My cousin was late for work this morning (she forgot she had an early start and got up at her usual time - which was half-an-hour later than she should) and so I said I'd see to her cats (she has four). It doesn't take long. Dish up four bowls of cat-food and clear out the litter trays (3) while the cats eat breakfast. I emptied the trays into a rubbish sack (you do not want details - trust me) and put that sack into a second one, and then into the wheelie-bin. Rinsed the trays out with soapy water and then re-filled them. And it was as I was re-filling them I started wondering.
What exactly is cat-litter. And is it eco-friendly. A quick read of the packet didn't tell me a lot. It said fuller's earth clumping cat-litter. Well I sort-of knew what fuller's earth was, but as for where it comes from and what it actually consists of, I hadn't a clue.
Oh boy, I was going to be off on one of my info hunts again, I just knew it. You know the sort of thing. You look up a word in the dictionary, and that leads you to an entry in an encyclopaedia, and another, and another. And before you know it three hours have gone by, you've learnt half-a-dozen new things about five different subjects, none of which was the one you began with.
It niggled at me all day and sure enough, as soon as I got home I started investigating. I didn't like the sound of things. Fuller's earth is not just clay. It's clay with aluminium oxide, silica, and iron oxide in it. And it's not just dug up it's mined. A non-renewable source with a heavy impact on the environment. Not eco-friendly at all.
I also found out a great many things about the wool industry in mediaeval England, the methods of shipping it to other European countries. The types of sheep that make the best fleeces, and where the Rare Breeds Farm is. Not to mention some interesting details about the founding and charters of the Tailors', Haberdashers', and Mercers' Guilds... Did you know that the Tailors' Guild should properly be called The Guild of Merchant Taylors of the Fraternity of St. John Baptist in the City of London. I didn't until today.
Eventually (a couple of hours later) I got back to the subject of cat-litter and decided to check for alternatives. And I found this Website. Lots of good eco-friendly cat-litters. She's going to try the wood pellet one first and if they don't like that she'll try the paper one she said.
If they don't like it?? They're cats. They don't get to choose!! If they're gonna be that fussy make them use the garden. A bit of nice, muddy, compost between their claws, in the pouring rain, and they'll be begging to use the wood one!!
She told me I don't understand cats. Cats aren't like dogs. Cats rule, humans obey. I told her I'd rather have dogs. Dogs are simple. Dogs love to do what you tell them to!! I think the cats understood me. I'll swear they're glaring at me and plotting my demise.
See you next week. (If the cats let me live). Goodnight and may your God/s go with you
Ze
- BtVS
- Chapters 7 to 9 of The Three of Us by crash (BuffynFaith.Net).
- Chapter 94 of So Damn Domestic by Salix (BuffynFaith.Net).
- Chapter 2 of Where Do We Go From Here?: A Choose Your Own Fuffy Adventure by UltimateCollaboration (BuffynFaith.Net).
Grey's Anatomy - Chapter 31 of It's About Sex & Saving Lies by emdha (callie-arizona).
- Chapter 15 & Epilogue of You And Me, Let's Take a Risk by looks_the_same (callie-arizona).
- Did You Hear? by a_windsor & roughian (callie-arizona).
Legend of the Seeker - The Guilty Party by Fortunata13 (LotS Femslash).
Original - Push/Pull by Geonn Cannon (His blog).
Rizzoli & Isles - Part 10 of The Beautiful Lie by kd_williamson (jane-maura-ff).
- Enchanted by diav (Rizzoli-Isles LJ).
2 comments:
I use a similar wood pellet cat litter called Feline Pine. It's fantastic. It hides urine smell really well and doesn't get stuck in their claws like the clay. It works best to use with a sifting type litter box because the pellets break down into a sawdust like material with use. Mine says you can flush it but I wouldn't do that for the health of her plumbing system.
Thanks for the input. I'll pass the info on to my cousin.
So far, so good, with the cats - they seem to like the wood pellet litter.
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