Articlr

As long as there are cat owners and cats, you will find products to help you get rid of that mess we call cat litter! Clay has always been the traditional favorite for the cat box, simply because it is easily available, and more importantly, because Mr. Tibbs loves it! There is just one problem - the odor! If you maintain a litter box for your cat, I don’t need to explain how overpowering the odor is. If you’re sick and tired of the odor then here’s good news - pine cat litter. That’s right, the litter is made from natural pine wood, and this masks the odor we all know so well!

You may be put off by the fact that it is twice as costly as the normal clumping type. The pine cat litter is made of pine pellets, which disintegrate to form sawdust. The pellets and the resultant sawdust absorb much more liquid than the ordinary clumping does. So the usage cost works out to be around that of the cat litter that is usually used.

Price apart, the market for pine cat litter has not really taken off as the producer expected. Very expectedly, your Tabby put his paw down on the issue. Cats, as you are well aware, are creatures of pretty strong habits, and likes and dislikes. Cats like to have things exactly their way. So, faced with a box full of little pellets, Tabby is expressing his strong disapproval of this modernism! The small pine pellets are very uncomfortable to walk on, so Tabby informs us, holding up a set of chafed paws.

My suggestion is to introduce the pine cat litter in a gradual fashion. Mix a little pine cat litter with the normal stuff. Let the cat use it and get used to the mix. It may take a day or two for the cat to get comfortable with the mix. Then increase the dose of pine litter and reduce the amount of the ordinary litter. Let the cat get used to the increasing amounts of pine cat litter gradually. Finally, you will have a 100% pine cat litter in the litter box, and 100% freedom from that very strong odor! That is if your cat decides to play ball and adjust to pine litter. If your cat resists, and even refuses to visit the litter box, then it’s back to the good old clumping and the bad old smell!

Or, you can do what some ingenious cat owners are doing: they use 90% pine pellet litter and then sprinkle the top 10% with the usual litter. This way they get the advantage of pine, and the cat gets the surface it likes.

But what works for us appears to go against Tabby’s disposition. Cats show a degree of discomfort to the smell of pine. So there are many instances of cats refusing to use the litter box when it is filled with pine pellets. Your cat can’t stand the odor of pine, you can’t stand the odor of cat’s mess! Any guesses who’ll win the stand off? Oh well, we humans pride ourselves on being understanding! In case you’re wondering, the pine pellets are completely detoxified and are absolutely harmless to cats.

An added advantage is that pine cat litter can be composted. Just remove the cat’s poop from the litter and that’s it! So the pine cat litter wins brownie points for eco-friendliness to boot! You can distribute the compost in your backyard garden, or to your friends.

It all boils down to what Tabby likes! If he likes the pine pellet cat litter, then you’re all set. If he doesn’t, then you’d better learn to cover your nose with a scented kerchief whenever you’re in the house! Meow!