Inventions for Pets

Summary

Podcast Summary: Stuff You Missed in History Class

Episode: Inventions for Pets
Hosts: Holly Fry & Tracy V. Wilson
Date: November 19, 2025

---

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the fascinating and often quirky history of iconic inventions created for pets, with a focus on the people behind them and the cultural shifts that drove innovation. Holly and Tracy chart the rise of the modern pet industry—especially for cats and dogs—through inventions like kitty litter, the cat tree, and Wee Wee Pads. They discuss both the clever solutions to everyday pet problems and the unintended consequences (particularly environmental) that have come from mass adoption of these products.

---

Main Topics and Key Insights

1. The Emergence of the Pet Products Industry (02:32)

• Historical Context: The concept of a “pet store” and the notion of pets as beloved indoor companions is a relatively modern phenomenon. It became prevalent in the late 19th century in Victorian England and spread from there.
• Shift in Pet Care: Early pet stores mainly sold animals and minimal care products. The rise of specialty pet accessories and products didn’t really materialize until the mid-20th century.

Quote:
"So the idea of a store filled to the brim with merchandise that's engineered expressly for use with pets did not really happen until the mid 20th century."
— Podcast Narrator [03:54]

---

2. The Story of Kitty Litter & Ed Lowe (04:10–13:00)

Background

• Ed Lowe: Born 1920, Michigan; entrepreneurial from a young age. His father sold sawdust and wood shavings for industrial use.

The Invention

• Origin Stories: Multiple versions exist (frozen sand, ashy paw prints, extra Fuller’s earth clay, etc.)—all feature Lowe providing granulated kiln-dried clay as a substitute for sand or sawdust in litter boxes.

• Key Moment:
  “She [Kay Draper] found that it worked way better than sand or wood shavings, and she wanted to switch her cat over to it completely. So Lo sold her another bag. And then he decided to try selling more bags to see if other people liked it.”
  — Podcast Narrator [07:23]

• Early Marketing: Initial difficulty getting stores to sell, so Lowe gave away 10 trial bags—customer response convinced him to launch a business.

Rapid Growth

• By the mid-1950s, kitty litter sales were topping $1.5 million.
  "Kitty litter was available in supermarkets by 1954... just a little more than eight years after its invention."
  — Holly Fry [11:04]

Business Innovations

• Expansion: Lowe quickly diversified, introducing other cat products inspired by consumer willingness to spend for convenience and comfort.
• Product Testing: Lowe’s own cat, Impy, and other cats at a veterinary clinic tested all new products before launch.
• Major Products: Dry shampoo for cats, flea powder, scratching posts, “Kitty Castles,” and more.

Memorable Moment:
“A reporter in 1955 claimed to have been riding in a car with Lowe when a stray cat wandered in front of the vehicle and said that ‘low came to a quick halt, hopped out and escorted the feline across the road.’”
— Podcast Narrator [17:42]

The Business Legacy

• Market Share: By 1985, Lowe’s companies held a combined kitty litter market share above 35%—including both the premium (Kitty Litter) and supermarket (Tidy Cat) brands.
• Research: $4 million per year invested in R&D, including a cattery with 120 cats and behavioral researchers for testing.
• Sale of Company: Despite vowing never to sell, Lowe sold his business in 1990 for $200 million+; it eventually was acquired by Ralston Purina and then Nestlé.

---

3. Environmental Consequences & Lasting Legacy (22:13)

• Scale of Use: As of 2024, the U.S. had 73.8 million pet cats, making litter a multibillion-dollar industry.
• Environmental Impact:
  • 75 million tons of Fuller's earth clay mined in 2024, often treated with chemicals.
  • Most cat litter is used once and ends up in landfills, raising sustainability concerns.
• Broader Impact: The invention made cat ownership far more approachable, contributing to the rise in indoor cats and pet product dependency.

Quote:
“Cat litters made consumers dependent on a supply chain that converts a natural resource to waste.”
— Podcast Narrator quoting the 2015 Washington Post [23:52]

---

4. The Cat Tree and Furniture for Cats (24:05)

• Inventor: Frank L. Crow, who patented the first cat tree in 1969.
• Design Intent:
  • Provided platforms and scratching surfaces to prevent damage to furniture and curtains.
  • Emphasized modularity and replaceable parts for long use.
  • Platforms designed in crescent shapes for ease of movement and visual appeal.

Quote:
“Crow also wanted the placement of the platforms to be thoughtful to enable rapid movement by a house cat from one to the other.”
— Holly Fry [25:44]

---

5. Wee Wee Pads, Four Paws, and Alan Simon (29:45)

Entrepreneurial Story

• Alan Simon: Opened Puppy City in Brooklyn in 1960, then pivoted to inventing products in 1970.
• Invention of Wee Wee Pads: Inspired by the inefficacy of newspapers for house-training puppies, Simon adapted hospital absorbent pads for home use. These became a runaway success, expanding from small packs to a $25 million business line.
• Other Innovations: Simon also invented the Allen Pooper Scooper, auto pet food dispensers, new litter scoops, grooming gloves, and more.
  • Many of his patent applications were minimal, sometimes “comically brief,” simply presenting the product design.
  • Designed “ornamental” scoops and toys, some of which are ubiquitous in pet stores today.

Major Business Moves

• Four Paws: Simon founded this company to manufacture and market his inventions, growing it into a $30 million per year business and later selling it for $55 million in 1997.
• Later Ventures: In 2014, he founded PetProducts.com, an aggregator connecting small pet businesses to customers online.

Notable Quote:
"With determination and hard work, anyone, even a kid from Brooklyn like me with a learning disability, can be successful and make their dreams come true."
— Alan Simon, quoted by Podcast Narrator [36:46]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Invention and Consumer Behavior:
  “If people were willing to spend money for kitty litter, they were probably willing to spend money on other items for their cats.”
  — Podcast Narrator [13:00]

• On Product Testing:
  “...That cat, a Red Point Siamese named Impy, got to test and approve a lot of the innovations that are probably in your home if you have a cat.”
  — Holly Fry [16:44]

• On the Environmental Consequences:
  “All of that is just going into the nation's garbage dumps, per a 2015 Washington Post article about it.”
  — Holly Fry [22:55]

• On Alan Simon’s Style:
  “He was very obviously a straightforward New Yorker. He has exactly what you think of in your head when you think, what does a guy from New York sound like? He reportedly was very generous. He gave both to charity and just to individuals who needed a hand.”
  — Podcast Narrator [36:46]

---

Selected Timestamps for Key Segments

• Pet Industry Origins: [02:30–04:10]
• Ed Lowe and Kitty Litter Narratives: [04:10–13:00]
• Kitty Litter Growth & Market Dynamics: [13:17–19:16]
• Kitty Litter Environmental Impact: [22:13–23:52]
• The Cat Tree Patent and Features: [24:05–26:21]
• Alan Simon, Wee Wee Pads, and Four Paws: [29:45–36:46]

---

Overall Tone & Style

• Friendly and conversational, mixing engaging storytelling with surprising facts.
• Both hosts frequently inject humor and personal asides, particularly around pet ownership.
• Emphasis on the human side of innovation, the quirks of inventors, and the unintended consequences of “helpful” products.

---

Additional Memorable Listener Moment

• Listener Mail: [38:00–39:04]
  • Holly tries to read a moving email from a listener about their beloved schnauzer, Sailor, but is overwhelmed with emotion.
    “I'm sorry I could not read your email too much for my little heart, but I really appreciate you sending it.”
    — Holly Fry

---

Takeaways

• Everyday pet accessories like kitty litter, cat trees, and disposable puppy pads have stories rooted in American ingenuity—and sometimes family drama.
• These inventions profoundly changed pet ownership in the U.S., making it easier and more sanitary to keep companion animals indoors.
• However, mass adoption has led to substantial environmental impacts and a reliance on convenience-driven supply chains.
• The inventors profiled—Ed Lowe, Frank Crow, Alan Simon—demonstrate the power of observation, targeted problem-solving, and sometimes a great knack for marketing (and a cute cat for product testing).

---

A must-listen for anyone curious about the intersection of daily life, history, and innovation—all filtered through the lens of our furry companions!

Transcript

[Holly Fry]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Podcast Announcer]

And now Superhuman Shack.

[Shaquille O'Neal]

I keep telling them not to say that. I'm no superhuman. Believe it or not, I struggle with moderate obstructive sleep apnea or OSA in adults with obesity. Moderate to severe OSA is a condition where breathing is interrupted during sleep, with loud snoring, choking, gasping for air, and even daytime fatigue. Let's just say it can sound a lot like this. Sound familiar? Learn more at don't sleep on osa.com.

[Podcast Announcer]

This information is provided by Lilly, a medicine company.

[Holly Fry]

Alienware's biggest sale of the season lets you unleash peak performance at Black Friday savings. Prices start at $899.99 on select Alienware PCs like the groundbreaking Alienware 16 Aurora gaming laptop, taking performance to the next level with Intel Core processors. Plus, you can save on all the latest accessories and displays like the Alienware 32 4K QD OLED gaming monitor. Visit alienware.com deals before these limited time savings end.

[Podcast Narrator]

This episode is brought to you by pbs, home of Ken Burns. His newest film, the American Revolution, reveals the untold stories of people, some familiar, many forgotten, who risked everything to change the course of history. It's a story of a war that was bloody, complex and profoundly consequential. Ken Burns and co directors Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt shine a light on how this historic fight for independence lit the spark for freedom that still burns today. The American Revolution premieres Sunday, November 16 at 8, 7 Central on PBS and the PBS app. Don't miss it. Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos. But now the old gays are pulling back the curtain with their podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with I Heart, Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare. Hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Josay share their favorite pride and the importance of celebrating all year long in honor of Palm Springs Pride. So check out Silver Linings with the Old gays on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartradio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry.

[Holly Fry]

And I'm Tracy V. Wilson.

[Podcast Narrator]

Tracy, you're a pet person?

[Holly Fry]

Uh huh.

[Podcast Narrator]

Many of our listeners are pet people. We know because they send us pictures of their adorable animals. So if you step into any pet store today, you're kind of inundated with so many clever products to make caring for your animals easier or to improve their well being. But this is actually a pretty new Industry. The idea of a pet store didn't really exist until the late 19th century. And that was when Victorian England and started to be more and more interested in keeping animals in the home instead of as livestock or like an outdoor collection. And then from there this idea of companionship, pets as sort of a something to be acquired, spread to the US and the rest of the world. But even so, those early shops were really about selling the pets themselves. With a few care products like that, you would need to support Peter that thing to live. So the idea of a store filled to the brim with merchandise that's engineered expressly for use with pets did not really happen until the mid 20th century. And perhaps the most well known story of an invention intended to help pet lovers and make their lives easier is kitty litter. This one has some problems in modern thinking that we will talk about. But kitty litter, it could be argued, was what kicked off an entire new industry. So today we are going to talk about the origin of cat litter as well as other products that many of us probably have in our homes right now. And we're going to start by talking about the man who is credited with the invention of kitty litter. And that is Ed Lowe.

[Holly Fry]

So Henry Edward Lowe, who went by Ed, was born on July 10, 1920 in St. Paul, Minnesota. When he was still young, his family moved to Marcellus, Michigan. Ed was not a good student. He'd had to repeat the fourth grade. He later attributed this to not being interested in his coursework. Ed's father was a serial entrepreneur. That's S E R I A L in case you think we're about to talk about breakfast food. Ed learned to value the idea of figuring out ways to make money for yourself rather than working for someone else. This was something that Ed embraced early on as a way to have money for his own purchases. And so he found all kinds of ways generate an income, including newspaper delivery, scrap metal sales and pest control. And then as he got older, he worked in his father's businesses as a young man.

[Podcast Narrator]

Ed served in the Navy during World War II. And when the war ended, he returned to Michigan and started working at his father's company in the town of Casopolis. This was a business that sold sawdust and wood shavings for a variety of industrial absorbency uses. So things like absorbing oils, spills in machine shops, et cetera.

[Holly Fry]

There are multiple versions of the story of how he invented kitty litter. According to the most common, one cold January day in 1947, 27 year old Lo was working at his Father's shop, and a woman named Kay Draper came in. She had an indoor cat, but according to this story, the sand filled litter box she used for this cat had frozen. She hoped to purchase some sawdust from low to use as a litter box substrate.

[Podcast Narrator]

Okay, if you're like me. The frozen sand story immediately brings up questions, but there may be an answer if we look at the state of litter boxes at the time. One, a lot of people were not yet keeping their cats indoors with the litter box. So it was kind of a new thing. Using plain sand and sawdust was pretty standard at this point for those rare houses where people did keep their cats inside. So none of those substrates were clumping. So a box that used sand or sawdust could potentially retain liquid and freeze if it were in a cold enough spot. It is very possible if it were kept somewhere like a garage or a utility room, that it could easily get cold enough in Michigan in winter to freeze.

[Holly Fry]

In any case, Lowe later claimed that he had a bolt of inspiration in the face of Draper's dilemma. For a long time, his father had offered bags of sawdust for soaking up oil spills in places like mechanics garages. But the company had just introduced another material that did the job better, and that was granulated clay. This was clay that had been dried in a kiln to the point that it would crumble. And with all the moisture removed from the naturally porous clay, it became really absorbent. This was great at handling oil, so Ed thought that it might also work for K. Draper's cat. She took a bag of it and went home.

[Podcast Narrator]

Then, according to this version, a week later, Draper was back asking for more of that clay. She found that it worked way better than sand or wood shavings, and she wanted to switch her cat over to it completely. So Lo sold her another bag. And then he decided to try selling more bags to see if other people liked it. He loaded up 10 sacks with the granulated clay, labeled them. Sometimes this is written as or described as him using, like one of those oil crayons that get used for marking things in shops and labeling it as kitty litter. And then he tried to get a local pet store to carry these bags, and the store was not interested. So Low asked if maybe they would be willing to give them away to customers to try. And those 10 customers were the start of his new business. Uh, I didn't find any claims as to the number of how many of that 10 returned to the store asking more of the clay litter. But according to a story that Lowe told many times enough of them wanted more that he figured out how to launch a division of the family business around it.

[Holly Fry]

Another story came up in a newspaper from 1955. That article, published in the Kalamazoo Gazette, was all about how Low had expanded his business beyond cat litter. But that article also includes this excerpt, which makes it sound like a lot less of a scrabbly, spur of the moment idea. Quote, Lowe's Kitty Catering all started because some friend of his wife's asked him to crawl under the front porch in the dead of winter and get sand for her beloved cat's box. I got it, but I did a lot of thinking afterward. I knew there must be a better product than sand for that job. There was. It was a clay once used to filter impurities out of petroleum products. Lowe and his chief assistants, Tony Frieza and Bob Follett, started bagging it by hand. We called it Kitty Litter. At the time, we had to almost give it away. Now there is a big demand. We have about 10 men strip mining the stuff for us near Perry, Tennessee, and it's all packaged automatically. I'm not sure if that's really supposed to be Paris, Tennessee, where there is some mining in the area, but Perry is what it says in the article.

[Podcast Narrator]

Yes. In a 1985 version of the story that appeared in the LA Times, the details were once again a little different. This one stated, quote, in 1947, a neighbor asked him for a cat box filler. She had been piling ashes in her cat box and was tired of a house full of sooty paw prints. She asked for sand. He suggested the absorbent clay, quote, more to get rid of her than anything else. So that sounds very different. But from there, his story was more or less the same as the one in which he said he labeled the 10 bags of clay himself and took them to a pet store.

[Holly Fry]

Then one more story which appeared in the Washington Post in 2015. That version states, quote, One day in 1947, his father received a sample shipment of a new clay product, but he was already loyal to a different brand. He would have nothing to do with this order of clay and left it in their storage garage. It sat around until one of Edloe's acquaintances, Kay Draper, asked him if he knew of any good absorbent for pet waste. So according to this version, the problem was not a frozen box of sand or ash footprints. It was silica dust, because Draper's cat was tracking this dust all around the house. And Lowe suggested that she could use the Fuller's earth that his dad had not been interested in using.

[Podcast Narrator]

So regardless of which of these stories is accurate, and it's possible none of them is actually how Lowe's Invention Happened Kitty litter's slow start did not last long. Ed started driving around with stock, taking it to pet stores and attending cat shows as an exhibitor. And then over the course of several years, his business grew to the point where he actually needed a warehouse and a distribution process. As a wholesaler, he acquired that warehouse from his father's company. In a 1949 write up in the Delaware County Daily, there's an interesting write up that cites another man that we mentioned earlier, Robert Follett, who I think was called Bob in the article that Tracy mentioned just a moment ago, and this article mentions him as being Lowe's partner. The men are listed together in that 1949 write up as originators of kitty litter. It's a bit unclear what happened to that relationship, but the two gave a joint statement to the paper at that time saying, quote, all we need is good business science, right? Promotion and the cooperation of a few million cats. The cats definitely seemed to cooperate. Kitty litter was available in supermarkets by 1954, by the time that 1955 article that we cited earlier was written. So just a little more than eight years after its invention, kitty litter sales were expected to top $1.5 million.

[Holly Fry]

Even so, it was still a new enough product that ads continued to explain what it was. One in 1955 stated quote, Kitty litter is a specially produced material which provides a new and better solution to a problem confronted by owners of cats. In short, it does away with the daily unpleasant, messy sandbox routine. Unlike sand, it dries and deodorizes and unlike sand, it is not harmful to your pets and it's inexpensive.

[Podcast Narrator]

LO soon recognized that if people were willing to spend money for kitty litter, they were probably willing to spend money on other items for their cats. And we'll talk about how he expanded his business based on that idea after we pause for a sponsor break.

[AutoTrader Advertiser]

AutoTrader is powered by Auto Intelligence, the hyper personalized way to buy a car. AutoTrader's tools sync with your exact budget and preferences to tailor the car shopping experience totally to you. Budgeting lets you input your info to see listings in your price range. Search and inventory helps zero in on your dream car. You can choose from new or pre owned, the style of the car and the features like engine size, color, all the way down to whether you want a trailer hitch. Go ahead and get picky. Don't worry about scrolling endlessly. AutoTrader powered by auto Intelligence only shows you vehicles based on what you can afford and what you want, and Pricing shows you which listings are the best deal, so you can feel like you're winning the negotiation without negotiating. You can even choose how to close the deal online at the dealership, or.

[Podcast Narrator]

A little of both.

[AutoTrader Advertiser]

Autotrader Powered by Auto Intelligence makes the process of buying a car less of a process. Try it today. Visit autotrader.com to find your perfect ride.

[Podcast Narrator]

Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the old Gays pull back the curtain on their podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Veiv Healthcare. For a very special bonus episode, hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and J talk about how pride has evolved over the years and their favorite memories, all in celebration of Palm Springs Pride because pride should be celebrated all year round. Listen to these fabulous friends swap stories exploring how queer life has evolved over the decades and the silver linings they've collected along the way. Each episode dives into hot topics from safe sex and online dating to untangling Gen Z lingo, as well as insights on how music, art and fashion show up in queer culture. So check out Silver Linings, a show about how pride ages like fine wine, available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Announcer]

Everybody knows Shaq, but off camera, he's just a regular guy.

[Shaquille O'Neal]

People never believe me when I say I'm just like them. I take out the trash, do dishes, and I struggle with moderate obstructive sleep apnea, or osa. And a lot of adults with obesity also struggle with moderate to severe osa. You know, those scary breathing interruptions during sleep, the loud snoring, choking and daytime fatigue. I knew I had to talk to my doctor. Don't sleep on the symptoms. Learn more at don'tsleeponosa.com this information is.

[Podcast Announcer]

Provided by Lilly, a medicine company.

[Holly Fry]

On Amtrak, you can spend more time relaxing and enjoying the ride and less time cursing under your breath in traffic. Whether you're going on a quick trip or up and down the Northeast, they'll make sure you do it in comfort with no middle seats and plenty of legroom. Stretch out without ever stressing out. Book a traffic free [e-mail] Amtrak retrain travel.

[Podcast Narrator]

In the mid 20th century, cats were not generally pampered in the ways that are very commonplace today. Once cat litter caught on quote we made a list of every conceivable item a well groomed cat could use and rated them as to importance. We keep our cats at the local veterinarians and test each product on them first to determine acceptance.

[Holly Fry]

Low also cited one particular cat as the true determiner of whether a product moved forward from testing to production. Though there was a group of cats cared for by a veterinarian, there was also a cat at the Low offices. Those offices were run out of a home that had been converted to business use, and that cat, a Red Point Siamese named Impy, got to test and approve a lot of the innovations that are probably in your home if you have a cat. Impe tried out cat toys, catnip scratching posts and cardboard, scratch pads and other potential products. By the mid-1950s, thanks to Impy's hard work as a tester, Lowe had introduced his own dry shampoo for cats, flea powder disposal trays, and something called a Kitty Castle, which was not a multi tiered cat condo like the name seems like it might be. It was a small, cozy decorated box for a cat to curl up in.

[Podcast Narrator]

All of this was apparently in line with Lowe's own adoration of cats. A reporter in 1955 claimed to have been riding in a car with Lowe when a stray cat wandered in front of the vehicle and said that quote low came to a quick halt, hopped out and escorted the feline across the road.

[Holly Fry]

By 1985, sales of kitty litter and cat accessories through Lowe's company hit 100 million doll. At that time, his Lowe's branded kitty litter had 12.6% of the market share. Tidy Cat had surged past it to 22.5%. But that still put Ed Lowe on top because he also invented Tidy Cat. It was launched as a supermarket brand while he kept kitty litter as a brand for specialty pet stores. But he was also willing to spend money on research and promotion. He started spending a reported $4 million each year in research and development alone. That budget was used to both develop new products and refine the cat litters that the company already sold. From the time competitors entered the market with their own versions of kitty litter, Ed worked diligently to make sure his outperformed any others. This included building a research facility that employed a full team to test litter for odor management, absorbency and weight. He also built a cattery with a full time population of 120 cats to use all of the products while they were monitored and cared for by a team of veterinarians and behavioral researchers.

[Podcast Narrator]

In that LA Times article we cited already, Ed stated that all of his expenditures and the expansion of his product line were parts of a long term business plan with massive goals stating, Lowe's will not be sold. Lowe's will go on forever. Lowe's will become a billion dollar company. We know that we can't become a billion dollar company as a cat box filler.

[Holly Fry]

Surprisingly, five years later, he sold the company. On September 13, 1990, the New York Times ran a brief statement about the company changing hands, which read, quote, edward Lowe Industries, the maker of kitty litter cat box filler, agreed to sell its marketing and manufacturing operations to an investment group. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The buyer is a group led by the Good Capital Company of New York and Knightsbridge Incorporated of Chicago. Philip L. Smith, the former chairman and chief executive at Pillsbury and General Foods, will become chairman of the new company, which will be known as the Golden Cat Corporation. Edward Lowe, who invented kitty litter in the 1940s, said he would retire from day to day operations but retain an equity interest and be a director of Golden Cat. Later on, it was revealed that Lowe had sold the company for $200 million plus stock in the new company. It was eventually acquired by Ralston Purina before being purchased again by nestle preceding.

[Podcast Narrator]

The 1990 sale of the company. It seems as though Ed Lowe's personal life got a little bit complicated. The year before his interview in which he said he would never sell the company, he and his children had a massive falling out. He had four kids and all of them, plus three of their spouses, had been working for the company for some time. And in the early 1980s, they started to claim that his behavior had become erratic. Lowe grew up poor, and once he was successful, he made up for lost time by spending his money as he wished, sometimes on relatively impractical things, like at one point he bought an entire town. But his kids claimed that he had become more than just impulsive, and they attributed the behavior to alcohol misuse. Lowe, in response, denied those accusations and accused his kids of trying to steal the company from him. And he fired them all. So this whole family was estranged for years, but they did eventually make up.

[Holly Fry]

After he sold the company, Ed started the Edward Lowe foundation in Big Rock Valley, Michigan. This is an organization that offers education and seminars for entrepreneurs that are past the startup phase and need to build their existing business. Ed died in 1995, but the foundation continues. In addition to its original mission, the foundation now also leads programs to research the best ways to manage land stewardship.

[Podcast Narrator]

In the last several decades, there has been increasing Concern about the long term viability of clay based cat litter. According to the American Veterinary Medical association, as of 2024 there were 73.8 million cats kept as pets in the US and while not all of them are indoor only cats with litter boxes, a lot of them are. And that has made cat litter a multi billion dollar market. But where is all that clay coming from and what happens to it after it's used? Well, there are 11 states that have open pit mines that extract clay for cat litter, and that clay is a finite resource.

[Holly Fry]

And there's an additional issue. 75 million tons of Fuller's earth, which is the clay used for cat litter and other absorbent applications, was mined in 2024, according to the U.S. geological Survey. That clay gets used once and then thrown away, which would theoretically mean that it was returning to the earth. But usually these clays have been treated with chemicals to help them clump and resist odor, and things like fragrance have also been added. So all of that is just going into the nation's garbage dumps, per a 2015 Washington Post article about it. Quote the rise of commercial cat litters may even explain why indoor cat populations grew so quickly to the point that felines have overtaken canines as America's most popular pet. At the same time, cat litters made consumers dependent on a supply chain that converts a natural resource to waste.

[Podcast Narrator]

Aside from environmental concerns, one of the lasting legacies of the invention of cat litter is that it helped expand the number of households that were willing to keep cats as pets, and that opened the door to other inventions.

[Holly Fry]

The next one is brief because there's not a whole lot of information about the inventor readily available. But on January 11, 1968, a man named Frank L. Crow filed a patent for the first cat tree. His patent, which was granted on November 25, 1969, starts with the following quote Disclosed herein is a cat tree embodying a plurality of cat landing stations or platforms carried by a sectional pole adapted to be mounted in a vertical position in a selected room of a dwelling, with a base engaged against the floor to hold the tree against rotation, with a spring loaded plunger engaged against the ceiling, and with the platforms covered with a rough textile material which provides a scratching claw sharpening surface.

[Podcast Narrator]

Crow's patent notes that his invention is designed to solve two primary problems, cats ruining furniture by clawing it and cats climbing the curtains. He notes that his cat tree is a decorative accessory as well as a functional one, and that it can be matched with any decor. I have thoughts on this that any cat person that owns a cat tree might be having as well. We'll talk about it on Friday. The application that Crowfile touted the ease of assembly and how much this tree could be customized to fit the space and needs of a cat, including the addition of dangling toys to the platforms. The platforms, per Crow's design, were intended to be replaceable so you could update worn out pieces without having to buy a whole new cat tree each time it showed wear and tear.

[Holly Fry]

Crow also wanted the placement of the platforms to be thoughtful to enable rapid movement by a house cat from one to the other. The invention is characterized in that the cat landing stations or platforms are of crescent shape or equivalent non circular configuration and are arranged in angularly displaced stepped succession such as to facilitate ascent and descent from one platform to a succeeding platform, a preferred shape being a crescent shape developed by a scalloped cutaway of one side of a circular platform so as to attain a maximum aesthetic effect.

[Podcast Narrator]

In the assembly and cats rejoiced. Coming up, we're going to talk about another invention that became hugely popular very quickly in helping people deal with pet messes. Dog people were coming for you, but first we're going to hear from the sponsors that keep the show going.

[AutoTrader Advertiser]

Autotrader is Powered by Auto Intelligence, the hyper personalized way to buy a car. Autotrader's tools sync with your exact budget and preferences to tailor the car shopping experience totally to you. Budgeting lets you input your info to see listings in your price range. Search and inventory helps zero in on your dream car. You can choose from new or pre owned, the style of the car and the features like engine size, color all the way down to whether you want a trailer hitch. Go ahead and get picky. Don't worry about scrolling endlessly. Autotrader Powered by Auto Intelligence only shows you vehicles based on what you can afford and what you want and pricing shows you which listings are the best deal so you can feel like you're winning the negotiation without negotiating. You can even choose how to close the deal online at the dealership, or.

[Podcast Narrator]

A little of both.

[AutoTrader Advertiser]

AutoTrader powered by auto Intelligence makes the process of buying a car less of a process. Try it today. Visit autotrader.com to find your perfect ride.

[Podcast Narrator]

Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the Old Gays pull back the curtain on their podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays. Brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare for a very special bonus episode hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Jahsay talk about how pride has evolved over the years and their favorite memories, all in celebration of Palm Springs Pride, because pride should be celebrated all year round. Listen to these fabulous friends swap stories exploring how queer life has evolved over the decades and the silver linings they've collected along the way. Each episode dives into hot topics from safe sex and online dating to untangling Gen Z lingo, as well as insights on how music, art, art and fashion show up in queer culture. So check out Silver Linings, a show about how pride ages like fine wine, available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Announcer]

Everybody knows Shaq, but off camera, he's just a regular guy.

[Shaquille O'Neal]

People never believe me when I say I'm just like them. I take out the trash, do dishes, and I struggle with moderate obstructive sleep apnea, or osa. And a lot of adults with obesity also struggle with moderate to severe osa. You know those scary breathing, interruptions during sleep, the loud snoring, choking and daytime fatigue? I knew I had to talk to my doctor. Don't sleep on the symptoms. Learn more@don'tsleeponosa.com this information is provided by.

[Podcast Announcer]

Lilly, a medicine company.

[Holly Fry]

On Amtrak, you can spend more time relaxing and enjoying the ride and less time cursing under your breath in traffic. Whether you're going on a quick trip or up and down the Northeast, they'll make sure you do it in comfort, with no middle seats and plenty of legroom. Stretch out without ever stressing out. Book a traffic free [e-mail] Amtrak retrain travel.

[Podcast Narrator]

So the last inventor we'll talk about today was like the first we talked about a man of many inventions who did very well for himself in the pet products industry. In 1960, Alan Simon opened a chain of stores in Brooklyn called Puppy City, and like most modern pet stores, these sold food and pet accessories and also offered grooming services.

[Holly Fry]

But then in 1970, Simon decided he didn't just want to sell pet products, he wanted to invent them. And he invented a lot of them. But one of his original set of inventions became hugely popular and really served as the cornerstone for a new business. And that was the Wee Wee Pad, similar to the way sand was supplanted by kitty litter. Alan Simon had noticed that while working in the pet ret business that the newspaper that people often use to keep accidents off the floor while house training a puppy was not all that effective.

[Podcast Narrator]

In an interview he gave in 2019, he said the dogs would urinate on the newspaper. So one day I got the idea of using a hospital pad, and we chemically treated a hospital pad and I came up with a seven pack and we had a TV ad for 10 seconds. It was free housebreaking Wee Wee pads with every purchase. So it went from a seven pack to a 14 to a 25 to a 50 to 100. And then it went to like $25 million in Wee Wee pads. Simon's invention did make cleanup from housebreaking puppies a whole lot easier. And soon it was used for a lot of other things too. People use these absorbent pads under litter boxes, under food and water dishes, in carriers, and the list goes on. Their utility in so many uses helped boost their steady adoption among people with pets.

[Holly Fry]

Simon often gave interviews to the press in which he summed up his impressive business history succinctly, but also making it clear that he had achieved a lot. In a quote he gave to Du Jour magazine while talking about the launch of the newest business, he said simply, quote, I manufactured and invented over 200 products, products including the original and world renowned Wee Wee pads and the Allen Pooper scooper. Over the years, we grew into one of the largest manufacturers in the pet.

[Podcast Narrator]

Industry to manufacture wee wee pads. Simon founded a new company called Four Paws, which also made the other pet products that he invented. He held so many patents for various items. One of the interesting things about a lot of his patents is that they are completely void of the florid language and over explain design and fun function that we often see in patent application documents. Most of them follow a very simple template style of writing with a very basic name for the invention and then a description and a claim that basically add up to just look at the pictures.

[Holly Fry]

They didn't all go that way. One particular invention was an improvement on an automatic pet food dispenser, and it had a lot of supplementary writing to explain. Started out by explaining the pet food dispensers that preceded it by noting, quote, a typical device of this type includes an elongated serving tray which is adapted to rest on a flat surface such as the floor. A hollow storage container is secured to the tray at one end of the tray and is raised above the bottom wall of the tray. An opening is provided in the bottom wall of the storage container to permit a dry or liquid pet food placed inside the container to drop down into the serving tray by force of gravity. As the pet consumes the food from the tray, it is replaced by fresh food from the storage container. But to Simon the problem here was that you couldn't take the apparatus apart. And as his patent application goes on to explain loading, it was a messy process. His dispenser could be taken apart and it had a screw top lid for filling the food reservoir. These kinds of auto feeders are still common today.

[Podcast Narrator]

I have one. In 1993, he received a patent for a new type of cat litter scoop. This is simply called Scoop for cat litter, and the claim section simply reads, the ornamental design for a scoop for cat litter as shown and described. So this is more like what I was talking about, how the rest of them tend to be like. None of that. None of that spending time writing long descriptions. This cat scoop is unique because it has prongs on its underside. So the part that would touch the litter box as you're scooping, presumably to help dislodge any clumped material that might stick there.

[Holly Fry]

One from 2008 is simply called dog toy, and the claim and description are almost comedically brief. They read, quote, the ornamental design for a dog toy as shown and described. Figure 1 is a front view of the dog toy in accordance with the invention, the rear view being identical there too. And figure two is a top plan view of a dog toy according to the invention, the bottom plan view being identical thereto. The toy that's not really being described here is a ball. It's common enough to find in a pet store today. It looks like a round knot of multiple strands of some kind of material, presumably plastic.

[Podcast Narrator]

Had to say presumably, because that's not outlined in the patent application, doesn't really say. Another that he applied for in 2010, but which wasn't issued until 2014 for some reason, was a bristled grooming glove. As the name implies, it is a glove with spines on it to groom an animal using a pet motion. So sort of a glove and a brush had a baby. Simon's version, because others had invented similar things, but his had a closure band around the wrist to keep it securely on the groomer's hand. This and the others that we mentioned are just a handful of the hundreds of designs and inventions that he came up with and manufactured. From the start of four Paws, Simon was able to grow the company to a business that made $30 million in revenue each year. It also acquired other companies that made pet products, including Cosmic Pet and Mustang Pet Products. Then in 1997, he sold Four Paws to Central Garden and Pet for $55 million.

[Holly Fry]

In 2014, Alan Simon launched a new venture, PetProducts.com this was an online aggregator that connected small local businesses like his first pet store to customers online. The company also has directories so people could find veterinarians in their area. One of the reasons the company cited for its business approach is that while large online retailers had driven a demand for consumer convenience when it comes to pets, people still need a local resource they can turn to for care and community. And there was a recognition that some of those small local businesses were going to struggle if there was not a way for them to simultaneously have online sales offerings.

[Podcast Narrator]

Watching interviews with Alan Simon, and there are a number you can find online. He was very obviously a straightforward New Yorker. He has exactly what you think of in your head when you think, what does a guy from New York sound like? He reportedly was very generous. He gave both to charity and just to individuals who needed a hand. He is also quoted as saying, with determination and hard work, anyone, even a kid from Brooklyn like me with a learning disability, can be successful and make their dreams come true. Alan died on January 6, 2022. It kind of seemed like he worked right up to the end. And that is our discussion of pet products. Today I have listener mail, sort of. I tried to read this listener mail and I cried too many times. So you're gonna get an abbreviated, abridged description of a listener mail from our listener, Aaron. And I just wanted to acknowledge. Aaron, your email is beautiful. I am sorry for your loss. That's literally all I can say because I keep falling apart. So just know that I have read your letter and it touched me deeply. Then Aaron says thank you so much for all you do to entertain and educate. You keep me company on my runs and my way to work. It makes me miss my history classes. At college when I dreamed of being a teacher, life had other plans. As a pet tax, I give you Sailor, my dad's dog, but he loves me best. He's a nine year old standard schnauzer that loves to play catch, can jump straight up and down and is just a good boy. Thanks. This dog, so cute. Listen, schnauzers can be so much because they are very high energy and I think Sailor is the same. But they also are some of the sweetest, silliest dogs with just the most beautiful little faces. So thank you, thank you, thank you. Erin. I'm sorry I could not read your email too much for my little heart, but I really appreciate you sending it. If anybody else wants to send an email and make me cry, it isn't that hard. But I beg you, be gentle. You can do that@history podcastheartradio.com you can also subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Holly Fry]

Stuff you missed in history class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Podcast Announcer]

Everybody knows Shaq, but off camera, he's just a regular guy.

[Shaquille O'Neal]

People never believe me when I say I'm just like them. I take out the trash, do dishes, and I struggle with moderate obstructive sleep apne or osa. And a lot of adults with obesity also struggle with moderate to severe osa. You know, those scary breathing interruptions during sleep, the loud snoring, choking and daytime fatigue. I knew I had to talk to my doctor. Don't sleep on the symptoms. Learn more at don'tsleep on OSA.com this.

[Podcast Announcer]

Information is provided by Lilly a medicine company.

[Dr. Jesse Mills]

Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA and I want to tell you about my new podcast called the Mailroom. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer.

[Holly Fry]

And like most guys, I haven't been to the doctor in way too long.

[Dr. Jesse Mills]

I'll be asking the questions we probably.

[Brex Advertiser]

Should be asking, but aren't.

[Dr. Jesse Mills]

Every week we're breaking down the world of men's health, from testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility. We'll talk science without the jargon and get your real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about. So check out the mailroom on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows on an all.

[Sarah Paulson]

New episode of iHeartRadio's Las Culturistas, Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony Award winner Sarah Paul and Spills on red carpet hacks.

[Podcast Narrator]

We saw these pictures and we were like, what is the story?

[Sarah Paulson]

With this, she gets real about the inspiration behind her roles.

[Podcast Narrator]

Oh no. There is no end to how people will behave.

[Sarah Paulson]

And she puts hosts Matt Rogers and Bowen Yag on notice.

[Podcast Announcer]

I don't think so, honey.

[Podcast Narrator]

I feel very, very triggered by this.

[Sarah Paulson]

Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Las Culturistas and listen to the full podcast.

[Podcast Narrator]

Now.

[Brex Advertiser]

This goes out to all you finance folks. You're under a lot of pressure to save money, but the best finance leaders focus on more than that. Brex knows you want to drive growth, change the game and win. So that's exactly what Brex will help you do. Brex offers the world's smartest corporate card banking, expense management and travel all on one AI powered platform. Are you ready to unlock your peak performance? Join the 30,000 companies making every dollar count with [e-mail] grow.

[Holly Fry]

This is an iHeart podcast.