The term “kitty litter” was coined in 1947 by Edward Lowe, who gave what’s often called “fuller’s earth” to a woman so her cats could use it. Before then, people with indoor cats would use sand, normal soil, or ashes for their cats. The woman reported that the “fuller’s earth” worked better, so Lowe decided to sell it under the name “kitty litter”.
Technically, “litter” referred either to bedding such as straw, or to something that was scattered about. Straw was scattered on the floor to be used as bedding for animals, and eventually the animal droppings came to be associated with the litter itself or even to the young of the animals when they gave birth, hence for instance a “litter” of kittens. So from bedding to bedding full of poop, the term ended up being applied to what we now call call litter.
The term “kitty litter” was coined in 1947 by Edward Lowe, who gave what’s often called “fuller’s earth” to a woman so her cats could use it. Before then, people with indoor cats would use sand, normal soil, or ashes for their cats. The woman reported that the “fuller’s earth” worked better, so Lowe decided to sell it under the name “kitty litter”.
Technically, “litter” referred either to bedding such as straw, or to something that was scattered about. Straw was scattered on the floor to be used as bedding for animals, and eventually the animal droppings came to be associated with the litter itself or even to the young of the animals when they gave birth, hence for instance a “litter” of kittens. So from bedding to bedding full of poop, the term ended up being applied to what we now call call litter.