George Pitt was the first to begin packaging the ashes from burned wood for use in cat litter boxes. This worked, however, cat owners found that this product created quite a mess, as their pets tracked the ash all around the house.
When asked by his neighbor for a replacement for these ashes, Edward Lowe suggested the use of an absorbent clay. This worked wonderfully, and so, kitty litter was born!
In 1947 Edward Lowe, who, after serving in the US Navy from 1941 to 1945, worked for his father selling industrial absorbents. He began packaging absorbent clay in 5 lb bags to sell in a local pet store as “kitty litter”. While the store owner was not convinced that the product would sell, especially for 65 cents per bag, Edward was a determined man who believed that this product would be successful. He talked the store owner in to displaying his “kitty litter” and giving it away. As Edward expected, the customers soon began coming back to purchase more!
After this first success, Edward Lowe continued to distribute kitty litter from the back of his car while traveling around the country. Edward would even clean the cat boxes at cat shows in exchange for booth space in order to demonstrate his kitty litter at the shows.
Eventually, Edward Lowe Industries, Inc. was founded to mass produce and distribute Edward’s successful kitty litter products.
Image by Mingo.nl