Properties of Kitty Litter

Cats bear many natural tendencies that can make living with them indoors difficult at times. Scratching, marking territory (among male cats) and tracking litter box filler around are just a few of the issues a caretaker faces. Over the decades, litter box filler has evolved from sand to clay based filler that neutralizes litter box smell and minimizes the cat's ability to track filler all over indoor surroundings.

  1. History

    • The first commercial brand of cat litter was called "Kitty Litter" and it was distributed and marketed in 1948 by Ed Lowe. Kitty Litter is now a generic trademark used by many companies that manufacture litter box filler, also known as kitty litter.

    Ingredients

    • Most modern kitty litter is clay-based. It is virtually indistinguishable from clay-based oil absorbent and may contain zeolite, diatomite and sepiolite as well as baking soda or scented crystals. Zeolite is an aluminosilicate absorbent mineral. Diatomite is a soft, naturally occurring, sedimentary rock, also an absorbent. Sepiolite is another clay mineral found in kitty litter that has clotting and absorbing properties. Baking soda and scented crystals are used in kitty litter for their odor absorbing properties.

    Varieties

    • Kitty litter can be either clumping or nonclumping, silica gel-based or biodegradable. Clumping litter forms hard clumps when exposed to moisture. The cat owner then scoops out these clumps rather than changing the entire box every time the cat uses it. Nonclumping litter does not form hard clumps and can be flushed down the toilet as it generally contains water-soluble minerals only. Silica gel-based litter is a porous granular form of sodium silicate. It is lightweight and can absorb the most liquid and odor of all the types of kitty litter. Biodegradable kitty litter consists of natural fibers such as pine wood chips, clumping sawdust or newspaper shavings.