¿Qué ALTERNATIVAS existen a las ARENAS para GATOS? 👎🤔👍 ¿Serrín, pellets, mezcla, fabricada en casa?

And since there were some things left unfinished in the cat litter video, today we have the second part, more cat litter. Hello, I'm Carlos, a clinical veterinarian at Small Animals. Welcome to the Happy Pets and Families Channel. In the previous video about cat litter on this channel, we talked about the pros and cons of the different commercial litters that you can find and that you can put in your cat's litter box. However, many people have asked me, especially in the comments of that video, if they can make some kind of homemade mix, if they can mix some litters to make them cheaper and many more things. And since all these questions have arisen since that video, today we are here to answer them. Many of you have asked me if you could mix clumping litter, which is a bit more expensive, with absorbent litter so that the mix would be a bit cheaper and you could save a few cents. I don't think it's that many on your cat's litter. Well, I'm actually a bit against mixing types of litter. I'm not going to say I'm completely against it, but I don't think it's a good idea. If you're buying clumping litter, it's because you want it to form a ball around the soft liquid things your cats make. But if you add absorbent litter on top of it, that litter will probably lose its effectiveness because it won't form such a complete ball, it won't absorb as many odors, and therefore we'll start to lose the advantages of absorbent litter little by little. If you put almost a full bag of absorbent litter and only add a little bit of clumping agent, well, that won't clump anything together. I'm telling you, in the end, all the litter will get soaked and you'll end up throwing away a lot more litter. And that won't compensate for the little money you're saving. So I don't recommend this. And now let's move on to another question that you've asked me a lot. Can I put sawdust in my cat's litter tray? Can I use the pellets that are used in biomass stoves so that the cats can do their business on those pellets of those tiny sawdust kibbles. But sawdust and pellets are the same thing.

Well, they fall into the same category. They are wood, after all. The truth is that it caught my attention quite a bit because it is true that there is a type of sand called biodegradable sand that is not really sand, which is generally made from corn stalks and things like that. This has the great advantage of being more environmentally friendly. And of course, we might think, since we are putting in this type of biodegradable material, why not put in some sawdust? Why not put in stove pellets for the cats? The truth is that in this case I am also a bit against it, and I will explain why in the sawdust. Mainly because it is a material that is like dust and that can end up irritating the cat's nose. And especially in cats with asthma, it is not good for them at all. But we must not forget that this is produced as a byproduct of the wood industry. And when wood is produced to make furniture or to make, I know, construction pallets, it is treated with chemicals. The tree has probably been treated with pesticides beforehand. If we are putting all of that on our cat, they are going to be on that substrate all day long. It could end up taking their toll. This mainly has to do with certain species of trees, because, for example, in the case of pine, the resin, the SAP of the pine, is toxic to cats. It has a series of toxic compounds that can be present in the sawdust and that can end up affecting their health. Sawdust under no circumstances. And of course, then there are also pellets, which, for those who do not know, are sawdust, that have generally been hot pressed. And that same heat has caused the humidity inside the wood to bind it together in the form of very small croquettes. The main advantage over sawdust is that it produces much less dust because it is already all compacted and pressed and therefore is not released. So happily, therefore, it would affect the respiratory tract somewhat less.

So do you recommend it or not? Come on, let's get to the important thing. Well, I recommend it, but only under certain circumstances. Only if we are 100% sure that it comes from species that have nothing to do with the common pine, with a stone pine, which in that case could be toxic to cats. And also if it comes from types of agriculture, forestry, in this case organic. If it comes from sustainable and ecological forests where no fertilizers or pesticides have been used, you can clearly see that on the bag, because these types of certifications are usually put on the outside with a very, very large seal on the bag. If there is nothing on the bag, it is probably not organic. In that case, keep this product away from your cat. But I will tell you one thing. Don't even think about throwing the pellets down the toilet. Because you can get very dirty. These go in the organic waste like any other type of normal waste. So be careful with that because I don't want to pay anyone's plumber's bill later. For this video, I've done my homework, and I've been looking at how much normal pellets absorb the pellets used for stoves. The truth is that I was quite surprised because they absorb a lot. As they absorb, they lose their shape and turn into sawdust. And there comes a point where they practically don't let any water through. These are the pellets that my parents have at home, but they're made of pine, so they can't be used in my cat's litter box. That's why I ask you to pay close attention to this detail. And a very interesting question that I've been asked is whether clumping litter can cause health problems in cats. Okay. This isn't about someone making any kind of mixture at home, but since it came to me and I found it interesting, that's why I wanted to include it in this video. The truth is that I haven't found any type of study that says that clumping litter can cause kidney problems in cats, which was what they were specifically asking me. Since I haven't found anything, I would put this information on hold for a bit. I haven't seen any cats in my practice with kidney problems caused by this type of litter. Yes. I want to tell you that if, for example, your cat eats litter, whether it's clumping or absorbent, in that case it can cause some type of problem because the litter compacts in the intestine and can cause obstructions, intestinal impactions, and so on. But that has nothing to do with a cat that uses clumping litter ending up with kidney problems. Not even close. Another question is whether you can make homemade litter, not mix clumping and absorbent litter that you've already bought. No, no, no, no. Make it from scratch at home. And, hey, it's something I had no idea about, but I have been doing some research, and there are people who make their own substrate at home. They are usually biodegradable substrates that can be used, for example, even to compost later in the garden or wherever. So. Well, they have their advantages. We do not waste so many environmental resources, and, well, we can ensure that our cat's litter does not end up thrown away in any landfill. And. But we can also use it to fertilize our garden or wherever we use it. I have Been doing some research and I have seen that they use, for example, corn flour, not very fine, but quite coarse, or also cassava flour. In general, they tend to be cereals, bran husks and so on, which is great because it can be a comfortable substrate for the cat so that it can do its business. And they mix it with baking soda because baking soda absorbs the odor and with that they put it for the cat to do its business on. It seems like a good alternative to me, but it is true that the cat may end up eating the litter and in the end that can cause indigestion or something like that. But hey, if you want to make it, go ahead. I'll leave a link to a recipe below if you want to make it. And well, if you want to try it, that's up to you. Well, I hope I've answered all your questions about cat litter, but there's one last question that you've also asked me a should activated carbon be used in our cats litter boxes as a solution to stop them flying around so much? And I was going to include it in this video, but since this is going to be an extra video, which I think could be quite interesting, if you want us to make that video, what you can do is leave it in the comments. And then if I see that there's interest, we'll make another video where I explain a little bit about all that stuff and how to use it. And that's it for today's video. If you liked it, give it a like and share it with everyone. Remember to subscribe to our channel if you haven't already and hit the bell so that YouTube will notify you every time we upload new content. Remember that we also have a secondary channel here on YouTube called Questions and Answers from a Veterinarian where you have some very, very interesting questions almost every day. Come on over and subscribe too. And today we meet, well, a precious gem. This is Perla, who is nine months old and is related to Maria, Alas de Miranda and Katrina and BFFY are Alaska's feline companions. They greet us from Honduras. And this feline look, this Hans, who looks great with Ida Magonya in the photo. Thank you very much for following the Happy Pets and Families channel and we'll see you in the next video. Oh, yeah. Yes.

Okay. I mean, this video is about sand, Sand Part two, which is like this. And I wanted to sell it as homemade sand mixes that you can make at home. Like, what if I mix I don't know how much with. You know what I'm saying? It's true that I've found some recipes.

Or make it at home. We're not there. Okay. Or also tapioca flour. Tapioca flour or cassava flour. I always get confused. Tapioca, right? Yes, but those are pellets. I want to tell you it's not a type of sand. What if I decide to put the one for stoves instead of. Do you understand what I'm saying? But without sounding stupid, which is a bit stupid, I'm afraid. I put tapioca here too. No, tapioca. Tapioca. Cassava is tapioca. Let's see what it is. Ah, okay, okay. Many too. Among them. Man the bell. It's not starch, it's cassava. Corn and cassava. Cassava. Corn and cassava. Yes. They asked me about it. They asked me if they could mix this with this to make it cheaper. That's used to put it on cats. That's used to put it on them.