NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHED JULY 2020
A Review
Through this sites affiliation with Chewy.com, my cats and I were given the opportunity to try Fresh Step Cat Litter with the new Gain Scent. So, after a 4 day trial period, will I continue to use Fresh Step with Gain? Do I recommend Fresh Step with Gain to others?
YES!!
Check out this post for a full review of Fresh Step with Gain Original Scent, results of my 4 day comparison test, and why I decided to make the switch.
Table of Contents
Dear Reader,
(Disclaimer)
Due to this site’s affiliation with Chewy.com, I was provided with one free box of Fresh Step Cat Litter with Gain Original Scent to review. Both positive feedback and constructive criticism were encouraged, and I was in no way obligated to write a review unless I liked the product. As always, all thoughts, opinions, and experiences expressed in this review are my own and are not in any way influenced by the product developers, Chewy, or any other affiliates.
This review also contains affiliate links to purchase Fresh Step Cat Litter with Gain Original Scent on Chewy.com. If you choose to purchase through one of my links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Regardless, I only link to products that we (myself, Chris, or the cats) have personally used and think are worth recommending!
Thank you for your support of Cats & Coddiwomple! ENJOY!
Fresh Step Cat Litter - Background & Introduction
Fresh Step Cat Litter has been around for a long time, and is produced by the Clorox Company, a subsidiary of Proctor & Gamble. Through Fresh Step Cat Litter and Paw Points Loyalty Program donations, the Clorox Company provides monetary donations and cat litter to animal shelters. Read more about the mission of Fresh Step at FreshStep.com.
Check out more information about how you can get discounts on Fresh Step purchases through the Paw Points Loyalty Program or donate your Paw Points to help shelter pets across the country.
Fresh Step cat litter is the official cat litter brand of Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization helping shelter pets find homes and working towards ending euthanasia.
Fresh Step Cat Litter comes in 22+ varieties. You can choose from scented or unscented, clumping or non-clumping, and crystals. They also have “clean paws” low tracking litter and lightweight litter as well.
Through this site’s affiliation with Chewy.com, my cats and I had the opportunity to try out a new product: Fresh Step Cat Litter with Gain Original Scent.
I must admit, I almost declined the offer to try this cat litter, as I have used unscented cat litter exclusively for years. I was concerned that my cats would not use it, and that it would leave a strong fake scent throughout the condo. After a few days of consideration, I inevitably decided to give it a try. After all, if I (or my cats) didn’t like the product, I could provide feedback on my experience and go back to using unscented cat litter!
Quoted from FreshStep.com – Fresh Step® with the power of Febreze™ Scoopable litter has a proprietary technology to provide unbeatable odor control by absorbing and eliminating, not just masking odors. These products also feature a lower dust formula for cleaner surfaces and clearer air in your home. Fresh Step has partnered with Febreze to ensure that each box meets the highest levels of freshness. You can avoid complete litter box changes for as long as 2 months, depending on the number of cats you have.
Quoted from Chewy.com – A paw-activated Gain Original fragrance is released every time your cat uses the litter box, providing fresh scent as needed for your home. The high quality, ClumpLock® technology quickly absorb liquids while trapping odors on contact to form tight clumps and makes scooping fast and easy. Keep your cats paws and floors “purrfectly” clean and leave your entire home smelling Febreze fresh with the scent of Gain.
Fresh Step with Gain Original Scent is a clumping clay cat litter and is available in 3 sizes.
14 Pound Box = $9.99
25 Pound Box = $15.99
42 Pound Bag = $22.99
My Trial Method - Day 1 / Phase 1
Once I committed to testing the product, I was skeptical but still wanted to give the product an honest chance. My worst fear was having the cats hate the product and choose to eliminate on the rug or other area instead.
So, the first step in my testing process was to purchase a new litter box and set it up with the new Fresh Step with Gain cat litter while leaving their other litter boxes in their usual places with their usual litter inside.
For this first phase, I placed the litter box out in the open so I could easily observe the cats initial response to the new litter.
Knowing that litter box placement is another factor that can determine if a cat will or will not use the litter box, I only planned to have the Fresh Step with Gain litter box out in the open for this initial observation period. Then, I planned to place it side by side with their other litter box in the usual location to observe which litter box the cats chose to use.
My First Impressions
- Sturdy Cardboard Packaging – not a lot of litter coming out through the cracks
- Easy to Pour – push in a perforated section of cardboard on the top of the side of the box
- Medium Texture – The granules were not large but not super fine either
- Very Low Dust – When pouring there was very minimal dust
- Below Average Weight – Not a “lightweight” litter but definitely less heavy than some other litters
- Light, Pleasant Scent – I could identify the Gain scent but it was not intense
Overall first impression, I was very pleasantly surprised with this cat litter!
As I said before, I was expecting a strong chemical or fake smell upon pouring this litter into the litter box. Despite the claims of being 99.9% dust free, I was expecting a dust cloud.
I experienced neither of those things.
The litter was packaged in a sturdy, thick cardboard box that was easy to open, carry, and pour. The full box was lighter than I expected, but not as light as a “lightweight” cat litter.
While pouring the cat litter, I was surprised at how little dust came up into the air. Many cat litters claim to be low dust or dust-free, but they all seem to have some amount of dust. It is just the nature of the beast when comes to clumping cat litter. This is especially true when pouring the cat litter into the litter box or litter tray for the first time more so than when scooping. So, when I experienced minimal dust on the initial fill, I was a little taken aback.
My second fear, of a strong fake smell, turned out to be misguided as well. The scent was very light and pleasant. Had I not been purposefully sniffing for the scent, I may not have even acknowledged it. And it does smell like Gain!
Many unscented cat litters still have a sort of smell to them… its not a chemical air freshener type of smell, but there is an odor of sorts. I don’t really know how to describe it. This slight Gain scent was even more pleasant to me than the typical unscented litter smell.
But, since cats have a more sensitive sense of smell than humans, I was still a little concerned about how the cats would feel with a Gain scent wafting up as they scratched in the box. On the other hand, I was sold on the Gain scent.
It was time for the harshest of all critics to weigh in: the cats.
The Cats' First Impressions
As I said before, I had purchased a new litter box, filled it with Fresh Step with Gain, and left it near one of their normal litter box locations, but more in the open so I could witness the initial reactions to the new litter.
(For Reference: Their normal litter box is behind our TV stand, so while it is not covered, I do not have an unobstructed view of it unless I am standing near the TV. The Fresh Step with Gain litter box was setup next to the TV stand.)
At first, the cats only sniffed around the litter box. Then they walked around in the litter box and scratched a little bit at the litter, but no one did their business. Max decided to give it a serious scratch test, and flung litter all over the floor as he dug in there like he was giving it serious consideration. But he still did not squat. I was starting to think that maybe they did not like the texture or scent… or it could be the placement of the box since that was different as well.
I decided to leave the box where it was for the time being, and wait until the following morning to try something else. Before we went to bed, all cats were using the Fresh Step with Gain litter box. When I woke up the next morning, they had all used the Fresh Step with Gain litter box exclusively during the night.
Did they love the new litter? Was it the excitement over a super clean new litter box? Or was it the approval of the new litter box placement? I couldn’t be sure so it was time to investigate further…
My Trial Method - Day 2 / Phase 2
I wanted to try to discover if the cats were responding well to the Fresh Step with Gain cat litter, the new litter box, or the litter box placement.
So, the second step in my testing process was to clean and place fresh litter in all 3 original cat boxes (still in their original locations). I scooped the Fresh Step with Gain litter box instead of dumping it since the litter was less than 24 hours old. I also cleaned, vacuumed, and mopped the areas around the litter boxes and cleaned the litter box mats.
I wanted to eliminate box or area cleanliness as a factor that may affect how the cats choose which litter to use.
Then I placed the Fresh Step with Gain litter box side by side with one of the original litter boxes in its usual spot behind the TV stand.
I did this to eliminate box location as a factor that may affect how the cats choose which litter to use.
At this point, the only difference in the experience for the cat would be the fact that the new litter box was a different brand and shape than the original litter box. That was simply poor planning on my part, as I had to take what was available at the store when the Fresh Step with Gain arrived.
As soon as we finished cleaning and things settled down, we had a cat go behind the TV stand to use the litter box. This was where we had the Fresh Step with Gain litter box set up directly next to an original litter box. The moment of truth – Which litter would he choose!?
Fresh Step with Gain Original Scent!!
The initial moments of the 4 litter box test put the Fresh Step with Gain in the lead for current favorite cat litter by at least one of our cats, but I wanted more results.
I left all of the cat boxes untouched for around 24 hours. Then I scooped each cat box, attempting to count the urine clumps and poos within each litter box for comparison. I was again pleasantly surprised by the experience of scooping this cat litter. During scooping, there was no overwhelming scent of fragrance coming from the litter, but there was also no overwhelming scent of ammonia or poo either! And I was shocked at how little dust (basically no dust) was kicked up into the air during scooping. I was hoping the cats would enjoy this litter change as much as I was.
Here are the Day by Day results!!
Litter Box by Litter/Location – 1st Day
Bedroom Litter Box (covered – original litter)
Living Room Litter Box (covered – original litter)
Behind TV Stand Box (uncovered – original litter)
Behind TV Stand Box (uncovered – Fresh Step with Gain)
Liquid
5 Clumps
4 Clumps
2 Clumps
4 Clumps
Solid
1 Clump
1 Clump
1 Clump
1 Clump
Litter Box by Litter/Location – 2nd Day
Bedroom Litter Box (covered – original litter)
Living Room Litter Box (covered – original litter)
Behind TV Stand Box (uncovered – original litter)
Behind TV Stand Box (uncovered – Fresh Step with Gain)
Liquid
4 Clumps
5 Clumps
2 Clumps
3 Clumps
Solid
0 Clumps
0 Clumps
1 Clump
1 Clump
After 2 days of observations with the current litter box placement, I decided to swap out the location of the Fresh Step with Gain litter box with one of the other litter boxes to rule out location preference. Some days I scooped the box earlier in the day than others, so this could account for daily differences in clumps, but I was more concerned with the overall clump count after the 4 day testing period.
Here are the results of Day 3 & Day 4 testing with litter boxes in a different location!
Litter Box by Litter/Location – 3rd Day
Bedroom Litter Box (covered – original litter)
Living Room Litter Box (covered – Fresh Step with Gain)
Behind TV Stand Box (uncovered – original litter)
Behind TV Stand Box Moved (uncovered – original litter)
Liquid
3 Clumps
6 Clumps
0 Clumps
4 Clumps
Solid
1 Clump
1 Clump
1 Clump
1 Clump
Litter Box by Litter/Location – 4th Day
Bedroom Litter Box (covered – original litter)
Living Room Litter Box (covered – Fresh Step with Gain)
Behind TV Stand Box (uncovered – original litter)
Behind TV Stand Box Moved (uncovered – original litter)
Liquid
3 Clumps
4 Clumps
3 Clumps
2 Clumps
Solid
1 Clump
2 Clumps
1 Clump
0 Clumps
First, I compared the 2 days that the Fresh Step with Gain litter box was behind the TV Stand and the 2 days that the Fresh Step with Gain litter box was in the covered litter box in the living room. I removed 7 urine and 2 solid clumps from the Fresh Step with Gain litter box while it was behind the TV stand, and I removed 10 liquid clumps and 3 solid clumps while it was inside the covered gray litter box cabinet in the living room.
Then I went on to compare the overall results of all 4 days of litter scooping.
Blue = Liquid Clumps / Red = Solid Clumps
Litter Box Use by Litter over 4 Day Test
Original Litter (covered – bedroom)
Fresh Step with Gain (2 locations used)
Original Litter (uncovered – behind TV stand)
Original Litter (2 locations used)
Liquid
15 Clumps
17 Clumps
6 Clumps
15 Clumps
Solid
3 Clump
5 Clumps
4 Clump
2 Clumps
Overall, the winner in the Fresh Step with Gain versus my original brand of cat litter was Fresh Step with Gain Original Scent Cat Litter!
The Fresh Step with Gain was preferred by both myself and my cats.
I preferred the Fresh Step with Gain over the unscented cat litter I was using because of the light pleasant scent, the low amount of dust, and the reduction in litter tracking. The main negative to changing to the Fresh Step with Gain cat litter would be the slight increase in price compare to my previous brand of cat litter. But, as they say, you get what you pay for! To me, the price difference is not enough to deter me from giving Fresh Step with Gain another chance. The only other slight negative, was that when the cats do manage to track or scratch the litter out of the litter box, some of the litter is very fine (like sand), and can be difficult to sweep up between vacuuming.
Fresh Step w/ Gain - PROS
- Light, Pleasant Scent of Gain
- No Ammonia/Feces Smell
- No – Low Dust
- Easy to Scoop
- Low Litter Tracking
- Sturdy Cardboard Box (14 or 25 lb)
- More for the Weight
- Cats Seem to Prefer It
Fresh Step w/ Gain - CONS
- Slightly Higher Cost than Previous Litter
- Litter Hard to Sweep (Fine Texture)
In summary, the cats prefer the Fresh Step with Gain Original Scent cat litter over the unscented cat litter I was using previously. I was also able to determine that the cats prefer to use the new litter in the covered gray litter box cabinet in the living room more than in the uncovered box behind the TV stand. Further testing is needed to fully determine my cats favorite litter box location and favorite cat litter, but Fresh Step with Gain Original Scent will continue to be purchased.
I plan on purchasing Fresh Step with Gain Original Scent in the future!!
As someone who was only purchasing unscented litter because I thought my cats, with their strong sense of smell, would be put off by a scented cat litter – I was skeptical about trying a scented cat litter at all. I was especially skeptical about trying a cat litter scented with a pleasing scent to humans, like Gain, as opposed to a scent like catnip or something a cat could find pleasant.
I was not expecting my cats to really use the Fresh Step with Gain litter when their original unscented litter was still an option. On the first day, I was quite surprised when the cats used the Fresh Step with Gain cat litter over their original litter boxes. I assumed it was a preference in the litter box location or the freshness of the litter box more than the litter itself. So, I was definitely not expecting my cats to prefer the Fresh Step with Gain cat litter once I cleaned all the litter boxes and even moved the litter box containing the Fresh Step with Gain cat litter to a different location. In fact, moving the litter box resulting in the cats using the Fresh Step with Gain cat litter even more in the final 2 days of the test compared to the first 2 days.
FINAL DECISION – I can’t argue with the cats and plan to purchase another box or two of Fresh Step with Gain Original Scent Cat Litter and see if they continue to like this litter!