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Eco-friendly Cat Litter Overview
How to Switch to Eco-Friendly Cat Litter
Eco-Friendly Cat Litters Materials
What to Look For in an Eco-friendly Cat Litter
Downsides of Traditional Cat Litter
Let’s face it: As a lot as we like our cats, coping with cat litter is just not anybody’s thought of a superb time! Not solely do we want our cats to be pleased with the litter, however it additionally must be comparatively problem free for us to scrub.
If you’ve determined that you simply wish to begin utilizing an eco-friendly cat litter, however you’re undecided what type is finest and even easy methods to go about switching over to a brand new litter, we’ve obtained you lined.
In this text, we talk about the completely different sorts of eco-friendly cat litter accessible and easy methods to swap to a brand new one efficiently.
What Exactly Is Eco-friendly Cat Litter?
If you’re involved concerning the atmosphere and wish to preserve your carbon footprint as small as potential, eco-friendly cat litter might help. This kind of litter is mostly made utilizing biodegradable supplies which are recycled and renewable. It may also be byproducts from different industries, which implies it has gone via minimal processing and is sustainably sourced.
Disposing of eco-friendly cat litter may also be practically guilt free, provided that it’s biodegradable and compostable.
Image Credit: yarm_sasha, Shutterstock
How to Switch to Eco-Friendly Cat Litter
Much of this is dependent upon your cat and what you’re searching for in a litter. Still, right here’s a normal information:
1. Do It Gradually
Cats usually are not followers of change, significantly in the case of their meals and litter. The finest option to introduce new litter is to do it slowly and step by step.
Mix a small quantity of the brand new litter with their common litter. In the primary week, intention for about 20% new litter to 80% previous. In the second week, do 40% new litter to 60% previous, and so forth till your cat is just utilizing the brand new litter.
While making this transition, place the brand new litter on the underside with the previous litter on prime.
2. Avoid Too Much Change at Once
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 change your previous cat’s litter. They might be coping with the stress of the brand new cat already.
Don’t contemplate making a change if the rest is happening, such as you’re shifting, having a brand new child, or doing renovations.
Image Credit: Douglas Cliff, Shutterstock
3. Set Up More Than One Litter Box
If your cat appears reluctant to make use of the brand new litter, contemplate establishing a second litter field with yet one more new litter. You can do that 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 provides your cat a number of new litters to select from and might help you pinpoint the litter that they like probably the most.
4. Make It Familiar
Cats may have preferences on the kind of litter field as effectively, for instance they will not be used to a lined or self cleansing field. Keep the kind of litter field constant, and the situation comparable, when switching to new cat litter. In normal cats favor to make use of litter bins which are clear, simple to entry and really feel ‘safe’. Avoid inserting bins in noisy areas and put them away from their meals and water bowls.
5. Reward Your Cat
If your cat remains to be reluctant, give them a deal with or reward at any time when they use the brand new litter. Like practically 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.
Image Credit: Julija Sulkovska, Shutterstock
6. Keep Trying
So many issues about cat litter can postpone your cat, the feel and the scent being the largest elements. If you’re making an attempt out a litter and your cat would fairly pee on the ground than go within the litter field, you need to get a brand new one.
Trying out a number of litter bins can come in useful, however it does imply spending fairly a bit of cash for all of the completely different litters. Opt for the smallest or least expensive bins/luggage potential. If your cat is frequently going toileting exterior of their litter field, or there are some other adjustments of their conduct, get them checked out by your vet to ensure there are not any underlying medical points that want addressing.
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What Are Eco-Friendly Cat Litters Made From?
There are loads of eco-friendly cat litter accessible, from fairly a wide range of supplies! When selecting, you should definitely think about any allergic reactions you or your cat could have. The following are all accessible as cat litter, and every has its benefits and downsides:
- Bamboo: Bamboo is just not the most typical of pure cat litter, however it’s absorbent and respectable at odor management. However, the clumps are inclined to collapse.
- Coconut: Coconut husk makes an awesome cat litter. It will be clumping or non-clumping, and it’s light-weight and fully biodegradable. But it may be messy and arduous to seek out for buy.
- Corn: Corn cat litter has been round for some time. It can clump and is light-weight, virtually dust-free, and sometimes flushable. However, it isn’t at all times the very best at odor management.
- Grass seed: Grass seed litter clumps, is almost dust-free, and is mushy on the paws however tends to trace.
- Paper: Recycled paper will be clumping or non-clumping, absorbent, and dust-free. But odor management could be a problem.
- Pine: Pine litter is a biodegradable cat litter that’s been round for some time. It will be clumping or non-clumping and doesn’t observe too badly, however it isn’t at all times good with odor management.
- Tofu: ‘Tofu litter’, created from soybean byproducts, is dust-free, clumps, doesn’t observe, and reduces unhealthy odors. However, the clumps don’t at all times keep collectively and may get a bit mushy.
- Walnut: Walnut cat litter is created 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 at all times clump effectively.
- Wheat: Wheat cat typically litter is flushable and good at clumping, however it may be fairly dusty.
- Wood: Wood cat litter is created from completely different sorts of wooden, so there are a lot of choices.
Even the very best cat litter can rapidly begin smelling unhealthy. To keep away from the expense and inconvenience of continually changing your litter, you’ll be able to strive an awesome litter additive like Hepper’s Advanced 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 varieties of litter and will not disrupt your cat’s litter field habits.
At Catster, we’ve admired Hepper for a few years and determined to take a controlling possession curiosity in order that we may gain advantage from the excellent designs of this cool cat firm!
What to Look For in an Eco-friendly Cat Litter
Domestic cats are descended from wildcats that reside in a desert atmosphere, so they have a tendency to favor a sand-like texture of their litter.
When searching for an eco-friendly litter, you could contemplate the feel and scent of it to your cat. But you’ll additionally want one thing which you could work with, as some are extra sophisticated 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 must weigh what’s extra essential to you.
Read critiques (three-star critiques make a pleasant stability between unfavorable and constructive), and search for the important thing points that may make or break a litter: mud, monitoring, clumping, and odor management.
Image Credit: alenka2194, Shutterstock
What’s Wrong With Traditional Cat Litter?
Traditional Clay
Clay is the preferred cat litter and has been across the longest. It’s recognized for its means to soak up and maintain liquid and offers good odor management.
But conventional clay doesn’t clump, so it wants frequent altering; sometimes, your entire litter field must be dumped, cleaned, and replenished as soon as per week.
Bentonite Clay
Sodium bentonite is what causes conventional litter to clump. In truth, it will possibly enhance to fifteen instances its dimension. Clumping litter is kind of common, significantly as a result of it’s simple to scrub. However, there have been issues concerning the mud from the sodium bentonite being inhaled and inflicting respiratory points. If ingested the clay may cause severe gastrointestinal points when it swells up. Also, the clay generally used is obtained from strip mining which is harmful to the atmosphere.
It’s as much as every cat proprietor to weigh what’s finest for his or her cat and speak to their veterinarian relating to their issues.
Image Credit: Andrey_Kuzmin, Shutterstock
Silica
Silica gel makes up the crystallized cat litter that can be fairly common. It’s absorbent and offers 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 secure except ingested.
It’s made with silicone dioxide, which is a pure materials that types into tiny pearls. While it’s usually thought of secure, some silica litter is tough in texture, and lots 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 obligatory to acquire it.
Conclusion
Changing your cat’s litter may go extremely effectively, or it’d 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. Once you decide on a brand new litter, you should definitely learn the directions on the easiest way to make use of it.
There’s no query that you simply’ll must undergo a little bit of trial and error when switching to an eco-friendly cat litter, but when performed proper, you’ll have a barely smaller carbon footprint and hopefully, a happier cat.
Featured Image Credit: Lightspruch, Shutterstock
The publish How to Switch to Eco-friendly Cat Litter: 6 Steps to Make the Change by Catster Editorial Team appeared first on Catster. Copying over whole articles infringes on copyright legal guidelines. You will not be conscious of it, however all of those articles have been assigned, contracted and paid for, so they don’t seem to be thought of public area. However, we admire that you simply just like the article and would find it irresistible if you happen to continued sharing simply the primary paragraph of an article, then linking out to the remainder of the piece on Catster.com.
