article on yahoo news this morning.

[www.greenlivingonline.com]

Thanks for the info coco. I've been using the clumping stuff but had a feeling it probably wasnt so good for the environment for one thing. I'll be looking into some of the other suggested ones when my current supply runs out.

Kit

Coco, what do you use? I mean what do your cats use?

inspirit - aka coolkarma

of course i bought the clumping litter as soon as we got these wee rescue kits, d'oh! just one box if it though so i've been researching what is best to use and have so far heard some reviews of The world's Best Cat Litter, sWheat, and some of the pine and newspaper varieties. then i talked to my sister today and she told me she uses ... Sand. plain old sand. you would, of course, have to scoop it every day and change it entirely every three or four days and wash out the box but that is easy to come by and hasn't been manufactured at all.

the one problem i forsee with that is the ecological impact of taking sand out of natural environments. where i live point pelee is all but disappearing due to years of dredging off the point for sand.

i don't know, i think i'll try a couple of them and see which one they and i like the best.

have any of you found anything alternative that works well that you like?

I use one from Superstore that is supposed to be all clay and is clumping.
However, I really don't know if it's only clay!

If I knew a better one, I would gladly switch.

Get chick crumb - chicken feed it is, made of corn so 100% biodegradable but cats like using it and it acts just like highly priced clumping litters but is a fraction of the price - I pay about £7 for 25kgs, whereas I was previously paying £22 for 20kgs of a wood based clumping litter.

wow, cool. i'll have to see where i can find that stuff!

thanks for the info

For My Health The Fruit Company Fruit Baskets

Chick crumb is usually sold in farm shops, or if you're in the UK Jollyes pet stores sell it too. I've "pounced" on a few people in Jollyes when I see them buying expensive clumping litter, but those who decide to trust me and try the chick crumb are always happy :-)

Allie =^..^=

[www.stronger.me.uk]

one of my cats started pooing ont he floor after i switched from clumping to pine, the other didnt care though.

A lot of cats don't like pine litter, it can be fatal if a cat is daft enough to eat it too - I won't have pine or clay litters in the house.

Allie =^..^=

[www.stronger.me.uk]

Ok, so what's the best litter to buy? I'm getting a kitten soon. I hear such conflicting info. out there. I know the clumping litter is no good, esp for kittens. The breeder is using SWheat Scoop right now and that's what I was going to use or the Word's Best Litter (that corn stuff) but then I read about allergies connected to wheat and corn. I'm def not doing the pine or the newspaper and getting chick crumb.....not too sure about that.

I use SwheatScoop. There's only the possibility of an allergy problem if your cats eat it. All my cats tried to eat World's Best.. and 2 of them didn't like the smell of it and wouldn't use the litter. But they all used Swheatscoop so I stuck with it.

Just try different brands and go by what you like. I know on other forums a lot of people hate Swheatscoop..but for me it's the best I've found and all my cats use it without a problem.

I'm sticking with the clumping litter. It's expensive, but it's worth it for me. Over many years I've tried every kind of litter possible and they've all been garbage. They smell, they're dusty, cat hates it, etc., Have you seen the ridiculous one made out of dried orange peels? It says it's dust free and all natural. You'd expect a lovely citrus scent, right? WRONG! I opened the bag and began pouring. The biggest cloud of dust I've ever seen from any litter flew through the air. It smelled horrible and looked disgusting! I immediately bagged it back up and returned it to the store.

Yesterday's News is GREAT for young kittens. Once they get older, I switch to clay. I've never had any feline health problems with it and it's the only one my cats have ever unanimously chosen.

Sometimes you have to do what's right for you.

I use pellets like what you use in pellet stoves. Its economical and natural. I got the idea from a lady who rescues cats. She had like 27 cats that she was caring for and found this to be just the right thing for her. I tried it and my cats were okay with it. I do agree with Simple Living, you have to do what is right for you.

Purina has a new litter system out that has some kind of hard pellets that don't dissolve and a drawer with a liner that traps the urine just like the puppy Pee Pee pads. You change the pellets once a month and the pads once a week. As soon as I use up this bag of Yesterday's News ( which by the way will stain your carpeting BLACK if it gets tracked in ) I'm going to try this next one out. I've tried everything and I hate ALL of the litters out there. Crystals are disgusting, clay is unhealthy, pine makes a mess, wheat is gross and messy. I'm wondering why something like shavings or hay wouldn't work ?? Works for rabbits and hamsters... think I might experiment.

pamparred Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I use pellets like what you use in pellet stoves.
> Its economical and natural. I got the idea from a
> lady who rescues cats. She had like 27 cats that
> she was caring for and found this to be just the
> right thing for her. I tried it and my cats were
> okay with it. I do agree with Simple Living, you
> have to do what is right for you.


Yeah the stove pellets are the same thing as the pine pellets aka "Feline Pine" and all the other brands in the petstore. It's the same stuff that they use for horses. When they pee on it, it dissolves into the dust and people just have to sweep the stalls. The stove pelelts you can get like 40lbs for $5 at Home Depot or wherever.

I love the pellets. I never have to scoop the box. I pour a few inches in a week and just dump the whole thing on garbage night. You could scoop it, but I use a big enough box where the @#$%& get burried by the dust so the cat doesn't even care if I scoop it or not.

Unfortunatley, my 3 older cats wanted nothing to do with it. When they finally started using just a handful, they would only do #2 on it and not pee on it which ruins it's purpose.

i found chick crumb! i'm going to be checking it out soon, i'll let you know how it goes. i have to buy a HUGE bag at a time though, whew!

i can't imagine not scooping every day, sometimes even twice a day! no matter how deep the litter is i can still smell the @#$%& very easily as soon as it's in the box. i can't stand that stink lingering in the house! out it goes right away.

I use the clumping corn too and works great. The only thing is I had a bit of a problem with pantry moths for awhile which may or may not have been from that... The urine has definitely stopped being so rank after switching them to raw meat diet... The person who mentioned the issue with Pine - it could be the formaldehyde & arsenic they put on wood so I've always stayed away from that. But clumping clay is bad - think of all the times they lick their paws... If it clumps in the box it clumps in their stomach. At least wheat and corn can be digested. Also it doesn't stick to their paws the same way that clay does so they are not necessarily eating any of it.