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A
litter box, sometimes called a "sandbox",
"sand box", "litter tray", "litter pan", "catbox",
or "cat box" is an indoor feces and urine
disposal box for cats (as well as rabbits and
other pets that naturally or through training
will make use of such a repository) that are
permitted free roam of a home but who cannot
or do not always go outside to relieve
themselves.
In the wild, cats naturally excrete in soft or
sandy soil, for easy burial. To simulate this
instinctively desired type of site and
stimulate the natural inclination to hide the
excretions, a litter box's bottom is filled
typically with an inch or more of litter box
filler (frequently called "cat litter" or
"kitty litter", though this is a
back-formation - the "litter" in "litter box"
is actually a euphemism for fecal
matter[citation needed], not for the substrate
that pet owners line the box with). Litter box
filler is a loose, granular material (most
often made of clay, often formulated to clump
solidly, though recycled paper "pellet" and
silicon based "crystal" variants are also
popular options), that absorbs moisture and
which meets a cat's instinctive desire to use
an easily-dug material. It is best[citation
needed] to place the litter box on a mat or
some newspaper, as the cat will inevitably
kick some litter over the edge of the tray
when using it and track some of it out of the
box, on their paws. |
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