Cat Litter 101: What is Bentonite Clay Litter? | Benefits & Risk

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If you&#;re a cat owner, you&#;ve probably heard about bentonite clay litter. It&#;s become increasingly popular on store shelves for its price point and unique features. But what exactly makes it so special?

Once upon a time, people began using bentonite (a type of clay) instead of sand in commercial cat litter &#; probably because asking sand to clump was out of the question!

Shortly after that, it became the official cheap, mainstream cat litter for most pet owners.

Today we love bentonite clay litter because of how easily it sticks together when wet. And though its price point and clumpiness seem like a heavenly match, bentonite clay litter isn&#;t without its potential downsides.

There&#;s a lot to unpack here. Let&#;s dive in!

What is bentonite, anyway?

Bentonite is a type of clay that becomes extremely sticky when wet. It&#;s made from volcanic ash, and has been around for centuries &#; in fact, it&#;s one of the oldest known materials used by humans!

What are the benefits of bentonite clay litter?

Bentonite cat litter has a few distinct advantages over traditional sand, plant, or wood-based litter.

Aborbancy: Probably the biggest selling point of bentonite clay litter is its nature to clump. It can absorb several times its dry weight in liquid and expand up to 15 times its original size (just look online for images of clay litter dust forming these heroic-looking balls when damp!)

Cost Effectiveness: Bentonite clay litter is usually cheaper than other types of litter, and though that&#;s not usually a good thing, it can help balance the budget!

And part of why this litter&#;s so cheap is how stretchable it is. When your cat pees, you only need to replace the soiled bedding and clumps; the rest is good to reuse.

Odour Control: Bentonite clay is known to be very effective at absorbing odors &#; like a natural deodorizer. It also has a neutral scent (without any added fragrances), so it won&#;t make your home smell any worse than before.

What are the risks associated with bentonite clay litter?

Just like with any other type of litter, bentonite clay litter has its drawbacks.

Allergy Concerns: Some cats may be allergic to this type of clay, so it&#;s best to watch for signs of sneezing or irritation while using it. If you notice your cat is itching more or has red spots you didn&#;t notice on them before, switch back to the old litter and contact your vet.

Dust: Bentonite clay is naturally dusty and its dryness can cause respiratory problems if inhaled -not just for cats, but humans as well. To avoid this risk, make sure to buy a dust-free variety of bentonite clay litter and wear a mask when changing the bedding.

Toxicity: Bentonite clay litter is generally non-toxic for cats, with a few types containing baking soda or activated charcoal. But so many of them contain additives like fragrances or other chemicals that are dangerous if ingested in large quantities. Check the packaging on your litter to make sure there aren&#;t any added ingredients that could harm your cat.

Bentonite Processing for Litter

Basically, The bentonite-to-litter process starts with grinding the clay to a powder, which is then mixed with various additives like fragrances and baking soda. This mixture is left to dry and then compressed into pellets, clumps, or granules. Finally, the litter is packaged for sale.

Sounds innocent enough.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Dust Free Bentonite Cat Litter. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

But the real danger is that every box of bentonite-based litter comes from strip mining. That&#;s what convinced me to switch recently from clay litter to wood and tofu cat litter.

Strip mining:

1. Destroys wildlife habitats.
2. Removes topsoil from an area and causes sediment runoff that contaminates nearby lakes and streams.
3. Scarifies the land permanently.
4. Contributes to climate change by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
5. Generates a significant amount of waste products from processing that must be disposed of properly.

I&#;m certainly not shaming anyone for using bentonite clay litter &#; heck, I still have two boxes of unscented Purina litter in storage for when (and if) my cat wants a change.

We all live in a commercial world, and while buying environmentally-conscious products is good for the planet, it&#;s not always good for the individual &#; at least referring to their wallets. Case and point: we have to choose our battles.

Is bentonite cat litter safe for domestic cats?

The short answer is yes, bentonite clumping cat litter is generally safe for healthy cats and kittens. But that doesn&#;t mean it&#;s necessarily the best option for your cat. Look around for alternatives if your cat and your budget allow it!

Have any questions? Feel free to comment!

Clay Cat Litter is the Most Common Kitty Litter

Most cat litters, whether clumping or non-clumping, are made of a mixture of clay types. This wasn&#;t always the case, though. Before kitty litter was invented, cat owners used sand, dirt, ash, or old newspaper to fill their cat&#;s toilet box. You might still hear some people referring to their cat&#;s toilet as the &#;sandbox&#; for this reason. In , Edward Lowe gave his neighbor a container of Fuller&#;s Earth, a term used to describe clay minerals capable of absorbing their weight in liquid, and modern cat litter was born.

Fuller&#;s Earth worked so much better than the cheaper (or free!) alternatives of sand and paper that cat owners were willing to pay for the product, despite naysayers&#; predictions. Today, cat litter is an almost $10 billion industry in the United States and if you&#;re browsing the litter selection online or at your local pet or grocery store, you&#;ll discover that are many, many kinds of litter to choose from.

Different Kinds of Clay Cat Litter for Clumping and Non-Clumping

Most cat litters are variations of the original Fuller&#;s Earth formula, but that doesn&#;t mean that 21st century cat litters are the same as post-World War II litters. Companies tweak the types of clays and other ingredients used to create kitty litter formulas that have different levels of absorption and odor control. So while most cat litters have the same basic ingredients, the type, mixture, and ratios of ingredients, as well as other additives do make a difference when it comes to how well they work.

The most common clays used in cat litters are bentonites, such as sodium bentonite or calcium bentonite, that can swell up to 15 times their original volume. Other common clays added to cat litter mixtures are sepiolite, montmorillonite and kaolinite, depending on whether it is a clumping or non-clumping formula.

To get technical, all of the clays found in cat litter are hydrous aluminum silicates, formed from volcanic ash millions of years ago in the Cretaceous period (you know, the time period of the great extinction, probably from when a meteor struck the earth). These clays work well in cat litter because they trap moisture between layers of the clay, creating a negative ionic charge that attracts water and liquid.

Perhaps appropriately for its use in kitty litters, the negative charge imbalance in the clay is caused by cations (yes, cat-ions). Many clumping cat litters literally attract cat urine to cations and bond them together.

Today, roughly 40% of cat litter sold in the US. is the traditional clay, non-clumping formula, while clumping cat litters made of clay another ingredients makes up the other 60%.

Ingredients in Non-Clay, Natural Cat Litters

Although clay is the most common cat litter ingredient, there are cat litters made from a variety of other materials, including pine chips, wheat, walnut shells, corn cobs, sawdust, and paper.

These alternatives to clay litter come in both clumping and non-clumping formulas. For example, ARM& HAMMER Naturals* Clumping Litter is made from corn, baking soda, and plant extracts to absorb cat urine and form hard clumps for easy scooping.

ARM & HAMMER&#; Feline Pine&#; litters come in a clumping and a non-clumping formula. The pellets are made from pine sawdust reclaimed from the lumber industry, and the clumping formula has a plant-based clumping agent added to the pine shavings.

Many people like natural cat litters like Feline Pine&#; or those made from wheat or other plant materials because they are very low dust and control tracking as well as absorb odors.

*Also contains mineral oil for dust control, and artificial scent added

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Premium Bentonite Cat Litter.