Let’s face it: As a lot as we like our cats, coping with cat litter isn’t anybody’s thought of time! Not solely do we’d like our cats to be pleased with the litter, but it surely additionally must be comparatively trouble free for us to wash.
If you happen to’ve determined that you just wish to begin utilizing an eco-friendly cat litter, however you’re unsure what sort is finest and even how one can go about switching over to a brand new litter, we’ve acquired you coated.
On this article, we talk about the completely different sorts of eco-friendly cat litter out there and how one can swap to a brand new one efficiently.
What Precisely Is Eco-friendly Cat Litter?
If you happen to’re involved in regards to the setting and wish to hold your carbon footprint as small as potential, eco-friendly cat litter may help. The sort of litter is mostly made utilizing biodegradable supplies which are recycled and renewable. It will also be byproducts from different industries, which suggests it has gone by minimal processing and is sustainably sourced.
Disposing of eco-friendly cat litter will also be almost guilt free, provided that it’s biodegradable and compostable.
Learn how to Swap to Eco-Pleasant Cat Litter
A lot of this will depend on your cat and what you’re searching for in a litter. Nonetheless, right here’s a basic information:
1. Do It Steadily
Cats will not be followers of change, notably relating to 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 Within the first week, goal for about 20% new litter to 80% outdated. Within the second week, do 40% new litter to 60% outdated, and so forth till your cat is barely utilizing the brand new litter.
Whereas making this transition, place the brand new litter on the underside with the outdated litter on prime.
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 happening within the family. For instance, if you happen to’re switching litter since you’re getting a second cat, it’s not a good suggestion to modify your outdated cat’s litter. They are going to be coping with the stress of the brand new cat already.
Don’t think about making a change if anything is happening, such as you’re shifting, 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, think about establishing a second litter field with yet one more new litter. You are able to do this with greater than two if desired.
For instance, you may put down one litter field with walnut, one other with pine, and a 3rd with bamboo litter. This provides your cat a number of new litters to select from and may help you pinpoint the litter that they like probably the most.
4. Make It Acquainted
Cats can have preferences on the kind of litter field as nicely, for instance they might not be used to a coated or self cleansing field. Preserve the kind of litter field constant, and the situation related, when switching to new cat litter. On the whole cats favor to make use of litter containers which are clear, simple to entry and really feel ‘protected’. 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 after they use the litter may encourage them to maintain utilizing it.
6. Preserve Attempting
So many issues about cat litter can delay your cat, the feel and the odor being the most important components. If you happen to’re attempting out a litter and your cat would relatively pee on the ground than go within the litter field, you must get a brand new one.
Attempting out a number of litter containers can turn out to be useful, but it surely does imply spending fairly a bit of cash for all of the completely different litters. Go for the smallest or most cost-effective containers/luggage potential. In case your cat is frequently going toileting outdoors of their litter field, or there are some other adjustments of their habits, get them checked out by your vet to verify there are not 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 out there, from fairly a wide range of supplies! When selecting, make sure to take into accounts any allergic reactions you or your cat might have. The next are all out there as cat litter, and every has its benefits and downsides:
- Bamboo: Bamboo isn’t the most typical of pure cat litter, but it surely’s absorbent and first rate at odor management. Nonetheless, the clumps are likely to disintegrate.
- Coconut: Coconut husk makes an important cat litter. It may be clumping or non-clumping, and it’s light-weight and utterly biodegradable. However it may be messy and onerous to search out for buy.
- Corn: Corn cat litter has been round for some time. It may well clump and is light-weight, nearly 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 almost dust-free, and is smooth 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 difficulty.
- 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 monitor too badly, but it surely isn’t all the time good with odor management.
- Tofu: ‘Tofu litter’, produced from soybean byproducts, is dust-free, clumps, doesn’t monitor, and reduces unhealthy odors. Nonetheless, the clumps don’t all the time keep collectively and may 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 nicely.
- 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 rapidly begin smelling unhealthy. To keep away from the expense and inconvenience of continually changing your litter, you may strive an important 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 sorts 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 stay in a desert setting, so they have a tendency to favor a sand-like texture of their litter.
When purchasing for an eco-friendly litter, it’s essential think about the feel and scent of it on your cat. However you’ll additionally want one thing that you could work with, as some are extra sophisticated to cope with than others. Many of those sorts of cat litter won’t clump in addition to clay or silica, so that you’ll have to weigh what’s extra vital to you.
Learn evaluations (three-star evaluations make a pleasant stability between unfavourable and constructive), and search for the important thing elements that may make or break a litter: mud, monitoring, clumping, and odor management.
What’s Fallacious With Conventional Cat Litter?
Conventional Clay
Clay is the preferred cat litter and has been across the longest. It’s recognized for its skill to soak up and maintain liquid and supplies good odor management.
However conventional clay doesn’t clump, so it wants frequent altering; sometimes, your complete litter field must be dumped, cleaned, and replenished as soon as every week.
Bentonite Clay
Sodium bentonite is what causes conventional litter to clump. In reality, it may enhance to fifteen instances its dimension. Clumping litter is sort of well-liked, notably as a result of it’s simple to wash. Nonetheless, there have been issues in regards to 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 harmful to the setting.
It’s as much as every cat proprietor to weigh what’s finest for his or her cat and speak to their veterinarian concerning their issues.
Silica
Silica gel makes up the crystallized cat litter that can be fairly well-liked. It’s absorbent and supplies good odor management, and is long-lasting. There haven’t been any main research on the potential dangers, however thus far it’s thought of protected until ingested.
It’s made with silicone dioxide, which is a pure materials that varieties into tiny pearls. Whereas it’s typically thought of protected, 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 essential to acquire it.
Conclusion
Altering your cat’s litter may go extremely nicely, or it would find yourself taking quite a lot of your time and persistence earlier than your cat adjusts.
Since litter is such an integral a part of cat possession, your cat have to be okay with their litter. When you choose a brand new litter, make sure to learn the directions on one of the simplest ways to make use of it.
There’s no query that you just’ll have to undergo a little bit of trial and error when switching to an eco-friendly cat litter, but when finished proper, you’ll have a barely smaller carbon footprint and hopefully, a happier cat.
Featured Picture Credit score: Lightspruch, Shutterstock
