Church & Dwight, the company that makes Arm & Hammer’s Super Scoop cat litter, is suing Clorox, the makers of Fresh Step, over the latter’s claim in television ads that cats prefer Fresh step because it “is better at eliminating odors.” Naturally, Church & Dwight is outraged by this. Think about it: What smells nice or clean to humans is almost definitely not what smells nice to pets. Any doubt? Think of where you put your face when you greet a friend, and then think of where your pet sticks his. Case closed. But in order to stop Clorox from making the odor claim, the rival company had to take them to court. And, according to the Post, here are three “facts” that are laid out in court documents.
• “It is not possible scientifically to determine whether cats view one substance to be more or less malodorous than another substance.”
• “Cats do not talk.”
• “It is well-known that inter-cat behavior can impact cats’ use of a particular litter box.”
Seems pretty reasonable, right? Except for that last one. Can anything about “inter-cat behavior” really be described as “well-known”? Don’t we barely understand “cat-human interaction”? Most people never know what is going on when a cat approaches. For all we know, they could be talking to us.
