 cats a kitty and adult cat. Just started using this when my kitty was spayed 3 months back and have been using it ever since. This is my first alternative to regular cat litter so I may try other options. Also noticed their paws are super clean since using this litter. This does NOT hold urine smell for long or the poop smell. It DOES absorb the urine very well, no seeping to the bottom at all. I scoop out more often approx. 3x a week and change it more often. I definitely feel like I’m spending more money than I did for regular cat litter. However, I am loving how easy it is to clean as well as scoop out. I change completely once a week and it takes literally 7 minutes. After working 9-5 during the week, cleaning and changing the box has been an easy dream. I literally used to plan for it like a chore. There is nothing stuck on the bottom and surprisingly the box is completely clean when I dump it all out. I have not had to drag it out to clean stuck on litter from the bottom. No tracking other than a pebble now and then. Mopping the floor in the area is fantastic now because there is no litter sand stuck or tracked down the hall. Being that I like this alternative and there were not many alternatives years ago, I may keep looking for something better regarding absorbing smell and more affordable. I purchase the big bag about every two weeks, where regular litter for this size would last a month. The easy clean up and clean paws is mostly why I won’t go back to regular litter.

I admit I would never have purchased Recycled Paper cat litter if I wasn't forced to due to my cat getting declawed. It's the only litter the vet recommended. Since we have three cats, I was worried about how it would smell and whether or not my cats would even use it. We normally use Pretty Litter, which I love. The first day, one of my cats peed in the laundry rather than use the cat litter, but there was only one accident. I haven't noticed any smell. Now that the cats have decided this new cat litter isn't so bad, I like it, too. Pretty Litter tracks all over, so I have to keep a broom near the litter boxes. This litter stays in the box where it belongs. I clean out the solid waste every day, but I haven't really noticed a strong smell from the box at all. It's similar in price to pretty litter, so there really isn't much of a price difference. I have to use this litter for two weeks while my cat heals. That's a good amount of time to see if I like it for long-term use. For now, it's been a win/win. Helping my cat heal and no obvious odors.

This review is from a long time buyer of Yesterday's new hoping for a substitute now that it is discontinued. First off, the amount you get on amazon is broken. The 4 pound option is actually a 12 pound bag. No idea what's up with that. Buy it on Chewy to avoid the seller markup here on Amazon, as the price has doubled since they announced Yesterday's news was discontinued. Second, while it looks about the same as Yesterday's news (the pellets are bigger but softer), there are some very notable differences. Although it is very absorbent, most of the urine will still just be on the bottom of the box until it evaporates. This will cause a very bad smell. Perhaps using three times as much litter would help with this issue, but the biggest difference between Fresh news and Yesterday's news makes this very wasteful. While Yesterday News will crumble once wet, making it easy to pick out the litter that has been saturated, Fresh News will not. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. It is now actually a 100% dust free litter, but it makes cleaning it much harder without throwing away all the litter in the box, because once dry, there is no way to distinguish the urine-scented pellets from the still-fresh ones. I need to clean the litter box twice as often now to account for the smell, and I'm still cleaning almost all the litter out each time. I can see this getting pretty costly down the line. If you have an open litter box in a ventilated area, maybe not a big issue, but those with enclosed litter boxes in "it goes where it fits" style small apartments, you'll need to clean it often so the ammonia smell doesn't irritate your kitty's eyes. That all said, I do really like that it comes in smaller bag sizes, but the fact that the bag is plastic kind of negates the purpose of buying litter that's more environmentally friendly. Finally, I think it tracks much less than yesterday's news does both due to the lack of crumbling and the size of the pellets. So, all in all, if you don't mind cleaning the litter box often or throwing out all the litter when you do, this product is a perfect substitute.

I’m so impressed with Fresh News Recycled Paper Original Pellet Cat Litter, 12 Pound! This non-clumping recycled paper litter has made a real difference for our cat’s litter box routine. The pellets are soft yet absorbent, and they do a great job controlling moisture and reducing odors without any added scents — a huge plus for both pets and people who prefer unscented options. I love that it’s virtually dust-free and lightweight, so it’s cleaner to pour and easier on our cat’s paws compared to traditional clay litters. Tracking around the house is minimal too, which keeps everything tidier. Best of all, this litter feels safer and more environmentally responsible because it’s made from 100% recycled paper. Between the performance and eco-friendliness, it’s definitely earned a five-star rating from me!

EDIT: As of November 1, 2025, I can no longer recommend this product. It still says unscented on the bag, but as soon as I opened it the perfumes hit me like a wall. I'm very sensitive to added fragrances, and I'm aware that they are even worse for pets than they are for humans. I opened a bag that was on my lap, so the smell was right in my face. My nose burns and a migraine is starting. PLEASE change it back! Original review: The only thing I'd remembered about paper litter was the negative, the fact that you can't just sift out the wet bits with a straining scoop. (tips on that to follow) But, my cat Tesla got a serious infection from clay litter compacted in a claw, and we had to switch to paper litter till it healed. I have two of their 4 litter boxes in one tiny room. The shelves and everything in there are always covered in white dust from clay litter. I clean it away and it's everywhere again in no time. The grit from clay always gets spread everywhere and scratches the floors. Not having that dust anymore is reason enough to switch to fresh news. My Asthmatic cat certainly agrees Pros: With the paper litter, there's no cloud of dust in my face when I clean the boxes, and no floor grit. I don't have to worry about any more toe infections from impacted clay in claws. One 25 lb bag of paper litter is lasting me twice as long as a 30 lb bucket of clay litter. Cheaper, because it lasts longer. It's a great way to make use of recycled paper. I'm can compost it. Available in UNSCENTED! fragrances are bad for cats and perfume+poo doesn't smell any better than just poo. If you're allergic to most added fragrances (like I am) this is extra important. Since I'm allergic to soy inks the compost will only be for flowers, not veg, but that's still better than piles of clay in a land fill. Tips: The more often you scoop, the easier it is to find the used bits. Litter boxes should always be scooped daily, regardless of litter type, but doing it frequently also makes it easier to spot peed-on litter before it dries. If your cat pees only small amounts at a time, the paper can dry out before you go to scoop. If this happens, look for swollen bits. Thicker bits mean they expanded from having gotten wet. Tesla covers his tiny pee spots, so I gently scoop back top bits until I see lower bits that look a bit swollen or are coming apart. I scoop out swollen ones and some around it. My other cat, Schroedinger, has serious excess urination and doesn't cover anything. This litter can handle her buckets of pee, as the paper just swells up and soaks it up like sponges. I heavily recommend using biodegradable puppy pee pads as liners in the boxes. If a dribble gets through the gaps between paper bits, they absorbs it. Every so often I let the boxes get low. After scooping, I pour unused litter into a bag and put the liner in my paper compost, add a new liner, and dump the litter back in. Plastic absorbs odors. I used to have to empty, scrub, and soak our boxes ever so often to appease my picky cat. Paper doesn't stick to the plastic like clay, so it would be easier now even if I didn't use the liners. But with the liners, I don't usually bother. Sometimes I mist the bottom of the box with alcohol and let it dry before putting in a new liner.