Looking for a unique way to give your moderncat a little style? Check out these adorable cat collars from Nashville-based Pattern & Paw. These handmade collars have breakaway buckles for safety and come in a huge assortment of colorful ribbon designs. Available in three adjustable sizes.

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Here are a couple of brand new items from Modern Cat Designs, makers of the ultra-mod cat condo. These two new designs can both be used for either a litter box or a bed. Choose from the covered model or the open one. Both are made from durable high-pressure laminate with chrome-plated steel accents. Very sleek and mod!

And don’t forget to sign-up for this month’s giveaway, and enter to win a small cat condo from Modern Cat Designs.

NOTE: This is a follow-up to the original post, What’s In Your Litter Box? which outlined the dangers of clay and silica cat litters. If you haven’t already, please read the original post to learn more about this important topic.

. . .

My natural litter comparison real-world tests have not been going so well — changing so many variables all at once has caused some protesting and a lot of spot-botting. So, in order to really compare apples to apples, I conducted some controlled tests using clean samples and water. Here are my findings:

Arm & Hammer High Performance
The package says that this litter uses “natural clumping ingredients instead of clay,” but it does not specify what it is made from. I did find a mention of the litter in a news release that says it is corn-based. This litter contains Arm & Hammer baking soda to help control odor.

Swheat Scoop
Swheat Scoop is made from naturally processed wheat, which has both natural enzymes for odor control and natural starches for clumping.

World’s Best Cat Litter
World’s Best Cat Litter, or WBCL, is another corn-based litter made from whole kernel corn.

Nature’s Miracle
Nature’s Miracle is also corn-based, however it is made from corn cob granules instead of kernels.

Scent

As I poured clean samples into the bowls, I checked each litter for it’s natural scent. The Arm & Hammer litter has a very strong, perfume-y scent that I can’t quite identify. It might be cedar. I find the scent to be a bit overpowering. Swheat Scoop has a very light scent of wheat or wheat flour, as you would expect. WBCL smells like a farm to me. The package says that “the extra strength formula contains a plant derived, natural scent that helps keep litter fresh for multiple cat use,” but I can’t stand the smell and it gets even stronger when wet. Nature’s Miracle has a light pine scent that is not too offensive.

Texture & Dust

Two other important characteristics are the texture of the litter and the amount of dust that it creates. The texture affects whether or not the cats will like it and how much it will track out of the box and onto the floor. The dust factor affects how much airborne dust is created when pouring fresh litter into the box and when cats dig around in it. Arm & Hammer and Nature’s Miracle have almost exactly the same texture. Both can be described as light and fluffy, meaning that they are more likely to stick to paws and be tracked around. This does also mean that the bag is much lighter to carry, which is a benefit, however if your cats are used to a heavy clay litter, they may need some transition time to get used to this lighter texture. Both of these litters produce very little dust. WBCL is very coarse with large granules, similar in size to many clay litters. It produces a fair amount of dust. Swheat Scoop has a variable mixture of coarse granules with some lighter pieces. Unfortunately, Swheat Scoop produces a ton of dust. I found this to be the worst by far, which worries me since I am gluten intolerant, although I have not been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, but I have read that some people with this problem can get sick if they inhale airborne flour particles, and I imagine that Swheat Scoop dust is similar. I have no concrete information about this, so if you know anything about it, please leave a comment.

Clumping

Clumping is one of the most important factors in a good litter. You want solid clumps to make scooping easier. If the clumps break apart, you wind-up changing the entire contents of the box more often and scooping is just a pain. Arm & Hammer and Nature’s Miracle performed similarly, with only semi-hard clumping. You can see in the images above that both fell apart when scooped. WBCL had the best clumping ability, with solid, easily scoopable clumps. Swheat Scoop had the worst performance with clumps that fell apart into small pieces, making it very difficult to scoop. Note: I performed these tests with the regular Swheat Scoop. There is a multi-cat strength formula that claims to clump faster and firmer. It may have better results.

Environmental Concerns & Flushing

All of these litters are made of renewable, natural materials that do not require strip mining like clay litters. Also, all of them are completely biodegradable, meaning if they go into the landfill in a paper bag (not plastic), they will eventually breakdown, unlike clay litters that will stay in the landfills forever. Swheat Scoop and WBCL both say that they are flushable, but please be aware, flushing cat waste is strongly discouraged in order to maintain water quality and protect wildlife.

Summary

After looking closely at these four litters, it is clear that there is no perfect litter. In terms of clumping, it appears that Swheat Scoop has the worst performance and WBCL has the best. However, I dislike the farm smell of WBCL. The light and fluffy litters are very low dust, but their clumping is poor. I’m not exactly sure what to do. Perhaps try WBCL with some baking soda or other natural odor control product? Maybe try mixing some of these litters? In addition to these natural litters, there are also several pellet-type litters like Feline Pine and Yesterday’s News, but I have tried these before and they were immediately rejected by my crew. Many people swear by them, though, so I encourage you to try them for yourself. Also, you may feel quite differently about some of the litters tested here, so please feel free to share your comments. There are already quite a few comments on the original post, so be sure to check them out as you decide which litter is best for you.

I obviously don’t have one of everything that I write about–otherwise there would be no room for human furniture in my rather small condo–but I do have a few select items, including the Moderncritter bent wood scratcher. I have to say, it is one of the most beautiful pieces of furniture that I own. The quality was immediately obvious the minute I opened the box. This is not a toy or another throw-away cat item. It is actually a piece of furniture that will last for many, many years.

When I ordered it, it was unclear exactly how it attaches to the wall. It turns out that the mechanism is fabulous! It has a unique wall mounting system with a two-part bracket that is incredibly easy to install and even comes with its own level to help you hang it perfectly. It’s brilliant!

As you can see above, Mackenzie has claimed the scratcher. He likes to hop up on it whenever I’m sitting on the sofa–precisely why I positioned it there. The craftsmanship is excellent and I love that you can replace the FLOR carpet tiles if they get worn or just to change the color and pattern to match your decor. If you’re looking for a very special item that your cats will love–and you will, too–the Moderncritter scratcher is the perfect thing.

Available directly from Moderncritter.

Quite possibly the best video I have ever seen.

I absolutely love hearing from readers! I am thrilled that so many people enjoy reading Moderncat. It is my pleasure to share my findings with you all!

You have seen glimpses of my moderncats, and I would love to see yours. Please send in photos of your cats showing their modern side, like Haley here, lounging in her classic Eames chair. Thank you to Melissa for sending in this beautiful image. I will put together a gallery with everyone’s photos and post it here on the site for the moderncat-loving world to enjoy. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it, but I can look at cat pictures all day. They are the most beautiful creatures on earth!

Email photos to kate [at] moderncat [dot] net and please be sure to tell me your cat’s name, your first name, and your location.

Had to share this fun video–with an important message–put together by the folks at the Alliance for Humane Action. Is your moderncat spayed or neutered?

This marvelous moderncat was spotted in one of the entries in Apartment Therapy’s Small Cool 2008, AT’s annual contest for the smallest, coolest apartment. Check out the photos of Uma’s Minimal Chic Studio over at AT New York. Lucky cat!

Thanks to Brandy for this sighting!

Introducing Angora, the newest feline addition to the MyPetLamp line from Offi. She is available in two colors, light chocolate and warm milk. Just like her Siamese sister, the Angora lamp is made of non-toxic plastic and gives off a warm glow from her low voltage bulb.

Available at Amazon.

Thanks to Maia for spotting this one!

This is Climb, a super-cool cat condo from Otis and Claude. These stackable cubes are covered in cotton fabric and come in two awesome color combos: WARM - black, white, orange, pink and yellow, and COOL - brown, white, green, blue and beige. The modular pieces let you stack them however you like, and all the cubes nest in one another for easy storage.

Both color combos are available at Amazon.

Beauty and creativity come together in this incredible line of products for living with cats by Dutch designer Marly Gommans. The collection, called ‘Cats in Style,’ includes a scratching post, a covered litter box, a pillow bed, and a concept for a cat door.

Made using natural materials like wool felt and sisal rope, these pieces are eco-conscious in addition to being beautiful and functional.

I’m still working on my natural litter comparison test, but in order to carryout my experiment, I needed to get another litter box, so I finally sprang for the Booda Dome Cleanstep covered cat litter box. If you’ve shopped for covered litter boxes anytime in the past several years, you have no doubt seen the Booda Dome line. I’ve had other covered litter boxes and I’ve always looked right past this one, thinking, “Oh, it’s just another covered litter box.” I had no idea how popular it would be! EVERYONE loves it (all the cats, and me, too.)

I think it has some features that make it a very well-designed product. First, I have a couple of “deep diggers.” The area for the litter is quite deep, allowing you to fill it up with a lot of litter to accommodate the digging, plus the top fits perfectly and prevents flying litter from escaping. Another issue with deep diggers is that they tend to deposit liquids on the very bottom of the box. The inner shape of the box has curved edges and no sharp corners (similar to its cousin, the Booda Swift Scoop) making it very easy to scoop away the deposits on the bottom of the box.

I chose the Cleanstep model which has a covered walkway/ramp leading into the box. The ramp is designed to remove litter from paws and reduce tracking. It does remove some of the litter, but plenty still exits the box trapped between furry toes. I’m not sure if there will ever be a great solution to this problem, but I think the ramp helps.

It does have a built-in air filter which is supposed to remove 99 percent of odor. That may be more like 10 percent. It’s still pretty stinky. I do like the handle on the top and think that it is quite easy to remove and replace the top for cleaning. It is a nice big box, so even my Maine Coon is comfortable using it. The form is actually quite attractive and it comes in some excellent colors, like gold, titanium, and silver.

I got mine at PetSmart, but it is also available at Amazon.

This very architectural form is the Necobaco cat tree, new from Japanese pet furniture design company Clavo. The tree is apparently customizable and is resin treated to protect it from scratching. The combination of carpeted cantilevered shelves and hollow boxes offer a variety of spots for cats to climb around on and snuggle into.

It looks like the company offers a smaller matching cat bed, however both seem to only be available in Japan.

via Apartment Therapy

Congratulations to Karla from Walnut Creek, CA, winner of the TrendyCat bamboo cat tree. Karla chose a natural finish with brown cushions. I’m sure her kitties will enjoy it!

In January, I wrote about a large-scale cat rescue in Pahrump, Nevada by Best Friends Animal Society. This is the worst case of institutional hoarding ever recorded in the US. Last weekend Best Friends held a memorial for the cats who did not survive. I was not able to attend, but Peter made the trip to the sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. Here are his reflections on the memorial as well as an update on the rescue efforts and what will hopefully be justice served.

I don’t know what either of us expected when we visited the cats of “The Great Kitty Rescue” in Pahrump, Nevada last December. Other than to spend a few days cleaning up after the 200-plus cats then housed at the failed FLOCK facility. The critical work, of course, had been carried out long before our arrival, in brutal heat and torrential downpours — in conditions that, by all accounts, were simply horrific.

Actually, I recall very few dirty jobs over the course of our brief tenure. What we did in Pahrump, mostly, was socialize the cats. Which at first I interpreted to mean “play” or “visit,” neither of which sounded much like the “work” I’d come prepared for. In fact, the socializing proved to be more difficult. To begin with, we often couldn’t tell the friendly cats from the fearful cats. Most times, somebody was there to give us a rundown of the cats in a particular “house.” Occasionally, though, we were left to the trial and error method (resulting in surprisingly few errors, thankfully).

In some ways, I think the tougher part of the job lay in getting to know the cats (as opposed to serving merely as their dutiful custodians). Bonding with these cats meant also struggling to comprehend what they’d been through on that scrap of inhospitable desert. And when we left, after only a few days, I couldn’t stop thinking about the cats in Pahrump.

The FLOCK facility was closed in early February, and all the remaining cats moved to the Best Friends sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, into “Rescue Village.” In March, I learned that the Pahrump cats were to be honored with their own dedicated corner of Angels Rest, the pet cemetery at the sanctuary. Rarely have I felt so compelled to be anywhere for anything. And so, on March 28th, I drove to Kanab.

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This weekend Moderncat will be sponsoring one of the fabulous door prizes at the Modern Phoenix Expo and Home Tour. We will be giving away a retro-mod cat bed from Like Kittysville! Perfect for any mid-century moderncat.

If you live in the Phoenix area and are into mid-century modern design, this is the must-attend event of the year! For four years now, modernphoenix.net has organized a terrific weekend of events centered around mid-century modern design and architecture in the Phoenix area. Activities include a free public expo with vendors specializing in products and services related to modernism and modern contemporary design. There will also be speakers throughout the day on Saturday and a drawing for the door prizes that afternoon. Saturday events take place at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

Sunday is the big home tour of Village Grove, designed by Charles Schreiber for Allied Homes, built between 1962 and 1967. Last year the tour was of the Marlen Grove neighborhood.

So if you’re in the area, don’t miss this awesome weekend. And many thanks to Jayne at Like Kittysville for contributing the bed for the giveaway!

This month we have a brand new product to give away–a small cat condo from Modern Cat Designs. This cool new company (no, there is no relation to this blog) also makes a tall cat condo. Both models have padded slats that are perfect for scratching, climbing and lounging. Everything a cat could ask for! The winner will get to choose chocolate or beige. Sign-up and enter to win!

I will post the March giveaway winner as soon as I hear back from them. Check your email, you could be the winner!