Most of people used material such as ashes, sand or dirt for their cat litter box in the old days. Edward Lowe, whose family owned a chemical absorbents company, came up with a better idea. He suggested a neighbor try the absorbent clay instead of ashes or sand in her cat box, and she loved it since. In 1947, Edward Lowe decided to package the clay in 5lb bags marked "kitty litter" to sell in a local pet store. The store owner did not think the product would sell for the asking price of sixty-five cents. Sand for cat boxes was very cheap at the time. However, Ed Lowe was able to convince the store owner to display his product and give it away. And soon people began to ask for more and were even willing to pay for it!

In 1984, Thomas Nelson, Ph.D., developed the first clumping litter. While studying organic chemistry, he investigated the molecular structure of clay. He found that clays that were dried. After they were baked, they became very absorbent and would form a clump when a cat urinated on them. The clump could then be removed, getting rid of the urine in the litter box.

In 2000, Tidy Cats introduced Tidy Cats Crystals, which is a silica gel, a porous granular form of sodium silicate, has the highest absorbency of any litter, and has excellent moisture and odor control. Just 4-5 lbs of the silica gel litter can absorb moisture for 30 days, while traditional clumping litter would take 20-30 lbs to do the same job.

Feline Pine was founded the new use in 1992 by Ken Simard. He found that people were looking for an alternative healthy cat litter, and he got the idea from a friend who worked in a lumber mill. Feline Pine is sawdust that has been compressed into pellets. When the pellets get wet, they turn into sawdust.

Before 1980, the paper-based cat litter was made in Japan. It is made of recycled newspaper that has been formed into pellets. The natural absorbency of paper makes it a viable alternative to traditional cat box fillers. Liquid is absorbed by the newspaper, which expands when wet and can easily be scooped away. It is said to be 300% more absorbent than traditional clay litters. The litter is virtually dust free and controls odors easily.