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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters choose non-clay kitty litter, we'll keep the weight of 240,000 cats of clay from being mined.
COCKTAIL FACT
Purina makes about $10 million per year from selling dog litter.
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home › tip library › Natural Cat Litter
What sort of legacy is your kitty leaving behind?
The Bite
It could be stinky, so go for biodegradable alternative cat litters, since conventional clay- and silica-based litters are actually strip-mined (like, from the earth) and sit in landfills forever.The Benefits
- Fewer strip mines. More than 2 million tons of non-biodegradable kitty litter made from strip-mined clay end up in landfills every year.
- Biodegradable. You can actually compost the stuff made from wood, newspaper, sawdust and wheat (but save it for your non-edible plants).
- Unplug your nose. Natural litter masks smell better than conventional varieties, and it's unscented, which many cats prefer.
Personally Speaking
Froggy started out using regular clay litter at the SPCA. Jen didn't want to shock him, so she weaned him by mixing a little bit of One Earth into the clay over the course of a week. He's never looked back.Wanna Try?
A sprinkle of baking soda keeps litter fresher, longer. Try with these faves:- One Earth Cat Litter - biodegradable, clumping corn-cob granules absorb 2X more than clay ($10/7 lbs).
- Yesterday's News - pellet litter made of recycled newspaper. Also available for rabbits and ferrets ($14/13.2 lbs).
- Swheat Scoop Wheat Litter - 100% compostable and biodegradable, and no, it's not a typo ($10/14 lbs).
- World's Best Cat Litter - this modestly-named gem is made from super-absorbent whole-kernel (but GMO) corn ($9/7 lbs).
- Feline Pine - made from unusable sawdust pellets reclaimed from lumberyards ($5/7 lbs). Try a free bag.
Apr 10,2007
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Love My Cats - Could Leave the Litter
Cats are amazing... I have two. And as many of you know, I am not just a "cat person" - I have The Cricket, the Ideal Bite Mascot (mainly because Heather doesn't like dogs, but she like The Crick, and The Crick just LOVES being the product tester for all our all natural dog treats, beds, collars, etc.).
However, I wish I had taught them how to be potty trained... cleaning the litter box kind of just sucks. And with two cats, if you don't stay on it, it definitely emits a yuck odor.
However, life got better around the litter for two reasons:
1) I found ONE PLANET at the co-op... totally affordable, and works better than the other 3 eco varieties I have tried for multiple cats.
2) Spring is starting to show her pretty face, and so my cats are going outside a bit now. Now if only they'd stop digging up earthworms and placing them in the kitchen as little gifts.
-Jen... off to do my weekly changing out of the entire box... well, those snuggly funny little things are worth the 15 min a week dealing with the dirty aspects...
Biter Comments...
I have two cats as well. They do tend to go to the bathroom outside (and wake us up at 3am to do so), but if we are away from the house for the whole day, they will use the litter box. I have two litter boxes, one with Swheat and one with Feline Pine. They tend to go pee in the Feline Pine and poop in the Swheat, I think because it is easier to cover the poop with the Swheat. I definitely recommend both. If you are switching from regular litter, be sure to heed the instructions and bring the new litter in slowly since the Feline Pine, etc smells different than regular litter and your cat may not know to go in there.
Has anyone used cedar chips? They come in a large bale and the supply seems to last forever - my cats like the wood chips and they go out in the field (yes, away from edibles)
Any problems with this or something I should look out for? I really appreciate the helpful tidbits here.
LOVE the Feline Pine. Switched to it recently from World's Best Cat litter, only because my store was out of the latter. There's no tracking, no smell and my two cats adjusted with no issue. It's also easier to manage the litter box since there are no clumps to scoop. I will never use anything else. Highly recommend you try it.
If you are going to use the Feline Pine, I highly recommend getting the special litter box they sell. It has a top piece where the bottom has holes so you can sift the pine dust that is created when the pine comes in contact with liquid through to the bottom making the litter last even longer! Plus the actual litter stays fresher.
Whoa, I just typed in a whole post and lost it! This one will be shorter.
Good Mews is another recycled newspaper litter that is great. Almost no dust, and is really good for cats with chronic tear-duct problems. Check with your vet.
A word on clumping versus non-clumping. At the shelter where I volunteer, we advise people to use only non-clumping litter when they have a new kitten.
I personally would not use a scented litter. Cats' noses are very sensitive. It's better to stay ahead of the problem by scooping often and changing the litter box before it stinks. I add a handful of plain baking soda when I change my cat's litter box.
Over the years I have tried so many different litters. All of them save one bag have been clay free. I used clay once and had irritated lungs for weeks. That was the end of that.
I discovered World's Best and haven't looked back. I switched from Swheat Scoop which wasn't handling the very stinky pee of one of my male kitties.
I have 3 kitties and a small apartment. The other day someone came over and was surprised to see first one cat and then three. No smell at all.
Now I just have to get my grandma to switch from clay litter. She complains about all the dust the clay stuff puts in her house.
Oh yeah. Stay away from the silica pearls they have a tendency to track all over the house and the kitties can get little silica slivers in their paws. OUCH
Even better than using litter is training your kitty to use the toilet! Don't laugh too hard-I've done it!
A few years ago, my cat started tracking the World's Best Cat Litter and Swheat Scoop all around the house. It was everywhere--the carpet, chairs, you name it. Then I found out Nature's Miracle, who makes an enzyme additive, also makes a biodegradable cat litter that contains their enzymes for odor control as well as cedar and corncob granules. I haven't used anything else since. It clumps, it smells great, it's biodegradable, and it's flushable--what more does my cat need? My local PetCo carries it too.
We switched My Apprentice to Feline Pine clumping a few months ago, and are reallhy very happy. She seems to like it, there is no problem with odor (we live in an apartment), and it is much easier for me to carry home on the bus. We plan to keep on using it - the price is right, and everything else is just great. Very pleased that we tried it - we really prefer clumping litter, and this works. We had problems with her not liking some of the other litters we've tried, but this seems to be a hit with everyone.
Has anyone tried using shredder paper? If so, does it work well? Using shredder paper or even shredding your own newspaper would be a lot cheaper and maybe better for the planet.
My poor 12-y/o cat was just diagnosed with kidney failure (not related to the pet food scare...just a coincidence). Has anyone dealt with this before? I need to adjust her diet but prefer to do it with homemade foods if possible...any advice? I'm even going to try a holistic vet for acupuncture...
I use Arm & Hammer High Performance, which is all natural and biodegradable. It smells GREAT, doesn't track and lasts longer than the clay based litter I was using before.
So am I the only person who had trouble with the corn??
The cat would use the litterbox (in my bedroom) at night, right before we went to bed. I would turn off the light and within two minutes, I would hear mice in her litterbox, eating the corn! (I live in the country, so mice are just a fact of life.)
About 10 seconds later, the cat would be diving through her own litterbox, after the mice.
To say it was messy is an understatement. I had to throw out the whole thing...
I make my own catfood and it is not that hard. I got the recipe from the book Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats, the amazon link is below:
http://www.amazon.com/Pitcairns-Complete-Guide-Natural-Health/dp/0875962432/ref=sr_1_13/102-9160661-6781748?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176226222&sr=8-13
I recently heard that kitty poops shouldn't be flushed, because they carry germs that are actually killing off otters in the bay....any one else heard anything of this ilk?
I swear by FELINE PINE. I have tried everything. This product is dust free and completely eliminates odor. it is made from recycled sawdust. I put the old litter in my mulching pile. They also make a Feline Pine Scoopable litter for people who like a clumping litter. It uses guar so it doesn't hurt the cats digestive system. I prefer the original Feline Pine. Dust Free!
My cat has bladder and kidney issues. Cranberry juice is good for them but they won't take it willingly. We use Honest Kitchen Prowl and rehydrate it with 1 tbs of pure cranberry juice to 2 tbs of water and she eats it up.
We were also recommended to cut out kibble all together and feed raw meat and bone to accent the Prowl.
I've been using Swheat for years, starting when the stray I executively-decided to adopt 3+ years ago had to have reconstructive hip surgery in order to live; we were advised to keep him away from normal or even regular clumping litter while he healed, and we stuck with it.
The cats love it (they readily use it, at least), and in fact when our other elderly gentlemen was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and had to have radioactive iodine treatment (all's well, btw, 2 years later), Swheat was the brand we were told to use, as we HAD to flush the litter down the toilet...if we put it into the soil or the trash, well, you get the idea. (Apparently water treatment facilities are better prepared to deal with radioactive isotopes than landfills, or so the vet said.) At any rate, Swheat to the rescue again!
I support any effort to use products that leave a smaller footprint. However, to automatically assume that the environmental impacts of mining fuller's earth and other clays to produce cat litter are greater than producing it from pine, wheat, or other factory-farmed materials is ridiculous. The clay is mined from open pits (not "strip mined") that occupy a very small area. Virtually no chemicals are used in processing the clay except as demanded by customers who want dyed and perfumed litter. I agree that tossing anything into a landfill, whether clay, wheat, pine, etc. that could otherwise be recycled doesn't make sense. But I wonder if tossing used biodegradeable litter into the garden is a good idea. Might it not release contaminants (E. coli) just as if the cat pooped outside with no litter? Who knows, maybe tossing clay-based litter into the garden is actually better, since it probably holds onto the waste products far longer than sawdust or wheat chaff. Seems like the best alternative is to dispose of whatever kind of litter you use in a dry composting toilet.
Thanks Amanda & Chrissy for the kidney tips! I'll give them a try...
Our favorite is PaPurr litter made by Kadant. We loved it so much that we bought their stocks! They are available at Petsmart and PETCO.
http://www.grantekinc.com/papurr_main.html
Thank you! Thank you! Kitty litter was not even something I had thought about. I am happy to say adding the daily bite to my life has opened my eyes to new and innovative ways to live the green life.
Potty Training cats is really quite easy, and they take to it quickly. I would never go back to litter boxes (my dogs seem to think they are buffets anyway!).
I like the comment from Jim regarding the clay litter. I have been wondering how bad the clay really is. I have heard that it is not good for the cats to inhale, but I am not sure if this is true. I was using the World's Greatest Cat litter for years, until I realized that it is made from genetically modified corn. I do everything I can not to support GM crops. Also, one has to wonder about the pesticide and fertilizer residue levels in wheat litters. I am not using a pine litter, but I don't know it I like it yet. Has anyone every just filled their litter boxes with soil??
My husband and I recently potty trained our two cats, and it is amazing to just flush instead of all that scooping and hauling bags of litter home from the store. I recommend the CitiKitty potty taining kit (we bought it online) to help ease them through the transition!
The advantage of using a special clay like fuller's earth or attapulgite for litter vs regular soil, sawdust, or something else is that it can hold a very large volume of liquid waste through adsorption of the liquid onto clay particle faces and into the clay lattice. Also, some undesireable organic molecules and cations (ammonium) are held by the negatively charged clay surfaces. I'm not saying clay litter is always the best, just explaining how it works. One of the other uses for these clays is filtering putrescible material from vegetable oils. Ever wondered why your olive oil sits on a shelf for months without going bad? It has been filtered through more of less the same type of clay the goes into cat litter.
Thanks for the info Jim. I may just take the advice of AK and try to toilet train my cats and get rid of litter.
YOU CAN NOT COMPOST CAT LITTER. Cat urine and feces kills most plants. Any garden guru will tell you NOT to use cat & dog manure for any type of gardening.
Since the tip of the day is about Organic Milk, and therefore Organic Cows, I wanted to share with you an alert from the Organic Consumers Association (www.organicconsumers.org), which sends out a weekly newsletter about all things organic. This report came 2 weeks ago, and is disturbing because many of those who produce and provide organic milk are lobbying to undermine the standards, so we won't be enjoying the same organic milk and other products that the word "organic" originally implied. Also, this announcement ties in directly with Benefit # 1 that this newsletter lists for drinking organic: Pasture fed is better for you. Read on:
ALERT OF THE WEEK:
USDA & LEADING ORGANIC DAIRIES CONSPIRING TO DEGRADE ORGANIC DAIRY STANDARDS BY NOT REQUIRING PASTURE FEEDING
As Organic Bytes has reported, the most serious threat to U.S. organic standards since 1998 is in the dairy sector. Two rapidly growing and profit-obsessed corporations, Horizon and Aurora Organic, are sourcing much of their milk from intensive confinement dairy feedlots, where the cows have little or no access to pasture. Now, in a secret letter obtained by the Cornucopia Institute, OCA has learned that three other major organic dairies, Stonyfield Farm, Organic Valley, and Humboldt Creamery have joined forces with Horizon and Aurora to lobby the USDA to keep dairy standards vague and unenforceable, by not requiring any specific percentage of the cow's feed to come from pasture. The National Organic Standards Board and the overwhelming majority of the nation's dairy farmers have repeatedly stated that at least 30% of an organic cow's feed during the growing season should be coming from pasture. Scientific studies have shown that milk and meat from pastured animals are qualitatively healthier than milk and meat derived from animals kept in unhealthy and inhumane concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4549.cfm
To make your voice heard, learn more and take action at OCA's "Safeguard Organic Standards website: http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm
My two kitties use Feline Pine. I won't use anything else, it's a great product. I am a gardener and I use the sawdust once a year around some of my plants, mainly the lantana, as they seem to like it. Used kitty litter contains lots of nitrates, which the plants do like but not in too large amounts. Hence I use it sparingly and only once a year. Also, it's not that great for the water table to use it too much for mulch.
On a somewhat related topic, I have a very sick kitty. He was diagnosed with FIP almost a year ago. It is affecting his kidneys/urinary system the most. He drinks much more water than normal and therefore goes through a lot of litter. We use World's Best Cat Litter Extra Strength (we have another kitty who is not at all sick). Just wondering if anyone has any advice. We have had to go from one large litter box to three through out the house and he still pees on any sort of cloth left on the floor. He never had any litter training problems before his illness. Any advice would be great.
Angie, I just wanted to express my sympathy for your cat who is suffering from FIP. How is his quality of life? Have you talked to your vet about sub-q fluids? Just a couple of thoughts.
Purina earns $10 million a year from
"Dog" litter ??
Dog Litter ??
Hey Katja-
Check these articles from the American Veterinary Medical Association:
http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/mar03/030315e.asp
http://www.avma.org/communications/brochures/toxoplasmosis/toxoplasmosis_brochure.asp
There's a strong possibility that there's an otter death-cat feces connection.
Hey everyone,
There is a connection - here's a PBS show you can watch online about it:
http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/view/25
Thanks!
Just watched the video. Wow. But if flushing kitty poo is the problem, what about run off from landfills where we scoop into the trash? Or run off from yards that outdoor kitties have pooped in.
What's the answer to saving the otters? We can't do away with our feline angels.
What's the cause of the toxic entity in their poop? Is it in kitty food? Is it in all kitties or is it passed on from one to another like feline Leukemia???
I have a cattery with two litter boxes. 1) Clay clumping litter is the only one that works with multiple cats. 2) Clay is a natural antimicrobial; in fact, some birds eat clay which then removes bacterial etc. by adsorption, AND, some nutritionists suggest ingesting some clay (bentonite). 3) Since clay IS earth, how can putting it in landfills be anything but recycling? 4) I live in Florida, and in the hot humid months, organic litter (corn or wheat) FERMENTS and ATTRACT insects. 5) I've tried the A&H High Perf. clumping litter and it doesn't clump all the urine -- so the box eventually smells. 6) Paper-based litter (even clumping) are okay for one or two cats, but, for multiple cats, it doesn't do a thorough job.
what's becoming increasingly clear is that we have very poor ways of qualifying what a good cat litter is. i use swheat scoop and have for years, happily... but i see articles about toxoplasmosis and otters and have exactly the same concerns as melissa. i can't imagine that the quantities of litter i'm putting in the toilet can compete with what a person living in monterrey with an outdoor cat is producing... or am i? and humans carry the bacteria as well, are we sure it isn't us? should i stop pooping too?
This is so stressing, I'm adopting a cat soon, and I wanted to start going the eco route as much as I can, and this blog caught my interest. After reading about the Sea Otters, I have to say that I'd go w/ disposing the litter in the garbage; Sam's #3 makes sense to me. Then the whole "humans carry the bacteria as well" is now concerning me. Whew, this is just so controversial, but I'm glad I'm informed.
I use SWheat and love love love it! Tip- spray the bottom of the litter box with cooking spray (plain- not butter flavor!). It will keep the clump from sticking to the bottom!
I feed him 'Wellness' brand food manufactured by 'Old Mother Hubbard'. It has no recalled ingredients and he loves it. His coat is sooo shiny and he's the perfect weight. Cats are meat eaters, not corn eaters or by-product eaters. Wellness is meat.
Poop kills otters. Pesticides kill birds. Poachers kill elephants. Fertilizers are killing out waterways. Moterboats kill manatees.
Folks, there's only so much we can worry about at one time. We just have to act locally and personally. Leave the smallest footprint we can.
Rent the movie "Go Further" with Woody Harrelson. It is an entertaining documentary about sustainability. National Geographic it is NOT. But at the core, it is real.
Have fun with your new kittie!
To Natja Rivera- in response to your question about not flushing cat litter down the toilet because it is infecting the sea otters. This is true for the coast cat owners. Type "toxoplasmosis in sea otters" in a search window and you will get several atricles on this. It is the same disease that pregant women have to worry about and why they are told not to c;ean out the cat litter box while pregnant.
My choice is the Catgenie litter box. It uses plastic pellets that biodegrade but they don't absord pee or poop ... it gets washed and then flushed into your toilet. It uses water and electricity, but in small amounts and the poo goes down the toilet where my poo goes and gets treated through sewage treatment plants. You can see it at www.catgenie.com.
NAYY
"The other JB", sorry to hear your kitty has kidney failure. My 15 year old had it too. We modified his diet as much as he would tolerate, and we tried subq fluids (he didn't cooperate). If you're still looking for ideas, ask you vet about giving lactulose. It's a liquid sugar you give orally and it helps them eliminate nitrogen wastes through their feces instead of their kidneys. Warning - it's Extremely sticky! There are lots of CRF web resources, and I wish you and your kitty the very best of luck.
As for CRF kitties and cat litter....lots of scooping necessary due to the increased urine output. I was using The Worlds Best. One benefit of using a clumping litter for a CRF kitty is I could collect the clumps (weekly in a ziploc bag) and weigh them (on an electronic baby scale). It helped me monitor his urine output.
The wife and I have three cats in a two-room Brooklyn apartment (read: SMALL). In place of commercial litters, we use the "small animal bedding" cedar chips the pet store sells for hamsters cages and the like. Works GREAT - negates smell completely (with regular changings), no dust, no cover-up perfumes, earth-friendly, and the kids love it.
CHEAP, too (just don't spread the secret around or the jig will be up)!
I am looking for more information on Here's the Scoop. It is billed as "natural clay" and is free of bentonite. But, I can't find any info about what "natural clay" is. Like other posters, I just haven't had success with Feline Pine, PaPurr, or any of the other so-called natural litters. Can I use Here's the Scoop without cringing? (dang cats!)
Tara - have you tried Swheat? It is 100% wheat and clumps up on its own. It's consistency is closer to regular litter than Feline Pine, so you may see more success.
Thanks, Chrissy. I just got a box and am trying it, I haven't yet tried scooping it. Plus, I mixed it with conventional litter to help the cats make the transition. The main reason I am interested in finding out whether "natural clay" is for real is cost. Even the Swheat adds up, esp with two cats!
I use Swheat for my two cats. There are these little flying insects on the wall in the bathroom downstairs that the litter box is in. Does anyone else have this problem?
Did the insects show up the same day you started using Swheat? Or did you use Swheat for a while, then they showed up?
I get the insects with regular litter. Cleaning more often helps, and checking around the litter box for any tracked litter.
No one mentioned Yesterday's News - any luck with that? And if so, is it possible to make newspaper litter at home?
Sounds like you have s**t fies. They are growing/breeding somewhere moist. Look for any cracks/creavases in your bathroom and fill them. Then empty, bleach-out, scrub & rinse the litterbox. Put bleach down your drains, toilet, tub drain, and even the overflow hole in your sink. Then re-fill the litter box after the bathroom is spotless and has air-ed out. Let us know, and good luck!!!
I have an inside cat who never goes outside with the exception of my patio. I live in an apartment complex, so I prefer flushable litter. Yet I'm not sure how much good that does. The water system in the city I live in has so many chemicals generating through the supply that we have hard water stains on a consistent basis. Is there an environmentally sound way to dispose of cat litter?
Is there such a thing as low-tracking sustainable cat litter or am I just being lazy? I'd almost have to vacuum her paws.
I've now tried Swheat Scoop, Yesterday's News, and Feline Pine. I haven't been even remotely happy with any of them. They are messy in the box, don't clump (in fact, Feline Pine and Yesterday's News do the opposite - fall apart when damp. How do you clean them out?!), are very trackable, don't last as long as clay litter, and are expensive. I hate the dust of clay litter, and the environmental impact. But I've tried over the last six months, and the alternatives don't seem to work. I'm frustrated! Why can't anyone make a clumping, easy to clean, non-tracking, non-dusty, environmentally and allergy friendly litter?!?! (And no, I'm not going to get rid of my cats!) Honestly, I miss the days when I could have outside cats, and it wasn't a problem. But I no longer live in a rural area.
If you are going to use Feline Pine you have to invest in a special litter box they sell on their website. It has two pieces, with the top piece having little holes that when you shake that little - the "dust" falls through to the bottom keeping the rest of the litter in tact.
I used "Good Mews" litter when I took care of a cat with a bad tear duct. It took care of the chronic watery eye that he had, and I loved it because it was so easy to carry a big bag home from the store. I did not notice any of it being tracked around. It also has practically no dust and smells nice and clean without having added fragrance. A couple pieces might have bounced out of the litter box once in awhile, but no tracking. "Good Mews" is made from recycled paper, and is sold at Safeway (as well as other places) here in Seattle.
Shelley and/or anyone else -
With the Cat Genie litter box, do you have a lot of litter tracking? And did you have any problems getting your cats to use it/adjust to it?
Hey Ideal Bite,
I wish you would post the sources for some of your factoids -- like where did you find that information about how many pounds of kitty litter end up in landfills. I like your website, but I think citing your sources would lend you some more credibility.
Thanks,
OH
We have had a cat genie since summer and have been quite happy with it. I found this website searching for alternatives for the granules.
There is some tracking a bit less than other boxes. We have 5 cats and that may be why we see as much as we do. I take my bagless vacumn and do the hallway near the bathroom and pour back in the bits that are picked up. We have ours sitting in the bathtub in a spare bathroom so a lot is left there and its easy to sweep up.
I watched the video on the sea otters as well. It is a great concern for those living on the coast. I wonder though if there are other animals affected by this problem. We never flushed litter before this. I would hope our sanitary systems would take care of things like this.
I have figured out a way to rid my bathroon of the s**t flies. I hung a "no-pest strip" from the fan vent... Too high for the cats to get near. It's been several weeks and nary a fly....
Toilet training is awesome but 1 of my cats just wouldn't so then the other cat stopped too -I'll try again this summer but until then.....I LOVE World's Best Cat Litter! I don't see too many people here that have tried or use it! PLEASE GO TRY IT! It's natural, flushable, eco-friendly and good for the cat! While I am at the pet store buying more for my cats (which isn't very often because it lasts and lasts!) I try to get people who are there to switch! I've had people catch up with me later and thank me!
I just wanted to add that I also tried Swheat, Feline Pine, Good Mews, Yesterday's News ....tried everything out there...World's Best is exactly what it says
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PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Kristin | April 10, 2007 at 05:47 AM