What is cat litter (kitty litter)？
Cat litter (kitty litter) is an object used by the cat owner to bury the feces and urine of the cats. It has good water absorption and is generally used together with the cat litter box (or cat toilet). Put an appropriate amount of cat litter in the litter box, a trained cat will walk into the litter box and put feces on it when it needs to excrete.
Which kind of cat litter (kitty litter) is good?
Crystal cat litter is also called silica gel, which is translucent granule.
Advantages: It has super absorption ability, the color will change after absorbing water. It is easy to identify so it is convenient to clean up in time. It has a certain anti-mildew and anti-bacterial function, strong deodorization function, more hygienic and beautiful, and has a long service life.
Disadvantages: Crystal cat litter is a small round particle, which is easy to be taken out by cats, and some cats may even accidentally eat it, and this cat litter has a strong odor after use, so it cannot be poured into the soil or toilet. It can only be discarded in the trash can.
2. Pine cat litter
Pine cat litter is mainly made of pine chips, pulp, wheat and natural binders.
Advantages: It is natural, non-irritating. It has good deodorizing function and superior absorption performance. It is easy to clean, not easy to be penetrated, it has less dust and long service life.
Disadvantages: It is easy to get damp, and easy to parasitize fleas, etc. For cats, it feels rough. Some cats may not like the smell of wood. The finer wood chips may stick to the cat's hair and be carried to other places.
3. Paper scrap cat litter
Paper scrap cat litter is mainly made of paper-like substances, and some activated carbon is added.
Advantages: The texture is softer than wood chip cat litter, the particles are smaller, and the color is gray after peeing, which is easy to identify and easy to clean up in time. The paper scrap cat litter can be directly poured into the toilet for flushing away, which is easy to operate.
Disadvantages: Paper scrap cat litter is easy to get wet, weak in coagulation, It can’t absorb a lot of water, and is easy to turn into paste, so it can stain on the cat's hair and body, and the deodorizing function is not so good.
Tofu cat litter is made of pea fiber. It smells faintly of beans and condenses into balls after absorbing urine.
Advantages: It is light weight, easy to carry, it has strong coagulation and absorption ability. It has less dust, and is environmental friendly. After use, it can be directly flushed into the toilet.
Disadvantages: Some cats will eat clean tofu cat litter. If the tofu cat litter is made of bean fiber instead of pea fiber, the humidity in the house will damp the cat litter, it is easy to get mouldy, grow insects and breed bacteria.
How much is a bag of cat litter (kitty litter)?
The measurement unit of cat litter (kitty litter) is generally kilograms or liters. Cat litter on the market is sold in bags. The price of a bag of cat litter is related to factors such as the type, brand, quantity, and weight of cat litter. Ordinary cat litter is about 3-5 dollars per bag. There are some expensive types which cost about 10USD.
Of course, a good quality of cat litter (kitty litter) is more expensive. It is generally recommended that you buy a bag of cat litter which cost about 5USD, and you don’t need to buy too expensive ones; but cheap cat litter may use inferior materials, the result is not good, and the cat may refuse to use it.
How to make cat litter (kitty litter) ?
Use old newspaper.
Newspapers can also be used as raw materials for homemade cat litter. Find old newspapers that are not used at home, tear the newspapers evenly into sheets, put them in a bowl filled with warm water, add a few drops of chemical-free detergent to soak for about 10 Minutes, then take it out and rinse it, knead it into small balls one by one with your hands, air dry and put it in the litter box. Using newspaper as cat litter belongs to waste utilization, and this kind of cat litter has good water absorption, it can be flushed into the toilet, is convenient to handle, and does not produce dust. However, its disadvantages are that it is easy to be damp, moldy, it has little water absorption, and basically has no deodorizing ability.
Use sand.
The sand for cat litter should be sand with some small stones. Pour the sand into boiling water for disinfection or disinfect it with disinfectant, then place it in the sun to dry, and pour it into the cat litter box after disinfection. Sand cat litter is more convenient, and it is close to the natural state, so it is easy to be accepted by cats. However, its water absorption is not strong, and it is easy to stick to the bottom, and may be taken out of the litter box by cats.
Use tofu residues or corncobs
Find some fresh bean curd residue, rub the bean curd residue into small particles, and then dry it to use as tofu cat litter. You can also break the corncobs, mix them with sawdust, wet them, knead them into small particles, dry them and put them in the litter box. This kind of cat litter is more natural and environmentally friendly, and it is also very convenient to handle. Of course, although homemade cat litter can be used, the purchased cat litter is a product that has been specially sterilized and dried, and its odor absorption, water absorption, and wrapping properties are better than self-made cat litter, so Homemade cat litter is generally only used in an emergency, and it is better to buy a suitable cat litter.
Ways of using cat litter (kitty litter) :
How much cat litter is appropriate?
1. Watch the cat's excretion performance.
The reaction of cats after excretion in the litter box is different. Some cats like to dig cat litter to cover up their feces after excretion. For this kind of cat, it is necessary to put more cat litter, about 10cm, to prevent the cat from digging to the bottom of the litter box; If the cat leaves immediately after excretion and does not dig the cat litter all the time, just put 3-6cm thick cat litter, that is enough.
2. According to the type of cat litter.
There are different types of cat litter, and the thickness of the cat litter to be used is also different. Cat litter with smaller particles, such as bentonite cat litter, cats prefer to dig, and it belongs to clumping cat litter, which will form after absorbing urine and cat feces into a hard block, so put about 5-6cm thick cat litter inside the box. Cat litter with larger particles, such as pine cat litter, will be broken into powder after encountering urine.
3. According to the type of litter box.
The type of cat litter box will also affect the amount of cat litter. If it is a closed cat litter box, the cat will not easily get the cat litter everywhere, putting more will not affect it. If it is an open cat litter box or if you use a basin, you must consider whether the cat will dig out the cat litter, which will affect the home environment, so put less. In addition, the double-layer cat litter box will also need more cat litter than the single-layer cat litter box.
How to let cats use cat litter (kitty litter) ?
You can take it to the cat litter (kitty litter) box and teach it how to dig in the litter. You can dig the cat litter with your fingers until the cat learns to dig it. If your cat poops in the litter box but hasn't learned to bury it yet, use your hands to put some litter over it. If the cat poops in other places, remember to put the poop in the litter box, and then teach it to cover it.
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