BRINGING KITTY INDOORS:
A Short History of Cat Litter

Don’t sell cat litter short. It’s transformed the common house cat from an animal that spends most of its time outdoors into that endearing, exasperating creature who curls up with us on the bed at night. Advances in litter's ability to absorb odors and keep our homes smelling fresh has helped make cats the most popular animal companion in history. Today, one out of three American households have feline members and 600 million cats are kept as pets worldwide.

Until 1947, cat fanciers used sand or sawdust indoors for their kitties’ toilet activities, and the smell was pungent. One Minnesota winter when his cat owning neighbor discovered her sand pile was too frozen to shovel, an industrial salesman named Ed Lowe gave her some fuller’s earth, an absorbent clay used to remove excess lanolin and oils from woolen cloth. The neighbor loved the way it absorbed the cat urine, and soon the entrepreneurial Ed was traveling to pet stores with 5 lb. boxes he sold for 65 cents each. He later trademarked the term “kitty litter” and founded Ed Lowe Industries. A new product category was born.

The next great advance came in 1984 when a science professor named Thomas Nelson came up with a certain grind of bentonite clay that clumped together in the presence of moisture, and the first clumping litter was launched.  Its main advantage was that instead of disposing of the whole box of urine soaked litter, cat owners could just lift out the urine balls and solid waste each day, removing the source of odor and retaining the clean litter. Litter lasted dramatically longer, and this proved so popular that clumping litter soon captured 70% of sales and reduced waste output.

The most recent advance came in 1996 with the first plant-based “alternative” clumping litter made from corn, World’s Best Cat Litter. The granules clumped due to the gelatinizing action of the starch when it became wet. Urine odor was neutralized by the natural enzymes found in the corn itself without using chemicals, perfumes or other additives. Today’s clumping litters can be made from corn, wheat, soy or wood. Unlike clay, they’re renewable, sustainable, biodegradable and the clumps can be flushed down the toilet instead of ending up in landfills. They’re more expensive than clay, but because of their lightness and absorbency, they're a better value. Best of all, cats simply LOVE it, and want to use the box more often. A perfect win-win situation – your cat steps more lightly on the earth, and you get a cleaner smelling house!