Cat litter is used in your cat’s litter box to absorb urine and the moisture from fecal matter. Cat litter is made from various materials ranging from clay minerals all the way to bio-degradable products. It is designed to eliminate odors, and it is attractive to cats because of their cleanly nature. Early cat litter boxes used to be filled with sand, but it proved to be poor at trapping odor. These days, the materials are far more absorbent, able to absorb their weight in water. Unless your cat is an outdoor cat, you’ll need a litter box and kitty litter to avoid pet stain and odor problems in your house.

Conventional clay based cat litter – This traditional litter is the more common type of litter. The clay minerals are absorbent and reduce cat urine and fecal odors. The downside is that it has to be cleaned pretty frequently, at least once a week.

One of the first cat litters available commercially was Kitty Litter, in 1948. Sand was previously used before clay based litter. The larger molecules in clay meant that less material would be tracked from the litter box.

Clumping / Scooping cat litter – Most of these litters are made from granulated bentonite clay, which clumps together well when wet. It forms a solid mass outside of the other litter and tends to collect into a ball shape. The solid clumped material can be removed from the litter box, which lessens the frequency of changing the cat litter. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if the litter is clean or dirty, so it is best to plan your litter box cleanings regularly. Every four to six weeks is recommended, and the litter box itself should be disinfected.

Avoid using clumping litter with kittens, as they may swallow the litter. It can swell up and solidify inside of their digestive tracks. Avoid flushing clumping litter in the toilet because it has a tendency to adhere to plumbing, which can lead to clogging.

Silica Gel Litter - This litter is a porous, granular form of sodium silicate. It has great moisture and odor control, and the highest absorbency of any litter. It can take 20-30 lbs of clay or clumping litter to do the job of 4-6 lbs of silica gel litter. Traditional and clumping litter needs to be replenished, while silica litter can be stirred after removing the clumps. The downside to silica gel litter is that it gives no warning sign to when it needs to be cleaned. If not cleaned for a long period of time, urine can pool at the bottom of the litter box.

Biodegradable litter – This litter is made from pellets of biodegradable materials, such as renewable plant resources, recycled newspaper, wood pellets, saw dust, and other post-use fruits and vegetables. Biodegradable litter is flushable (although flushing is not recommended), unlike clumping litter, and has the best deodorizing properties.

Traditional cat litter does make its mark on our planet. Over 2 million tons of cat litter are dumped into landfills in the US each year. Conventional cat litter is not biodegradable or renewable. Biodegradable cat litter reduces waste burden because it eventually decomposes. Additionally, biodegradable cat litter can be disposed of at home if one has a compost pile.

The only downside to biodegradable litter is the higher cost. If more people began to use this kind of litter and rejected non-biodegradable litters, eventually the price would fall to other types of litter.

Handle cat litter with care

Cat feces can host a parasite known as toxoplasma gondii. This parasite can survive sewage treatment processes, and can make its way back to the ocean where it can cause deadly infections for marine mammals such as sea otters, whales, and porpoises.

Pregnant women and people with weak immune systems should not handle cat litter. Always wash your hands after handling cat litter.