Cheap Pet Insurance

November 28th, 2008 by Ned D'Agostino

There are a number of products on the shelves which cater to the pet cat population. One very popular product is the ‘cat litter’ product, or simply cat litter. It is a material that is placed inside a litter box to catch the pet cat’s droppings. The material prevents the box from getting soiled by absorbing the urine and trapping the solid dropping. The cat litter is very similar to ordinary dirt, to take advantage of the cat’s natural predilection to cover up its droppings. The cat owner removes and refreshes the cat litter from the box every day. The used litter is disposed off in the garbage. There is just one problem – as long as the box is inside the house, there is a terrible stench that pervades the house! The odor goes only when the cat litter goes. This is a serious sore point with cat owners. Now a very enterprising producer has come up with a novel idea – pine cat litter! His litter is made up of pine pellets. The natural odor of pine masks the smell of the cat’s droppings remarkably well.

The shelf price of this new variety of cat litter is twice that of traditional varieties of cat litter. But the new product proves to be cost effective since it absorbs twice the amount of moisture compared to the ordinary variety. So there is really no increase in your monthly expenditure on this account.

The pine cat litter is facing a severe acceptance problem – from Mr. Tibbs himself! Most cats find the pellets strange and unnatural. The pellets are not as easy on the cat’s feet as the other litters are. So cats shy away from using the pine pellet litter.

The work-around for this particular problem is to get the cat using the pine pellets gradually. In the beginning put in a handful of pine litter and make up the usual quantity with the normal stuff. Gradually increase the amount of pine litter and correspondingly reduce the amount of normal litter. Finally you’ll be using all pine litter. If your cat still does not go for it then that’s that! You’ll have to put with the odor. Better that than have your cat not use the box at all!

If the odor from the cat’s litter is driving you round the bend, and you’ve made up your mind to use pine cat litter, then do what many other owners are doing. Fill the litter box with pine cat litter, and then put down a surface layer of your cat’s favorite litter. This way, your cat is satisfied and so are you!

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.

There is an environmental advantage in using pine cat litter. It can be composted once the cat’s solid waste is removed. The composted litter can be put to use as manure for gardens, instead of adding to the ever-growing landfill of garbage.

Whether pine cat litter makes its way into your house on a permanent basis depends entirely on your cat! If your cat converts to pine then you’re home free, to a home free from that awful stench! On the other hand, if your cat gives pine cat litter a paws down, then you’ll just have to grin and bear it!