In case you are searching for inexpensive and eco-friendly options to clay cat litter, you aren’t alone. Choosing the proper cat litter for you, your pet, your pockets, and the setting is a vital side of being a accountable cat proprietor. Alternate options to typical clay cat litter are made out of all types of supplies, equivalent to corn, paper, walnuts, wheat, sand, pine, or grass.
These various cat litters will not be solely usually extra inexpensive than conventional clay litter, however they’re extra eco-friendly as properly.
Environmental Affect
There are lots of supplies which might be each inexpensive and eco-friendly in some cat litters in in the present day’s market.
Conventional cat litter is made out of a sort of clay known as bentonite. It has been utilized in cat litter for years. This sort of litter is thought for its capability to soak up moisture and to swell to many occasions its authentic measurement.
Whereas bentonite is taken into account a pure product, the mining of this clay is controversial. Bentonite is extracted utilizing a way known as strip mining. This entails a course of that strikes massive quantities of soil and rock with a purpose to get to the minerals beneath. This creates massive holes within the floor and disrupts the pure space it’s mined from.
As well as, clay-based litter is thought to comprise dangerous carcinogens that change into airborne by way of mud particles and will be ingested. This may usually trigger allergic reactions and even set off bronchial asthma in your kitty.
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Litter Alternate options
In the event you’re searching for eco-friendly options to clay cat litter that additionally prevent some cash, then you’ve come to the correct place! Beneath we now have offered some unusual options to conventional cat litter that you could be by no means have thought-about.
1. Pine
Pine pellets in cat litter are a terrific choice and conceal unhealthy odors very properly.
Pine litter is heated to a really excessive temperature to create pellets from the wooden and sap. Horse bedding pellets are additionally used and are made out of sawdust. Pine pellets used for litter could seem fairly uncommon however they do have some benefits that make them a great litter various.
Whereas most pine litter is non-clumping, the pine fibers lock away odors and soak up moisture. The one concern with pine litter is that some cats merely don’t like the feel of the pellets and a few don’t just like the odor of pine.
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2. Wheat
Think about making your personal cat litter from ground-up wheat berries and baking soda.
Wheat can also be a terrific eco-friendly cat litter choice. You possibly can even make your personal by grinding up entire wheat berries into a rough powder. This explicit litter various is the one which resembles the feel of conventional litter probably the most.
Wheat litter clumps properly and makes free clumps just like clay litter. The clumps are recognized to stay to the edges and the underside of the litter field, making it tough to scrub. Monitoring and mud from the granules are additionally just like that of clay litter.
Additionally Learn: The 11 Finest Non-Clumping Cat Litters
3. Soil
Cats naturally favor soil for his or her rest room choices, however it may be messy.
Soil is a cat’s primary choice when nature calls. In case your cat is just not ready to make use of an space of your yard, then a bag of potting soil can do the trick. If you wish to check out soil, think about using baking soda for odor management.
Be ready to search out the soil scattered throughout your litter field space. Having a mat in place for monitoring is a should if you choose this technique of litter.
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4. Floor-up Corn
Floor-up corn not solely makes use of a pure ingredient but in addition makes use of corn cobs.
Corn cat litter is often made out of finely floor entire corn kernels or ground-up cob. This technique additionally makes use of a waste product, making it a extra eco-friendly cat litter. Corn litter is flushable, biodegradable, and neutralizes disagreeable odors. In the event you select this litter, all the time examine the model’s directions earlier than flushing the litter down the bathroom.
Corn cat litter additionally reduces waste by remodeling urine into small agency clumps. This type of litter is taken into account one of many most secure choices for kittens due to its measurement and meals base.
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5. Information Paper
Paper could make for a superb eco-friendly cat litter.
Newspaper and different papers are recycled into lengthy strips that may be reused as paper, however the brief strips would go to waste. Nevertheless, some paper cat litter corporations make good use of these usually wasted elements and switch them into pellets or balls of litter.
Paper pellets make for excellent eco-friendly cat litter, and are tender in your cat’s paws. They’re additionally dust-free and a few even have clumping capability.
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6. Grass Seed
A really pure various to conventional cat litter is litter made out of grass seed. It’s recognized for being light-weight with scented and unscented choices out there by way of producers.
Grass seed’s pure fibers have excessive starch content material, which absorbs liquids quick, forming tight, strong clumps which might be simple to take away. Some have added sorghum to assist decrease any odors which may escape. This litter could be very light-weight with small granules that can observe simply across the exterior of the litter field.
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7. Walnut Shells
Since walnut shells are typically thrown out, they make for a terrific eco-friendly litter various.
Walnut cat litter makes use of solely the shells of walnuts, which is a product that often goes to waste. Walnut cat litter does management odor properly, particularly the coarse formulation. The finer granules are fast-clumping making this preferrred and preferrred eco-friendly cat litter to make use of in a number of cat houses.
Walnut cat litter often produces little to no mud and has a really small quantity of monitoring. Some producers of this type of litter provide a number of granule sizes in addition to pellets formulation to cater to your cat’s choice.
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8. Wooden/Sawdust
If you’d like a litter that can clump, masks smells, and make monitoring much less of a problem, sawdust would be the litter for you.
Wooden shavings or sawdust are different common eco-friendly cat litter options which might be cheap. Wooden litters often include cedar, spruce, or fir. Each wooden shavings and sawdust do a terrific job of absorbing urine. They’re additionally good at masking disagreeable odors.
Wooden shavings work nice for not getting caught in your cat’s paws which implies no monitoring. This type of litter is fairly good at clumping when it will get moist.
9. Coconut Shells
Like walnut shells, coconut shells are sometimes utilized in cat litter options.
Coconut cat litter is made fully from coconut shells and is scent-free. This implies it accommodates no dangerous chemical compounds or allergens, making it hypoallergenic. In contrast to conventional litter, coconut litter will be disposed of in and across the yard, and even in a compost bin. This sort of cat litter produces no waste and won’t find yourself in landfills like clay litter.
Coconut litter could be very wonderful, which leads to monitoring across the litter field areas. It isn’t the most effective at clumping which implies in time, it is not going to management odor properly by itself.
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10. Sand
Like soil, cats get pleasure from utilizing sand for his or her rest room.
Cats instinctively love sand, making this kind of eco-friendly cat litter preferrred. Sand additionally clumps properly when moisture is current. It’s biodegradable and doesn’t carry any scent.
The one draw back to sand is that it doesn’t soak up odor properly. Sand can also be just a little messy and tends to trace and create mud across the litter field.
Clumping and Odor Management
Clumping cat litter makes clean-up far simpler than non-clumping supplies.
When moisture is absorbed and moist litter holds collectively firmly, then it creates clumps. A litter that has clumping talents doesn’t have to be modified as usually and you may simply scoop the clumps out, abandoning the clear elements.
Odor management can also be a desired capability when contemplating an excellent eco-friendly cat litter various. Some litters have added scent or are naturally aromatic which helps masks odor.
In the event you’re searching for further odor safety on your chosen litter various, you’ll be able to merely combine one half baking soda with two elements litter.
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Last Ideas
Crucial factor for selecting a cat litter is selecting one which your cat likes and can use.
With so many various litters to select from, your cat’s choice will probably be an important. Whereas these various litters could also be cost-effective options, a litter is just not price something in case your cat is not going to use it!
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