In principle, cat litter is a great concept. It absorbs moisture from your cat's urine and feces and with that, absorbs the associated stench. Unfortunately as effective as it is, most commercial cat litters are no friend to the environment.

The most commonly used cat litter available today is made from natural clay, which sounds eco-friendly in theory. Make no mistake though, despite its name the most popular type of clay litter contains sodium bentonite, which forms a clump and makes it easier to remove waste from a litter box. However, clay litter produces a fair amount of silicon-containing dust, a known carcinogen to humans. It also adheres to fur and in-between a cat's toes, but worse than that, is known to cause respiratory infections. In fact, research has shown cats with respiratory disease had as much as six times the amount of silica in their lungs than healthy cats that were tested. Products used by humans that contain the same type of silica carry health hazard warnings and warn about the risk of cancer.

From an environmental perspective, the clay used in litter is often strip-mined, a harmful process that involves using heavy equipment to remove a layer of rock and soil to get to a relatively horizontal coal seam. Once extraction is finished, the land is returned to as normal as possible prior to the procedure, however the damage is already done at that point.

Now that we've covered why certain cat litter can be detrimental to the health of your cat and the environment, what are your options? For starters, you can look for cat litter that is free from chemical additives like silica. Feline Pine Scoop is both of these, as well as biodegradable. Feline Pine uses renewable Southern Yellow Pine instead of strip-mined clay, which also naturally neutralizes the smell of ammonia in cat urine, rather than  using an artificial fragrance to attempt to mask the smell. It's also conveniently available at most major retailers including Wal-Mart and Target, as well as chain pet stores like PetSmart.

Another alternative is to make your own litter, which is truly the earth-friendly way to go. Allie from Allie's Answers figured out a fantastic way to do so and shows you exactly how, using old newspaper. If you have the time, this may be the ultimate solution since it's non-toxic, completely inexpensive (basically free!) and provides a functional way to recycle something most of us having around the house anyway.

» Worldwise.com