Are you thinking about switching to that new ‘clumping’ cat litter that’s popped up in all the stores recently? Do you wonder what’s so new and special about it? I’ve tried all kinds of litter, and I’ll give you the real scoop about the differences…
My own cats would get picky about the state of their litter box, sometimes looking for alternative locations (such as my bed!) when they didn’t feel it was up to their standards of cleanliness. I had to practically hover over them, waiting to scoop right after them, in order for it to be constantly fresh enough.
Traditional litter lets the liquid waste fall to the bottom of the box, where you have to dig for it. It sticks to the bottom of the box, and dislodging it makes it fall apart and slip back into the box, or onto the floor.
Clumping litter grabs the urine as soon as it touches the top layer of litter, and literally ‘clumps’ into a ball. It gets so solid that it’s like a rock. And, since it’s right on top, it’s easy to spot and lift out quickly. Meanwhile, the poop gets coated by the cat’s kicking litter over it. (It looks breaded, like Shake-and-Bake on chicken.)
The clumping litter controls smell very well. I was surprised to read the ingredients and see that it’s just clay. It must be a special variety of clay. Once the poop is coated and the urine has balled up, there is almost no smell at all. I can keep a small trash can, lined with a plastic grocery sack, in the bathroom to scoop into whenever I pass by. I don’t even have to cover it.
Clumping litter as lasts longer than traditional litter. You never have to throw away any when you’re changing the box. With clumping litter, what’s left in the bottom is always clean, and you just add more on top so that you always have at least three inches deep worth of litter.
I’ve found that one container of clumping litter lasts about fifty percent longer than the same amount of regular litter. I buy less, and don’t have to carry as much in from the car.
The only down side to clumping litter is that it is not flushable. If you try, it will clump right in your pipes and clog them up. Clumping litter can be thrown away with your regular household trash, but it’s heavy!
I once decided that I would dedicate one can to litter, and just wait until it was full to take it all at once. With no smell to worry about, I just kept tossing in more until the thirty-gallon can was full. Then I discovered that I couldn’t even move it! It was way too heavy. I had to take out half of it before I could drag the can outside. You can learn from my experience.
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