DIY cat litter
On the subject of pet waste being toxic for the environment, not only is it necessary to consider how diligently you clean up after your dogs and cats, but also how often they may be coming into contact with toxic substances. For example, did you know that clumping clay litter contains carcinogenic silica dust that can clog your cat’s lungs? Plus, the sodium bentonite that acts as a clumping agent is poisonous, as cats ingest it each time they groom themselves.
One solution: newspaper litter. In about 45 minutes, you can make your own 2-3 week supply using little more than newspaper, warm water, and baking soda. Here is the full tutorial. And, to read more about what other environmental toxins may be affecting your fur baby, visit Pets for the Environment – a great site that contains helpful information for how to create a healthy environment for pets and people.
(Photo by me)
Comments
This seems like a really great idea, especially to make sure that are pets are not exposed to dangerous chemicals in cat littler. There are also safe cat litter products available on the market if making your own is too much.
Posted by: Patrick | July 7, 2009 9:00 PM
I think you may be mistaken about some of the details about clumping cat litter. Firstly, sodium bentonite (or bentonite as it's usually called), isn't a chemical additive, it's a clay that swells when moisture is added. So, it's not that they add bentonite to make it clump, the litter *is* bentonite. Secondly, clumping cat litter hasn't really been proven to be dangerous, from what I've read. A lot of people have repeated it as fact, but there's not really much science to back it up.
Posted by: E | July 8, 2009 11:23 AM
I don't know anything about the science behind all of this, and there very well may be evidence to support these claims, but I will say that I have used clumping cat litter for as long as it has been available and my cats have always lived to be 20 years old or older.
It may also be harmful to the environment, but I till mine deep into the soil in my wildflower garden and it doesn't seem to harm that...
Posted by: jen | July 8, 2009 1:15 PM
Bentonite is commonly used to seal environmental boreholes, so I would guess that it is not in fact toxic. That is to say, breathing it in is no more or less harmfull than breathing in other dusts.
Posted by: Alex | July 9, 2009 5:23 PM
It's not so much a danger. I would say the main issue with litter is the dust. This can sometimes cause allergies for your cats, and yourself. This is assuming you use a litter with no added chemicals or perfumes.
Posted by: ScoopableCat | July 13, 2009 10:47 PM
The dust I will agree with. Clay litters (bentonite) are dusty. As far as causing cancer I really don't know, however, that thought is scary.
I usually have a hard time finding litter that isn't dusty. It's kind of a trade off.
It's all a matter of how dusty is it and can you stand it?
Right now, I'm getting ready to switch my cats to a natural litter like Fresh Results or Nature's Miracle. It works well.. the only issue was that it was more expensive than clays.
Posted by: Jeannie | December 17, 2009 1:39 PM