Cat Litter Alternatives · 3:27am Jan 1st, 2017

Cat Litter Alternatives

I've been trying out some homemade cat litter alternatives since adopting a little stray cat named Boots. I will be testing out some ideas I found on the internet. I will let you know which one works best.

Here is a list of alternative cat litters I have found by looking on various websites and forums.

Newspaper and Junk Mail: One of the easiest materials to use in the cat's litter box is plain newspaper. After all, it is what the vet suggests after a declawing. Newspaper is plentiful, it is cheap and your cat may even be willing to use it. On the other hand, she may not.

One of the negative aspects of newspaper is that you will need a lot of it. You can ask neighbors to save newspaper for you, and you may also want to check with the local newspaper. They may be willing to give you the out of date papers. You can also shred your junk mail.

In order to use newspaper for homemade cat litter, you will need to shred it. A shredder can make this a quick and easy job. Shredded paper works best if it is shredded in long, thin strips and a generous amount is added to the litter box.

Wood Shavings: Unless you have a woodworking shop, this is not quite homemade but it can work very well. It is also fairly inexpensive.

Woodchips or Wood Pellets: Like any other harder litter material, wood chips or wood pellets are excellent and best with an absorbent pad underneath.

Most feed stores have shavings baled up for use in horse stalls. These shavings are very inexpensive and can work very well as a litter box liner. Since wood has a natural scent, it can often cover up the ammonia smell caused by cat urine. You may also be able to contact a local cabinet shop (or other woodworking company) and get the wood shavings and sawdust for free.

You can also buy bags of wood pellets for a fairly reasonable price. These can be found at most hardware stores.

Sand: It's no secret that cats seem to be attracted to children's sandboxes. You can create the same attractive setting inside by using sand in the kitty litter box. Sand clumps very well when it is wet and does not hold cat urine odors.

For added odor protection, add about one cup of baking soda to the sand and mix it well. The down side of using sand as kitty litter is that it is easily tracked all over the house in your cat's paws. A litter box mat can help cut down on the tracking.

Dish Soap and Baking Soda: You can make a commercial style cat litter out of newspaper, water, dish soap, and baking soda. The process takes about an hour. You shred the paper and add the water and dish soap. You drain it, rinse and add baking soda and then crumble and dry. The consistency that results is more like conventional kitty litter than any of the other options.

Fish Rocks: Some people have started using fish rocks as a reusable cat litter. You simply fill the box with a mixture of fish rocks and baking soda. At the end of the week, clean the cat box and then rinse the fish rocks with soapy water. You can use the fish rocks for two - three months using this method before they need to be replaced.

Terry Towelling: Another natural cat litter especially for long haired cats is terry towelling nappies or cloth!

It's also useful for those very highbrow cats who think the duvet or bath towels are the best litter trays! There is no splashback, they are soft on the feet, foldable (coverable) and instantly cleaned! Who wouldn't like it!

Potting Mix: Potting Mix (or garden soil) is actually a very natural product for cats to use instead of a litter tray! Many cats choose to do a complex contortionist act in order to poo and pee into pot plants! The smell of freshly turned soil is a strong stimulant for a cat to eliminate their wastes - so maybe just make it easier for them to do that and give them a nice natural litter tray to work with!

If you do fill the litter box tray with potting mix or soil, be aware that it does 'track' through the house, so placing washable 'furry' mats or rubber mats around the tray at the exit point should keep the litter in its proper place.

Disclaimer: May not be advisable in a house with white carpet!

Encourage Kitty To Use Mother Nature’s Garden: This suggestion isn’t going to work for those who share their homes with 100% indoor felines, but if your kitty walks on the wild side while the sun is shining, it’s admittedly far more eco-friendly and cost-effective for them to relieve themselves outside than to set up a full-time indoor litter box. Many moons ago, our forefathers regarded whiskered kitty cats as an attractive distraction relegated to the barn due to their extraordinary rodent-snagging prowess. Getting down to business behind a shrub was efficient and precisely what Mother Nature intended, so all parties were happy indeed.

Toilet Training: Another great solution is to toilet train your cat. It takes some time and persistence to teach a cat how to use the toilet like humans do. But eventually you can teach any cat to use the toilet; which means no more having to worry about litter and the health issues attached to it.

The basic premise is that by placing a conventional cat litter box right next to a (preferably infrequently used) toilet and slowly but surely elevating it so that kitty becomes accustomed to taking care of business somewhat high in the sky, before you know it, they’ll be a-okay with straddling the seat when the urge strikes. Countless YouTube videos abound of cats in the act, and as chuckle-worthy at it seems, it is nevertheless a brilliant way to cut the cat litter factor entirely out of the picture. A word of caution, however. Make sure you target your toilet training toward furry family members that are whip-smart…and be prepared to use some of the money you’ll be saving on eco-friendly antiseptic wipes to tidy up the seat, because, you know…accidents happen.

Why Not Just Buy Litter?

There are many valid reasons to avoid the use of commercial cat litters. Some of these reasons include:

Expense - Commercial cat litters can be expensive, and you have to purchase them often.

Health concerns - Clay based litters are thought to have a carcinogen in them, and they can create allergy and asthma problems.

Environmental concerns - Clay for the kitty litter is strip-mined while flushable litter may contaminate the water.

A desire to be more self reliant - As more people choose to follow a simple lifestyle, the idea of making your own products is gaining in popularity.

DIY Cat Litter Success:

You can use other items besides commercially produced cat litter to fill your cat's litter box, although it may take quite a bit of experimentation to find which litter works best for both you and your pet. Homemade kitty litter can be better for the environment and your budget than other options, but it will probably take a lot of patience and trial and error for you to find a homemade litter that really works for you.

Note: It is best not to use perishable food items such as seeds, fruit pits, rice, popcorn kernels, beans, or similar hard shelled foods because they can present a potential choking hazard to the cat. They can also start to accumulate mold, funguses, or other harmful byproducts that are bad for the cat's health and could potentially lead to death.

Do you have any ideas for homemade cat litter? If so, feel free to leave them in the comment section below. I would love to learn about more ideas that I can add to the list.

Source One: http://cats.lovetoknow.com/Homemade_Cat_Litter

Source Two: http://lifehacker.com/5311810/make-your-own-kitty-litter-at-almost-no-cost

Source Three: http://www.organicauthority.com/pets/green-sustainable-kitty-litter-alternatives-natural.html

Source Four: http://www.felinefriendlycare.com/natural-cat-litter.html

Source Five: http://www.diyncrafts.com/1787/home/make-your-own-environmentally-safe-cat-litter

Source Six: https://youtu.be/KpIIX2YP3A4

Source Seven: https://youtu.be/dToG3tMgaRo

Source Eight: https://youtu.be/w4wka4aKtZE