cat litter

[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!

 

[Denim Deb]

Same goes for having husbands and children in the house.

 

[Marianne]

Same goes for having husbands and children in the house.

I see this is your first post, FranklinStreetWest, so welcome!

I need to try this chicken crumbles or scratch idea.

 

[pinkfox]

see my critters get heartworm preventative monthly which also acts as a general dewormer, never had a fecal test come back positve for the dogs or the cats (and i KNOW the cats eat most of the mice and voles they catch) so im not remotly worried about parisites from animal waste which is one of the big concerns...the dreaded "worms"
so that leaves toxoplasmosis (which is only realy an issue for pregnant women and very very young children anyway...but that would easily be destroyed in a normal back yard compost pile...
the way i figure it is...cats, dogs, coyotes raccoons, squirrels birds ect have been pooping lal over the eart for longer than we can care to imagine...so a little cat poop mixed in isnt going to realy do any damage assuming your practicing safe handling teqnicues (wash your hands after playing in the compost pile lol)

I dont think id do cat poop directly onto a vegatable plot, but would have no problem adding it or the dog poop to a good compost pie or directly to flower beds (assuming im not going to be digging around by hand in there...lol)

mabe im too none chlaant about poop lol.

in terms of cat litter options i tried a bunch of stuff and ended up going back to walmarts special kitty clumpable with a sprinkling of baking soda...not exactly environmentally aware, but its the only thing ive personally found that realy works well and ive no idea how to make my own clumping litter lol

 

[Sophia]

Hello

I'm sorry to drag up an old post but I stumbled across this forum while looking high and low for a cheaper alternative to cat litter. Like some of you I was looking at horse pellets, but here (in the UK) I can only seem to find them where you have to buy in bulk - one bag was over 200! Okay, that was for 16 bags each containing 30 litres, but still.

I need to save at the moment as I am out of work and with having 5 darling cats, their litter bill is 50 a month! I used to use Catsan (even more expensive to buy) and then changed to Sainsbury's own, as it was basically the same stuff IMO, and cheaper. Still, at 48 or so a month (3.99 a bag for 10 litres) this is more than I want to spend! Now I have emailed a seller on a site that stock horse pellets and other products and have asked kindly if they can sell me a smaller bag, I have yet to receive a reply

My cats are indoor cats, with the garden (the garden is cat-proofed with the cat-poof system so they cannot get out) and all their boxes are outdoors. I have three litter boxes, all hooded ones and I scoop these every day and change the whole lot twice a week. Anyway today, I have refilled them using garden soil! :O I read that, being a natural substrate, and cats quite preferring this to commercial litters (that can be dusty and not great on their paws) it is a good move. Also comparing the difference in price is a real bonus (which is my aim). Compared to 48 a month, if the cats are happy with the soil, I can save about 35 a month! One of my cats loves soil and frequently tries to do her business in my flower pots, so I have faith she'll not be too bothered by the change.

I realise this would not be a good move for indoor cat boxes - heck the mess - but as all our cat's toilets are outdoors they can make as much mess as they like! Anyway I'll report back with the verdict! Meanwhile, if you have any other suggestions for a cheaper alternative to cat-litter, please tell me, as this may not be a long-term thing yet - my cats will soon let me know!

All the best,

Emma

Since this post I have managed (after hours of rooting the net) to find a lovely old guy who is dropping me off 30 kilos of wood stove pellets tomorrow morning This is costing me 15 with delivery and VAT! :O WOW! He said a lady that owns a cattery has 25 bags a month from him, and it goes far! It is apparently 3 times more absorbent than commercial cat pellets! So if the soil fails I have back-up and I am still in pocket PS} None of the cats have used the litter boxes yet...they have sniffed around the entrance and walked away disgusted! I am hoping it will be case of 'If you gotta go, you gotta go' and that they will eventually, if not ???? The wood pellets are not being delivered until tomorrow morning so soil or nothing kittys!

 

[Denim Deb]

I have an indoor/outdoor kitty. If she's in, she uses a litter box. If she's outside, she uses dirt. So, hopefully, this will work for you.

 

[Britesea]

I just recently found out about Stall Dry, which is DE encased in clay nodules, I think... Sounds a lot like kitty litter, but the sample was a lot finer- more like fine sand. I'm wondering if that would be a satisfactory substitute? It didn't seem to be very expensive, either.

 

[Sophia]

Hi I wondered too if sand would be an option, and considering it is so cheap! But I figure no, as it is not absorbent enough and contains nothing to break down the odours and bacteria. Also I guess the sand could be harmful if the cats digest it, and if it gets in to the airways :/

Well....the soil totally failed! I found a small puddle of pee in the shower cubicle today, my bet is on Martha, one of our shy little girls. Martha is extremely posh, fussy and has very high-standards Also when I went out to the garden to check for 'soiled' soil...I found that it has been used overnight and I guess that was by Beau (our youngest girl). Beau was raised on a farm and she (as I mentioned before) likes to use the plant pots to pee in (which contain soil) and I saw her going in the box last night. What was a horrible experience was, this morning, when I lifted the hood off one litter box, about 20 flies flew out right at my face :O That was not a pleasant experience. I also found their poop was not covered, so I do not think soil is a good move!

Anyway the wood pellets were delivered this morning, so all changed! We'll see what they make of that!

Good-luck with your experiences all!

 

[tortoise]

Train the cat to use a toilet? It's not that hard! We took in a stray kitten, she was with us for 6 weeks. She was nearly toilet trained in that time - and it was delayed because we had to wait for her to get big enough to be able to jump up to the toilet.

Or train the cat to potty outside like a dog? I have done that too. It works out slick. Unlike dogs, cat bury their poop so there is no yard clean-up!

 

[canesisters]

What about those automatic systems that use plastic pellets? They're MEGA pricey up front, but from what I understand, that's it. No more litter. They wash the pellets or something ...

http://www.petco.com/product/110128/CatGenie-120-Cat-Litter-Box.aspx