The quality of cat litter on the market is mixed, and each cat litter category has different advantages and disadvantages. So before making a choice, you should have a brief understanding of all kinds of cat litter.
Generally speaking, cat litter is mainly divided into mineral cat litter and plant cat litter. Mineral cat litter mainly includes bentonite cat litter, zeolite cat litter, crystal cat litter, diatomite cat litter and clay cat litter. Plant cat litter mainly includes tofu cat litter, paper cat litter and wooden cat litter.
Now there are bentonite cat litter, tofu cat litter, pine cat litter and crystal cat litter.
First of all, we usually judge the quality of cat litter from four aspects: dust, caking, water absorption and deodorization. Dust is related to the health of cats and the home environment. Caking is related to whether you can clean the cat litter quickly, and the water absorption determines the amount of cat litter. Needless to say, deodorization is directly related to the air quality at home.
Below I will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the above four kinds of cat litter from these four aspects.
"Popular lover" bentonite cat litter
Bentonite cat litter, also known as "agglomerated cat litter", has excellent hygroscopicity and agglomeration. Because of its excellent performance and generally low price, it is an entry-level cat litter for many novices.
It is made of natural bentonite ore, and its main component is montmorillonite. This is a kind of raw material with strong wrapping and adsorption, so bentonite cat litter can quickly absorb the moisture of excrement and form a solid mass, which will not break up and drop slag when shoveling sand, saving time and worry.
Its deodorizing ability is also relatively strong, because bentonite has certain adsorbability and can naturally adsorb odor molecules. If you care about the air quality at home, I suggest you choose bentonite cat litter.
But bentonite sand has a big disadvantage-it is dusty, which will be harmful to the cat's respiratory health and make your home dirty. If you want to use bentonite sand, I suggest you buy high-end brands with better quality, and their dust will be very low. Such as blue diamond, zero ash, Dr. Elsie, hammer, etc.
"sweetheart" tofu cat litter
Tofu cat litter is slender, pleasing to the eye, and light. It can also flush toilets, and it is also the favorite of most shovel officials.
Its main raw material is bean curd residue, which is naturally free from chemical pollution. No dust, good caking and deodorization, but worse than bentonite sand.
It should be noted that the bean curd residue has no adsorption, so the bean curd residue itself has no deodorization function. Many brands will produce fragrant tofu paste in order to enhance their deodorization ability, but most of them use inferior chemical flavors.
Cats' sense of smell is more than 40 times that of human beings, so it is conceivable how complicated it is for humans to smell something very fragrant.
Moreover, some people report that tofu cat litter does not absorb urine well, and it is fragile and sticky, which will bring inconvenience to cleaning. Of course, just like bentonite cat litter, high-end tofu cat litter will not have these problems.
[Crystal Beauty] Crystal cat litter
Crystal cat litter is famous for its face value. It is made of silica gel, also called silica gel cat litter, and there is no dust. Strong water absorption, but not caking.
Crystal cat litter can be divided into two types: discoloration and non-discoloration. Cobalt chloride is added to the crystal cat litter that turns blue after water absorption and pink after water loss, which is very toxic. The EU defines it as a secondary carcinogen. At present, more and more crystal cat litter uses orange cobalt-free color-changing silica gel. Crystal cat litter that does not change color has no indicator added.
The reason why crystal cat litter is so windy is mainly because it has no dust, is not easy to breed bacteria, is light in weight, has relatively large particles and has good water absorption.
However, when the crystal cat litter is cut, there will be some sharp parts, which will hurt when the cat steps on it; And because it doesn't agglomerate, we can't observe the cat's defecation, and the cat litter will turn yellow after a long time.
"forest elf" pine cat litter
Pine cat litter is also popular in recent years. It has good cohesiveness and turns into powder when it meets water.
Because of the dust removal of loose sand, it can only be used with a double-layer cat litter basin, so that powder can leak to the lower layer to isolate urine and odor, and it is not necessary to clean urine every day. When the cat litter on the lower floor is completely turned into powder, it can be flushed into the toilet, and it needs to be cleaned 1-2 times a week.
However, because pine cat litter "has its own body fragrance" and smells of wood, some cats will not like it and may refuse to use it. Moreover, the particles of loose sand are large, and some cats may not be used to it when using it.
Second, according to the cat's breed, choose the cat litter category that suits you.
After understanding the advantages and disadvantages of various cat litter, you need to choose according to your own cat breed and your own preferences.
If you have a long-haired cat, I suggest you choose tofu sand or crystal sand. Because bentonite sand and pine sand are brought out seriously, it will be even worse for long-haired cats, which may make cat litter particles everywhere in your house.
If you have short-haired cats, you can choose according to your own preferences.
If you don't want to spend too much time shoveling sand, and especially can't stand the smell of cat excrement, I suggest you choose bentonite cat litter. If you care more about the ingredients of cat litter and are particularly afraid of trouble, I suggest you choose tofu residue. If you are Yan Kong, you can choose crystal cat litter. As for pine cat litter, I don't think it is so recommended for beginners.