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Cat Litter
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Cats are naturally hygienic creatures. They prefer to use designated areas as their restrooms, unlike dogs that commonly will go anywhere they don’t sleep. Cats prefer an area with material in which they can bury their defecation; an area in which they can return to again to keep the waste away from their living quarters.
Each cat has a personal preference for certain textures. In the wild cats commonly use sandy areas, areas with gravel, or loose dirt. Providing a cat with a material similar to those found in the wild will help prevent accidents at home.
Cat litter used to be supplied by the owner by whatever resources were available in the house. Prior to the 1940’s common substrates were sand, garden soil, shredded newspaper, and messy ashes. Edward Lowe created the first “Kitty Litter” by using the materials from his family’s industrial absorbents factory.
The litter was made of absorbent clay. While this material did well at trapping odor and absorbing some liquid, it did tend to leave behind liquids in the bottom of the box. Cat owners would have to empty box often to remove the urine collected at the bottom of the box.
A few decades later, sodium bentonite was added to the clay litter to give the litter a clumping ability. Clumping cat litter caught on like wild fire. Urine and other liquids formed solid clumps when it came into contact with the litter making it easy to remove waste by simply scooping the cat box.
Not more than a decade after the advent of scoopable litter did controversy follow. While no actual scientific studies have shown that clumping litter is harmful, many personal stories and articles began to circulate. Cat owners have claimed that scoopable litter had taken the lives of cats. When the litter is accidently ingested it can clump within the cat’s body causing deadly blockages and fatal dehydration.
Most cats don’t intentionally ingest cat litter; these cases are often curious kittens. Some litter may be inadvertedly eaten when cats clean their claws and paws with their tongues. Because of this, clumping litter is not recommended for kittens.
For those not willing to risk their cats’ lives for convenience, natural cat litters are the way to go. The trick with natural cat litters is to find a texture that the cat will use, and that also provides the absorbency needed by the cat owner as well.
Whole kernel corn litter is a great natural choice because it produces no dust (good for asthmatic owners and kitties), it’s safe for kittens, and it also clumps naturally. The litter doesn’t stick to the sides of the box and some even contain enzymes to help control odor and break down the waste.
Wheat litter is natural, biodegradable, but may stick to the sides of the litter box occasionally. Pine litter is another option. It’s also dust free, it doesn’t track, can be flushed down the toilet, but is non-clumping and some cats don’t like the pellet texture. There is also a company that makes a proprietary blend of biodegradable litter that changes color when the cat has levels in the urine that would indicate a urinary tract infection.
Usually elimination problems come from human error. Cats want clean litter boxes and when a box has not been cleaned enough cats will go outside of the box or in other areas. For cats who have “forgotten” how to use a litter box there are a few cat attracting litters on the market that have an herbal attractant, these litters are clumping however and should only be used to retrain the cat.
Finding the perfect cat litter may take some experimenting. If the cat uses it and it retains odor and moisture then it’s best not to fix what’s not broken. Switching the litter may in itself cause stress and lead to unwanted behaviors. To keep the cat happy, scoop the box daily, change the litter weekly or every other week and clean the box each time the litter is changed.
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