Let’s face it: As a lot as we like our cats, coping with cat litter just isn’t anybody’s thought of time! Not solely do we’d like our cats to be pleased with the litter, nevertheless it additionally must be comparatively trouble free for us to scrub.
Should you’ve determined that you simply wish to begin utilizing an eco-friendly cat litter, however you’re undecided what variety is greatest and even tips on how to go about switching over to a brand new litter, we’ve acquired you lined.
On this article, we talk about the completely different sorts of eco-friendly cat litter accessible and tips on how to swap to a brand new one efficiently.
What Precisely Is Eco-friendly Cat Litter?
Should you’re involved concerning the surroundings and wish to hold your carbon footprint as small as doable, eco-friendly cat litter will help. One of these litter is usually made utilizing biodegradable supplies which might be recycled and renewable. It may also be byproducts from different industries, which suggests it has gone via minimal processing and is sustainably sourced.
Disposing of eco-friendly cat litter may also be almost guilt free, provided that it’s biodegradable and compostable.
Tips on how to Change to Eco-Pleasant Cat Litter
A lot of this will depend on your cat and what you’re on the lookout for in a litter. Nonetheless, right here’s a basic information:
1. Do It Regularly
Cats usually are not followers of change, notably in terms of their meals and litter. One of the simplest ways to introduce new litter is to do it slowly and step by step.
Combine a small quantity of the brand new litter with their common litter. Within the first week, intention for about 20% new litter to 80% previous. Within the second week, do 40% new litter to 60% previous, and so forth till your cat is simply utilizing the brand new litter.
Whereas making this transition, place the brand new litter on the underside with the previous litter on high.
2. Keep away from Too A lot Change at As soon as
Don’t introduce your cat to new litter if there are different issues already occurring within the family. For instance, in the event you’re switching litter since you’re getting a second cat, it’s not a good suggestion to modify your previous cat’s litter. They are going to be coping with the stress of the brand new cat already.
Don’t take into account making a change if the rest is occurring, such as you’re transferring, having a brand new child, or doing renovations.
3. Set Up Extra Than One Litter Field
In case your cat appears reluctant to make use of the brand new litter, take into account establishing a second litter field with one more new litter. You are able to do this with greater than two if desired.
For instance, you’ll be able to put down one litter field with walnut, one other with pine, and a 3rd with bamboo litter. This offers your cat a number of new litters to select from and will help you pinpoint the litter that they like essentially the most.
4. Make It Acquainted
Cats may have preferences on the kind of litter field as properly, for instance they might not be used to a lined or self cleansing field. Hold the kind of litter field constant, and the placement comparable, when switching to new cat litter. Basically cats desire to make use of litter containers which might be clear, simple to entry and really feel ‘secure’. Keep away from putting containers in noisy areas and put them away from their meals and water bowls.
5. Reward Your Cat
In case your cat continues to be reluctant, give them a deal with or reward at any time when they use the brand new litter. Like almost all animals, cats are meals motivated, so giving them a high-value deal with once they use the litter may inspire them to maintain utilizing it.
6. Hold Attempting
So many issues about cat litter can delay your cat, the feel and the scent being the largest elements. Should you’re making an attempt out a litter and your cat would slightly pee on the ground than go within the litter field, it is best to get a brand new one.
Attempting out a number of litter containers can turn out to be useful, nevertheless it does imply spending fairly a bit of cash for all of the completely different litters. Go for the smallest or least expensive containers/luggage doable. In case your cat is frequently going toileting outdoors of their litter field, or there are another modifications of their conduct, get them checked out by your vet to verify there aren’t any underlying medical points that want addressing.
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What Are Eco-Pleasant Cat Litters Made From?
There are many eco-friendly cat litter accessible, from fairly quite a lot of supplies! When selecting, you’ll want to consider any allergy symptoms you or your cat might have. The next are all accessible as cat litter, and every has its benefits and drawbacks:
- Bamboo: Bamboo just isn’t the commonest of pure cat litter, nevertheless it’s absorbent and first rate at odor management. Nonetheless, the clumps are likely to collapse.
- Coconut: Coconut husk makes an ideal cat litter. It may be clumping or non-clumping, and it’s light-weight and utterly biodegradable. However it may be messy and arduous to seek out for buy.
- Corn: Corn cat litter has been round for some time. It may well clump and is light-weight, virtually dust-free, and infrequently flushable. Nonetheless, it isn’t all the time the most effective at odor management.
- Grass seed: Grass seed litter clumps, is sort of dust-free, and is mushy on the paws however tends to trace.
- Paper: Recycled paper could be clumping or non-clumping, absorbent, and dust-free. However odor management is likely to be a problem.
- Pine: Pine litter is a biodegradable cat litter that’s been round for some time. It may be clumping or non-clumping and doesn’t observe too badly, nevertheless it isn’t all the time good with odor management.
- Tofu: ‘Tofu litter’, produced from soybean byproducts, is dust-free, clumps, doesn’t observe, and reduces unhealthy odors. Nonetheless, the clumps don’t all the time keep collectively and might get a bit mushy.
- Walnut: Walnut cat litter is produced from the fibrous materials discovered inside walnut shells. It reduces unhealthy odors and is absorbent and dust-free. It tends to trace a good bit, although, and doesn’t all the time clump properly.
- Wheat: Wheat cat typically litter is flushable and good at clumping, however it may be fairly dusty.
- Wooden: Wooden cat litter is produced from completely different sorts of wooden, so there are numerous choices.
Even the most effective cat litter can shortly begin smelling unhealthy. To keep away from the expense and inconvenience of continually changing your litter, you’ll be able to attempt an ideal litter additive like Hepper’s Superior Bio-Enzyme Cat Litter Deodorizer, a pure product that makes use of bio-enzymes to neutralize odors.
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This deodorizer works on all forms of litter and will not disrupt your cat’s litter field habits.
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What to Look For in an Eco-friendly Cat Litter
Home cats are descended from wildcats that reside in a desert surroundings, so they have an inclination to desire a sand-like texture of their litter.
When purchasing for an eco-friendly litter, you want to take into account the feel and scent of it to your cat. However you’ll additionally want one thing which you can work with, as some are extra difficult to cope with than others. Many of those sorts of cat litter is not going to clump in addition to clay or silica, so that you’ll have to weigh what’s extra vital to you.
Learn critiques (three-star critiques make a pleasant steadiness between destructive and constructive), and search for the important thing points that may make or break a litter: mud, monitoring, clumping, and odor management.
What’s Mistaken With Conventional Cat Litter?
Conventional Clay
Clay is the preferred cat litter and has been across the longest. It’s recognized for its potential to soak up and maintain liquid and supplies good odor management.
However conventional clay doesn’t clump, so it wants frequent altering; usually, the whole litter field needs to be dumped, cleaned, and replenished as soon as per week.
Bentonite Clay
Sodium bentonite is what causes conventional litter to clump. Actually, it may well improve to fifteen instances its measurement. Clumping litter is kind of widespread, notably as a result of it’s simple to scrub. Nonetheless, there have been issues concerning the mud from the sodium bentonite being inhaled and inflicting respiratory points. If ingested the clay could cause severe gastrointestinal points when it swells up. Additionally, the clay generally used is obtained from strip mining which is damaging to the surroundings.
It’s as much as every cat proprietor to weigh what’s greatest for his or her cat and speak to their veterinarian relating to their issues.
Silica
Silica gel makes up the crystallized cat litter that can also be fairly widespread. It’s absorbent and supplies good odor management, and is long-lasting. There haven’t been any main research on the potential dangers, however to this point it’s thought-about secure until ingested.
It’s made with silicone dioxide, which is a pure materials that kinds into tiny pearls. Whereas it’s typically thought-about secure, some silica litter is tough in texture, and plenty of cats dislike the way it feels on their paws. It’s additionally not biodegradable, and since silica is derived from quartz, mining operations are needed to acquire it.
Conclusion
Altering your cat’s litter may go extremely properly, or it would find yourself taking an excessive amount of your time and endurance earlier than your cat adjusts.
Since litter is such an integral a part of cat possession, your cat should be okay with their litter. When you decide on a brand new litter, you’ll want to learn the directions on one of the simplest ways to make use of it.
There’s no query that you simply’ll have to undergo a little bit of trial and error when switching to an eco-friendly cat litter, but when accomplished proper, you’ll have a barely smaller carbon footprint and hopefully, a happier cat.
Featured Picture Credit score: Lightspruch, Shutterstock
