Content
- What is the best litter box for cats?
- Types of litter for cats
- Is silica sand for cats bad?
- best cat litter
One of the main reasons cats are so popular as pets is that they take care of their needs in a specific place: the litter box. It could be as simple as placing a box or litter with sand but it isn't! Some cats prefer one type of sand and may even refuse to use other types of sand than their favorite ones.
In addition, the smell of the litter box is also a factor that cat owners want to avoid at all costs. Between the smell of the box, the cat's preferences and the dozens of options on the market, after all what is the best cat litter? The Animal Expert wrote this article to answer your question. Keep reading!
What is the best litter box for cats?
Before choosing the best litter for cats, it is important that you choose a good sandbox.
The problem of urinating or defecating outside the litter box is quite common and is often due to a poor choice of tutors. Factors such as the type of box, its size, location and type of sand can influence this behavioral problem of elimination by the house. In addition, choosing a good box will avoid the annoying problem that is the cat spreading sand every day.
In petshops there are numerous types of litters available, including closed sandboxes, sandbox with sieve, automatic sandboxes, etc.
According to experts in feline behavior, the ideal litter box should be at least 1.5 times the size of a cat, in a way that allows it to go around itself. In addition, the most recommendable, according to some studies, are large, uncovered sandboxes. Anyway, if your cat for some reason stopped using the litter box, you can try having more than one type of box, in different locations in the house, to find out which one he prefers.
Read our article on which is the best cat litter box for more details on each type of litter and expert opinion on the subject.
If you have more than one cat, read our article on how many litter boxes to have per cat.
Types of litter for cats
The cat's preference for taking care of its needs in sand persists from its wild ancestor, the Felis silvestis lybica, the African wild cat, a desert animal where sand is the perfect bathroom for him [4].
With the domestication of cats, it was necessary to recreate a place that provided the ideal conditions for cats to carry out their natural elimination behavior. That's how the sandboxes or litters came about. There are different types of cat litter. From absorbent, agglomerating and even biodegradable sands. The market's offer is very varied and there are even sands that combine different characteristics.
some cats may have an aversion to certain types of sand. Furthermore, this aversion may only be to urinate or defecate. That is, the cat can urinate in a type of sand and not defecate in that sand or vice versa[1]! If you have recently changed the type of litter and your cat has started to urinate and/or defecate outside his litter box, this could be the reason!
Another issue to consider is the impact of cat litter on your health. If you or your cat is asthmatic you should avoid types of sand that have a lot of dust! Consult your doctor about this matter if you are asthmatic or your veterinarian if your cat is the case.
Is silica sand for cats bad?
There are many discussions about the use of silica-based sand and whether it will be toxic to cats. Unlike bentonite, a natural material that is considered harmless if ingested by the cat, silica is a chemical compound that can cause intestinal disorders on the cat. So, to answer the question is silica sand for cats bad? Yes, if the cat ingests it! Also, this is not usually the type of sand that cats prefer. But each cat is a different case and you should find out which one is preferred and safer for your feline.
The scent of the sand is an important factor to consider. Most cats prefer odorless sand. One study revealed that cats prefer pine and fish scent and avoid citrus and flower scents.[5]. So, we advise you to take this factor into account when choosing your cat's litter.
If the smell is what bothers you the most, there are several tricks to avoid the bad smell of cat litter, for example, adding a little bit of oil. activated charcoal.
best cat litter
Most cats' favorite sand is fine grains, probably due to your softer touch. The new agglomerating sands have finer grains than typical clay sands and are more advantageous from a stakeholder perspective because they avoid unwanted odors. However, high quality dust-free clay sands are perfectly acceptable for your cat. [2].
According to veterinarians Amat, Fatjó and Manteca, in the article on the prevention of elimination problems in cats, most cats prefer sand of the agglomerate type and scented sand should be avoided[3]!
There is no such thing as an ideal cat litter because preferences vary from cat to cat. So, for you to make your choice, take into account the tips that PeritoAnimal has given you and try to offer your cat different types of sand (within the most recommended) and find out which one he prefers! The ideal is to find your cat's favorite sand that controls odor and has as little dust as possible.
