Litter & Housebreaking

Best Organic & Natural Kitty Litter

Clay kitty litter is an ecological disaster any way you look at it: it poses health dangers for people and their cats because of the dust they have to breathe in, and procuring it is an environmental assault. “Green” thinking cat owners who are conscious about ecology and want to minimize their carbon footprint should know that in order to make the traditional kind of kitty litter, first the clay has to be mined from the ground, impacting the landscape. Then it poses another non-ecological problem because clay litter is not biodegradable and remains for decades in landfills where it is dumped.

Fortunately, there are now many alternative litters made from organic substances like wood, orange peel, corncob, wheat kernels, paper, peanut shells, and even grass! The ones below are safe for you, your kitty cat, and the world around you – they are biodegradable, easy to handle and usually control odors.

All of the Best of the Best litters below are plant based and biodegradable: they can be flushed down most toilets or recycled as mulch in the garden. This means that by choosing a “politically correct” litter, you'll be impacting the environment so much less than with clay litter. Furthermore, eco-litters are generally much less dusty, making them safer for the cats and people who have to handle them.

Expert Review by

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Tracie Hotchner
Pet Expert

Tracie Hotchner is Martha’s Stewart’s Pet Expert and radio host of Dog Talk on NPR and Cat Chat on Martha Stewart Radio.

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