Cat Litter for the Environment

Walter

On Father’s Day, my wife and I enjoyed our first celebration of this day by picnicking with our one year old son, Jackson.  While I tried to eat my lunch and keep Jack from treating the potato salad like Play-doh, she calmly informed me that we would have two reasons to celebrate this time next year.  Filled with surprise and excitement, I hugged her and we reminisced about all the ups and downs of that tumultuous, yet terrific first year with Jack.

Many wonderful things came to mind on that outing.  It wasn’t until a few days later that I remembered some of the less noteworthy tasks I took sole responsibility for whilst my wife began her own journey toward motherhood.  One such task was changing the litter box for our little feline friend, Oatsie.  Don’t ask; he was an adopted cat, and I assumed he would listen to me even less than he does already, if I was so bold as to change his name.

Admittedly, I tried everything to make this chore less odious (yes, pun is intended) than it already was.  In my research, I inadvertently learned the process that is involved in making most cat litters.  Turns out, the clay used to make the litter is strip-mined, which causes obvious damage to our planet.  As if this was not enough, I further learned that clay like litter can cause damage to a cat’s respiratory tract from the harmful dust.  Further, while your cat may be innocently removing the litter and debris out of their paws with that innocuous tongue cleansing, they are quietly ingesting the litter which can eventually block their digestive tract faster than you can say, “hairball”. Lastly, I thought, if this can do damage to my cat’s respiratory system, what might it do to my own, while I labor over cleaning it? 

I have since switched to a pine chip based litter.  It is better for the cats in every way, and still does the same job just as effectively as those clay derivatives.  Also, it is better for the environment since it is a natural by product, and does not needlessly strip the earth of its resources.  As a bonus, the pine litter actually has a clean, woodsy odor, which stays fresh even after multiple uses.  And I don’t worry about what it does to my or my cat’s health. 

I would look into this if you have an Oatsie of your own.  It’s the one time I can say litter is good for the environment.