We were thrilled when we got our adorable 1 year old male cat from an adoption center. We figured a lot of the first year problems would have been resolved. Wrong! One issue was that he would use the cat box sporadically. We took him to the vet who said that there are no medical issues. The vet recommended getting a softer litter and leaving him in an enclosed room. That didn't work.
I went to Pet Smart and it was recommended that I try a litter called Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter. I was promised that I could return it if it didn't work. I was skeptical, but bought it anyway. It was a bit more expensive, but it works!
I have used many litters over the years. I started with Dr. Elseys last year. It is the best litter I ever used. It has the least dust of all of them. I have had friends tell me just what you discovered, cats will use it religiously, where they wont with other litters.