Pet Litter, Cleanup, and Odor Control Products in the US, 5th Edition Report

Report Overview

Value-positioned products, health-focused offerings, and sustainability are driving innovation and consumer choice in the cat litter, dog waste management, and pet cleanup market.

Key Trends Reshaping the Market:

• Affordable & Private-Label Options: Value-focused litter and cleanup solutions, including private-label brands providing high performance at lower prices.
• Health & Wellness Innovations: Cat litter products with wellness benefits, such as health-monitoring indicators, hypoallergenic materials, and dust-free formulations.
• Eco-Friendly & Sustainable Products: Growing demand for environmentally responsible options, such as plant-based litters and compostable dog waste bags.

Comprehensive Market Data from 2019–2029

This fully updated fifth edition builds on earlier reports by presenting historical and forecasted retail sales from 2019 through 2029 across four major product segments:

• Cat litter and related non-durable accessories
• Puppy/training pads and accessories
• Dog waste bags
• Pet cleanup and odor control products

The report dives deep into competitive landscapes, marketing strategies, and emerging product innovations, with a close look at the e-commerce and omnichannel retail dynamics driving growth.

Exclusive Consumer Insights & Demographic Profiles

Leveraging Packaged Facts’ proprietary Surveys of Pet Owners and multi-year MRI-Simmons data, the report also explores:

• Product-specific purchasing trends
• Demographic breakouts of cat litter and cleanup product buyers
• Brand preferences and consumer attitudes toward litter and odor control solutions

Pet Litter, Cleanup, and Odor Control Products in the US, 5th Edition Report Details

Leading Companies Driving Trends in the Pet Litter, Cleanup, and Odor Control Products in the US, 5th Edition

Litter and Cleanup Sales Outpace Overall Non-Food Supplies Growth

US retail sales of pet cleanup and odor control products reached $6.9 billion in 2024, up from $4.4 billion in 2019, yielding a 9.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the period. The combination of a pandemic-related focus on homecare and comfort, increased interest in more premium products, and historically high inflation caused sales to rise at a dramatic pace from 2020 through 2023, with growth in or near the double digits for all four years. Even the less impressive growth in 2024 outperformed non-food pet supplies overall, as durable product sales plummeted in 2023 and 2024 after years of pandemic-induced purchasing.

Economic Pressures Persist Despite Lessening Inflation

The post-pandemic era has seen Americans grappling with persistent inflation, and the elevated costs of pet products and services – on top of human essentials – have exacerbated the strain on pet owners, resulting in spending cutbacks, deferral of pet acquisitions, and pet relinquishment. Pet industry inflation rates were alarmingly high in 2022 and 2023, as gauged by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) consumer price index (CPI). During 2024, inflation moderated for the industry overall; nevertheless, as of Summer 2025, prices remain elevated market-wide.

Reflecting the current economic situation, Packaged Facts’ September 2025 Survey of Pet Owners indicates that pet owners were most concerned about rising prices for food, beverages, and pet food. The survey also showed that a solid majority of cat owners were concerned about rising cat litter prices. Pet owners were slightly less concerned about rising prices in non-food pet supplies, the category under which cleanup products other than litter fall under. Overall, over half of pet owners, well over in some cases, have some level of concern about recent pet market price increases.

Pet Owners Cut Back on Pet Spending

Cutting back on nonessentials in household goods is one approach that other pet owners are using to economize. In Packaged Facts’ September 2025 Survey of Pet Owners, a majority of pet owners reported reducing their spending on “extras” (items beyond basic expenses such as food and housing) in the preceding 12 months, and also planned to reduce spending on such items in the following 12 months.
Litter, the largest segment of the cleanup market, is viewed by most cat owners as essential and has largely avoided the cutbacks affecting other non-food pet supplies. In contrast, products that can be replaced with cheaper alternatives—such as using disposable grocery bags instead of purchased dog waste bags or substituting general cleaning supplies for pet-specific ones—may be considered nonessential “extras” by budget-conscious pet owners.

Cats are Tops in Litter and Cleanup Market

Unlike most other segments of the pet market, cats dominate the litter and cleanup business; cat-specific products (mostly litter) account for 75% of sales. That said, cats have historically taken second place in the overall pet market; food and supplies selections geared towards felines are seldom as robust as those for dogs, for example. The reasons for this neglect include the higher rate of dog ownership and canines being more lucrative in terms of food consumption and supplies sales. However, the recent drop in the number of dog-owning households means that the US pet market is poised for a cat renaissance.
Even so, cat owners are well aware of the discrepancies that persist between the two animal types. Packaged Facts’ survey results indicate that marketers and retailers have made some progress towards treating cats more equitably, but some owners still feel like their cats are treated as second-class citizens. For example, many cat owners have this sentiment about pet food and treat companies, although those fare better than providers of non-medical pet services and general stores that sell pet products.

Changes in the US Pet Population

The challenging economic conditions facing US consumers, including those related to employment and housing, has led to some shifts in the US pet population. The economic factors at play in recent years have negatively impacted national dog ownership levels and are likely to keep them plateaued in the coming years. In contrast, the number of cat-owning households increased—good news for litter marketers, as an increase in cat-owning households has a direct impact on adding new users to the market.

Pet Waste Environmental Impact

Natural and eco-friendly products have been key drivers toward premium and super-premium product lines and pricing, becoming enormous factors across most pet market segments for many years. However, they have been somewhat slow to impact cleanup and odor control at a time when pet owners are increasingly seeking out less processed options. The cat litter market is especially ripe for natural and environmentally friendly products because of the annual volume that hits landfills.

 

Pet Litter, Cleanup, & Odor Control Pet Litter, Cleanup, & Odor Control Product Report Scope

This report analyzes the US market for cat litter and pet cleanup and odor control products sold at retail, including mass-market outlets (supercenters, mass merchandisers, supermarkets, warehouse clubs, drugstores, dollar stores), pet specialty stores (chains and independents), and online. The report focuses on products for dogs and cats, segmenting the market into four categories:

• cat litter and nondurable litter accessories, including disposable litter mats, litter additives, and waste bags intended for litter
• puppy/training pads and accessories, including training pad alternatives and pet diapers
• pet cleanup and odor control preparations (including stain-removal sprays, liquids, wipes, and concentrates and odor control sprays, powders, foams, crystals, and other formats)
• dog waste bags

General cleanup and odor control products that are not marketed as pet-specific are considered only as a point of comparison.