The newest cat litter to hit the market is one that is based on silica. Silica is widely used as a simple drying agent. You've seen little sachets of this material in expensive electronic or photographic equipment. The cat's litter box is laid with the silica litter just about an inch deep. That is sufficient to absorb all kitty's waste and especially the foul odor from the litter box. There's absolutely no smell anymore! Cleaning the litter is also so much easier as all the waste is as dry as a bone!

The wonderful thing about this type of cat litter is that a single one inch layer lasts for two weeks and maybe even a month for one cat. Now you don't have to re-lay the litter everyday and that's really going to get a huge round of applause from all you cat owners! But there are health concerns involved in the use of silica as a litter for cats.

Silica is rather like powdered glass. It can be quite rough on your pet's paws. Not only the bruising it may cause, you should also be aware of the danger that your pet cat may swallow the silica when it cleans its paws. This can have extreme repercussions if taken in large quantities. Even in trace quantities, the silica is likely to accumulate in the cat's intestines over a sufficient period, which is just as damaging to the cat's health.

You'll be surprised to know that the fact that you don't have to refresh the litter everyday or every few days, is itself a source of alarm among some pet owners and experts. They say that keeping the litter in the box for so long will encourage bacterial and microbial growth which will lead to a number of illnesses for the cat as well as for the people in the house.

There is no doubt that silica cat litter is superior to the other cat litters available now. Its odor-killing quality alone is sufficient to make it the numero uno cat litter. The application cost is so very low, that even cost conscious pet owners have no reservations in using it. The daily chore of fishing around the litter box for the cat's droppings is now, no, not pleasant but, simple and bearable. You are spared the sight (and obnoxious smell, phew!) of stomach-turning slimy stuff. You just pick out some 'stones' from the litter and carry it off for disposal. Then the chore of refreshing the litter box has been erased from your daily task list. Once or twice a month is like... freedom!

The contra to these advantages is that, firstly, the cost of conventional clumping litter works out to the same as that of silica, and secondly, you get to remove the clumping litter everyday.

Lastly, the cat can be harmed by the silica particles, either by getting bruised or by licking it up. The middle path being the best path you may want to try out a mixed litter, with silica absorbing all that awfully foul odor, and the ordinary clumping to take care of all the criticisms against silica cat litter.

The decision is yours, whether or not to use silica cat litter. The advantages and disadvantages have been set out in this article for your information. Use it to ananlyze your particular situation. It's always better to make an informed decision rather than going by 'buzz'. The mixed litter does seem appealing and worth a try-out. Anything to free the house from that obnoxious stench!