Pet cats are house-trained to use a litter box when they are unable to go outdoors to relieve themselves. The litter box is bedded with a material to catch the cat’s urine and feces. This is called cat litter in short. The cat litter in general use is very much like clay and is called clumping. Cats get used to this very easily and quickly because that’s their natural habit. There is one drawback in the use of litter boxes and traditional clumping – the odor from the litter box is nauseating! Till the owner doesn’t remove the cat litter, the odor just won’t go away. But help is at hand in the form of a brand new type of cat litter – pine cat litter. This litter is made up of pine pellets which absorb moisture and trap the cat’s solid waste. The natural odor of pine is very refreshing and it masks that of the cat’s droppings.

You may be put off by the fact that it is twice as costly as the normal clumping type. The pine cat litter is made of pine pellets, which disintegrate to form sawdust. The pellets and the resultant sawdust absorb much more liquid than the ordinary clumping does. So the usage cost works out to be around that of the cat litter that is usually used.The pine cat litter is facing a severe acceptance problem – from Mr. Tibbs himself! Most cats find the pellets strange and unnatural. The pellets are not as easy on the cat’s feet as the other litters are. So cats shy away from using the pine pellet litter.But “show me a problem, and I’ll show you a solution” seems to be in my blood! My suggestion is to replace a handful of your usual cat litter with a handful of pine cat litter. Watch your cat’s reaction. If he shows reluctance than continue with a handful of pine cat litter. If he appears to be getting used to it, increase the portion of pine cat litter from one handful to two handfuls, simultaneously reducing the portion of ordinary litter by a similar amount. Continue at this level, till your cat gets used to it and uses the box without a fuss. Now up the portion of pine cat litter. Do this until the whole cat litter is 100% pine cat litter. Of course, if Tabby is not persuaded to convert to pine, then you’ll just have to put up with the odor of the mess, that’s all! Or, you can do what some ingenious cat owners are doing: they use 90% pine pellet litter and then sprinkle the top 10% with the usual litter. This way they get the advantage of pine, and the cat gets the surface it likes. But what works for us appears to go against Tabby’s disposition. Cats show a degree of discomfort to the smell of pine. So there are many instances of cats refusing to use the litter box when it is filled with pine pellets. Your cat can’t stand the odor of pine, you can’t stand the odor of cat’s mess! Any guesses who’ll win the stand off? Oh well, we humans pride ourselves on being understanding! In case you’re wondering, the pine pellets are completely detoxified and are absolutely harmless to cats.There is an environmental advantage in using pine cat litter. It can be composted once the cat’s solid waste is removed. The composted litter can be put to use as manure for gardens, instead of adding to the ever-growing landfill of garbage.It all boils down to what Tabby likes! If he likes the pine pellet cat litter, then you’re all set. If he doesn’t, then you’d better learn to cover your nose with a scented kerchief whenever you’re in the house! Meow!