Winter 2008
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"Ecology For the Home"

Alternative Kitty Litters Worth the Effort

By Rebekah Oakes
January/February Issue, 2004

Brigit Macomber is Finance Manager at the Ecology Center, a cat lover, and avid environmentalist. Concerned with the consequences of strip mining for clay-based litters, she and her four cats have put alternative kitty litters to the test. As a cat owner, Brigit was faced with numerous products of varying composition, quality, and price. The greatest challenge, however, proved to be her very selective cats.

Feline Pine is a brand of wood litter made from 100% natural pine that includes no chemical additives. This product recycles pine wood waste from various manufacturers that harvest trees. Whereas clay litters are strip-mined and cannot be replaced, trees can be replanted. Pine litter also “naturally reduces odors, almost completely eliminating the litter box smell,” says Brigit. Surprisingly, wood pellets are dust free and will not aggravate pet allergies, and also track less than clay litters. Feline Pine is also biodegradable and can be flushed down the toilet in small amounts, though this is not recommended if you have a septic tank.

Pelletized paper has many advantages similar to those of pine litter. This form of kitty litter is made from recycled waste paper which has been broken down and converted into small pellets. Products such as Fibre Cycle can be up to 60% lighter than clay litters and claim to have “superior absorbency.” Like pine litters, pelletized paper is naturally odor absorbing, biodegradable, and can be mulched in the garden (after removing solid waste) or flushed in the toilet. This litter will not track in cats’ paws and also is not as sharp as clay litter so it won’t scratch floors if spilled. Brigit appreciates the fact that pelletized paper litter “makes it easier to dispose of the litter and clean out the box because it’s lighter and less messy.”

Wheat-based litter is another environmentally friendly alternative to clay-based kitty litter. Organic wheat litter is clumping, scoopable, and perhaps most importantly, safe for your cat. Enzymes in wheat litters naturally absorb odor and it is 100% biodegradable. When water is added, wheat litter clumps and may be flushed in the toilet because it is easily dissolved.

So why go out of your way to switch litters and risk upsetting your notoriously finicky cat? Clay kitty litters are strip-mined throughout the southwest, which is destructive to desert soil. Various large mining companies are competing for development rights in order to construct open-pit clay mines, primarily to manufacture clay-based kitty litters. One Illinois-based company is vying for land north of Reno, Nevada. If this land were strip-mined it would create serious potential for arsenic contaminations throughout the regional groundwater table if the arsenic were to seep into the open-pit mines. Critics of projects such as this fear the adverse effects of clay mining, citing the possibilities of air and water pollution as well as heavy truck traffic in residential areas.

Critics of clay-based litters also point out that alternative kitty litters, if flushed or composted, don’t take up room in landfills – and if they are landfilled are biodegradable, whereas clay is not.

Pine pellets, pelletized paper, and wheat-based kitty litters have been proven safer not only for the environment, but also for your pets. The silica dust from clay-based litters may pose a health risk when inhaled or ingested by both cats and humans. Prolonged exposure to crystalline silica may cause the non-cancerous, yet often fatal lung disease, silicosis, and has also been linked with bronchitis and tuberculosis.

Finally, the prices of alternative cat litters are comparable to clay-based litters. Petsmart.com, for example, advertises ExquisiCat Pine Litter for $6.99 (20 lbs.), Swheat Scoop Cat Litter for $8.49 (14 lbs.), and Yesterday’s News pelletized paper litter for $13.49 (30 lbs.). The average clumping clay litter such as Fresh Step sells for around $8.99 (20 lbs.).

Both Brigit and her cats were very pleased with their alternative litters, and amazingly, three of her four cats adjusted immediately. “To make my other cat more comfortable, I gave him a separate litter box for about two months, putting in one handful of the new litter, then two, gradually adding more until he was fully acclimated.” It is only natural for your cats to take some time adjusting to the texture and scent of their new litter so Brigit advises patience, saying: “Don’t give up! It’s worth the effort to minimize your pet’s impact on the environment.”

Rebekah Oakes is editorial assistant for From the Ground Up and a junior at the University of Michigan.

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