It&#;s easy to get confused and even overwhelmed when considering all the different types and brands of cat litter that are available today. How do you choose which one to use?

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All cat litters fit into one of the several major categories, and each one has advantages and disadvantages when compared to others. This article will help you to narrow down your choices, but you are still likely to be faced with some trial and error before settling on the one that works best for you. Actually, you need to choose the litter that works best for you and your cat, as our feline friends can be picky about litter, and if they won&#;t use, it&#; well, you probably know the rest.

Traditional Clay Cat Litter

These are the litters that look like sand, and in fact for a long time sand (and/or dirt) was what was used for cat litter. But clay is a lot more absorbent, and in the late s, industrial absorbents were repackaged and clay cat litters became available commercially. With numerous other better performing choices, clay litters are not that popular any more, comprising only about 3% of sales at A Pet&#;s Life.

Advantages:

• It&#;s cheap. Clay litters cost the least.

Disadvantages:

• It&#;s dusty. And that&#;s silica dust, a known carcinogen when inhaled.
• It&#;s easily tracked. It sticks to cat paws quite easily, and gets tracked around the house.
• It&#;s heavy. You&#;ll be lugging it at least twice, once before and once after it&#;s used, and it&#;s like carrying a bag of sand.
• It&#;s not easy to dispose of. You can&#;t flush it or compost it, so you are likely left with putting it in the garbage.
• It&#;s not long lasting. You&#;ll use quite a lot, as it needs to be replaced often because of its limited ability to absorb liquid and to suppress odour. For this reason, many people put the litter box in the basement or garage, where the smell can be ignored longer.
• It&#;s environmentally unfriendly. Tons and tons of clay litters end up in landfills every year, and the extraction of clay for litters usually involves some form of strip mining.

All this doesn&#;t make traditional clay litters sound so terrific, well, except for that cost thing. Additives such as baking soda and odour maskers, either already in the bag or as an extra that you sprinkle in yourself, are sometimes used to help with odour control.

A traditional clay litter available at A Pet&#;s Life is Jonny Cat.

Clumping Clay Cat Litter

In the the s, someone got the bright idea that adding some form of bentonite clay to a traditional clay litter would be a big improvement. Bentonite, which in litters is nearly always either sodium bentonite or calcium bentonite, is a type of clay that forms from the weathering of volcanic ash. The advantage of bentonite in cat litters is that it will absorb several times its dry weight in liquid, and in doing so it expands as much as 15 times its original volume and at the same time forms clumps that can be scooped out without removing the rest of the litter. This is a terrific functional improvement over traditional clay litter. Clumping clay litters are about 13% of sales at A Pet&#;s Life.

Advantages:

• It&#;s easy to scoop. Using a sifting litter scoop, you can remove both feces and the urine clumps, leaving the rest of the litter in the box.
• It&#;s economical. Although periodically all the litter has to be removed, the same quantity of clumping clay litter will last longer than traditional clay litter.
• It&#;s not so smelly. Since regular scooping removes both feces and urine, it&#;s easier to live with it in close proximity.

Disadvantages:

• It&#;s potentially unhealthy, maybe even dangerous. There&#;s plenty of controversy about this, but some believe that inhaling that absorbing and swelling bentonite dust is a bad idea, and your cat will certainly inhale some of it.
• It&#;s dusty. Like other clay litters, that&#;s silica dust, a known carcinogen when inhaled.
• It&#;s easily tracked. It sticks to cat paws easily, and gets tracked around the house.
• It&#;s heavy. It&#;s just as heavy as traditional clay litter, although you will use less of it.
• It&#;s not easy to dispose of. You certainly can&#;t flush it, imagine that clumping and swelling going on in your plumbing! The only disposal option is the garbage.
• It&#;s environmentally unfriendly. Again, it&#;s extracted using some form of strip mining.

Clumping clay litters available at A Pet&#;s Life include Cattitudes, and Dr Elsey&#;s Precious Cat.

Silica Gel Cat Litter

Silica gel litter is relatively new, and is sometimes referred to as crystal litter. It&#;s actually a granular form of sodium silicate, a substance with an incredible ability to absorb liquids, so it&#;s no surprise someone decided to market it as cat litter. It also has many industrial and commercial uses, such as those little packets you find in vitamin bottles. In use, you have to scoop out the feces every day, but urine is absorbed and just seems to vanish. It doesn&#;t, of course, it is just soaked up, and eventually the litter&#;s ability to absorb any more is gone. Then it&#;s time for a complete change. Some people find that a 2 kg bag will last for a month for one cat. Silica gel litters have gained much of a following, with only 2% of sales at A Pet&#;s Life.

Advantages:

• It&#;s economical. If a small bag lasts your single cat for a month, it might be the lowest cost alternative.
• It&#;s lightweight. No more lugging those big, heavy bags.
• It&#;s minimal work. Scooping feces and stirring the crystals are all that is needed, at least until it needs a complete change.
• It&#;s relatively dust free. Especially when compared most other types of litter.

Disadvantages:

• It&#;s fussy. It gives no warning when it&#;s &#;used up&#;. Usually, the only indication is the puddle of urine in the bottom of the litter pan. Then it quickly gets really stinky. Some silica gel litters have a portion of the granules change colour as they get saturated to indicate when it needs changing.
• It&#;s often not accepted by cats. While some cats are happy to use it, many refuse to do so.
• It&#;s sometimes messy. Those little round beads of silica gel can get rolling on the floor and go a long way. If your cat is a digger, and throws litter around, this might get really annoying. Look for the silica gel litters that are odd shaped, although there is a downside to these: some of the edges can be sharp and don&#;t feel very nice to step on, for you or your cat. If your litter box is in a high traffic area such as the bathroom or laundry room, you&#;re bound to step on one from time to time!

A silica gel litter available at A Pet&#;s Life is Clear Choice.

Biodegradable Litter

In recent years, a wide range and variety of plant-derived litters have become available. These biodegradable litters can be further divided into two types: pelleted or granular.

Pelleted Biodegradable Cat Litter

Made from either wood or recycled newspaper, pelleted litter has an incredible ability to absorb liquids, and in doing so will crumble into an easily removable form. Sawdust that is a by-product of wood processing industries or recycled newsprint is formed under very high pressure into pellets, which are then thoroughly dried. Wood pellets absorb urine so well that they are used extensively as bedding in horse stalls. Feces must be scooped from the cat litter box regularly, along with the pellets that become urine soaked and crumbly, leaving the remaining pellets behind. Pelleted biodegradable litters are about 25% of sales at A Pet&#;s Life.

Advantages:

• It&#;s relatively dust free. And whatever dust there is relatively benign.
• It&#;s environmentally friendly. Made from either recycled newspaper or wood processing by-products
• It&#;s easy to dispose of. The crumbled pellets can be flushed or composted (but not the feces, of course!)
• It&#;s non-tracking. Well, the pellets don&#;t track easily, although the crumbled bits do.

Disadvantages:

• It&#;s often rejected by cats. Some fussy cats just don&#;t seem to like the feel of the pellets on their paws.

Pelleted biodegradable litters available at A Pet&#;s Life include Feline Pine, Crown Animal Bedding, Stall Dry, Yesterday&#;s News, and Good Mews.

Granular Biodegradable Cat Litter

There are plenty of choices in this category: wheat, corn, barley, and pine, and it&#;s worth trying some different types to find the best one for you and your cat. These litters are made from the by-products of the human and animal food, as well as the wood processing industries, and so use materials that might otherwise be waste. Clumping properties come from the starch or cellulose components and odour is controlled by the natural enzymes and proteins in the litter. Granular biodegradable litters are far and away the most popular, currently having about 57% of sales at A Pet&#;s Life.

Advantages:

• It&#;s environmentally friendly. They are biodegradable and made from renewable resources.
• It&#;s easy to dispose of. These litters are easily flushed or composted (but not the feces, of course!)
• It&#;s lighter than traditional clay litters.
• It&#;s fairly long lasting. With proper daily maintenance, a bag will last twice as long as an equivalent size bag of clay litter.

Disadvantages:

• It&#;s easily tracked. It sticks to cat paws quite easily, and gets tracked around the house.
• It&#;s somewhat dusty. Some users find these litters to be dusty, although at least it&#;s not silica dust.
• It doesn&#;t capture odours as well as clumping clay litters. Daily, if not twice daily scooping is necessary for odour control.
• Its natural odour may be offensive. Some people find the smell of the wheat, corn, pine, etc to be disagreeable.

Granular biodegradable litters available at A Pet&#;s Life include Swheat Scoop,World&#;s Best, Feline Fresh, and Rainforest.

In Summary

The bottom line is that there is no such thing as a perfect cat litter. It would really be great if there were, but it just isn&#;t so. They all have their advantages and their disadvantages. Some of these are inconveniences for cat owners and some are negatives for the cat. It really makes sense to choose the litter that is the most accepted by your cat, given the range of problems that can arise otherwise. It will likely take some trial and error to find the right litter for you and your cat. If you&#;re not sure where to start, talk to any of the A Pet&#;s Life staff for good advice and go from there. Good luck!

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Cat Litter 101: What is Bentonite Clay Litter? | Benefits & Risk

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If you&#;re a cat owner, you&#;ve probably heard about bentonite clay litter. It&#;s become increasingly popular on store shelves for its price point and unique features. But what exactly makes it so special?

Once upon a time, people began using bentonite (a type of clay) instead of sand in commercial cat litter &#; probably because asking sand to clump was out of the question!

Shortly after that, it became the official cheap, mainstream cat litter for most pet owners.

Today we love bentonite clay litter because of how easily it sticks together when wet. And though its price point and clumpiness seem like a heavenly match, bentonite clay litter isn&#;t without its potential downsides.

There&#;s a lot to unpack here. Let&#;s dive in!

What is bentonite, anyway?

Bentonite is a type of clay that becomes extremely sticky when wet. It&#;s made from volcanic ash, and has been around for centuries &#; in fact, it&#;s one of the oldest known materials used by humans!

What are the benefits of bentonite clay litter?

Bentonite cat litter has a few distinct advantages over traditional sand, plant, or wood-based litter.

Aborbancy: Probably the biggest selling point of bentonite clay litter is its nature to clump. It can absorb several times its dry weight in liquid and expand up to 15 times its original size (just look online for images of clay litter dust forming these heroic-looking balls when damp!)

Cost Effectiveness: Bentonite clay litter is usually cheaper than other types of litter, and though that&#;s not usually a good thing, it can help balance the budget!

And part of why this litter&#;s so cheap is how stretchable it is. When your cat pees, you only need to replace the soiled bedding and clumps; the rest is good to reuse.

Odour Control: Bentonite clay is known to be very effective at absorbing odors &#; like a natural deodorizer. It also has a neutral scent (without any added fragrances), so it won&#;t make your home smell any worse than before.

What are the risks associated with bentonite clay litter?

Just like with any other type of litter, bentonite clay litter has its drawbacks.

Allergy Concerns: Some cats may be allergic to this type of clay, so it&#;s best to watch for signs of sneezing or irritation while using it. If you notice your cat is itching more or has red spots you didn&#;t notice on them before, switch back to the old litter and contact your vet.

Dust: Bentonite clay is naturally dusty and its dryness can cause respiratory problems if inhaled -not just for cats, but humans as well. To avoid this risk, make sure to buy a dust-free variety of bentonite clay litter and wear a mask when changing the bedding.

Toxicity: Bentonite clay litter is generally non-toxic for cats, with a few types containing baking soda or activated charcoal. But so many of them contain additives like fragrances or other chemicals that are dangerous if ingested in large quantities. Check the packaging on your litter to make sure there aren&#;t any added ingredients that could harm your cat.

Bentonite Processing for Litter

Basically, The bentonite-to-litter process starts with grinding the clay to a powder, which is then mixed with various additives like fragrances and baking soda. This mixture is left to dry and then compressed into pellets, clumps, or granules. Finally, the litter is packaged for sale.

Sounds innocent enough.

But the real danger is that every box of bentonite-based litter comes from strip mining. That&#;s what convinced me to switch recently from clay litter to wood and tofu cat litter.

Strip mining:

1. Destroys wildlife habitats.
2. Removes topsoil from an area and causes sediment runoff that contaminates nearby lakes and streams.
3. Scarifies the land permanently.
4. Contributes to climate change by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
5. Generates a significant amount of waste products from processing that must be disposed of properly.

I&#;m certainly not shaming anyone for using bentonite clay litter &#; heck, I still have two boxes of unscented Purina litter in storage for when (and if) my cat wants a change.

We all live in a commercial world, and while buying environmentally-conscious products is good for the planet, it&#;s not always good for the individual &#; at least referring to their wallets. Case and point: we have to choose our battles.

Is bentonite cat litter safe for domestic cats?

The short answer is yes, bentonite clumping cat litter is generally safe for healthy cats and kittens. But that doesn&#;t mean it&#;s necessarily the best option for your cat. Look around for alternatives if your cat and your budget allow it!

Have any questions? Feel free to comment!

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Wholesale Cat Litter Bulk.