Lighter (weight) alternatives to clay cat litter?

[vino_er_coach]

I have rack my brain and googled until my eyes were blurry, to no success.

I have a few cats and I am looking for suggestions for alternatives to clay cat litter.
My new city charges per bag of garbage, so after all of our daily tidy ups and weekly clean outs, I am spending $2-$4 on cat litter disposal alone....which is going to cost me around $200 a year.

I have tried shredded paper in the past when I would have my kitties fixed. They hated it.

This week I tried small animal bedding and after 1 day, this morning I woke up to a bathroom floor with several #1’s and 4 big bombs. I read that this was a good alternative as I could just flush the bombs and compost the rest. So, it is a total failure.

I was on the Pet Valu website, and they have a pellet product. It is made of tightly compressed clean and recycled sawdust.
It is a similar concept to the bedding, as you flush the bombs and when the pellets get wet from #1’s, they expand from the moisture and can then be composted. They also smell like cedar and pine, which acts as a natural deodorizer. This is the plan for tonight.

So, if this next option fails to work, I would like some ideas from others about alternatives to clay that they tried and had success with.

I am willing to try almost anything....even building a large box, lining it and growing them a patch of grass lol.

Suggestions?


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[Arjon]

I have rack my brain and googled until my eyes were blurry, to no success.

I have a few cats and I am looking for suggestions for alternatives to clay cat litter.
My new city charges per bag of garbage, so after all of our daily tidy ups and weekly clean outs, I am spending $2-$4 on cat litter disposal alone....which is going to cost me around $200 a year.

I have tried shredded paper in the past when I would have my kitties fixed. They hated it.

This week I tried small animal bedding and after 1 day, this morning I woke up to a bathroom floor with several #1’s and 4 big bombs. I read that this was a good alternative as I could just flush the bombs and compost the rest. So, it is a total failure.

I was on the Pet Valu website, and they have a pellet product. It is made of tightly compressed clean and recycled sawdust.
It is a similar concept to the bedding, as you flush the bombs and when the pellets get wet from #1’s, they expand from the moisture and can then be composted. They also smell like cedar and pine, which acts as a natural deodorizer. This is the plan for tonight.

So, if this next option fails to work, I would like some ideas from others about alternatives to clay that they tried and had success with.

I am willing to try almost anything....even building a large box, lining it and growing them a patch of grass lol.

Suggestions?


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Which type offers the best value is a personal decision that involves more than just dollars and cents, but fwiw, IMO it's pretty much a case where the higher the cost (based on cost per refill of the litter box), the nicer the litter. The more expensive kinds can also last somewhat longer between refills; e.g. silica crystals can last up to ~4-5 weeks for 2 cats depending how much and how often they pee.

[vino_er_coach]

Which type offers the best value is a personal decision that involves more than just dollars and cents, but fwiw, IMO it's pretty much a case where the higher the cost (based on cost per refill of the litter box), the nicer the litter. The more expensive kinds can also last somewhat longer between refills; e.g. silica crystals can last up to ~4-5 weeks for 2 cats depending how much and how often they pee.

I have never come across silica crystals for cat litter. I will look into this.

3 of my babies a biggies. They love their food and lazing around the house all day. My other one I think has ADHD. She is a pure bred Bengal, 18 months old and her hobbies are causing chaos, hunting everything that moves, running around, jumping and climbing. I sometimes wonder if she even sleeps. She eats like crazy too, but you would never tell because she is so lean and muscular.

I have no issue paying extra for a litter, I just want to keep as much of it out of the dump as possible and reduce the cost of disposal. The city is trying to find ways to increase recycling and composting to extend the life of the dump, hence the bag tag cost, and my search for an alternative.


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[vino_er_coach]

Which type offers the best value is a personal decision that involves more than just dollars and cents, but fwiw, IMO it's pretty much a case where the higher the cost (based on cost per refill of the litter box), the nicer the litter. The more expensive kinds can also last somewhat longer between refills; e.g. silica crystals can last up to ~4-5 weeks for 2 cats depending how much and how often they pee.

Just wanted to give you an early thank you for your recommendation.
We did a total clean up and swap over last night for the silica product, and we had a very successful first night!


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[endi2000]

Btw - did you know that litter - clay and paper pellet - can go into the compost pickups?

It should not be going into the garbage if you have composting


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[vino_er_coach]

Btw - did you know that litter - clay and paper pellet - can go into the compost pickups?

It should not be going into the garbage if you have composting


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Hello,

Yes, I did know that it can go into the compost pickups, but my city does not have a compost pickup program. We have garbage pickup, a pretty rigid recycling program. Backyard compositing is not allowed to have meat, dairy or animal waste in it. Small bundles of branches can be left out in the spring and autumn, all other yard materials (grass clippings, old plants, leaves and such) are not collected. All that is to be backyard composted. It is a lot more work than where I use to live, and a lot more expensive. I bag up all of our small pieces of paper and save it in my backyard shed for burning and compost layers. They only collect recycling every other week, so I only put out thick pieces of paper, like from cardboard or box packaging and have a huge bin with wheels for cans and jars.


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[Arjon]

Btw - did you know that litter - clay and paper pellet - can go into the compost pickups?

It should not be going into the garbage if you have composting

It's probably best to check with one's region or municipality is actually able to process it. I don't think everywhere is.