As we said in our last post, making greener
choices is not only good for the environment, but also for your wallet, and sometimes
they’re good for your health too.
You don’t believe me, do you? Well, I don’t blame
you because many people don’t know either. I’m talking about the cat litter
market. How are these things related?
Although there are no studies on this issue,
there is a controversy about the safety of clay cat litters that use sodium
bentonite as their clumping ingredient. It is believed that clay particles can
cause even death if a cat swallows them while licking their paws and fur,
because they can expand and harden in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition
to this, most clumping litters are considered toxic substances because they can
induce abortion in humans.
We haven´t mentioned yet the consequences for
the environment. The mass formed by clumping clay cat litters are
non-biodegradable; therefore they do NOT decompose in landfills. So, let’s
think of all the waste we’re throwing away. How many bags do you use in a
month? I used about 2 bags of 6 kg each month, which is 144 kg in a year. That’s
too much, don’t you think?
Fortunately, there are eco-friendly
alternatives. Each day, organic
biodegradable cat litters are appearing in the market with new brands. This is
the result of a new market niche. These alternative cat litters are made from: corn,
wheat, wood fibers or shaving (pine and walnut pellets), volcanic rocks (zeolite),
paper, among others.
As you
can see there is a wide range of cat litter alternatives chemical free, which
are 100% natural and therefore is safe for landfill disposal. And also, they
are NOT harmful to humans or cats.
But that is not all; they’re much cheaper than
clay litters. Let’s compare:
I used to buy mainly two clumping cat litters:
one is Super Mix of 7.5 kg which
costs about CLP 7,000. But, my cat used 1 and ½ bags in a month, so I spent about
CLP 14,000 every two months. The other one was Traper of 5 kg, which costs CLP 5,290. Whit this one, I also needed
2 bags per month. Once I bought Cat’s
Pride litter (5,290), but it didn’t even last for 2 weeks!
What about the eco-friendly ones? Well, I
compared prices in different supermarkets and home centers and there is a wide
gap when compared to non-biodegradable litters. The prices of natural cat litters
are very similar: CLP 1,790 (2 kg); 2,260 (2 kg); and 3,290 (2.5 kg). I bought
the CLP 2,260 litter and I must say that it lasts longer than the clumping cat litter.
I also had to buy 2 bags, but I saved CLP 9,480at the end.So, what do you think? Do you take up the challenge? Try with an eco-friendly cat litter during 1 month and then share your experience with us!
*Prices from: Easy, Homecenter Sodimac, Lider and Santa Isabel.
Sources:
Very interesting!!! I'll keep it in mind ;)
ReplyDelete