Cat litter?

When you choose a new one, why don't you gradually mix it.


3 to 1

1 to 1

1 to 3

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(barbaram @ Sep 4 2006, 11:00 AM) [snapback]313998[/snapback]</div>

Don't buy any commercial types! Just get some dry, sifted garden soil. Garden soil contains many organisms whose natural function is to break down animal wastes. converting them quickly into innocuous, deodorised, mostly harmless material.

 

I like Swheat Scoop, and Gizmo has yet to say anything negative about it. :lol:

Good for the Earth.

Each year, over 2 million tons of cat litter ends up in municipal solid waste landfills (Judd Alexander, In Defense of Garbage, Praeger 1993). Most of that litter, an estimated 100,000 truckloads per year, is made from clay that is mined and doesn’t biodegrade because it’s never reabsorbed by the earth. That’s why the time is right to consider the merits of a product like Swheat Scoop Natural Wheat Litter.

100% biodegradable.
Strictly speaking, clay-based litters never biodegrade because they cannot be absorbed or broken down by the organic environment. But Swheat Scoop litter will readily break down upon disposal and simply dissolve
away.

Sewer and septic safe.
Swheat Scoop is the only cat litter on the market that’s certified flushable by the SGS U.S. Testing Company, an independent research organization. Which means that clumps of this product can be safely flushed without clogging your sewer or septic system, when used as directed.

100% compostable.
Swheat Scoop litter can be composted or used as mulch for ornamental plants (non-vegetable gardens) once it has been thoroughly scooped.

A renewable resource.
Swheat Scoop litter is made from naturally processed, secondary (non-food grade) wheat grown in the heart of the Great Plains states.
http://www.swheatscoop.com/earthframe.html

The enzymes do a great job at neutralizing kitty pee odor. It does a good job at clumping, so there much less wasted product as only the pee and poo are scooped out, helping the kitty box stays fresh longer. It tracks less than other products I've used. No obnoxious perfume smells. But my favorite feature is it is flushable - easy to scoop into a transport container and then flush.

 

Sodium Bentonite clay ('clumping' litter) expands massively (up to 15 times its original volume) on contact with water and then hardens. It cannot be flushed as it can block plumbing and does not bio-degrade. The dust from these litters can be inhaled or ingested when cats lick their paws and fur with obvious health risks. Silicon particles found in these clay litters are a known human carcinogen and aside from health concerns, clay cat litters contribute to useless landfill waste.

Ask.com

Natural Cat Litters

And for those that can't do the math:

3 to 1 would be 75% original litter and 25% new litter

1 to 1 would be 50% original litter and 50% new litter

1 to 3 would be 25% original litter and 75% new litter.

At least that's how it works out in liberal Public schools. I'm not sure about the Republican New Math.

I don't know how fussy cats are with their litter. Some dogs are fussy when you switch brands of food. Changing the mix ratio each day gradually moves them to the new food. If your cat is fussy about the new litter, try mixing it and changing the ratios over a few days.

And don't stick your animal's face in it's own pee, feces or vomit trying to punish it (they rather like the smell) or to teach them a lesson. They're clueless as to what you want unless you catch them in the act of bad behavior and immediately correct them. Swatting them with a newspaper is both useless and abusive as well. If you come home from work and Kitty or Doggy did a no-no, clean it up. It's too late to let Kitty or Doggy know why you're upset. Animals live "in the moment". That isn't a "guilty" look for remembering what they did bad, it's the look of an animal that senses you're upset. If you can catch them doing the wrong thing you can immediately discipline them. Look for them doing the right thing and immediately praise and reward them. They're not stupid and they'll get it pretty fast. But rubbing their nose in it, yelling or hitting them will only teach them to fear you since they don't know why you're behaving this way.

litterbox training

Worldwise

How to litter train a cat

"3. Changing Litter Brands. Cats are creatures of habit and can also be quite finicky (remember Morris, the 9 Lives cat?). If you've recently switched the brand of litter you usually buy this may be cause for your cat to find another place to go. Some litters are perfumed (for humans rather than cats) and your cat may not react well to these smells, or perhaps your cat was used to a less dusty type of litter, a particular litter's texture, or who knows what. Changing brands or types of litter may upset what your cat is comfortable with and the result may be a messy carpet. If you suspect this to be the cause, you can either switch back, or gradually introduce the new litter. Try mixing in a little bit of the new litter with the older brand at first and gradually step up the percentage of the new litter each time you change the box, eventually you will be able to replace the older brand altogether. This will help your cat ease into the new litter brand rather than upset her sense of the order of things. "

Of course, you can always teach your cat to use the toilet.



Do some searching and reading up on cat behavior and kitty litters. Then you'll know who's a moron and who knows what they're talking about.

 

We cheat and use rabbit food pellets, which we buy at a feed store. It's way cheaper, hypoallergenic, bio-degradeable and is flushable (in small amounts). We use World's Best in the automatic litter box as that needs a clumping litter.

We have a baker's dozen of cats, and they're all comfortable using the rabbit food pellets. It's OK for us to think outside the box, but not them. :lol:

 

i use swheat scoop too. it's a clumping litter. if you have multiple cats, it's not great at odor control. you can always sprinkle baking soda if it becomes a problem. i switched to this litter as i became aware of the drawbacks to clay based litter that godiva metioned in her post. my cats took to it very readily.

 

My cats have used the PaPurr and the Swheat Scoop. They prefer the PaPurr, so that's what they use. Both are clumping and flushable. We might switch back because PaPurr isn't as available as Swheat Scoop. I believe Target now carries Swheat Scoop.

My wife and I have thought about toilet training our cats. Maybe we'll start.

Godiva, that was very good information. I was pleased to read that someone else knows that animals live in the moment. Thank you for sharing before I did. It saved me from having to type it all out.

EDIT: PaPurr is made from recylced newspaper. It's so the cats have something to read when they're using the litterbox.

 

Add my vote for Swheat Scoop.

And, as a nutritionally delectable side dish, the combination of wheat and cat poop is irresistable to some dogs (my previous dog, rest her soul.) Swheat Poop comes to mind.

 

My recommendation is Feline Pine. The litter turns into sawdust and you recycle it on your lawn/garden.
It has great odor control.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Somechic @ Sep 8 2006, 09:45 AM) [snapback]316279[/snapback]</div>

I had quality issues with Feline Pine years ago. It just didn't absorb anything. But that was almost 10 years ago. I would assume that they have improved the product since then (?).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Sep 8 2006, 12:11 PM) [snapback]316388[/snapback]</div>

Unless that opinion is political and expressed in FHOP. Then you have to say it loudly over & over & over again. Like this guy --> [attachmentid=4926]

No cats. Just couldn't pass that one up.

 

Tried a product called something like "World's best cat litter," a corn-based clumping litter that I like much better than the wheat-based litter, apart from the price (I was unimpressed with the odor control of the wheat litter)

Then I read that Purina "Start and Grow" chick feed is nearly identical, although a little bit coarser. Costs around $11 or $12 for a 50 lb bag at feed stores. Not quite as good as the "world's best" (some sticking to the sides of the litter box) but seems environmentally identical, better for the cat than clay litter, and costs about 1/4 the price.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Somechic @ Sep 8 2006, 09:45 AM) [snapback]316279[/snapback]</div>

NEVER use dog or cat manure to fertilize food crops. They both contain organisms harmful to humans.

Unlike clay based cat litters, I'm sure Feline Pine would be a great biodegradable product, as long as it's disposed of away from vegetable garden areas.

 

Feline Pine is so good even I poop in it now! Seriously, it's great, plus it smells like you're walking through a forest. Unless your cat just pooped, in which case it just smells like sh!t.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mini2prius @ Sep 8 2006, 05:11 PM) [snapback]316589[/snapback]</div>

We've been using the corn-based litter too (or should I say our kitties have been using it) and so far we like it a lot - we went looking for the Wheat-based litter but our pet supply place does not carry it - they pointed us to the corn-based and everyone seems to be happy now.

If we see the chick feed we may try that, but we were actually concerned about attracting mice! Oh - Wait - won't the cats take care of those????

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Sep 8 2006, 11:11 AM) [snapback]316388[/snapback]</div>

So, you're saying instead of replying to DBermanMD or Wildkow we should just poop on them?

Do you really think once would do it?

 

I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure that the "World's best" litter and the chicken feed are both nearly 100% corn and would tend to attract (or not) rodents equally. We haven't had any problems so far (knock on wood!)

If you do go looking for the chick feed, make sure you get "chick" and not "chicken" feed - the Purina "Start and Grow" product is intended for chicks and, I assume, is ground finer than regular chicken feed and therefore (again, I assume) more absorbent.