Animal litter, process for preparing animal litter, and method for removal of animal waste

Abstract

Disclosed are animal litters, processes for preparing animal litters, and methods for removal of animal waste. The disclosed litters are made from ingredients including plant meal, grain germ, citrus residue, and grain bran, usually in combination with a cohesiveness agent and a microbial inhibitor. The litters are provided in the form of discrete plural articles which tend to agglomerate when wetted.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS[0001] This application claims priority to two prior U.S. Provisional applications, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial Nos. 60 / 401,510, filed Aug. 7, 2002, and 60 / 332,039, filed Nov. 21, 2001. Both prior applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.[0002] This invention pertains to animal litter. In particularly preferred embodiments, the invention provides a litter for household cats.[0003] Clumping animal litters are typically provided in the form of discrete plural particles. The particles tend to agglomerate into solid masses or clumps when wetted by a liquid waste such as animal urine. A number of such clumping litters are known. One advantage of such clumping litters is that the solid clumps, which are formed upon wetting of the litter, can be separately removed as discrete entities from the remaining litter. The clumped litter can be discarded by the animal owner, leaving behind a quantity of relat...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] In one embodiment, the litter includes a first sorbent, which may be selected from the group consisting of a plant meal, grain germ, and mixtures thereof, and a discrete second sorbent, which may be selected from the group consisting of a grain bran, a citrus residue (which may be a pulp or peel residue) and mixtures thereof. The plant meal preferably is a grain meal. The second sorbent preferably is a fibrous sorbent, which is present in the litter in an amount effective to enhance agglomeration of the discrete plural particles of the litter. Preferably, the litter includes a cohesiveness agent, which may be present in an amount effective to enhance the intraparticle cohesion of the particles.

[0048] Other desired properties include biodegradability and tendency to remain clumped over time. Biodegradability is a particularly preferred property when it is desired to dispose of clumps of litter by flushing them into the toilet. The litter of the invention is believed to be at least as biodegradable as other grain-based litters, and thus the litter of the invention may be disposed of by flushing, even into a septic system. Moreover, the litter of the invention exhibits controlled water-absorbing capacity, making it easily flushable down a toilet without excessive expansion. This property can help avoid blockages of drain pipes, e.g., when cat owners flush the soiled litter down the toilet. Tendency to remain clumped refers to the stability of the clump of the soiled litter. A clumping litter should remain clumped for at least 48 hours after the clump has formed. The litters of the invention have an excellent tendency to remain clumped.

Problems solved by technology

The clumped litter can be discarded by the animal owner, leaving behind a quantity of relatively uncontaminated litter for future use.

Although clay-based litters may be functional as clumping animal litters, such litters suffer from certain drawbacks.

For example, one disadvantage of clay litters is the high density of the clay component of the litter.

In addition, the resulting clumps of soiled litter are somewhat heavy, and thus can fracture in the absence of strong interparticle adhesion.

Another disadvantage of clay litters is that, because the clay is not biodegradable, the litter cannot be flushed into some sewage systems after use.

This may be inconvenient for certain animal owners.

Many known grain-based litters, however, also suffer from drawbacks.

Moreover, while grain-based clumping litters may initially form cohesive clumps, the long-term cohesiveness of the formed clumps may be poor.

Thus, while a solid clump may be formed and remain solid for a short period of time, the clump may tend to disintegrate with time or on handling, making it difficult to separate the soiled clumped litter from the unspoiled litter.

Another problem with both clay-based and grain-based clumping litters relates to clumping efficiency, or the amount of litter required to form a clump.

The animal owner thus is forced to replenish the supply of litter frequently.

For various reasons, the products purportedly disclosed in the foregoing patents are believed to be unsatisfactory.