My next mission: cat litter
March 27, 2008
I’m on a roll with this environmental stuff, I think. I told Josh that I try desperately not to be a freak about it, but admittedly, it’s also presenting kind of a fun challenge to figure out where I can make the next environmentally-friendly change in my life (and one that is also an economically friendly alternative.)
The next change on my list: cat litter. Did you know that something like 8 billion pounds of cat litter are dumped into landfills every year? My reaction to that was the sound of my jaw slamming onto the floor. Damn. And the average gray, clay, clumping cat litter (like what I use now) doesn’t biodegrade, ever. (Not to mention all the chemicals that aren’t really all that good for your cat, but I’m not getting into that because I was raised with cats using clay litter and that was never the cause of their death.)
Just for the record, my focus is more in the environment, and less on harmful chemicals. In fact, I so don’t care about harmful chemicals right now that I :::gasp::: drink out of a plastic water bottle instead of the hip new aluminum ones (or whatever they are.) I don’t begrudge anyone their super swanky Sigg water bottles. Iin fact, I would buy one but I’m so unhip that it just doesn’t feel right. I need to wait until they’re slightly out of style like I do with everything else. However, I’m sure we’ll all hear in a few months how those things leech some kind of deadly, carcinogenic, earth-shattering chemical, too. We’re all going to die, I’m so sure.
So anyway. Back to responsible ways to dispose of your cat litter.
What about just flushing it down the toilet, you ask? I also thought that would be a good alternative, until I read that cat crap contains a bunch of toxins that can actually resist sewage cleaning and eventually wind up in oceans and other bodies of water, where otters and dolphins are especially susceptible and frequently die, as a result. Go google a picture of an otter and then come back here and tell me you don’t care.
I have a few requirements as I search for new cat litter.
1. It must be affordable. I am not paying exorbitant prices just for eco-friendly litter. One thing I really believe is that the environmental stuff will never, ever catch on until the average person can afford it. (In this case, the average person being a full-time student with no job.) So in the meantime, I will probably not pay more than a few bucks extra (max) unless it’s something I really, really believe in. In other words, I reserve the right to pay more but the point of all this is also to support the companies who realize that eco-friendly and cheap do not have to be mutually exclusive.
2. It must be clumping litter. I have in the past experimented with FelinePine, and while the smell is awesome, it’s not scoopable, which means you have to dump the litter each time, which means you have to buy a lot more. And generally I find that to be more of a pain in the ass. Yes, there are things I won’t do, even in the name of Mother Earth. (Hang on. I will willingly shove a large piece of plastic up my hoohah when I’m on the rag, but I will not dump cat litter. Don’t judge me.)
According to my research thus far, there are really only 2 kinds of biodegradable, clumping litter. One is “The World’s Best Cat Litter” and the other is “Swheat Step.” The former is made of corn and the latter of wheat. I have actually also experimented with World’s Best, and I wasn’t all that thrilled. It did a really poor job of controlling the smell of cat urine, or maybe I just needed to scoop it more often, I don’t know. But I’m going to try Swheat Step next, while at the same time also increasing the number of scoops I do per week, and see how it goes. I will report back here in a few weeks with results. If it doesn’t work well, I may try World’s Best with more scoops.
So that’s my mission for the next couple weeks. Anyone else want to play?
Entry Filed under: Life, Personal, Pet Peeves, animals, disease, environment, goals, health, hobbies, opinion, thoughts, tirades. Tags: biodegradable cat litter, eco-friendly, environment.
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1.
Amelia Royko Maurer | March 27, 2008 at 3:01 pm
You may be right about the Sigg bottles.
Sigg’s bottle liner is made of a water based epoxy, which may be sexy and Swiss on the outside, but it is not guaranteed safe on the inside. One ingredient in epoxy is BPA. And if you read the Vom Saal interview below, you know that in order to properly test for leaching BPA, you have to test on something with an endocrine system over a period of time because the leaching could be undetectable by tools, but detectable by and damaging to the endocrine system. Sigg has not done this, and until they do, they cannot honestly claim to be safe.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/nature/interviews/vomsaal.html
Sigg will not disclose the ingredients of the liner, but they do test for BPA
Sigg claims they are testing for leaching BPA only to separate themselves from other water bottles out there and the controversy surrounding BPA, but that it doesn’t necessarily mean the bottle liner contains BPA. This is clearly a bunch of excrement.
Why then isn’t Sigg testing for formaldehyde or cadmium? Why not parabens or say…e-coli? Where would this potential leaching be coming from if not the bottle? The sky?
I know this is hard to take. Especially after purchasing two myself but they make for pretty vases too. I am sad for the retailers out there who bought 100 of them. I almost did.
But i am wondering, when discussing Sigg, why is it that no one (some retailers, many reporters) calls into question these three details:
the liner is water based epoxy = BPA
the liner is tested for leaching BPA = BPA
they won’t tell you that BPA is NOT an ingredient in the liner = BPA
Lastly, BPA is in every corner of our lives and only now are we being allowed to know how damaging it is and has been. PVC- same thing. Sigg uses FDA approval as if it is a reliable source of safety. I have one word for them: rBGH
For more info on conversations with the president of Sigg and many green retailers, check:
http://www.freemarketorganics.com/coabsi.html
I do sell Klean Kanteen, which are stainless steel, and I encourage everyone to either drink out of glass as much as possible and then stainless when breakage is an issue.
Amelia
Amelia Royko Maurer
Free Market Organics LLC
342 S. Madison St.
Evansville, WI
53536
ph: 608-332-5042
fax: 608-882-0397
e: amelia@freemarketorganics.com
http://www.freemarketorganics.com
2.
amanda | March 27, 2008 at 5:21 pm
dude, i am SUPER interested in hearing what you end up doing. ola and i would love to find something more eco-friendly, but it’s really hard to find something that works for our 2 cats! (and as you mentioned, cost is a huge problem) why does eco friendly seem to have to equal boutique and expensive???
3.
Caroline | March 27, 2008 at 6:25 pm
@Manda: You hit the nail on the head. Especially here in Boulder, eco-friendly = boutique, and frequently eco-friendly = judgemental hippie. I am already judgemental (ha) but I do tend to shy away from the “hippie” and “boutique” part. I will keep you informed. It’s been a fun challenge finding eco-friendly AND cost-friendly alternatives to stuff.
4.
Jessica D. | March 27, 2008 at 7:15 pm
caroline, i love your blog! you’re a great writer. i’m always laughing out loud at my computer.
5.
Mermaid Mom | March 27, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Find me the right product and I’ll get on board. I know that Aunt Donna used to use “Yesterday’s News” which was litter made from recycled newspaper. But the smell was AWFUL. Again, I’m not sure if that could have been cured by more frequent scoopings, but like you, I don’t want to have to change the litter completely every day.
I’ll be anxiously awaiting the results of your research on this topic.
6.
Brian | April 7, 2008 at 7:53 pm
First, this was knee-slapping funny:
“I will willingly shove a large piece of plastic up my hoohah when I’m on the rag, but I will not dump cat litter. Don’t judge me.”
Second, the worst thing about having cats is the litter. I despise scooping it every evening, but it’s a necessity. We have three cats and two big boxes. The money that we spend in litter, vet bills, and expensive cat food is rather substantial.
On a related note, uur eldest cat, Blu, has decided that she is too good to pee in the litter box, so she pees in the carpet. I know that it isn’t an infection or anything serious because she has done this off and on the whole time we’ve had her. She is very finicky about litter boxes. She refuses to cover her poop and she always wipes her ass on the carpet after finishing. We’ve pretty much decided that we are going to have to find another home for her. It’s hard, but we simply can’t have a pet that urinates where she pleases.
7.
cousin becky | April 22, 2008 at 3:45 pm
1. Feline Pine makes a clumping litter now; haven’t tried it, but it might be worth a shot. I agree– it totally smells good and “neutralizes” that nasty ammonia smell.
2. Yesterday’s News, made from old newspaper, may be a good option. About the same price as Feline Pine; I don’t think it smells quite as good, but my mama disagrees. It comes in clumping now too.
Congratulations on making the journey to earth-friendly cat partnership. (It’s not really ownership, is it?) : )
8.
Mermaid Mom | April 26, 2008 at 1:54 pm
As an update–I tried the Swheat Scoop and am back to clay. For one thing, I don’t think my old cat Klark appreciated me messing with what he’d be accustomed to for the past 13 years, and he communicated this by spraying several pieces of furniture.
I don’t think the litter change was the only factor, but I think it might have contributed. Also, while I liked that there wasn’t any dust, the smell was very barnyard-like. That’s the best way I can describe it. The clumping was adequate but not great–it made kind of gummy clumps which barely held together. I did love being able to flush it. But all in all, I don’t think I could have tolerated the smell for the long haul.
So, keep looking and let me know if you find anything else that really works well.
9.
cousin becky | April 29, 2008 at 8:46 am
I’m on to Swheat Scoop now, but just started; I’ll let you know. Harvey (aka, the world’s most laid back, adaptable, 15 year old cat) doesn’t mind it at all so far, but I just put some on top of his regular litter. we’ll see.
10.
Mo | May 1, 2008 at 9:44 am
I’m not entirely sure if this is “environmentally friendly” or not, but I am loving the cat litter I’m currently using. I am pretty sure the box says it biodegrades, so maybe check it out next time you’re at the store. It’s the crystal kind that absorbs the peepee. It doesn’t clump, but it’s super easy to clean as the kitty poo is just kind of there and easy to spot and scoop out. Apparantly one box of this stuff lasts one month for one cat. I got mine at Trader Joe’s.
Another item I cannot live without is my Litter Locker. It’s a handy little devise that you scoop your kitty poo into and then turn the handle…it “locks” the used litter inside the locker and you only have to change it when you run out of plastic bag. Seriously it lasts my cat a couple of months or more, especially now that I’m not dumping out tons of clumping litter each and every time. I guess it’s like a Diaper Genie for cats?
Good luck!
11.
libreropeply | December 30, 2008 at 11:43 am
jgiatyugztuycxuiwell, hi admin adn people nice forum indeed. how’s life? hope it’s introduce branch