(⊙_⊙)
I had an encounter with my pet
Love pet sauce
C.0101 - What kind of cat litter to prepare for cats?
Author: Bi Yuewu
Draft: Heart Moon Fox
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > a little story of cat litter</h1>
Modern Chinese native cat litter,
often use stove wood ash,
or the cinder burned in the furnace, self-sufficient,
The dregs produced by the house are enough for the use of their own cats,
After urbanization, with the popularity of natural gas,
Coal burning gradually decreased until it disappeared.
The first to commercialize cat litter were the Americans:
Edward Lowe, Edward Lowe,
In the winter of 1947,
Neighbor Kay Draper's cat litter for the cat,
Placed outdoors frozen and unusable,
Hopefully Rowe can lend her a little bit of dirt,
Lowe gave the newly produced clay balls to his neighbor Draper.
It is a kind of fuller's earth bleached soil.
After a few days the neighbors ran out,
Hope to continue to buy a batch of such clay as cat litter.
Edward saw a business opportunity in this matter,
He founded Golden Cat,
Decided to sell this clay ball as a product specifically designed to cover up cat excrement,
Named Cat Litter.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the type of cat litter</h1>
There are many types of cat litter on the market now,
It is mainly divided into 2 categories: non-degradable cat litter and degradable cat litter.
Non-degradable cat litter (inorganic cat litter) mainly includes:
Miroku cat sand, bulge cat sand, 硅胶 cat sand, tou-neko sand, boiling stone cat sand;
Degradable cat litter (organic cat litter) mainly includes:
Plant cat sand (pine sand, bamboo waste sand, grass sand, clam sand),
Coarse cat sand (tofu cat sand, tamame cat sand, wheat sand).
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Fuller litter</h1>
Fuller cat litter is also called mineral cat litter,
It is dominated by fuller clay that does not clump.
Common fuller clays are kaolin clay, montmorillonite clay,
Sepiolite clay, attapulgite clay and other varieties,
In the 1980s due to the clumping properties of montmorillonite,
Montmorillonite is carried out separately as bentonite cat litter.
Kaolin clay is referred to as kaolin,
It is a kind of Kaolinite mineral deposit as the primary ingredient,
High whiteness, soft quality, should be dispersed and suspended in water,
With good plasticity and high adhesion,
Kaolin wet expansion coefficient between 3% and 10%,
The smaller the particle size, the greater the coefficient of expansion.
Photo by XinYueHu
▼
Sepiolite clay is a type of clay with sepiolite as the primary component.
The appearance is yellow-brown, dark gray, gray and white, and the soil is lumpy, soft and light,
It is sticky and malleable, and the hand feels smooth to the touch.
After adding water, it can be adjusted into a paste, and after drying, it can be hammered with a hammer mark.
Attapulgite clay is a kind of clay with attapulgite as the primary component,
In particular, it is very similar to montmorillonite clay, and the two often coexist.
The soil is delicate and slippery, and it is sticky and plastic when wet,
After drying, it is light in weight and has little shrinkage.
Throw it into the water, hiss,
and disintegrates into pieces, but does not swell.
Although fuller cat litter does not clump and is not convenient for handling excrement,
But Fuller cat litter, especially attapulgite, disintegrates in the face of water,
Especially suitable for flushing toilets.
In other respects, Fuller cat litter is similar to bentonite cat litter,
Poor deodorization ability,
Artificial flavors may be added to mask odors.
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > bentonite cat litter</h2>
The main ingredient of bentonite cat litter is montmorillonite clay.
The appearance is generally white, pink, light gray, light yellow, lilac,
has significant expansion in contact with water,
High liquid limit characteristics of significant shrinkage of water loss.
Sodium bentonite expansion times up to 20 to 30 times,
Sodium-based bentonite absorbs a large amount of water, up to more than 500%.
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right"> </h2>
Bentonite cat litter is usually done through sodium-based bentonite powder,
It is made by drying with water and additive molding.
Bentonite can be quickly picked up,
Reduce the generation of debris,
Easy to clean,
Become one of the mainstream cat litter.
But bentonite cat litter dust is big,
Only by adding artificial fragrances,
or other deodorants to help deodorize,
It is easy to cause harm to the respiratory system of cats.
And its density is large and heavy,
Resulting in higher courier fees,
It is also not easy for consumers to carry.
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > silicone cat litter</h2>
Silicone cat litter is also known as crystal sand,
Usually c-type block of indeterminate silica gel,
Or spherical silicone sand,
This silicone has large pores,
It has high adsorption capacity and deodorization ability.
Crystal sand is prone to silicone dust,
It has a certain harm to people and cats,
Crystal cat litter is less clumping,
Single-storey cat toilets can be used,
You can also use a double-decker cat toilet,
Let the powdered cat litter filter to the bottom layer,
Cooperate with a diaper pad to absorb the remaining urine.
Color-changing crystal sand
Usually crystal cat litter will add additives,
For moisture saturation detection and ammonia removal,
Cobalt chloride is often used as a water detector,
Anhydrous cobalt chloride is blue,
Cobalt chloride turns red or pink when exposed to water.
Photo by MSDS
Cobalt chloride can also be used as an ammonia absorber,
Absorb ammonia from the feces.
However, cobalt chloride is toxic and allergenic,
Not suitable for long-term use.
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > PH detection crystal sand</h3>
Crystal sand with the detection of urinary diseases,
With silicone cat litter as the carrier,
Add PH mix indicator to silicone cat litter,
Methyl red discoloration range is 4.2-6.2,
from red to yellow,
The discoloration range of thymol blue is 6.7-7.5,
from yellow to blue,
By adjusting the ratio of methyl red to bromothymol blue in the mixed indicator,
Adjust the litter color indication.
By adding a dispersant,
Let the mixing indicator be evenly dispersed in silicone,
Stable indicates the pH of cat urine.
The PH value of cat urine is generally between 5.5-7.5,
Mostly acidic,
If the cat's urine is changed from acid to alkali,
Color from yellow (PH≈6.5),
Turns blue (PH≈7.5).
Then there may be problems with the body.
PH detection crystal sand can be keenly detected in cats urinary system diseases,
Cystitis, bladder stones, urethral obstruction, bladder infections, etc.
Be able to monitor cats with a history of infection very well.
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > lazy cat litter</h3>
Lazy cat litter is automatic cat toilet matching cat litter,
It is also a kind of silicone cat litter.
Lazy cat litter can be reused,
Rinse and wash and dry.
Each addition can be used for 3 months and a half months,
Replenishment is carried out by cats and feces as well as disintegration loss.
Lazy sand is a special silicone cat litter,
Increased service life of cat litter,
At the same time, it has functions such as color detection.
< h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > ceramic cat litter</h2>
Ceramic cat litter is also known as ceramic cat litter,
Pottery grains are often used as fillers at the bottom of the washroom,
The ceramic structure has many pores,
Strong water absorption ability,
Pottery grains do not have the ability to clump,
A double-layer cat litter box is required.
Pottery cat litter can be washed and dried,
Recycling.
< h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > boiling stone cat sand</h2>
Zeolite was first discovered by Kronesti in 1756,
Natural aluminosilicate ore boils when burned,
Hence the name zeolite.
Zeolite cat litter and ceramic cat litter are very similar,
all have absorbent porosity,
Cleaning and drying can be reused,
A double-decker cat toilet is recommended.
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right">
</h2>
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > grass and wood sand</h2>
Grass and wood cat litter mainly includes pine sand, bamboo chip sand, grass sand, paper sand and other varieties,
The main raw materials are sawdust powder, bamboo powder, straw powder,
Cotton rod powder, paper scraps, leaves, peanut shells, etc.,
This kind of cat litter production raw materials may be used,
All kinds of furniture production scrap materials, recycled pulp,
The formaldehyde content is high.
It is not excluded that grass and wood sand is produced by natural wood chips and grass powder,
However, in the process of bonding and shaping the cat litter,
There is an adhesive added,
Overall, formaldehyde exceeds the standard.
Grass and wood sand to control the formaldehyde content as the first priority.
Grass and sand are easy to disintegrate when they meet water,
Can be flushed directly into the toilet,
But a double-layer cat litter box must be used,
The bottom layer of the cat litter box is covered with urine pads.
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > coarse grain cat litter</h2>
Coarse grain sand mainly includes tofu cat litter, corn cat litter, wheat sand and other varieties,
Use pea pea residue, soybean residue, mung bean residue,
Corn cobs, wheat bran, rice husks, rice flour and other raw materials,
Made with guar gum, sodium polyacrylate, leavening agent and other additives,
With light weight,
Strong water absorption,
Can be directly flushed toilet,
Good clumping ability,
But binaki bentonite is poor.
The biggest problem with coarse grain cat litter is that
Easy to deteriorate and moldy,
Aflatoxin may exceed the standard,
Accidental ingestion of cats can be very harmful.
So what needs to be corrected is that
Coarse grain cat litter can not be eaten,
Don't believe the food grade advertised by cat litter,
Do you know what the standard is for pet food?
GB/T13091-2018,
Which cat litter manufacturer dares to respond?
Coarse grain cat litter bearing capacity is not strong,
Easy to be trampled by cats,
Losses are high.
The deodorization ability is worse than that of silicone and bentonite.
Usually coarse grain cat litter has green tea, peach and other flavor derivative products,
There are also mixed activated carbon to adsorb odors,
Why is pure activated carbon cat litter not used?
Mainly because of the severe fading,
Cat paws tend to turn black.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the quality of cat litter</h1>
The main indicator of cat litter
The following table shows the differences between the main indicators of different varieties of cat litter,
Of course, the indicators of different manufacturers of the same kind of cat litter are also hugely different,
The list is for reference only.
Table by XinYueHu
Fuller
Bentonite
silica gel
ceramics
zeolite
plants
Coarse
grain
Spherical/small
Alien/Medium
Irregular/small
Columnar/large
Absorbent
strong
middle
Clumpy
weak
Strong
Deodorant
dust
many
few
Fragility
Not fragile
fragile
The toilet flushes straight
No
Yes
Environmentally friendly
Solid waste
Wet garbage
security
Medium/dust
Low/additive
high
Low/formaldehyde
Moderate/mildew
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the safety of cat litter</h2>
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > carcinogen</h3>
formaldehyde
The formaldehyde content should be used as the main indicator of grass and wood cat litter.
Acute poisoning of formaldehyde is manifested by irritating effects on the skin and mucous membranes.
Inhalation of high concentrations of formaldehyde can induce bronchial asthma, pneumonia, and pulmonary edema.
It has long-term mutagenicity and carcinogenicity.
The harm is very large,
Not only for cats,
The same is true for people.
Aflatoxin
The content of aflatoxin in coarse grain cat litter should also be taken seriously.
Aflatoxin is listed as a class of carcinogens by the WHO,
It is also a highly toxic substance.
Aflatoxin B1 mainly pollutes grain and oil products,
In the summer, okara, corn cobs are easy to mold,
After mildew, it is contaminated with aflatoxin,
Coarse grain cat litter should increase the intensity of quality inspection,
Avoid causing more harm.
Zearalenone
Zeinsteine mainly contaminates corn, wheat, rice, barley,
Corn sands as well as wheat sands require extra attention.
T-2 toxin
Widely distributed in nature,
is a common major toxin that contaminates field crops and stockpiled grains,
It is more harmful to people and animals
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > long-term toxicity</h3>
<h3 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > fungicide</h3>
Hexamethylpine biguanide (PHMB) is often used as a fungicide,
Treat the litter.
Cat litter with PHMB fungicide added has a good bactericidal effect,
However, if used for a long time, it will cause cluster toxicity.
<h3 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > deodorant</h3>
Cobalt chloride is often used as an ammonia remover,
moisture indicator,
Used in cat litter products,
Cobalt chloride toxicity rating: high toxicity.
Inhalation can cause temporary neurogenic deafness and kidney damage
R22 Is harmful when swallowed.
R49 May cause cancer if inhaled.
R42/43 May be sensitized by inhalation and skin contact.
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > additive</h3>
There are also a variety of additives in cat litter,
Mainly to make the cat litter look better,
It mainly improves water absorption, clumping ability, deodorization ability, and adhesion ability.
Cat litter quality supervision is not strict,
Mainly rely on manufacturer self-discipline and industry supervision,
Choosing a reliable manufacturer is quite important.
<h3 class="pgc-h-arrow-right"> </h3>
*The content of this article is provided by the author and does not represent the position of Pet Sauce
Cover image from: Paul Hanaoka @ Unsplash
END