cat litter

[nmred]

OK. I'm confused. I thought you weren't supposed to use cat (or dog) poop in your compost pile, garden, etc. as it had contaminates and disease in it. And here you guys are saying to use it. Is this just one of those "old sayings" that really have no basis and that we now can safely ignore (like not using composted human waste either)? Or does it have some validity? We also have a cat and I am interested in this thread as well. Hoping to learn more.....

 

[ORChick]

Others may have different ideas, but I generally put the catbox stuff around the perimeter of my property, away from the veg. garden, and away from where we might be walking. My cats are indoor/outdoor - meaning that I seldom have catbox waste, only when one of them is sick or needs to be confined for some reason, so it really isn't an issue for me. When I lived in California I used redwood mulch in my litter box, and never had any problems. I have posted that here before, and someone else posted that this is a bad idea, though I don't remember why. Take from that what you will. My cats never had problems, but they didn't use a litter box very often. Now I don't have access to the redwood mulch, and really don't need it, so I use some other commercial biodegradable litter on the rare occasions that I need it, and just dump it away from the garden. I don't think it is a good idea to use pet waste near things that will eventually be eaten by you, but don't have any problem putting the stuff where it can enrich the soil without being next in line for the dinner table.

 

[Beekissed]

OK. I'm confused. I thought you weren't supposed to use cat (or dog) poop in your compost pile, garden, etc. as it had contaminates and disease in it. And here you guys are saying to use it. Is this just one of those "old sayings" that really have no basis and that we now can safely ignore (like not using composted human waste either)? Or does it have some validity? We also have a cat and I am interested in this thread as well. Hoping to learn more.....

Let's think about this...for as long as there have been gardens and cats, they have been meeting for intimate little pooping and peeing sessions which are impossible to monitor and prevent. Every animal's fecal matter will have contaminants of one type or another, as well as worms and their eggs. Anyone with a grain of common sense washes their veggies and fruits anyway before eating them and~ unless you just take fresh poop out there and throw it down next to your plants where the rain can splash it up onto your produce~ then I can't imagine the fecal matter making it to your dinner plate.

Now...if you have indoor animals and they poop, unless you are wiping their butts thoroughly with disinfectant wipes before they re-enter your home, their fecal matter and worm eggs are now all over your floors, furniture, table and countertops if you allow your cats to roam in those areas.

If you don't die from THAT exposure, I can't imagine that you will then get some infectious disease from cat droppings buried in a trench all winter, recycled by earthworms, driven deep into the soil structure by rains and melting snows and then plowed into and fragmented throughout your garden.

It is one of those sayings from ultra-cautious germophobes who don't stop to think about the process of disease transmission long enough to realize that their pets are carrying those exact same contaminants around on their poop shutes and sitting smack down on their carpets and couches, licking their butts and then licking your hands, etc.

Nature has a wonderful method of cleansing the soils and unless you are dumping the waste matter of many cats on a very small patch of soil, they should be fine if entrenched or composted correctly.

At least...that's always been my take on the whole issue....

 

[LittleRoosterCroft]

Holy cow! I just looked closer at your pic and that is one huge rabbit!!!

Marianne, the picture is of Ash, he is my American Chinchilla Rabbit...he wasn't full grown in that pic either. I have American Chins and Silver Fox...pairs of each, neither of which are breeding for me right now.

 

[LittleRoosterCroft]

I have always heard to not put any type of feces from cats, dogs, etc in the compost bin...only from herbivores like my rabbits. Rabbit poo is gold for the garden!

I do have two outdoor only cats (came with the house) that obviously do their business whereever they want but I have never had an issue with them going in my garden.

The litter box issue for me is for my totally indoor cats. The litter I use now is biodegradeable and I put it on the outskirts of the property for it to break down.

The problem with clay litters is that it takes a long time to break down...the other woody based, etc litters take much less time. I am experimenting with the part sand, part bought litter right now....see how long it extends it and to keep it less heavy! I would like to find another, less expensive and reliant on certain cat litter brands from the store though.... I am trying to find some of the solutions folks have posted on here. I will continue to post results....right now, the sand is still heavy and the branded cat litter still expensive!

 

[Marianne]

Well, there's the hen poo in my garden. And they get meat scraps. And I know that my barn cats are doin' their thang in my garden, too. I don't throw the dog poo in there, though. The dogs do their business in an area large enough that I don't have to deal with it. I don't worry about it.

There's also a book called 'Holy Sh*t' that goes on about composting pet manure, saying that we're wasting a valuable resource by disposing of it.
http://www.amazon.com/Holy-****-Man...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325617757&sr=1-1

I don't know if the software will allow the Sh*t part in the link, but I bet you all know how to spell it, eh?

Back to cat litter. I have this one idiot cat that is now using the litter box faithfully as long as it's the clumping stuff. Hate it. The litter, I mean. I'm at a crossroads with this feline and tired of cleaning up little 'presents' that she leaves on the floor by the litterbox. But I hate buying the litter.

RoosterCroft, how big do those rabbits get???

Edited: If you want to go to the Amazon link, put Sh*t where it says 'Poop" in the link.

 

[Beekissed]

I learned the value of cat pee and poo when I had a kitten that opted to keep using one of the large planters on my front porch...that was the most beautiful Lobelia I've ever grown~biggest, bluest blossoms ever! My wheels started to turn and I'm thinking...cat pee and poo GOOD, wish I had more!

 

[Mattemma]

I liked swheat scoop till it got too dusty.Some use corn cob bedding or non-medicated chick feed.

Reading the one post about worms and all really makes me want to wipe my cats butt!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Since every composting site says the same thing about pet waste, I would not add it to my "normal" for-the-garden compost pile. If I was ever inclined to compost pet waste (I just leave it in the yard), I would build a separate pile and use that compost for ornamentals like trees and shrubs...stuff I wouldn't eat.

 

[FranklinStreetWest]

BEEKISSED:

I agree, there isn't a garden be that doesn't have fresh cat scat from every feline in the vacinity. There is inherent risk in everything.

As to litter, I was using Swheat Scoop. I still would be, but it is not in my budget. Currently, I am using plain ol', cheap as I can find it, chicken crumbles spinkled with lots of baking soda. Chicken feed is not more than $15 a 50# bag where I am, and I can flush that down the toilet. For me the flushing part is important. I live in the city, I don't have a trash collection service, and the local incinerator does not allow animal feces. I am sure I could sneak the waste into the incinerator, but why be a bad person?! Odor wise, the crumbles aren't any worse than the Swheat Scoop. I have found both to be much better with a thick layer of baking soda.

I have also tried a deep layer of pine and cedar... they both work fine, and the odor control is acceptable. However, in my case I still don't have a place to compost that quantity of waste. I have from 2 - 6 cats at a time in the house, and one dog that I also must do waste management for. The chickens are a different story altogether. If I were in the country where the only concern is cost, I would use yard mulch......


My ideal would be cheap decorative bulk garden mulch for these reasons:

-- $30 a cubic yard average cost picked up ( you can do this in a small car with enough plastic totes)
-- composts easily
-- does not track little bits all over your home
-- composts easily
-- is cheap
-- if changed diligently does not emit any worse odor than other super expensive conventional litters
-- can spread baking soda over and it is a "green" solution to litter issues that is cost effectiv--e
-- if you (for some reason) want to skip composting, you can spread it directly on the flower beds and it will look like decorative mulch. I do this on occasion with my chicken bedding, but still prefer to compost for a while. Still is an option.


I have not tried straight soil or sand.... my impression of those is, litter gets tracked all over everything. If thier feet are always digging in urine and feces soaked soil, that will be all over my house. Of course that goes for everything. Having animals in the house is accepting that everything is covered in the bacteria and waste that they emit and encounter!