Cats against clay (think inside the box)

We have started using wooden pellets instead of clumping litter. Wooden pellets are biodegradable and healthier for your cat than clay (which may contain chemicals and perfume and it is not biodegradable). You may also use paper pellets like Yesterday's News, but these are more expensive and some people say that they smell soggy when wet. Wooden pellets are cheap and also easily available (since they are used for rabbits and rodents too). I got mine at Felleskjøpet at Sagene in Oslo, but have seen them in pet stores too.

I bought a new litter box for pellets called Pee-wee and it is fantastic (www.onlinezoo.no or www.peewee.no). It is essential to have an appropriate litter box if you are to use pellets (wood or paper).

The box has two parts and when the pellets turn into saw dust (after the cats pee on it), it trickles down into the bottom compartment and you can throw it into the compost, toilet or garbage (and it doesn't smell). The pellets are antibacterial and have a pleasant forrest smell.

It took the cats a little getting used to, but now we no longer have sand around our apartment (the pellets don't track) and no sand stuck to fur or paws. Best of all, the cats do not have to inhale dust from cat litter and the pellets are safe if ingested.

I also found a cute web site your cat may want to join, www.catsagaintclay.org