NO NEED TO TAKE P*SS! (Bob Martin Cat Litter Natural Clay)

Member Name: indigojade

Product:	Bob Martin Cat Litter Natural Clay
Date:	19/10/01 (939 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: CLUMPS UP CAT URINE TO MAKE FOR EASY REMOVAL

Disadvantages: VERY DUSTY, DOESNT MASK SMELL FROM SOLID WASTE

Anyone who has had cats especially from kitten hood will know how essential cat litter is. There are an amazing variety of litters on the market, from sawdust and paper based litters to the clay based litters.


We have had to resort to having a litter tray again, as even after 9 weeks my wanderlust cats will return to our old house if left outside at night and I have not perfected the technique of training them to use the toilet - yes it can be done 'apparently'. I have long preferred the clay based litters as they appear to absorb far more liquid in a faster period of time.


The first night we had to use the litter we had been unable to obtain a suitable 'plastic' vessel to use as a tray, instead we ended up using a cardboard box. I can imagine what people are thinking, but the urine will soak into the cardboard. This didn’t happen at all, despite 2 cats using it for a period of 24 hours. Instead, after a little shake, the loose litter moved aside to reveal no less than 5 large pillars of cat litter, all conveniently clumped together. On upending the box there were no tell tale marks where the urine had soaked through the box at all.


The litter is sold in 5 Kg bright yellow and orange paper sacks complete with handy stitched in carrying handle. The litter itself is light grey in colour and is made up of small pieces of clay.


To use the litter, obtain a suitable plastic tray, and make sure it has high sides though. Most pet shops sell litter trays for around £3 - £4 you can always use seed trays or something similar. Plastic ones are usually the best as you can wash them out regularly, do make sure you rinse the tray thoroughly as cats can have adverse reactions to some household detergents. If you have a constant source of cardboard boxes, this would be ideal as this litter means urine DOEST leak through the cardboard and you can just dispose of the box when the need arises.



Sprinkle about 5 -7 centimetres of litter into the tray, if you suffer from asthma it would be a good idea to wear a cheap dust mask when doing this, as there is quite a lot of dust given off when pouring into the tray. Don’t worry too much about making sure the litter is even, the cat will soon organise the tray to his or her liking. This is one reason why you need a high sided box, as cats like to 'dig' a little before voiding, and then bury their waste afterwards. Needless to say you will have a fair amount of litter on the floor where they have flicked it around. Make sure you clean this up regularly as the pieces can be quite sharp on bare feet!


Once the tray has been used you can remove the clumped area very easily, using a scoop kept especially for this use. Simply scoop up the soiled area, place in a plastic bag and dispose of in the household rubbish. DO NOT flush down the toilet, or you will have a heavy unblocking bill to pay! I have found no problems when removing soiled litter from the tray; it stays together very well and doesn’t crumble at all. As for solid matter, the litter sticks to that as well. The litter claims to absorb odours, it might do with urine, as I have never noticed any undesirable smells emitting from the tray, but as regards faeces - well it doesn’t hide the smell entirely! Once you have removed the soiled areas, top up the litter tray with another application from the sack.


Hopefully in time we will no longer need the presence of a litter tray in the house, but for now Bob Martin litter is an absolute bargain buy, as it makes the job of cleaning up after the cats very easy. The only real disadvantage I have noticed is the dust from the litter. As I am not asthmatic this doesn’t really bother me, although I do need to dust down the skirting board every morning when I empty the tray. The cats certainly don’t have a problem with the litter, I once bought a very ch
eap and cheerful litter, which they refused to use, scraping it out of the way, and just using the base of the tray! So spending a few pence more on a 'named' litter, 5kg cost £1.65 at my local shop is well worth it.


A few words of warning when using cat litter:

Pregnant women, nursing women and children should avoid contact with cat soiled cat litter, using gloves to empty. Soiled cat litter should NOT be buried in the garden nor used in compost heaps, due to bacteria present in faeces. I would advise anyone with asthma or other breathing difficulties to wear a dust mask when emptying or filling the litter tray (available very cheaply from DIY stores.)

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