A Litter Bit of History

Chances are, if you have a cat that lives indoors, you are very familiar with cat litter but have you ever stopped to wonder where cat litter comes from?  Believe it or not, cat litter is a relatively new invention in the history of domesticated cats.

Up until the late 1940s, very few people shared their homes with their feline friends.  As cat-lovers became increasingly aware of the safety issues that outdoor cats face, many people began to choose to bring their kitties into their homes.  People who chose to have indoor cats typically kept containers of ashes, sawdust, soil, newspaper, and, most often, sand for their kitties to use, and as you can imagine, it was a pretty messy and high-maintenance situation!

Luckily for cat-lovers everywhere, a man named Edward Lowe was struck with inspiration when his neighbor approached him seeking ideas for an absorbent material to put in her cat’s “sanitary pan”.  Lowe happened to be just the man to ask as he was working in his family’s Michigan-based industrial materials plant and knew that dried, ground clay happened to be a highly absorbent material that would work quite well for his neighbor’s uses.  

Lowe’s neighbor was so pleased with the effectiveness of the clay that Lowe knew he had hit on an important discovery in the newly developing world of pet products, and thus, “Kitty Litter” was born!  Lowe quickly set to work promoting his new product in pet shops and pet shows, and in 1964, Lowe took his business to the next level by founding Edward Lowe Industries and creating the first clumping clay cat litter brand.

Today’s cat-lovers are lucky to have a wide array of options when it come to choosing litter for modern cats and modern homes.  The cat litter industry has undergone many trends and transformations over the past 50 years, providing a real, and somewhat under-acknowledged  service.

Cat litter provides a “nature replacement” for cats that is important to their calm and well-being, and clumping capabilities provide a cleaner, often odor free litter box for cats and ease of cleaning for cat lovers. However it is still a heavy product that is needed over and over again. It is also so widely used by the 86.4 million pet cats in the U.S. that round trips to the store by households waste a significant amount of productive time, gas, and emissions.

Boxiecat was founded in 2009 to address these outstanding issues associated with litter, and to make litter box care a more pleasant experience for cats and those who love them. The origins of cat litter are a far cry from the ease, convenience and quality provided by the Boxiecat brand premium litter subscription delivery service.

One thing will always remain the same; cat-lovers everywhere want to give their kitties the very best lives possible, and that means giving their feline friends a healthy and happy litter box experience!