It goes without saying that cat lovers care about nature.
From organic food to cat grass, there are many ways for us to bring the best of the natural world to our furry friends.
Liam's cat Rudie enjoying a quick munch
However, when it comes to what's inthe litter tray, the history may surprise you...
From its invention in the mid 20th Century, cat litter has been produced using methods that can be damaging to the environment, and the resulting clay litter is non-biodegradable, so will get thrown away, including sitting on landfill for thousands of years. Natusan, on the other hand, is not only 100% biodegradable, but made from 100% natural wood by-products, the result of sustainable forestry.
Find out more below!
Who invented cat litter?
Up until the 1940s, cat litter consisted of a box filled with sand, ash, or even dirt.
Then Edward Lowe came along and, at the request of a neighbour whose cat was tracking ash prints around the house, inadvertently sold the first batch of what he came to call “Kitty Litter”.
Two employees of Lowe’s monitor an exhibit at a pet convention, 1961
Although he’d originally intended to market the Fuller’s Earth (a form of crushed clay used to absorb oil spills) as a nesting material for chickens, demand soon grew for the granulated clay and it would go on to replace sand as the primary choice for cat litter.
HOW BAD IS CAT LITTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
The traditional processes involved in manufacturing clay littercan beharmful for the planet.
You guessed it, Fuller’s Earth comes directly out of the earth, and the excavation processes involved in mining it can have a drastic effect on our landscape.
In strip mining, raw bentonite clay (the kind that clumps in contact with moisture) is pulled up from below ground by the truckload, which can require huge amounts of existing topsoil, vegetation and wildlife to be removed beforehand.
Not onlycan this lead to animals losing their natural habitats and deforestation, the mineral sediments can end up polluting the water cycle, flowing into rivers, changing the watersheds and harming the wildlife there.
What you can be left with is a gigantic hole in the ground where there once was natural beauty, but the story doesn’t stop there…
Sadly, the damage doesn’t end there either.
As clay cat litter is not biodegradable, much of the waste ends up in landfill where it will likely stay forever.
Even without the plastic bags and liners which are often used to dispose of litter, the clay does not naturally decompose, but will stick around for thousands of years (much like Roman clay pottery).
As if that wasn’t enough, when cats ingest bentonite (as they can sometimes do when cleaning themselves), the material swells and can cause gastrointestinal problems for your furry friend.
To recap, clay litter can create:
- Pollution
- Erosion
- Loss of habitats
- Flooding
- Deforestation
- Millions of tons oflittergets thrown away in the UK
- Potential health risks for you and your cat!
We’re pleased to see that increased legislation has been brought in many countries to stop this and companies are now embracing the motto of “not going wide but deep” (if deposits allow) to minimise the impacted area. After a deposit is depleted, companies are looking to “re-naturalise” the area to minimise the long-term impact.
This is a step in the right direction and we hope to see more countries bringing in increased legislation in the near future.
What about crystal litter?
Crystal litter, which is sourced using the same strip mining technique, doesn’t fare much better on the environmental scale.
Instead of bentonite clay, crystal litter is made using sodium silicate sand, the same stuff that can be found in the moisture absorbing packets in new shoes - yep, the one’s marked “DO NOT EAT” ☠️
The future of cat litter
As a pet parent, you may be feeling a little despondent at seeing your cat’s paw print on the environment...
Well fear not, we’re here to help change all that...
Natusan's clumping and biodegradable cat litter is produced from 100% natural, PEFC-certified recycled wood. Our litter is made from by-products of sustainable forestry, so no trees are felled in the making.
We add our own natural ingredients such as starch to make our litter just as absorbent without any need for nasty chemicals.
We also work with our partnersto plant trees on behalf of our customers and support amazing sustainability projects around the world.
In a world with so many available green alternatives to the growing problems of strip mining and waste, why should your cat miss out on the fun?
Make the switch to Natusan cat litter today.
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