Yesterdays News - Kitty Litter

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/eco-friendly-kitty-litter.html

Again, on my quest to reduce garbage...

Kitty Litter. Yuck! We use the clumping litter, but upon more thought.. this stuff is clay, so it doesnt decompose.

Im almost out of litter and am going to buy some Recycled Newspaper litter called Yesterdays News.

Does anyone already use this for their cats? Im hoping my cat will take to the adjustment.

 

I don't have cats, but a few of my friends do & swear by this. One thing they've said is that it doesn't create a ton of dust when you dump it out... so it's easier on the allergy-prone!

For a slightly different idea that's related... we have guinea pigs, and use polar fleece for their bedding/litter. $4 on sale at the fabric store covers their cage, and we wash it in the washing machine twice a week. It's dust-free, reusable, and is a recycled product And it doesn't get stuck in the soft pads of their feet like some of the tougher wood-shavings did.
love,
mom

 

Thats a good idea! I will mention that one to a friend who has a bunny rabbit.

 

Oh yes, please do! Bunnies love this stuff too... this works well with ANY pet with "pellet-poo!"

You can shake all the little droppings into your garden for free fertilizer too
love,
mom

 

there is kitty little they make out of some sort of shells from some grain that are usually thrown out in agriculture. I'm not sure the exact name for this but it exists. It clumps too, and is decomposible. I'm going to get it once I run out of the stuff I have now.

 

I think its alot easier to just buy swheat scoop! i can just buy it at the local grocerystore... i dont think id try the newspaper thing...my cat can be kinda weird about stuff like that! but swheat scoop is eco friendly too

 

I have ferrets and while yesterday's news is good it's insanely over priced. The best thing to use, is wood pellets. It's $5 for a 40lb bag and is made from wood scraps. I find it controls the oder way better and is much more friendly on my wallet.

 

I always had good luck with dirt. Cheap, too (free).

 

^ i wish I could use dirt, but my ferrets would just throw it around the room, as I found when they got in some of my flower pots lol.

 

Haha, I didn't realize ferrets would do that with dirt. Guess I better specify the dirt suggestion for just cats then.

 

Where we are that there are sandy soils. pure silica.

Used Kitty Litter works fine to build up the sand so it can then accept compost
and be a home for earthworms.

The wooden pellets can compost too.

 

I use swheat scoop too. can't use anything else. plus, it's healthy for cats if they eat it, and trust me, my cats like to eat a little bit of it when it's fresh. I find it controls odor much better than yesterday's news or any of the other recycled paper cat litter. And! its scoopable. And you can flush it.

 

not THE most sustainable option, but I use peat moss. The cats like it, it keeps the odors down, and since I do hot pile composting, it's useful as raw material, so, at least unlike using it straight for gardening, it gets used, then composted, then used again.

When I kep gerbils, I'd use newspaper for gerbil litter (along with cardboard, a bit of sand, etc) and then, when I'd clean the gerbil cages, I'd use that for cat litter....already biologically active, and composted very very well.

I'm thinking about doing that again, tbh. Kept household paper waste down, and kept the cats, gerbils and me happy.

btw, if anyone has catbox odor, skip the baking powder..mix up a solution of 8 ounces white vinegar to 32 ounces water and using a spray bottle spray the litter with it. Catbox ordors are ammonia based, and the vinegar, being acid, neutralizes the alkali ammonia, forming scent free mineral salts