For those of you who own cats, I wanted to let you know why we switched to all natural cat litter.
Clay litter has been the norm for so long, it makes sense that it’s the cat litter most owners use. It’s readily available, you can find it anywhere and it’s affordable. So why make the switch to all natural cat litter?
The Price of Convenience. Why You Need to Switch to All Natural Cat Litter.
+ Most clay litters contain silica, often referred to as quartz, is a common mineral. It is found in soil, sand, granite, concrete, rock, and many other materials. When airborne silica dust is breathed in, causing health hazards for those exposed. You see and smell it as you pour the litter, the dust lingers in the air. Silica dust continues to be kicked up as your cats uses the bathroom, digging in their box. And, Silica is a known carcinogen when inhaled. Yep, you read that right.
+ Sodium Bentonite, another common agent in most clay litters, reacts to moisture and causes the clumping reaction. The scary part of this agent is that the clumping reaction you see in the litter box during cleaning can form within your cat as well, which can lead to death. This can happen as cats clean their paws, if any litter is caught between their paws they may ingest the agent which can cause gastrointestinal distress. A sign of this is usually diareaha, as your cats body attempts to cleanse itself.
+ Fragrance. Many clay litters advertise added “fragrance” to take away from your cat’s bathroom smell. This ingredient label can be found in many personal care and household products as well. Fragrances often contain phthalates, which are chemicals that help the scents last longer. Health risks include cancer, human reproductive and developmental toxicity, endocrine disruption, birth defects & respiratory problems. These toxic additives are hard to avoid because manufacturers are not required to list them on ingredient labels.
+ Environmentally, clay litter is a catastrophe. The Bureau of Land Management estimates that around 8 billion pounds end up in landfills every year. Clay litter is not biodegradable, which is why switching to an all natural cat litter is so important.
How to Make the Switch Easily!
I personally use SWheat Scoop as my all natural litter choice and I have loved it. I clean my cats litter daily (we are a multi cat family) and here is what I have found.
+ Although I am paying $30.99 (free shipping as it is Prime eligible) for a 36lb bag which is roughly $0.86 a pound. I noticed that it lasts me longer than the Arm and Hammer Multi Cat Litter I started off using (costing me $0.63 a pound). The granuals of the SWheat litter are larger by comparison so less of it fills their litter box.
+ As far as scent from my fluff balls bathroom goes, I cannot say that there is any now. We also switched to a Stainless steel litter box a month ago because their plastic one was building up litter residue that I couldn’t remove and the odor was building up. Once I switched to this stainless steel litter box I have not had any issue removing ALL the residue from the bottom of the box.
+ I also had to upgrade my litter scooper to a larger model to accommodate the larger granule size of the SWheat Scoop.
I hope all my fellow cat parents found this helpful and informational! The links used in this post also support me and fluff balls. I receive a small kickback as an Amazon Associate if used to purchase from.
leave a comment