Fresh Step Plus Dual Action Crystals Cat Litter Review

Pros:

Locks in nearly all cat smells for a long time

Decent at clumping

Cons:

Very expensive

Not as strong clumping as conventional clay

Tracking and dust can be an issue

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Fresh Step Plus Dual Action Crystals Cat Litter Review

Last Updated by Brandon F. on May 19, 2020

Advertised Product Description

This is our Fresh Step Plus Dual Action Crystals Cat Litter Review.  Fresh Step Plus Dual Action Crystals cat litter combines the power of clumping clay with the effectiveness of proprietary super-absorbent crystals.  This is advertised as giving a “2 punch” in having the absorbency and scoop ability to clump clay with the additional moisture absorption of crystals.  Also, there is activated carbon which further helps to eliminate odors.  This product is available in 14 and 25-pound boxes.

Who This Cat Litter is Intended For

This product is intended for those who enjoy the benefits of a conventional clay clumping litter as well as the unique odor-fighting capabilities of crystal cat litter.  Also, they will typically own a single cat or have multiple litter boxes if they have two or more cats.

People that are sick of super dusty litters might also be interested in trying a hybrid litter like this out.  Finally, this product is pretty expensive so it is intended for customers who are willing to open up their wallet to try out this type of litter.

What Makes This Cat Litter Unique

This cat litter is unique because it combines two conventionally very different materials in clay and crystal.  The goal here is to extract the pros of both without introducing any new issues that wouldn’t normally be present.  This is a very lofty goal, but one that Fresh Step feels that they got right.  We also like that they carried over their carbon feature and still retained the paw-activated odor fighters.

Clumping Ability – 

It is important to note that this product is different than many crystal-based litters as it is a mixture of crystals and clay.  Because of this, it acts as a sort of a hybrid between pure crystal litter and pure clay litter.

The clumping is decent, but will typically be a step below 100% clay products.  Relatively small hard clumps will be formed and it takes care of moisture from urine pretty well.  However, the clumps can start to fall apart after a while.  This might be the price of admission for not going with a clay litter.

Scent – 

There is a very strong smell of perfume.  At first, it doesn’t seem too bad but it seems to “stack up” over some time.  Some cats and owners might be turned off by the intensity of it so this will have to be looked at on a case by case basis.

In terms of odor elimination, the added crystals definitely work as nearly all cat smells are locked into the litter and stay so for extended periods.  The inclusion of carbon and the other proprietary odor maskers that they include in their products only helps to add on to the nice performance that the crystals have set.

Messiness – 

This is a marginally dusty litter.  The dust may be kicked up every time the litter is moved and especially when pouring new litter in or cleaning the box, but there are far worse options out there.  The dust that is there is likely attributed to the clay since a lot of the time crystal-based litters put out very little dust.  There is some minor tracking and it seems like the small crystals are especially easy to kick out of the box while being used.

Value – 

Expect to pay online well into the premium-priced tier for this litter.  This is pretty normal for silica gel/crystal cat litters.

Overall Rating – 

The Fresh Step Plus Dual Action Crystals Cat Litter Review earns 2.5 cats out of 5.  We understand that generally, crystal-based litters run more expensive than conventional clay.  However, the product in question doesn’t necessarily do anything better than many other clay litters that are half the price other than having a little less dust and marginally better odor-blocking performance.  It doesn’t completely miss the mark in any regard, but why pay so much for something so ordinary?