Litter box
[2] Free-roaming domestic cats will attempt to cover their urine and especially their faeces within their home range, in proximity of their food area.
[3][4][5][a] To achieve this, they rake the surface in a backward sweeping motion with their front paws to draw loose material over the waste.
The efficiency of these attempts is limited by soil texture, as cats have to break the surface with their toes due to their claws being protractile.
[11][c] At thirty days of age, domestic kittens start to exhibit the innate behaviour of raking loose sand or soft dirt.
[15] Litter box filler is a loose, granular material that absorbs moisture and odors such as ammonia.
[15] The litter material also satisfies a cat's instinctive desire to hide their scent by allowing them to bury their waste.
[16] If kept in a room with an intake vent, an air freshener may be added on the furnace filter to isolate the odor from the rest of the house.
[20] Most are made from granulated bentonite clay, which clumps together when wet and forms a solid mass separate from the other litter in the box.
This solid clumped material can be scooped out and disposed of without changing the entire contents of the litter box.
The New York-based New York Stock Exchange-listed company Minerals Technologies offers a clumping cat litter in the form of crystals made of "compacted baking soda",[26] which in contrast to bentonite is either dust-free[26] or low-dust,[27] and allegedly "100% CO2 neutral".
[26][27] Biodegradable litters are made from various plant resources, including pine wood pellets, recycled newspaper, clumping sawdust, Brazilian cassava, pea husk, corn, wheat, walnuts, barley, soy pulp, and dried orange peels.
[29] Some pets, such as those with asthma or sensitive senses of smell, may also benefit from the reduced dust in some forms of biodegradable litter.
[30] Grain-based animal or poultry feed also provides an economical alternative to products marketed specifically as cat litter.
Additionally, most of these forms of litter are recycled from human usage and are thus reusing a waste product as opposed to drawing clay from mines.
It is typically prepared through a sol-gel process, which involves the hydrolysis and condensation of silica precursors such as tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) or sodium silicate (Na2SiO3).
[36] The porous structure of silica gel enables it to trap moisture within its network of interconnected pores, effectively locking away urine and preventing it from spreading or leaking.
[37] In addition to its physical structure, the chemical composition of silica gel also contributes to its performance as a cat litter.
[citation needed] It is important to lightly stir the crystals daily while scooping the solid waste, otherwise urine can pool in the box.
They are commonly constructed out of plastic, however some disposable models exist, in the shape of a rectangular tray with outwardly sloped sides 3.9 to 5.9 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) high.
Some designs include a detachable rim to help catch litter when the animal kicks to bury their waste.
[42] However, top-entry designs do have the added benefit of deterring other pets or young children from the contents of the litter box.
Some models have electric combing mechanisms that automatically scoop the clumps out of the litter box into a sealed, disposable-bag-lined container after the animal has used it.
Features can include storage drawers, odor filters, wall liners, and external litter catches.
