Although the main goal of cat litter is to provide a place for cats to eliminate inside the house, some cat owners are looking for ways to minimize cat litter box maintenance. Although there are products out there that can reduce the frequency of cat litter changes, due to cost or laziness, it is never a good idea to skimp too much on this important duty.
If cat litter is not changed frequently enough, the cat will look elsewhere, for a place to eliminate. The reason for this is that cats do not like to pee and poop in a place that is not clean or has a bad odor. Since a cat's sense of smell is more sensitive than a human's, it does not take much for cats to ditch the cat litter box for someplace that is cleaner, such as the carpet.
Clay and Clumping Cat Litter
Although many people use traditional clay and clumping cat litter, they generally do not provide the longest lasting performance. The dust produced by both types of litter cause problems for asthma patients. However, the biggest advantage to these types of cat litter is price. They are the cheapest cat litter products available on the market. Cat owners can save even more money with clay-based absorbents used in oil spills, since it is indistinguishable to clay cat litter.
Biodegradable and Green Cat Litter
Biodegradable cat litter such as World's Best Cat Litter and Swheat Scoop are made from plant related sources such as wheat, newspaper, wood pellets, sawdust, and barley. Grain based poultry feed can be substituted for more expensive products marketed as cat litter. In most cases, cat litter from biodegradable sources tends to last longer than traditional clay or clumping litter. Depending on the number of cats and frequency of litter box maintenance, these products could potentially last as long as three or four weeks before needing to be changed.
The biggest disadvantage to commercial biodegradable cat litter is price. They are often much more expensive than clay and clumping cat litter. However, the higher prices may be worth it for those with asthma problems since there is very little dust from the biodegradable products.
Crystal Cat Litter
Crystal cat litter, which is made out of silica gel, has the highest absorption rate of any cat litter. Crystals are great at minimizing moisture as well as eliminating odor for a longer time than traditional clay or clumping cat litter. It even lasts longer than biodegradable cat litter. Despite these advantages, the cat owner needs to perform daily maintenance by removing solid waste from the litter box. However, the frequency of changing cat litter does go down significantly with crystals.
Although many users claim that crystal cat litter provides no warning as to when it needs to be changed, the early warning signs are there if the owner looks at the cat litter. When the crystals turn a yellow color, it's a sign that the crystals are saturated with too much cat urine, and can no longer control the odor.
To make the crystal cat litter last longer, it needs to be stirred daily so that the crystals that have not absorbed any urine, will be utilized. If the crystals are not stirred daily, cat pee will pool in the box by passing straight through the crystals that are overly saturated with urine. The best time to stir the cat litter is at the same time as the removal of any solid waste, which should be done daily. When too many crystals have turned yellow, the crystals can no longer be able to control the ammonia odor, and the cats will rebel and look somewhere else in the home to pee and poop. That is the time to change the cat litter.
Although cat litter maintenance needs to be performed daily no matter what type of cat litter is used, there are cat litter products available, such as biodegradable grain-based cat litter and crystals which last a lot longer than conventional clay and clumping products. These longer lasting products allow the cat owner to change the entire litter less frequently.
Reference:
ASPCA Visual Pet Behaviorist. "Litter Box Problems."
