You sweep on Sunday. By Wednesday there's grit under the radiator, in the hallway, and somehow in the bed. Most owners assume the cat is throwing it, and some are — but the bigger source is much duller.
Where it actually comes from
Litter wedges between the pads and in the fur around them. Your cat walks out of the tray carrying a few grains per paw, and drops them over the next three metres. Repeat six times a day, every day.
That's why sweeping never fixes it: you're removing the symptom while the source keeps refilling.
Three changes that work
1. A mat that traps instead of collects
A flat mat just holds grit until the cat walks over it again. A two-layer mat works differently: the top sieve lets granules fall through, and the lower layer holds them where paws can't reach. When it's full you lift it, tip it back into the tray, done.
Put it so the cat has to take two or three steps on it. One step isn't enough.
2. Check the litter depth
Too deep and cats dig enthusiastically and fling it over the sides. Around 5 cm is the usual sweet spot: enough to bury, not enough to excavate.
3. Look at the tray, not just the floor
A tray that's too small makes a cat stand on the edge and scatter. A cat should fit comfortably with room to turn around. High-sided trays help enthusiastic diggers; covered trays help even more, though some cats refuse them — and a cat that refuses the tray is a much bigger problem than grit on the floor.
The other thing worth fixing
If your cat has long fur, trim the tufts between the pads. It's five minutes with blunt-nosed scissors and it halves what gets carried out — the same trick that halves mud on a dog's paws in winter.
What doesn't help
Moving the tray somewhere out of the way usually backfires: cats avoid trays in cramped or noisy spots, and a cat that avoids the tray finds somewhere worse. Fix the carry-out, not the location.