Computers and Cat Litter

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Max Slowik
Kurtis
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Oct. 12, 2006

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Non-Clay Litters

Before I go into my handy little find concerning what craps in the kitchen, let's commiserate over the non-clay litters that fail to deliver.

Pressed Paper

It's environmentally friendly and quite frankly not worth a damn. There is the childhood-rekindling reward of watching the little paper tubes grow and squirm like an accordioned straw wrapper soaked in soda, but it doesn't clump. It just gets powdery and won't desiccate solids, it merely gives the cats something to scratch over what smells. Since you can't count on it to clump, you basically throw it all out when you can no longer tolerate the pungent odor.

Rolled Paper

It does a better job of desiccating than pressed paper, but there's the smell. It's not an animal smell, that might arguably be better, it's a paper mill smell. Unstrained mash just waiting to be recycled... And with multiple cats, it turns all to paste.

Silica Gel

Glassy pellets. Do not eat! If it's good enough to keep expensive stereo equipment safe, it must be good enough for a latrine. And it is: it desiccates despite humidity, doesn't really need to clump, and your cat gets to go on a bed of diamonds (if it even recognizes the stuff as kitty litter). But for the price, it might as well be shipped in from Brussels.

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Page 1: Introduction & Testing Methodology
Page 2: Non-Clay Litters
Page 3: Swheat Scoop & Conclusion

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2 User Comments

1 - Posted by rflowers on October 13, 2006 - 7:10 pm

I wondered if the 'rolled paper' product was 'Yesterday's News?' I use it for ferrets, but not for cats (it creeps some of our cats out... go figure). I don't believe "Yesterday's News" is as inferior as the one you tested. For one thing, it does not exhibit the properties you describe for pressed paper (although that's what it is). I really like it.

I would recommend staying away from the 'pine' products though. I leaves an unnattractive pile of urine-soaked sawdust.

2 - Posted by Max Slowik on October 15, 2006 - 1:31 pm

I'm surprised at how much feedback I've had for this article. It's pretty damn silly. . .

I used to work at an animal shelter and have probably tried nearly every single cat litter out there at one point or another. I don't know that I've tried the World's Best, but I do know that I hate pine litters, and wouldn't use them in my house. We had an informal policy to not use pine at the shelter because it would stick to the metal of the kennels, and we were also under the impression that it wasn't particularly sanitary.

I did use the other litters that I covered in the article specifically for it. There were a couple brands for each to make sure that one wasn't just a bad example of the style of litter. I didn't use Yesterday's News, so maybe it's a little different than PaPurr or the other brand that seems to be discontinued.

When it's time for another schlock news article I'm sure I can elaborate in greater depth for three more pages ;)

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