Cats are wonderful animal companions, which keep mice at bay. For both reasons I would not do without them.
The kitty litter box I do not like. Both of our cats go outside, but at least one prefers to use the box all year; during rainy, cold seasons both resort to it. Since the dogs tend to eat the garden cat feces findings, which makes them sick over time, I take advantage of being able to remove those immediately from the cat box before they cause a canine digestion problem.
Commercial cat litter is expensive, and most are filled with artificial fragrances, chemical compounds, and other suspicious materials, which are not recyclable. Clay based kitty litter stirs up dust, which may cause you or your cat silicosis.Clumping kitty litter may have consequences to the septic system, such as clogged pipes. Newspaper pellet based litter does not soak up urine properly, and wood based products marketed towards cat owners tend to be the most expensive.
Over the years I’ve tried out just about every kitty litter type out there, and here is what’s stuck:
It is made by Bear Mountain Forest Products, based in Portland, Oregon. It’s made of wood sawdust pallets, and costs less than $5 per 33 lb bag at US North West feed stores. It is 100% compostable. It is marketed towards horse owners, but also works for other purposes.
This is how I use it for kitty litter:
- Thinly cover the litter box bottom with the pellets. I use 2 scoops made from from a 1/2 gallon plastic jug for this job.
- Remove feces with a kitty litter scoop, and either bag up to dispose of into garbage, or into a designated 5 gallon plastic bucket with lid, stored in dark, cool location outside. (I choose second option).
- Cat urine will be soaked up by the wood pellets, and the wood material will double in volume. Once all pellets have turned into soft pulp, after about 2 days/ for 1 cat, dump kitty litter contents into the plastic bucket with lid.
- When the bucket is full, spread contents around tree bases as mulch, away from house/paths/commonly used areas.
Trees thrive on the wood pellet kitty litter mulch, which acts both as fertilizer, and as moisture conserving mulch.
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