(ARA) - Cat owners know that when pets don't
want to use their litter box, they’re using some other area of your
home instead. The right cat litter can help keep your cat happy and
healthy and keep your home odor-free.
Peter Borchelt, Ph.D., a noted animal behaviorist
who is the director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at The Animal Medical
Center in New York, says, “Most cats do use the litter we give them
most of the time, but cats are individuals, too, and have their own
likes and dislikes regarding the type of material they like to dig,
cover and eliminate in.”
All cats normally exhibit certain behaviors when
eliminating, beginning with a search for a suitable material to use.
Once a cat selects its most suited material, it will dig, or attempt
to dig, a shallow depression. After eliminating, the cat will often
dig once again to cover up the waste.
According to Borchelt, for one reason or another,
cats often feel the litter they are given is not suitable. Cats express
this displeasure in various ways, including leaving their waste in various
places around the house; shaking their paws after exiting the litter
box; refusing to cover their feces; standing on the edge of the litter
box; jumping out of the litter box and running from it; and crying on
their way in or out of the box.
If you are having litter box issues with your
cat, here are a few tips:
* To minimize litter box odor, the litter should
be scooped or changed regularly. Offensive litter box odor may cause
sensitive cats to eliminate elsewhere.
* For a multi-cat household, you may need more
than one box in more than one location.
* Don’t use litter boxes that have sharp corners
or ridges that can make wet litter difficult or impossible to remove.
When using scooping litter, a metal slotted scoop with rounded edges
that fit the smooth curved corners of the box allows urine clumps to
be removed without breaking up.
* Find a cat litter that your pet is happy using.
Heavy, sticky or coarse litter that may contain sharp or rough edges
can irritate and cling to the cat’s paws and fur, or be difficult to
dig in. Litter should also be absorbent. Cats are clean animals that
don’t like to walk in wet, dirty litter.
Many cat owners are finding success with World’s
Best Cat Litter, an all-natural product made from whole-kernel corn.
It contains no clays, silicas, perfumes or chemical additives. “Cats
not only prefer the natural smell of this litter, but also the feel,
texture, particle size and shape,” says Jean Broders of World’s Best
Cat Litter. “It’s soft, with no sharp, cutting edges to harm or irritate
a cat’s sensitive paws. And it’s easy to dig in, particularly for declawed
cats.
Tracking and odor control are also big issues
to cat owners. This litter is 99 percent dust-free so neither pets nor
owners inhale silica, and the designed particle size means less tracking
and less mess. Its exclusive microporous structure eliminates odors
naturally, without the use of perfumes or chemicals. Cleanup is fast
and easy, too. The litter clumps, so owners simply scoop and flush away
-- the litter is biodegradable and is safe for sewers and septic systems.
Because the litter clumps so well and has such
powerful odor control, there is no need to dump all the litter and replace
it constantly. Simply remove the clumps and the remaining litter in
the box is dry, clean and ready to be reused. Just add enough cat litter
to replace what you’ve removed. Change complete litter box as recommended
on the World’ Best Cat Litter package.
A happy cat is a neat cat. Next time your cat
refuses to use the litter box, you’ll know what he’s trying to tell
you.
World’s Best Cat Litter is available at hundreds
of locations, and can be purchased at pet stores, natural health food
stores and veterinarian practices throughout the United States. Visit
www.worldsbestcatlitter for more information and to find a retailer
near you. The product can also be ordered directly by calling toll free
(877) 367-9225.
Courtesy of ARA Content
