Best Cat Litter Scoop

A key component to a proper cat litter box setup not only includes the best cat litter but also the best cat litter scoop.  Anybody who has tried to remove cat litter with a normal kitchen utensil knows how easy it is to make a huge mess from the cat waste falling apart.  Also, without the optimal sized cat litter scoop ports, you can either have waste fall back through into the box or you end up removing way too much unnecessary cat litter (which can be significant if you are going with one of the more expensive litter types or if you have a busy litter box).

You also want something that looks presentable and doesn’t hit your wallet too hard.  To help you with this, we have reviewed some of the most popular cat litter scoopers on the market and list out their pros and cons.  Below is a convenient table that shows our results but if you wish to read the more thorough reviews hop below the table!

Best Cat Litter Scoops

	Overall Rating	Material	Price (Amazon)	Includes Caddy?
Duranimal DuraScoop		Metal and Plastic	$$$$ Buy on Amazon	No
Pureness Regular		Plastic	$ Buy on Amazon	No
Nature’s Miracle Non-Stick Antimicrobial		Plastic	$$$	Yes
Booda Scoop’N Hide		Plastic	$$$ Buy on Amazon	Yes
The Litter Lifter		Plastic	$ Buy on Amazon	No
Petmate Metal		Metal and Plastic	$$$$$ Buy on Amazon	No

What to Look for in a Cat Litter Scoop

There is a surprising amount of thought that goes into a litter scoop’s design and implementation.  From choosing the material to the design of the ports and even the arch on the handle, there are a lot of areas that a company can tweak their scoop to stand out from the crowd.  Trying to keep up with all of these variables can be a little overwhelming, so we have listed them all out to make it easier for you.

Toughness

The toughness of a cat litter scoop refers to how resilient it is to bending, breaking, cracking, or ultimately failing.  This can be surprisingly common in litter scoopers since oftentimes you are having to push down to scrape caked-on cat waste from the sides of the litter box.  This can cause some pretty aggressive bending on the shaft of the cat litter scooper which over time can cause issues.

Shape/Size

The shape and size of a cat litter scoops refer to both the overall dimensions of the product as well as design specifications such as the shape of the handle and scoop, the size and shape of the ports, and any other relevant features such as the inclusion of a caddy, grips on the handles, etc.

Appearance

As the name suggests, the appearance refers to the aesthetic feel of the cat litter scoop.  This can include the color choices, designs, or patterns on the handle or shaft, how well the handle and ports come together, and anything else that has to do with visuals.

Price

This is a very simple metric and it involves the asking price of the scoop.  While not scoop is extremely expensive (it is just a handle and a small bucket, after all!) there is still a pretty large range of asking prices.  This can be due to a variety of metrics such as materials, sizes, whether it has a caddy, etc.

Duranimal DuraScoop

Buy on Amazon Price not available and save 

Toughness – 

This product is extremely tough, being made of corrosion-resistant aluminum.  Going with a metal scoop has the benefit of being much more difficult to crack and break when compared to plastic or other materials.  This means that you can put a lot of force behind this scoop and it will take the abuse without issue.  The other benefit is that the aluminum doesn’t have the springiness that a plastic can, so you don’t have to worry about it potentially flicking litter when you flex it.  That being said, it is still ductile enough that it can flex some but will shape back into its original position.

Shape/Size – 

This is a very beefy scoop.  It is also on the large size, and for some small litter boxes, it might be a little annoying trying to navigate around.  The handle is also thick enough that for those with small or frail hands it might be a little tough to properly grip it.  However, Duranimal wanted a scoop that can handle even the toughest litter conditions and that is the price you have to pay to achieve that.

The scoop is on the deeper side, which means that it is easy to remove quite a bit of litter when you push it into the litter.  And that scoop is shaped in a way that you have to make a downward motion to get under the cat waste.  However, the ports are properly sized that a vast majority of the non-used litter should fall back through and leave just the cat waste.

Appearance – 

This is a very attractive design with the reflective aluminum base and the colored grips on the handle.  Being a large scoop, the port size is shaped in a way that compliments the look and gives off the vibe of a high-quality product.  However, the aluminum can be prone to have some color fading over time when being exposed to urine so when this happens the attractive aluminum sheen is replaced with a corroded look that can be somewhat off-putting.

Price – 

This is one of the more expensive cat litter scoops on the market.  This is due to a combination of going with a metal frame as opposed to plastic and being a thicker, larger design.  This intent here is for this product to last for a long time, however, so Duranimal feels justified in their asking price.

Overall Rating – 

This product is one of the toughest characters we have come across, and this is thanks to its bulky design and usage of premium metal material.  While it might be a bit too large for some and it might have a hard to navigating smaller litter boxes, if you are after a scoop that will handle challenging caked-on messes and also last for a while then this is a good choice.  Just be prepared to pay the premium price for it.

Pureness Regular

Buy on Amazon Price not available and save 

Toughness – 

This scooper is made of relatively thin plastic and because of this, it is quite prone to breaking after a short period.  This is particularly true if you have a litter box that requires aggressing pushing motions to remove caked cat waste.  The plastic is also on the stiffer side which means you won’t get as much flex which can result in catapulting cat litter!  However, when it does bend beyond a certain point it is likely to crack and ultimately break.

Shape/Size – 

This is a relatively small scooper so you shouldn’t have an issue fitting it into any sized litter box.  The handle itself is a bit too short, however, and you might find yourself having to reach farther into the cat litter box to get to all of the edges.  If you have a deep layer of litter this might also translate into struggles getting to the very bottom.

The shape of the scoop is somewhat thin and flat so it is easy to cut underneath the litter and get under waste that is clumped at the surface.  The ports are surprisingly large compared to the petite stature of the scoop and some smaller clumps might tend to slide through, particularly if you are using a non-clumping litter.

Appearance – 

This is a very modest design.  Being made entirely of plastic it doesn’t have quite the high-quality feel of some of its competition.  Even most all-plastic examples still have some aesthetic features on them to make it more visually appealing but it is obvious that Pureness wanted to keep things simple.  This could be fine for many since typically a cat litter scoop isn’t viewed as some sort of fashion accessory.

Price – 

The straightforward approach of using thin plastic, keeping things small, and not worrying about adorning the product in aesthetic features translates into a great price.  This scooper is one of the cheapest on the market and if you buy in bulk (which you may need to since they break easily) they can be extremely affordable.

Overall Rating – 

A very targeted approach that utilizes simple plastic and simple features to try to meet the core necessities of what a cat litter scoop should do.  And this simple approach also means that it is quite affordable.  It is a bit on the small side and being made of plastic means that it might be a bit too much work for the largest and most demanding litter boxes but other than that it is an acceptable budget solution.

Nature’s Miracle Non-Stick Antimicrobial

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Toughness – 

Despite being made of plastic, this scooper is quite thick and the plastic seems to be pretty tough.  It can handle typical bending and flexing without snapping and is resilient enough to not want to fling cat litter everywhere when you do push down on it.  It still won’t have the life of a metal scooper and if you use too much force it can still crack this product but this should only be an issue if you having major issues with clumps getting stuck to the side of the litter box.

Shape/Size – 

One of the big selling points of this cat litter scoop is that it comes with a caddy, which is a housing for your scoop that not only protects it but also helps to reduce the likelihood of random litter pellets of cat litter waste getting all over your floors.  This comes at the expense of the product being much larger overall, so you’ll need to find an available corner or spot on the wall to keep it.

As for the scoop itself, it is about average size and you shouldn’t have any issues unless you have an incredibly large or incredibly deep litter box.  There have been complaints that the round shape of the scoop can make it difficult to get into corners of square litter boxes so if you might want to watch out if you have a litter box with 90-degree angles.  Also, the ports are a bit on the large size so some smaller pieces of cat waste might fall through, especially if you are using a non-clumping litter.

Appearance – 

This is a very straightforward design without any bells and whistles.  The scoop does look nice in the caddy, however, and you can leave it exposed without looking too tacky.  This is a major selling point over just a scoop since people will typically feel the need to hide them away somewhere.

Price – 

This product is a bit on the pricey side.  This is primarily due to the inclusion of the caddy.  The scoop itself is nothing more than plastic, so if the caddy wasn’t included we would definitely feel that this is overpriced but for those who want that added convenience, it is still somewhat reasonable.

Overall Rating – 

The main selling point here is the inclusion of the caddy which is very convenient and it can help reduce potential messes.  The performance and styling of the scooper itself are pretty modest.  It should work for most boxes except ones that are very boxy as the shape of the scoop might struggle a bit with them.  You will pay a bit extra for the caddy but we feel it is a wise investment.

Booda Scoop’N Hide

Buy on Amazon $8.99 and save 

Toughness – 

This is another plastic scoop, but the plastic that is used is not only thin but very bendable.  This results in the product cracking and snapping very easily.  It also means that the scoop can turn into a sort of catapult and fling cat litter across the room!  The major weak point is the connection between the handle and the scoop itself, and if you push down with any significant force you can expect it to break rather quickly.  This can make it very difficult to use litter boxes that require a lot of scraping and stabbing to loosen waste.

Shape/Size – 

This product also comes with a caddy that is shaped quite nicely.  It does a good job of presenting itself in a way that can make the scoop acceptable to leave out in the open.  In regards to the scoop itself, it has a curved design to it.  The slots it has are quite skinny and there are a lot of them.  This is good if you are using a small-sized litter granule as you should only pick up waste but on larger sizes, you can easily pick up spare granules that aren’t attached to cat waste.  The shape of the scoop is somewhat horizontal so you shouldn’t have a problem getting up underneath waste and it is large enough that you should be able to use it on most sized litter boxes.

Appearance – 

The overall look of this piece is nice, albeit a bit flimsy looking.  It is made of all plastic so you won’t get the high quality feel you get with the larger products and the ones that utilize metal, but it still looks acceptable for the plastic offerings on the market.

Price – 

Considering that this scoop comes with a matching caddy, the price is quite reasonable and it is one of the most affordable scoopers + caddy combos we have come across.  Of course, that comes at the expense of using very thin and flimsy plastic so what cost saving you see might be negated if you have to replace it sooner than you had hoped.

Overall Rating – 

This is another example of a simple plastic scooper that comes with a handy caddy.  Unfortunately, the plastic that is used is very thin and the overall design is very weak so this product will likely not nearly as long as you would have hoped for.  While it is among the most affordable examples that come with a caddy, we feel that issues with manufacturing and design will result in you having to replace it much too soon.

The Litter Lifter

Buy on Amazon $12.95 and save 

Toughness – 

While this scooper is made of plastic, the plastic is on the thick side and you should hold up to most typical wear and tear.  The only minor complaint is that due to the size and shape of this product (which we will discuss later) it can pick up a lot of product or scrape a large area of a wall.  Because of this, in extreme situations, it might still lead to a weakened joint between the handle and scoop due to the sheer quantity of litter that it can hold.  Overall, however, it is among the toughest plastic-based products around.

Shape/Size – 

The Litter Lifter has a very unique size and shapes to it.  The scoop area is very large and will likely dwarf just about any other scoop on the market.  The bucket area is as large if not larger than the entire handle!  This means that you can pick up a huge amount of litter in one pass.

The other unique feature is that it is a very shallow bucket and it doesn’t have an aggressive angle.  This can be good for sliding up underneath waste on the surface but if you are trying to dig deep down into a litter box you might have to make a “J” motion with your hand to dig in.  The ports are long and thin and do a good job of catching even the smallest waste but if you use a litter with fine litter granules you might accidentally pick up more clean litter than you would want.

Appearance – 

The aesthetics are pretty straightforward as it is nothing more than a solid piece of mono-colored plastic.  It is a pretty unique presentation, however, so the shape of the product itself makes it look pretty cool.  We will say that the decision to go with single long slots as opposed to multiple slots in columns and rows gives it more of a feel of a kitchen spatula than a cat litter scoop (we still can’t figure out if that is a good thing or a bad thing).

Price – 

This product is a bit on the expensive side considering it is a simple plastic scoop with no caddy, but the fact that it looks very different and tries some approaches that aren’t typical in other competition likely is why they ask for a slight premium.

Overall Rating – 

Probably the toughest competitors for the all-plastic examples, this scoop tries to put a unique twist on conventional approaches.  It has a very large scoop that will be handy for bigger litter boxes but might be annoying for smaller ones.  It is also quite shallow in design so it will excel at removing surface waste but be a bit of a chore when trying to dig underneath.  It is also one of the most expensive all-plastic scoopers you will come across.

Petmate Metal

Buy on Amazon $10.17 and save 

Toughness – 

Typically when we see a metal scooper with think of it being pretty tough.  Most metals aren’t prone to cracking and breaking like plastic tends to do.  And, sure enough, the metal bucket on this product will hold up to anything you can throw at it.  The problem is the attachment between the handle and the scoop.  It is very flimsy and easy to break into two after a short period of time, particularly if push down with a lot of force.  This goes to show that even when premium materials are used there can still be places where weaknesses can come out.

Shape/Size – 

The bucket is large enough to handle most litter boxes.  The handle, while a bit short, should be able to accommodate most litter boxes as well.  The shape of the scoop is quite shallow and horizontal so it will be easy to get under waste on the surface but for getting underneath you might have a bit more struggle.  The slots are somewhat unique in that they are at an angle and quite small, which results in a lot of them.  This helps to ensure that you only get the clumps and don’t waste a ton of litter in the process.

Appearance – 

This is a very attractive looking scooper.  The combination of the metal bucket and the plastic multi-colored handle gives off a feeling of quality.  We also like the design of the slots and it all comes together to make one of the most attractive products we have come across.

Price – 

This is a very expensive item.  Even when compared to other metal scoops on the market, this tends to be towards the top in terms of price.  While we can appreciate the premium that you pay for using higher quality materials and it does look like a premium product, we would have hoped for a nice handle (potentially also made of metal) for the asking price.

Overall Rating – 

This is the most attractive product we have reviewed, and the combination of the plastic basket and rubber handle come together nicely.  Unfortunately, it is very flimsy and will likely break between the base and the scoop with any significant pressure being applied.  This is particularly frustrating considering it is very expensive.