Pets going green is easier now with the numerous green products available.  In buying cat litter, it’s important to select an eco friendly cat litter for your cat’s health and the environment’s.  Here are some things to consider.

There are over 93 million pet cats in the United States.  We spend over 200 million dollars for commercial cat litter.  Staggering statistics.  But have you thought about how this affects our dear planet?

Clumping Cat Litter

Clumping cat litter is made from sodium bentonate, more commonly known as natural clay.  Found near the surface of the earth’s soil, natural clay is strip mined using heavy machinery.  This has caused so much environmental damage that it has already endangered certain species of plants and animals, thereby destroying the balance of many ecosystems.  There have been reports of native land owners being driven from their very homes just so big mining companies can strip their land bare and obtain this type of clay.

This is all done to supply the demand for cheap clay litter.  However, the costs are high!

What Mother Nature Wants

What Mother Earth wants is for us to stop this atrocious act against the balance of nature.  You may not be able to close down those clumping clay litter factories in one night, but you can, nevertheless, make a difference, one household at a time, starting with your own.

Stay away from a cat litter product if the label contains any of the following fancy words: “bentonite”, “sodium bentonite”, “natural clay”, “crystalline silica”, “aluminum phyllosilicate”.  All the more if the label does not contain any information at all about its chemical make-up.

Does It Harm My Cat?

When sodium comes into contact with water or any liquid, it can swell up to 15 times its original volume.  There have been increasing claims that if this is ingested by pets, it swells up and solidifies inside them thereby causing digestive problems.  Cats potentially fall victim to this since they like to groom themselves by licking their paws and fur.

Getting into the intestines, the clay can draw fluid from the body due to its highly absorbent nature.  This can cause dehydration and potential urinary tract problems.   This same clay can also get into the large intestines where it will attract fecal matter, thereby increasing toxicity, promoting the growth of bacteria and sometimes interfering with excretion.  This will stress out the cat’s immune system making him susceptible to infection and diseases.

Silica dust from clay litter can cause similar problems when inhaled not just to cats but to you and your kids as well.

There are many types of litter we can use in place of this.  Eco-friendly cat litter comes in many forms:

• Recycled newspaper.  This is made using paper pulps which are unsuitable for reuse in paper recycling.
• Cat litter made from corn makes use of corn parts which are not edible for humans.  Corncobs, peelings and hair are ground and reused as cat litter.
• Red wheat straw gas.
• Pine sawdust.  This is a by-product of the lumber industry.
• Kenaf plant pellets.  This is a fast growing herb/hibiscus.

What A Kitty Wants

When picking out eco friendly cat litter, base the decision on what your cat prefers.  Cats seem to prefer litter with sand-like consistencies rather than those that contain pellets, shreds or chunks.  The finer the granules the better your cat likes them.

If you can, avoid using scented cat litter, even if it’s an eco-friendly one.  Take note that your cat has a finely attuned sense of smell and because of this, some artificial scents can irritate their noses.  When this happens, they tend to avoid using their cat litter.

To counter the stench of urine and cat poop without using scented cat litter, try using either diluted vinegar or baking soda.  After you clean out your cat’s litter box, pour vinegar into the container then tilt it around until the base is covered.  Leave it for about 15 minutes before washing it out with water.  Baking soda helps in getting rid of residual smell.  After scooping fresh cat litter into your box, sprinkle it with a small amount of baking soda then stir the litter around.  Your cat won’t even know what’s in the litter.

Also, it’s very important to clean the cat litter box daily, at least twice.  You wouldn’t want to use a dirty bathroom, neither does your cat.

It may take some time for you to figure out what your cat’s preference is when it comes to cat litter.  Just remember, when you switch out cat litters you need to do so gradually.  Mix in new cat litter with the old one then gradually increase its amount while reducing the old cat litters amount as you go.

Whatever type of cat litter you choose, just remember two things.  Find one that wasn’t made by slowly killing Mother Nature then pick one that poses no risks to your cat’s health and your cat will like and will enjoy digging in.  One household at a time, starting from your home, starting with your eco-friendly cat!

Marisa

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