natural cat litter

What You Need To Know About Natural Clumping Cat Litter

 

One of mankind’s greatest inventions was scoopable cat litter. Until the mid 1980’s, cat owners had to do a strange seizure when cleaning urine spots from the liter box. You had to keep the paper bag or trash can close and quickly shovel the wet litter into the trash can. You couldn’t linger. And, you always wound up throwing a lot of clean liter out with the wet. And now there’s natural clumping cat litter. Does it work as well as the man-made wonder of the ages?
Yes And No
Natural clumping cat litter works brilliantly, but your cat may think differently. Just as you have your own preferences in underwear and toilet tissue, so a cat will have his own preference in kitty litter. There’s no logic to it. It’s a cat thing. You’ll go crazy trying to figure it out. Just give in and buy a new brand of natural clumping cat litter.
Does natural clumping cat litter clump? It certainly does. There are many substances that does trap odors, swell up to help scoop it out easier and even helps tone down the ammonia smell. Pine and corncob natural scooping cat litters are especially good at mimicking the clumping action of conventional commercial clumping cat litter.
What About The Cost?
Natural clumping cat litter will cost you a lot more than conventional clumping litter. In the case of the brand I buy for my cat, it’s three times the cost of store brands like Tidy Cat or Fresh Step. However, the natural clumping cat litter lasts twice as long as the cheaper litters. I find I don’t have to shovel out as much litter as I did with the cheaper brands. So, the costs eventually even out in the long run.
Natural clumping cat litters are getting easier to find, especially now that big companies like Purina are jumping onto the green platform. It used to be that you could only find natural clumping cat litter at certain specialty pet shops. Now, you can find them next to the commercial clay brands on your grocer’s shelves.
Environmental Considerations
In this day and age, you must consider the environmental impact of anything you buy. Commercial cat litters are not environmentally friendly. First of all, they are made from the clay from strip mines, which is a very destructive form of mining. Also, commercial clumping cat litter isn’t biodegradable. It’ll be sitting around for thousands of years in landfills long after the organic matter it holds has faded away into oblivion.

What The Heck Is Natural Clay Cat Litter?

Is a natural clay cat litter an oxymoron? One of the biggest knocks against conventional clay litter is that it’s full of added chemicals to make it smell better and is not biodegradable. This is why there’s been such a big push to make and market kitty litter made from pine, wheat, corncob and recycled newspaper. But the very first kitty litter available was natural clay cat litter.
What’s The Difference?
Natural clay cat litter is made of just clay that has been formed into itty-bitty pellets and dried. Often, there are some ingredients like baking soda, essential oils and even alfalfa hay. When you’re looking for a natural clay cat litter, you need to check the ingredients and make sure the clay used is sodium betonite clay and not just “clay”. It’s the sodium betonite clay that makes natural clumping cat litter.
The problem of most clay-based cat litter is that the clay is harvested from strip mining. Just in the year 1994 alone, it is estimated that over 1.5 MILLION metric tons of clay was taken by strip mining just to make commercial cat litter. Strip mining completely destroys the land and makes it unusable for anything.
Silica Dust
Another ingredient that natural clay cat litter claims not to have is silica dust. This is a carcinogen found in most commercial clay-based cat litters. This dust is not only thought to cause cancers in all kinds of species (human and feline), but often irritates the nose and throat linings of people and cats. It also gets just about everywhere in the house and makes everything look as if it was coated in baby powder.
Is It Worth The Hype?
It’s really confusing to try and determine which litters are made with commercial clay with silica dust and which are more beneficial natural clay cat litters. Some cat lovers and vets claim that there isn’t any difference between clay litter and natural clay cat litter, except the price.
Many cat lovers find that it’s easier to forge the hunt for a natural clay cat litter and just move on to another kind of natural and absorbent material for their cat’s needs. Once upon a time, our ancestors let our cats poop in the garden. In the early 1900’s, people brought in boxes of their garden soil for the cat. Is this the next new trend in cat litter? Only time will tell.

Natural Cat Litter Review: Nature’s Miracle

 

After trying many types of cat litters from conventional non-scooping litter to natural clay cat litter, this writer of this natural cat litter review has decided that the best cat litter on the market is Nature’s Miracle scoopable. If that brand sounds familiar, that’s because Nature’s Miracle brand is most famous for making a stain remover. The logo and red and white design of the stain remover bottles are also seen on the kitty litter bags.
But It Costs So Much
If you’re reading this natural cat litter review to find a dirt-cheap biodegradable kitty litter, then forget it. I will readily admit that Nature’s Miracle costs about three times as much as brands like Tidy Cat or Fresh Step. However, my cat has some breathing issues and needs to have her litter be as dust free as possible. I’m willing to pay a little more in order to help her breathe easier.
If you don’t remember anything else about this natural cat litter review, please remember this – Nature’s Miracle is one of the least dusty cat litters you will find for a clumping litter. Some non-clumping litters also don’t kick up so much dust, but if you are spoiled (like me) and prefer the convenience of clumping cat litters, then Nature’s Miracle might be your only option.
You Use Less
There is one bone of contention I have with Nature’s Miracle corncob cat litter – it does not last as long as the manufacturers claim it will last. The bag instructions state that one bag will last one cat one month. That doesn’t happen. One bag lasts one cat two weeks. However, this is a minor quibble in this natural cat litter review. Before using Nature’s Miracle, the cat was going through a fourteen pound jug of Tidy Cat per week.
Be sure to use a slotted litter scoop when using Nature’s Miracle clumping cat litter to get the most out of it. Scoop under the mess and lift up. Gently shake back and forth – very gently. The clean litter immediately falls away while the soiled litter stays clumped, unless you shake too vigorously. In this way, you don’t waste any litter, like you would with Tidy Cat, where the clumps would break apart if you coughed on them.
In Conclusion
The writer of this natural cat litter review heartily recommends Nature’s Miracle corncob clumping litter. It’s not guaranteed to work for all cats, but it certainly is worth a try.

The Pros And Cons Of Natural Pine Cat Litter

 

With advances in veterinary care and concern for the environment, there are more choices of natural cat litters than ever before. The best selling natural kitty litter brands are natural pine cat litters. In America, the brand Feline Pine can be found in many supermarkets, pharmacies, department stores as well as pet supply stores. But is a natural pine cat litter right for your cat or your budget?
The Pros
The big plus with a natural pine cat litter is that it does help to cut urine odors. Cat urine is one of the strongest and most pungent of smells. Although the smell of the feces quickly fades, urine smell does not. Natural pine litter does help to cut down on the stink of cat urine and the ammonia without having to have added synthetic perfumes in the litter. It already has its own scent.
Another plus to natural pine cat litter is that you can find it in two types – clumping (scoopable) and regular. Cats with really bad respiration or allergy problems usually can’t use clumping litter because it’s too fine and gets into their throats. At least there is a choice available in natural pine cat litters for these cats.
Another big advantage to natural pine cat litter is that it’s biodegradable. Since you need less to use than with clay litters, it also takes up less space in our overcrowded land fills. Unfortunately, most brands of clay-based kitty litter are not biodegradable. Also, the clay used for many kittler litter brands is an offshoot of strip mining.
The Cons
Believe it or not, the writer of this natural cat litter review does not use pine litter for her cat. We have tried natural pine cat litter with high hopes but they quickly faded. The smell of pine was absolutely overpowering, almost to the point where you coughed as soon as you entered the room the cat box was in. Also, there was just as much dust as there was with clay based litters.
To be fair, our cat lives in circumstances unlike many other indoor cats. Since she can’t get along with the dog, they can’t be in the same room together. In the day, while the cat sleeps, the dog has the run of the house except for the cat’s room. In the night, the cat has the run of the house, except for the basement, where the dog sleeps.

Finding The Best Natural Cat Litter For Your Cat

 

In America, more and more cats are discovering life is much better indoors. American cats are killed by the thousands through traffic, attacks from other animals and from cruel people selling them to medical labs for research. Faced with these dangers, cats have quickly adjusted to living indoors, but their liter hasn’t. Indoor cats need to find the best natural cat litter they can to avoid health issues.
Many Choices, Few Boxes
Cats aren’t too fussy about what materials go into their litter box. They could use loose earth or sand as they have when they lived in the wild. However, you don’t know what poisons and bacteria are in your outdoor dirt. And, the dirt or sand will not be able to absorb odors. This is why a natural pine litter or corncob litter is best to use.
Some cats do take a violent dislike to certain kinds of litters. This is because cats are individuals. You might have certain brands of toilet paper you prefer to use that your friend might detest. It’s the same sort of thing. Prepare to do some trial and error work when looking for the best natural cat litter.
Things To Consider
Some of the best natural cat litters are actually really bad for some kinds of cats. If your cat has a breathing problem of any kind or has to spend her day confined to the same room the litter tray is, then it’s important to find litter that’s not very dusty. Some natural cat litter is nearly as dusty as conventional litter. For the least dust, corncob is the best natural cat litter.
You need to see if your cat’s health changes at all when using some of the best natural cat litters found today. Some cats are allergic to the oils in certain woods like cedar or pine. And then there are cats who aren’t bothered by these oils at all.
Another thing to consider is cost. The best natural cat litter will cost more, but you won’t need to use it as often as conventional litter. But, if you really can’t afford it, then there’s no point making yourself so poor that both you and your cat wind up on the street. Although you may pay more for the best natural cat litter up front, over time you will find that you won’t have to buy so much litter as you were before.

The History Of Natural Cat Litter

 

In the beginning, there was a cat. Eventually, the cat had to go. The cat used loose earth or sand as natural cat litter. And it was good. For millennia, it was the best natural cat litter because it was the only cat litter. However, times have changes, and so has natural cat litter. Where once the whole wide world was a cat’s litter box, now they live inside our homes and need to have natural cat litter that helps kill odors and doesn’t have bugs in it, like sand or dirt can.
What About Clay?
The first commercial cat litter, invented in 1948, was made of clay. Even though clay could be called natural cat litter, there were other materials added to make the clay a hybrid of natural and synthetic. Kitty litter was an accidental discovery made by Edward Lowe as he was trying to come up with a clay-based absorbent for chemical spills or other industrial spills. Diatomite, a powdery rock, is also used.
There are a lot of problems with conventional clay kitty litter. They don’t handle odors well, they go all over the home, there’s tons of dust and trying to scoop out the urine became a regular exercise in futility. However, cats would use it as opposed to your loafers.
In the 1980’s, clumping liter became available. That was full of chemicals and added scents. Although more convenient for the owner and far easier to use, it still had the problem of dust. Also, concerns were raised by veterinarians who found that some cats were sickened by the dust of clumping litter. There was a great need for natural cat litter.
The Future Smells A Little Better
Natural cat litter started hitting the market in the late 1990’s and now can be found even in your local supermarket and drug store next to the conventional clumping and clay litters. These natural cat litters are made out of pine bits, corn cob and even recycled newspaper. Although they cost more than other kinds of litters, they are far less dusty and work great at controlling urine odors.
There is also the consideration to the environment. Many people find that they need to use less of the more expensive natural cat litter than they would the much less expensive clay and dust based cat liters. This takes up less space in your trash and in landfills. Some of these litters are even flushable.