What Makes Cat Litter Work?

Cat litter is made from different materials for cats to use for urination and defecation. Placed in a litter box, the purpose of the litter is to absorb the moisture and odors from the feces and urine. This makes keeping cat indoors a much-easier task. Other than these two basic functions, litter can offer clumping, anti-tracking, scents and environmental features.

  1. Basic Material

    • Basic cat litter is made from clay and other minerals that act as a sponge. It is able to absorb roughly its own weight in urine. Early cat litter used sand, which did not absorb the urine. Plus, it was easier for the cat to track it through the home.

    Odor Control

    • Besides absorbing the urine, the clay can trap the ammonium in the urine and chemically alter it. Some brands also include baking soda or other methods of masking the ammonia smells.

    Clumping Litter

    • Some cat litters are designed with bentonite clay to clump when wet. This makes it easy to remove a large clump of used litter from the unused portion. Though this means you can go longer periods of time between changing the litter, it should be changed in its entirety at least once a month to avoid the build up of bacteria. The litter box should be disinfected at the same time.

    Biodegradable Litter

    • Biodegradable litter help keep down the more than 2 million tons a year of litter that goes into landfills. These brands tend to made from plant products such as dried orange peel or pine wood pellets. The used litter can be composted at the home.

    Why Cats Use Litter

    • Cat litter allows cats to do what they would naturally do with their wastes, which is bury it. Because litter is made of loosely packed small pellets, cats can move the litter easily to bury their feces.