Concerned about the type of "sand" to use for the toilet? [Life with Old Cats : vol.3]

February 10, 2025

Currently, I am working remotely and taking care of four old cats. At first, I couldn't help it, but even though I was struggling to take care of a pet I wasn't used to, I found myself getting addicted to it.

I think the most troublesome part of caring for a cat is around the litter box, but I'm worried because there are multiple types and each has different characteristics. . Through trial and error, I would like to introduce the method that I think is the best so far.

Bentonite : The mineral material firmly solidifies urine

The main is "hardening cat litter (Cainz)" which is made from bentonite material. The urine solidifies quite well, so it's easy to see where to remove it, and the sand covers the feces, making it easier to clean the toilet.

However, sometimes cats will scatter sand outside the litter box, leaving the floor covered in sand. Additionally, if drinking water spilled on it, it would solidify on the spot, making cleaning the floor more difficult. .

Recycled pulp: Made of paper that is lightweight and can be disposed of in the toilet

In order to solve "the problem of bentonite hardening on the floor", I was looking for other types, and when I found out that there was also a paper type, I bought "Paper Cat Litter (Cains)'' and tried it out.

It is true that it is light and the particles are larger than sand, so it is easy to clean up even if it scatters on the floor, and this problem seems to be solved. However, compared to bentonite, it doesn't set as hard and is about 1.5 times more expensive, so I was concerned about that..

Try the “hybrid style”!

Therefore, we tried making a "hybrid cat litter litter box" by placing the mineral material bentonite on the bottom layer and recycled pulp on the top layer, and we found the following effects!

• The recycled pulp in the upper layer acts as a wall, and almost no bentonite scatters.
• The urine passed through the recycled pulp and fell to the layer below, solidified by the bentonite.
• The feces remained on the recycled pulp and was easily removed with a shovel.
• By using it in combination with bentonite, the consumption of expensive recycled pulp was reduced.

For now, this is my preferred method of using cat litter, as I have been able to take advantage of the positive aspects of bentonite and recycled pulp while also suppressing the negative aspects. In order to make further improvements, we work hard every day to clean the toilets and floors while adjusting the optimal distribution of bentonite and recycled pulp..

To shoot the cats, I use the "SP camera" that allows you to view and save live image using two Android smartphones. (This is a P2P app developed by us and provided free of charge)

Until the end Thank you for reading! If you have any opinions, please feel free to send us a message.