Good Cat litter

dh0661

Hi all - I need help and advice with cat litter.

First of all I have to say that I have very little experience with cats, but have recently (last July) taken in a stray kitten.

I have been buying litter in the supermarkets, but this seems to have to be renewed every other day, is this normal ?.

When I was at the vet today I noticed a wood pellet type of litter. They were busy at the time and I was in a rush, so I did not get a chance to enquire more about it.

Any advice on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

psycho8itch

I've got two cats sharing the one litter tray. I don't tend to have any problems if i scoop every day and change it every3/4 days.(and thats with the cheap euro shopper/superquinn brand)

Think that the litter tray i use helps though. (It's the one with the cat flap door,lid and filter from argos)
Plus depending on the deoderiser i use it can even be longer.

I found the litter that clumps(containing clay i think) is very smelly and the cats won't use it more than three/four times so i steer well clear.(They hate a smelly loo like us all!)

Can't say i've ever tried the one you've mentioned though.
Hope it helps

Sharpshooter

Catsan is a very good one , no smell and the litter is fine enough to fall through the litter shovel ( litter that hasn't been wet by the cat ) means you only remove the clump.
l would remove the clumps as soon as you notice them as the kitten is more likely to use it again if its clean.
The wood type litter you mention , l used it once and when wet it swells up like sawdust. lt didn't mask the smell either.
l would stick with Catsan or maybe someone on here might even know of a better one.:)
Good luck with your kitten and enjoy.:)

Sharpshooter

psycho8itch wrote: »

I've got two cats sharing the one litter tray. I don't tend to have any problems if i scoop every day and change it every3/4 days.(and thats with the cheap euro shopper/superquinn brand)

Think that the litter tray i use helps though. (It's the one with the cat flap door,lid and filter from argos)
Plus depending on the deoderiser i use it can even be longer.

I found the litter that clumps(containing clay i think) is very smelly and the cats won't use it more than three/four times so i steer well clear.(They hate a smelly loo like us all!)

Can't say i've ever tried the one you've mentioned though.
Hope it helps

l have 2 cats indoor and l need 3 litter trays , as l found that mine don't like to share.
So they have 1 each and a spare in case for some reason l am not there to clean the other 2.
Funny thing is neither of them have used the third one
because l always clean the other ones in time.
lts just a standby really but it always amazes me that they stick to their own trays.:)

The Sweeper

I use the cheapest litter I can find. The stuff I buy is like very fine gravel. It's unscented. I buy it in 5kg bags.

If you can get a recycled paper product, I'd recommend that - my supermarket used to stock this stuff like tiny crumpled balls of old cardboard and it was excellent. Really absorbant stuff and because it's light, they don't make such a meal out of scratching around in it and scattering it everywhere.

I tried the scented stuff, the stuff that looks like glass beads, the stuff like wooden pellets, the stuff like clumping clay, and it all boils down to one thing: it's for cats to pee and poo in. QED: buy cheap, change frequently.

I have plastic litter trays that I pour the gravel into directly. Each tray then goes inside one of the cats' pet transport boxes - I take the door off it. I find that my cats are never reluctant to go into their carry cases to go to the vets or anywhere else, because they're used to going in and out to the litter tray in the carry case.

I have to be honest - I don't take anything out of the trays, I just change the whole thing, lock stock, every 3 days . I empty the tray, scald it out and wash it down with disinfectant and also rinse the carry box with disinfectant. Then I wipe dry with kitchen towel and refill with gravel.

I tried lining the litter box with plastic and newspaper, but my cats just rip the liner to shreds in less than a day so I'd rather not use it and disinfect the tray between fills instead.

The cheap-ass gravel is good - there's a lot of dust in the bag along with the gravel pieces. To be graphic, cat pee flows down through the gravel and the dust holds it at the bottom of the tray, leaving the gravel unclumped and freeflowing on top. It also makes cat poop dry out almost immediately.

My local cat shelter uses a fine litter like milled gravel, unscented, non-clumping. They use two trays in a pen with one mamma cat and her litter of kittens - one covered, for the adult cat, and one not, so the kittens can get used to wandering in and out of it.

psycho8itch

sharpshooterH wrote: »

l have 2 cats indoor and l need 3 litter trays , as l found that mine don't like to share.
So they have 1 each and a spare in case for some reason l am not there to clean the other 2.
Funny thing is neither of them have used the third one
because l always clean the other ones in time.
lts just a standby really but it always amazes me that they stick to their own trays.:)

:eek:Aaagh. Can't even imagine where I'd manage to fit 3 trays! Never realised how lucky i was! Maybe its because mine are sisters and have always had to share, i guess the fact they're really close makes it a bit easier on them.

Only unusual thing about their "habits" is that when they go outside to play they come back inside to use the litter tray;and then rush back out to finish chasing birds etc!:pac:

Sharpshooter

psycho8itch wrote: »

:eek:Aaagh. Can't even imagine where I'd manage to fit 3 trays! Never realised how lucky i was! Maybe its because mine are sisters and have always had to share, i guess the fact they're really close makes it a bit easier on them.

Only unusual thing about their "habits" is that when they go outside to play they come back inside to use the litter tray;and then rush back out to finish chasing birds etc!:pac:

Thats a good habit , don't you think though.
At least you will have no problems with the neighbours.:pac:;)

NextSteps

I've tried the petshop stuff (yellow bag, can't remember the name) and the Tesco Value €2.99 stuff. The Tesco stuff is very chalky or dusty, which seems to spread around the tray much more than the other stuff.

mary123

Please DO NOT use clumping litter as it can and has caused death in kittens.

Sharpshooter

Gosh, l have not heard of that at all, having raised and homed around 20 kittens now and all of them used that litter. when did this come to light?

carwash_2006

The problem with clumping litter is that sometimes kittens eat the litter. If they eat clay clumping litter it will clump inside them and if they eat enough it will gum up their insides.

You were obviously lucky that your kittens didn't eat it, best not to chance it once you know what it can do.

There is other types of clumping litter that are safe as they are digestible. The only one of these I know of that is available in Ireland is Worlds Best Cat Litter. It is quite pricey, but a small bag lasts one cat one month, so it doesn't work out more expensive. It is one of those love it or hate it things though. So a lot of people will tell you they hate it. I use it and wouldn't use any other type of litter now.

Sharpshooter

God, l really didn't know that, l guess the kittens were the lucky ones.
ls Worlds Best Cat Litter available in most pet shops?
because even though it is 2 Cats we have now l would not like to put them at risk. l would most certainly change over.

ValerieR

I use Sophisticat. I get it in a large petshop in Galway (Pet World) and comes in 30kg bags.
I find it very excellent and 30kg lasts us for aaagees compared to 5kg bags.
Hope this helps.
ValerieR

carwash_2006

WBCL should be available in most good pet shops. You can probably buy it online either if you can't find it in a shop.

dh0661

carwash_2006 wrote: »

WBCL

Is this the proper brand name, or an abbreviation?.

Sharpshooter

dh0661 wrote: »

Is this the proper brand name, or an abbreviation?.

Carwash said its called " Worlds Best Cat Litter ".:)
See Post 11.

dh0661

sharpshooterH wrote: »

Carwash said its called " Worlds Best Cat Litter ".:)
See Post 11.

oops

Sharpshooter

dh0661 wrote: »

oops

No need for:o just wanted you to see the post for yourself.:)

cotton

http://kittenadoption.proboards80.com/index.cgi?board=talk&action=display&thread=840


Please read this, it might save your kitten's life.

Clumping clay kitty litters may be related to a wide variety of
seemingly unrelated cat health problems, included diarrhea, frothy
yellow vomiting, mega-bowel syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome,
kidney problems, respiratory problems, general failure to thrive,
anemia, lethargy, and even death. For more information, read this
article and see the related pages listed at the end of this article.

If, after reading this article, you feel you have been helped in any
way, or would like to contribute your own story, please write to me
or spread the word. Thanks!

The article begins below. For more information, see the the
CatMom.com Home Page.
Clumping Clay Kitty Litters: A Deadly Convenience?
". . . something able to block household plumbing must be wreaking
havoc on the plumbing of our feline companions."

Cats die. Kittens die. It's part of life. But we still grieve when
they die, even though we know it is only the body, not the spirit,
that is gone. How much worse we feel when those deaths were
unnecessary, could have been prevented by something as simple as
changing the kind of litter we use.

I breed Japanese Bobtail cats and I grieved in 1994 when an entire
litter of kittens (born in November 1993) died. Despite round-the-
clock nursing and force-feeding of fluids and food, one kitten, then
another, let go of his grasp on life.

The three kittens started out as a robust, lively group. Then, at
weaning time, just as they were learning to use the litter box, they
began to vomit a yellow frothy substance and to pass yellow diarrhea;
the diarrhea looked and smelled like clay. They also had nasal and
eye discharge. The diarrhea proceeded to turn harder and even more
clay-like, and finally the kittens stopped moving their bowels at
all. The veterinarians said they could feel "a hard mass" inside. The
kittens dwindled into thin, dehydrated, frail little skeletons, sunk
in apathy. Then they died.

When these kittens first fell sick, I wasn't too worried, because I
had seen the same set of symptoms in two earlier litters. The first
time it happened I'd lost one kitten, but the other survived with a
week of force-feeding fluids. When a second litter started to exhibit
the same symptoms, we took the kittens and their parents to the
veterinarian, who tested them for everything from intestinal
parasites to feline AIDS. The results were negative. "Some kind of
virus" was the vague diagnosis, or "possibly giardia" (an intestinal
parasite), even though the test for it was negative. We nursed them,
gave them fluids and love, and like the previous kittens, these two
were over the problem in a week.

So the third time, with the November kittens, although I was a little
worried, I was confident we could pull these through as well. But
their illness dragged on for three weeks, and they grew progressively
weaker. Again we had the cats and kittens tested for a variety of
problems; again, nothing. And then, all within the same week, the
kittens died.

When a fourth litter, born in late March 1994, began to exhibit the
same symptoms yet again, I felt frustrated, frightened, and helpless.
What was going on? Was there something in the environment? Was my
home somehow a "sick house?" Was one of the adult cats carrying
something that the kittens were picking up? I always keep my cats
indoors, so it couldn't be exposure to outside cats.

Pawprints
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

I decided I needed a new perspective and began to look for a holistic
veterinarian. The next day, a friend gave me the card of a new
holistic veterinarian in town, Dr. Stephanie Chalmers.

But before I had the chance to take the kittens to see this new vet,
I was struck by a bolt of lightning. The clumping litter! It was
almost as though someone had whispered it into my ear. It made
perfect sense. Everything fit; it explained all the symptoms. My
thinking went along these lines:

1. Clumping litter is designed to form a hard, insoluble mass
when it gets wet. It also produces a fine dust when stirred (as when
a cat scratches around to bury a recent deposit). And these clumping
litters absorb many times their weight in fluids.
2. When cats or kittens use the litter box, they lick themselves
clean; anything their tongues encounter gets ingested. Kittens
especially tend to ingest a lot of litter when they are first
learning to use the box.
3. Once the litter is inside a kitten or cat, it expands, forming
a mass and coating the interior-thus, both causing dehydration by
drawing fluids out of the cat or kitten, and compounding the problem
by preventing any absorption of nutrients or fluids.

My cats and kittens had probably reacted with diarrhea initially in
an effort to cleanse their bodies of the litter before it had a
chance to settle and coat their insides. But kittens have very small
intestines; a hard insoluble mass could very well produce a complete
and fatal blockage within a couple of weeks.

On the strength of these deductions, I immediately went out and
bought a plant-based litter to replace the clumping litter. I also
took several of the hard, clay-like lumps of stool produced by two of
the kittens and smeared them open. Not only did the stools have the
consistency, smell, and texture of clay, but they even retained the
color of the litter (gray with blue flecks) inside. This was
confirmation enough for me.

As soon as I could, I took all the kittens, along with their mother,
to Dr. Chalmers, who said that she had already heard of problems like
this with the clumping clay litters. She put the kittens on a
holistic course of treatment (slippery elm to help soothe the
intestines; homemade chicken broth to nourish the kittens without
putting further strain on their insides).

She also showed me an article by Lisa Newman, another holistic health
practitioner, citing some of the cases of illness and death that she
(Lisa Newman) has seen first hand—illnesses and deaths most likely
caused by clumping litter. A light went on in my head when I read the
following:

"There has been a rise in depressed immune systems, respiratory
distress, irritable bowel syndrome, and vomiting (other than hair
balls) among cats that I have seen in the past two years. All had one
thing in common...a clumping product in their litter box. In several
cases, simply removing the litter improved the condition of the
cat." ("Great Clumping Cat Litter—Is That Why Kitty is So Sick?"
Healthy Pets—Naturally, April 1994.)

The problem of health difficulties and even deaths resulting from
clumping litters appears to be more prevalent than most people are
aware of. I recently spoke with another Japanese Bobtail breeder, who
told me of a kitten she sold that subsequently became very ill with a
severe respiratory problem. The new owner used a clumping litter, and
her veterinarian found that the kitten's lungs were coated with dust
from the litter.

For a veterinarian to spot this problem is unusual. A more common
diagnosis would lay the blame at the door of a virus, germ, fungus or
parasite. There is not a general awareness yet that the clumping
litters can be harmful—even fatal—to cats.

Pawprints
BEYOND CATS

And the problem extends beyond cats. As Lisa Newman points out in her
article, dogs get into the litter box for "snacks," and ingest the
litter too. She reports that the autopsy of one dog revealed that his
stomach was filled with the clumping litter.

An article entitled "How Cat Litter is Made" appeared in Cat Fancy
magazine (October 1994). Shockingly, the article contains no cautions
against the use of clumping litters, even though the description of
one of the main ingredients in such products should be enough to
alarm any thinking person.

"Sodium bentonite, a naturally swelling clay, is often added as
an extremely effective clumping agent. When liquid is added,
bentonite swells to approximately 15 times its original volume. But
because sodium bentonite acts as an expandable cement would, litters
containing sodium bentonite should never be flushed; when they expand
they can block plumbing."

A few moments' thought is all that is needed to realize that
something able to block household plumbing must be wreaking havoc on
the plumbing of our feline companions.

What about my kittens after I switched to a plant-based litter?
Sadly, the two females died. Both were passing clay stools right up
until the time of their deaths; one kitten was still passing clay
almost two weeks after I switched litters. The two males survived,
though it took months for them to fully recover. Only after switching
to a completely organic, homemade diet was I able to clear up the
last traces of their ordeal. And still I grieve for the kittens who
died so needlessly.

Pawprints
WHAT YOU CAN DO

You may feel as horrified as I do at the thought that there must be
thousands of kittens and cats (and other animals) ailing or even
dying from clumping clay litters. What can we do to prevent such
suffering?

One thing is let the manufacturers know we won't buy such products.
My husband called a company that makes one of these clumping litters.
The woman he spoke with said that the company is aware that clumping
litters may be causing health problems, but that it is the consumer's
responsibility to make sure their cats don't eat the stuff.

My husband pointed out that cats clean themselves with their mouths,
so of course they're going to eat the litter every time they use
their cat boxes. Unfortunately, the company's representative
maintained her "buyer beware" position.

Given the attitudes of such companies, we can vote with our
pocketbooks by purchasing products from businesses that are more
responsive to our concerns. Be sure to let the makers of the clumping
litter know why you no longer purchase their product. You might even
choose to boycott all products made by these companies (it isn't hard
to find out who makes what—just read the labels). An even more
effective move might be to show this article to the owners or
managers of stores selling these products.

If you suspect that an animal may be suffering an ailment caused by
clumping litter, take him or her to a veterinarian or holistic
practitioner immediately, and explain what you think may be
happening. If you encounter resistance, it may mean that the
veterinarian is unfamiliar with the problem and doesn't know how to
handle it. Try to find a holistic vet—either locally or someone you
can work with by phone—who has some experience with clumping litter
impacting the intestines. Most importantly, replace the clumping
litter right away with one of the plant-based alternatives. Even if
your cat is healthy, it makes sense to switch to a different litter.

If you love cats as I do, spread the word. Tell everyone you know
about this problem. Tell your veterinarian. You may save the lives of
many kittens, cats, and other beloved creatures.
For More Information

For a list of related articles, see the CatMom.com Home Page.

http://www.thelighthouseonline.com/articles/clump.html

luckat

I use - well, actually, my cat uses - the stuff from Lidl. Don' t know if it's the clumping kind. Seems to suit her fine.

comongethappy

If you go to www.zooplus.ie, they have brilliant cat litters. I had never realised the risk to kittens of the clumping clay litters though! I will keep this in mind if I ever have kittens again the the future, luckly my 3 kittens never experienced these problems.

If you check the litter link on zooplus, they sell ecological clumping litters: they are all plant based. I get the medium one, and while it doesn't clump as well as the gravel, it still clumps fairly well and it doesn't track nearly as much as the finer stuff.

I hope this helps

miss no stars

Mine uses the Lidl stuff too. It's grand. Doesn't smell, no dust everywhere, not so light that it gets flung everywhere thanks to her frantic digging to Australia (only to leave herself hanging over the edge when she finally decides enough digging has been done.... :rolleyes:) and it's super cheap.

BlackCat2008

I've used Thamas cat litter for 18yrs now and can honestly saw I've never had a problem with all the kittens I've had here or dogs and I'm 2 away from 1000 at the present it doesn't smell and easy to scoop, any kitten that passed away I know what is was from and wouldn't put it down to litter but I will give the company a call and have a chat all the same maybe I've just been lucky and for now I'll stick to what I know, I have tryed that clay stuff and back and nose doesn't think much of it or the cats at present I have three trays they are fully change every two days and scoop once or twice in between and if bad I just fully clean it again. I have also used catsan which I find is nearly the same and just as good just hard for me to get hold of. I find most of the cheap supermarket own brands are not great on the nose and kitties don't really take to it, if I get stuck then I use sherreded news paper and that seems to go down ok till they find a book to pee on.

Garth

We use chick crumb from the local agri supply store.

It's 12 euro for a massive bag of it and it clumps, not quite as well as World's Best, but at a tiny fraction of the cost. Also it won't flush like World's Best does. But again, it costs next to nothing compared to other litters. We sprinkle baking soda with it to control smells.

Jack B. Badd

My boyfriend and I got our first cat on Sunday (:)) and picked up a bag of Thomas cat litter for her. I've been wheezing and sneezing quite a bit at home since then (not helped by the fact that I have a cold) and my boyfriend has started now too. We're obviously hoping that it's not an allergy to the cat - I've never had a problem with other people's cats and my boyfriend had family cats up until about 5 years ago without issue. Anyway, we think the cat litter may be (part of) the problem. I was thinking of trying the wood pellet or paper litter as an alternative but I was wondering if anyone can let me know if either of these are better/less dusty than the clay litter?

cotton

It could well be the litter. Some of the clay litters can be quite dusty, especially Thomas. I tried it a while ago as I ran out of litter & the petshop was closed, my eyes watered at the dust from it. One of my lot sneezes if in contact with any dust & I had to spray the air above the trays with water on it to stop him sneezing.
There is no dust at all with the wood pellet litter. Paper litter sounds great in theory but it doesn't absord any smells, in fact it makes pee smell worse.

The Sweeper

Jack B, you may well be allergic to the cat, but there is a settling-in period.

I have really bad allergies and I'm allergic to cats, and there are a number of things you can do to still be a happy cat owner. I also suffer from mild asthma, but I don't take an antihistamine every day, or use my inhalers daily to deal with living with cats.

It takes about four weeks for your immune system to settle if you're allergic to cats and have constant exposure to them. I can cuddle and put my face into my cats' fur, and it doesn't make me sneeze or water-up - when I got them first that would have sent me streaming and wheezing with a box of tissues in tow. So first off, give it some time.

The next thing is to leave some areas of the house off-limits to the cats, especially the bedroom. Just keep the bedroom door closed all of the time, and shoo them out if they get in there. Set up a proper bed for them somewhere else in the house, and they won't persist in trying to get into your bedroom. (NB: by 'persist' as it relates to a cat, I mean it'll get used to it in a week, not two days.)

You can also help your allergies by wiping your cats down with a damp cloth (seriously). Rub kitty the wrong way with a warm, damp cloth once a week - it takes a lot of the saliva off the fur and keeps the level of allergen down. Some people actually wash their cats once a week, but I can't see me wrestling mine for the purpose of THAT pastime!

Do similar to soft furnishings that the cat sits on - other than just hoovering them, wipe a wrung-out damp cloth over them.

Vaccum and sweep and dust more than you feel like doing.

I wouldn't trade my cats for the world, but in the first four weeks we had them my husband broached the subject of taking them back to the shelter because my allergies were so bad. I used to own a cat back in Ireland, so I knew it would settle and it did.

GeturGun

I use the lidl/aldi/tesco value one.
I think the Aldi one is a little more dusty than the Lidl.

One of them is digging frantically as I type this
My 2 find it grand

FunkyMissMonkey

I am so glad I stopped by here today and read this! I have been using fine clumping litter for our cats since we had them. Initially a brand I purchased in a supermarket in France while I lived there, and since moving to Ireland, Golden Grey from zooplus.ie

I shall now be looking at alternatives, as although this product is so user-friendly from my point of view, I now understand the huge risk it's putting on my pets life. I never knew! :eek:

MsFifers

Jack B. Badd wrote: »

My boyfriend and I got our first cat on Sunday (:)) and picked up a bag of Thomas cat litter for her. I've been wheezing and sneezing quite a bit at home since then (not helped by the fact that I have a cold) and my boyfriend has started now too. We're obviously hoping that it's not an allergy to the cat - I've never had a problem with other people's cats and my boyfriend had family cats up until about 5 years ago without issue. Anyway, we think the cat litter may be (part of) the problem. I was thinking of trying the wood pellet or paper litter as an alternative but I was wondering if anyone can let me know if either of these are better/less dusty than the clay litter?

I don't like the wood pellet litter - it turns to sawdust very quickly and because its so light it sticks to their fur and gets carried around all over the house. It also dissolves when they pee on it and smells v. stinky. I found I was washing out the trays every day with it.

I am currently using a clumping litter but am now thinking about revising this after reading the above info.

I think I might try the chick crumb but will have to see if its possible to get a small amount as a trial first.

Jack B. Badd

MsFifers wrote: »

I don't like the wood pellet litter - it turns to sawdust very quickly and because its so light it sticks to their fur and gets carried around all over the house. It also dissolves when they pee on it and smells v. stinky. I found I was washing out the trays every day with it.

Yeah, we changed over to the wood pellet litter this afternoon and though we've noticed an improvement in the lack of dust from it, it doesn't mask the smell very well. I'll see how this goes and then I may try the paper litter...

biko

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

I use the cheapest litter I can find. The stuff I buy is like very fine gravel. It's unscented. I buy it in 5kg bags.

I'm trying to locate Poultry or Layer Crumble. It's really chicken feed but apparently so cheap and good it can be used for the kittens too. This guy swears by it.

edit, just saw Garths post.

dh0661

I asked the question, and curiosity got the better of me. I purchased the wood-pellet litter from the vet's pet shop, and found it much, much better than the ones that I bought in the supermarkets.

The name of the one I bought is - Beauticat wood pellets cat litter, "ultra absorbent, biodegradable with pine fresh fragrance". 15 litres for €15-00.

The Sweeper

I can't imagine poultry layer pellets making good cat litter. If they're the ones I'm thinking about, they have their own distinctive, yeasty, bone-meal type of smell. Yeah a 25 litre bag is about ten bucks here (versus 14 bucks for a 15 litre bag of cat litter) but it'd make me shudder to imagine what that would smell like after being used as cat litter.

I've just switched to the brand my local cat shelter use because it's garden friendly and you can either throw it on the garden or compost it (use a special compost corner and buy some tiger worms - more on that for anyone who's interested). Haven't tried using it yet, but was getting tired of dumping plastic bags of used cat litter weighing nearly 2-3kgs a time in the bin.

dh0661

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

I've just switched to the brand my local cat shelter use because it's garden friendly and you can either throw it on the garden or compost it (use a special compost corner and buy some tiger worms - more on that for anyone who's interested). Haven't tried using it yet, but was getting tired of dumping plastic bags of used cat litter weighing nearly 2-3kgs a time in the bin.

Yes we are interested, well at least I am.

The Sweeper

I've been doing a bit of research on this because I want to give my cats restricted outdoor access when we move house. Some of the reading I did involved building cat runs, which is pretty straightforward, but there was also a piece on building a cat run with a built-in no-clean litter area.

The design appears to be build up an area (using house bricks or timber or whatever) within the run to use as a litter area. Maybe a square metre of space, or smaller - 100cm x 50cm, plus a foot deep for instance (this isn't an exact science). Start to layer it the way you would a raised garden bed for the layered bed style known as "lasagne gardening" or "no dig" gardening. No soild base on the pit, just layers of organic matter built up from the ground.

Wet newspaper on the bottom, then some well rotted animal manure, then some straw (preferably pea straw or lucerne), a handful of fertiliser like blood and bone, more newspaper, more manure more straw - repeat until you've reached the desired height inside the walls of the pit. Water it all in well.

Add compost worms - preferably what are called either red worms or tiger worms. Your garden centre will sell them by the 1,000. (They'll double their numbers in six months, but since you've left your lasagne-layer cat poop tray open to the ground at the bottom, this won't be a problem). Top the layers with a few centimetres of topsoil or good compost, and then cover that in the sort of irresistable, fine grade bark chippings that cats are notorious for digging up in other people's gardens to take a poop. You don't want to overfill the pit, because you don't want kitty to be scattering bark chippings everywhere, but the level will lower as the material breaks down and the worms do their work.

The upshot is this - compost worms will eat meat scraps and everything else organic, including cat faeces. The reason you're never supposed to put meat in a compost bin is that it will attract flies, maggots, scavengers, rodents and so on. Plus if the heat in the bin doesn't reach an optimum level to kill off bad bacteria, it's a hazardous material for the home gardener to be handling to scatter around their plants. However when you're striving to create a kitty litter area that's a different matter. First cat crap won't be as noxious as rotting raw meat. Second, it won't be as attractive to rodents. ("Yum! Cat crap!" - I don't think so.)

The lasagne layer process is important to keep the worms in the kitty litter - if there isn't enough food for them they'll nick off into the rest of your garden (good for garden, bad for litter pit).

I'm going to give this system a go myself and see how it works out, with the given caveats of paying very close attention to hygiene if I have to touch the litter pit once it's been built and is starting to get use. The alternative to having it as access for cats outdoors is using it as a dumping ground for any cleaned out litter from inside. If you're going to do that you'll HAVE to use a plant-based or paper-based litter. The RSPCA Australia make a garden-friendly litter product called Max's - not sure if something similar is available in the UK/Ireland.

Sage'sMama

I use the crystal beads cat litter for my indoor cat. It's see through beads with small blue ones there is no odour and the cat doesn't dig her way to the other side of the world when she's finished anymore. I think it's great and it's only €8 from the vet. You pour the whole bag in one go into the litter tray and remove the "poo" from the tray after they go and the beads soak up the wee. This causes the beads to turn white so you know when there all nearly white it needs to be changed. I change mine once a fornight. It really is fantastic. You just have to stir it each day to spread it out. When we moved from the apartment to a house with a garden i didn't want sage wandering so we built her an enclosure like the ones in catterys just slighlty larger and put large logs in it and a house for her to go indoors. She loves it and i don't have to worry about her when i go to work. She gets the benefits of being outdoors and is safe at the same time i'm just sorry i didn't know about the lasagne affect litter system then though i only finished it a week ago! otherwise i would've tried it.

Shelli

I use that crystal beads litter too, it's the best, and I've tried loads of them.

Pet-stop sells it for about €4.50 per pag.

Our man in Havana

Tact or Cats Best.

Jack B. Badd

Interesting thing I noticed this morning - we changed one of Eve's litter trays from Cat's Best to Catsan Hygiene last night as she's been suffering from cystitis and the vet thinks trying a few different types of litter might help her find the one she's happiest with. I woke up this morning feeling like my mucus membranes had been totally dehydrated - sore eyes, nose and sinuses. Both my boyfriend and I feel like we're coming down with a cold (which we're not afaik) after only 12 hours of having the clay litter in the house. Will definitely be moving back to Cat's Best later on. The clay stuff is being relegated to an absolute emergency...

Themadhouse

Chick crumb is the same as worlds best. Both are made from corn. It can be flushed and does clump. We use baking soda on the bottom of the tray and sprinkle some on top to give it a fresh smell. It is also safe to use for kittens. It's v cheap and i wouldn't use anything else!

Jack B. Badd

I'm finding it bloody hard to find chick crumb in London unfortunately...