Cat litter is sand which is used by cat as its toilet. But the fact, not every cats can use any types of cat litter. Some cat lovers also think that cat litter which sold in pet shop is not safe enough for their cat. Many factors that caused this case, for example the ingredients which contained in cat litter that endangered cat. Besides, in their perspective the using of cat litter is not easy enough to practice. Moreover, look for safe and cheap cat litter is also hard to do. This situation forced cat lovers to make homemade cat litter in order to keep their cat safe. Even you have to do it by yourself, don’t worry because in this chance we will explaining to you how to make a homemade cat litter easily.
Here are some general types of cat litter you need to know:
- Bentonite
This cat litter is made of clay. High absorb and solidifying benefit makes bentonite used as cat litter. This litter will solid your cat poop and pee and make you easy to throw it out. This is usually smelled naturally. It was like fruit and flower smell. Even the ability of this litter is high but this is really wasteful. It is disposable product which is means that when it touched with poop and pee, you must throw it out. It can’t be clean and reuse anymore. Besides it, bentonite will trigger some problems for your cat. High absorbing from bentonite can stick to your cat feet. It is really danger when your cat lack its feet and eat the bentonite accidentally. This bentonite will sedimentation inside your cat body and can’t be process to outing by its feces. It will make your cat diarrhea. This sand can only looked by x-ray. Some vet will say it general diarrhea but when you look it over x-ray, you will see the sedimentation of the sand. Besides, bentonite is really easy to fly. It is really positive and negative benefit at the same time.
- Silica gel
This type of cat litter is popular especially for busy cat lovers which doesn’t have free time to care their cat. It can absorb the liquid moreover 40 times bigger than its weight. Beside it can be absorbs the liquid, the smell is not spread out anywhere. This litter is more efficient, clean, beautiful shape, and not dusty. But, this silica gel can endanger your cat. Your cat will eat the silica accidentally or not. The particle is bigger than other litter. Silica gel made of synthetic sodium silicate. By research in 1997, silica gel will trigger cancer when it eaten. Also, this litter is pricey but not as expensive as bentonite.
- Pine wood
This litter is the unique one. It will expand to sign you the work system. After your cat pee in this litter, pine wood will absorb it and change bigger than before. This also makes you like it because this litter is non dusty. This litter is almost un-smell even before or after using. That means this litter can locked the smell bot of pee and poop. Unfortunately it is not reusable thing which is mean you have to throw it out after use it.
Basically this homemade cat litter is made of different ingredients as mentioned above. We will use organic ingredient which is really easy to find even in our home. One of the ingredients is paper. You can use every paper in your home like newspaper, magazine, old book, unused book, old journal, your ex love letter, struck, and etc.
WHAT YOU NEED
You need:
- Cutter
- All paper
- Warm water
- Dish soap
- Sieve
- Baking soda
- Gloves (if you needed)
THE STEP
Here the steps:
- Cut the paper
Place the paper into plastic or stainless space. After that, cut the paper into small pieces. There is no basic rule to cut the paper, just cut it until it smooth.
- Add warm water
Install the glove over your hand if you needed a protection. But if you want to touch the paper directly, that’s no problem either. After the paper is turn into small pieces, add warm water. Pour it slowly and add it step by step, then stir it. Make sure that warm water entered the paper perfectly until it is expanded. Add warm water until the paper changes into paper pulp.
- Add dish soap into paper pulp
After you pour the warm water, add dish soap into paper pulp. Dish soap functioned as cleanser to clean up the ink effect which contained inside the paper.
- Filter the paper pulp
Next step is filtering the paper pulp. This filter step is for leave the paper from the water. We will take the paper only and throw the water.
- Add baking soda
Add the baking soda into wet paper. This baking soda is used for reduce the smell of poop and pee when it is ready to use.
- Shape the paper
After add baking soda into wet paper, you can shape the paper into your favorite. Better shape it into small because it will make you easy to throw it out. Besides, it will so helpful when drying process.
- Dry it out
Place the paper under the sun to make it dry and ready to use.
NOTES
After this homemade cat litter is ready to use, you can also add more baking soda if you think that the drying process is decrease the power of reducing. Place the backing soda in the bottom box litter. You can add it only when your cat wants to pee or poop. Don’t add it too much because it can remove the original smell that can make your cat feels that that’s litter isn’t his own.
SOME FAQ
- Is it safe enough to our cat?
From ingredients, process, and installing, we can see that all ingredients which contained inside of this homemade litter are totally natural. It is supposed to be so safety for your cat but you must careful when you place the baking soda. If you too afraid to add it you can add black charcoal as alternative.
- How long this process takes?
It is depend of the sun condition in your home. When the sun is hotter will make it faster to finish. Also the number of paper that you used depend the long of the process. Actually it is not takes a day. If you live on windy place or somewhere which the sun is so rare, you can put the wet paper into oven to dry it. But of course, oven will remove baking soda.
- Will our cat loves it?
Well if your cat is similar with general litter which selling in pet shop and you try to move the litter into your homemade, you supposed to be introduced it to your cat. It builds your cat to similar with this and distracted them to poop and pee over it. Don’t feel hard to drive them but give them understand that something have to be change.