With so many litter choices now on the market, let’s take a closer look at corn and wheat litter. At first blush, both seem like a much better option than traditional clay litter… Right?
It’s not wrong – but it’s also not completely right.
Yes. Corn and wheat litter do not contain the sodium bentonite clumping agent that clay contains. And yes, both do a better job (overall) at odor control. They don’t (usually) contain as much dust – and many argue they do not track as much as clay.
All good things. We definitely don’t want our cats absorbing or ingesting sodium bentonite. We also don’t want them breathing clay dust. And of course we humans will prefer anything that doesn’t track all over the house. But we also want a healthy choice for our cats.
Any litter we choose will have its ingredients absorbed by our cat through their vascular paw pads. And all litters we choose will be ingested by our cats. They are the fastidiously clean groomers that will get every bit of litter dust and pellets off their impeccable coats. This knowledge is why clay litter is plummeting in popularity. And why so many ‘natural’ litter options are coming to market.
So how could corn, wheat, or even soy litter be bad for our cats? We eat this stuff every day!
The ugly truth is the vast majority of all corn, wheat, and soy contain herbicides (glyphosate) and mycotoxins (mold). We humans now look for organic and non-GMO options to help avoid these destructive contaminants. But these toxins remain in corn, wheat, and soy litter. Which means our cats will absorb and ingest them.
Sure – it’s a small amount. But we’ve learned over time just how much a small change makes a big difference for the health of our cats. This is why we won’t use these options. Instead we now only use natural litters that don’t contain contaminants. Some healthier options are coconut, paper, wood, or yuca litter.
The bottom line is we want what’s best for our cat’s bottoms – and bodies.
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