Formula name
Free & Clean Unscented and 24/7 Performance stay separate
- Can support
- One brief positive record and one multi-month residue account for their named bags.
- Stop transfer when
- A Tidy Cats family label becomes a shared performance result.
Exact Tidy Cats comparison
Tidy Cats Free & Clean vs 24/7 Performance in Litter-Robot 4
Both formulas match the recorded standard-weight clay-clumping class, but their single LR4 reports point in different directions.
Decision rail
Four checks, in order
Passing one check does not override a failure or unknown in the next. This is a compatibility decision, not a popularity ranking.
- 01Formula
Keep Free & Clean and 24/7 separate
A common brand and class do not make additives, particle form, or reports transferable.
- 02Context
Preserve months and cat count
The 24/7 report includes a longer context; the Free & Clean report leaves those fields unknown.
- 03Outcome
Separate residue from floor tracking
Material on the machine and material around it are different observations and may have different causes.
- 04Decision
Compare under one household setup
A switch is more informative when fill, delay, mat, cleaning, and cats remain recorded.
Evidence transfer ledger
How far this evidence can travel
A report stays attached to the identity and conditions it actually names. Each unresolved mismatch stops transfer; similarity alone does not fill the missing field.
Use period
Retain unknown duration versus several months
- Can support
- A transparent difference in observation depth, not a durability ranking.
- Stop transfer when
- The brief 'works fine' reply is made equivalent to long-term follow-up.
Household load
Keep two cats attached only to the 24/7 record
- Can support
- The reported context of residue and litter spread.
- Stop transfer when
- An unstated cat count is supplied for Free & Clean or converted into a controlled load comparison.
Location of material
Separate clumped residue from grains outside the unit
- Can support
- Two places to inspect after an exact-SKU switch.
- Stop transfer when
- Floor spread is assumed to be clean-grain tracking or the residue is assumed to be liner adhesion.
Variant boundary
Do not borrow the standard Free & Clean report for Lightweight
- Can support
- The accepted result for the standard-weight SKU only.
- Stop transfer when
- Shared Free & Clean wording fills an Estimated lightweight relationship.
Source continuity review · 2026-10-15
Can the older evidence describe today's bags?
This editorial check joins dated manufacturer-source status to already accepted exact-product records. It is not a new PawExact test, a rereading of old household posts, or proof of formula continuity.
- Dated source state
- The two linked Purina product URLs returned 403 locally and from OVH on October 14. Their older accepted source records remain dated; no live formula recheck is claimed.
- Exact evidence unit
- One brief Free & Clean report and one longer two-cat 24/7 report remain different products, authors, and observation windows.
- First comparison
- Check the complete formula and weight label, then record clumped residue and floor spread separately under a stated fill and cycle delay.
- Stop transfer when
- A blocked current page or shared Tidy Cats branding must not turn these unlike reports into a current-formula winner or rate.
Published boundary
What Litter-Robot actually says
These statements describe classes and limits. They are not PawExact tests and do not automatically approve every product using the same marketing term.
OfficialLitter-Robot 4
“We recommend a high-quality, standard-weight, clay-based clumping litter”Official source
OfficialLitter-Robot 4
“Litters that do not work in Litter-Robot are the strictly absorbent, non-clumping or loose-clumping litters, newspaper-based litters, and absorbent wood pellet litter.”Official source
Exact-product records
Products that show why the class label is not enough
Each exact formula has one accepted LR4 report. The page preserves use duration, cat count, and reported failure modes instead of averaging the outcomes.
Single report1 public report
Free & Clean Unscented Clumping
Purina Tidy Cats
- Material
- Clay
- Clumping
- Clumping
- Weight
- Standard
One exact LR4 owner says the standard-weight formula works fine; duration, cats, and tracking were not stated.
Likely compatible
Read exact recordSingle report1 public report
24/7 Performance Clumping
Purina Tidy Cats
- Material
- Clay
- Clumping
- Clumping
- Weight
- Standard
One two-cat report after several months describes white clumped residue and widespread litter around the machine.
Not recommended
Read exact recordBefore a larger purchase
A small, observable first-use check
This is not a controlled test protocol. It is a way to notice an obvious mismatch before treating one successful cycle as proof.
- Check 1Record the complete Tidy Cats formula name and weight variant.
- Check 2Photograph the liner, globe, step, mat, and nearby floor before and after a switch.
- Check 3Keep cycle delay, fill depth, and cleaning routine stable where practical.
- Check 4Treat a single household result as a narrow signal rather than a product score.
Known limits
What the current evidence cannot prove
- No controlled same-home comparison between these two formulas is recorded.
- The Free & Clean report does not state duration, household load, or tracking observations.
- The 24/7 report cannot prove whether litter formula alone caused residue or spread.
Evidence readiness
What this guide can support today
This checkpoint separates a useful answer from claims the current official rules and exact records still cannot support. It is an editorial evidence review, not a PawExact test.
- Question scope
- This comparison keeps standard-weight Free & Clean Unscented and 24/7 Performance separate in LR4. It does not cover the lightweight Free & Clean variant or the Designed for Litter-Robot SKU.
- Direct official boundary
- Both recorded products match LR4's standard-weight clay-clumping preference. The official class boundary says nothing about which exact additive mix avoids residue or floor spread in a particular household.
- Exact-product evidence
- The standard Free & Clean formula has one brief positive accepted LR4 report; 24/7 has one two-cat, multi-month report describing residue and litter spread. Duration and outcome fields are not comparable.
- Remaining gap
- No same-home switch, equal observation window, or shared measurements establish a winner. Similar Tidy Cats comparison pages already cover adjacent SKU questions, so an independent demand signal is needed.