2 cat litter threads/merged here

[megsmind]

I'm currently using corn-cob cat litter. It's ungodly expensive and doesn't seem to mask oder at all... is it any better/worse then traditional clay litter? Is there another litter I should try?

[lee]

clay-- sodium bentonite particles get into kitty's lungs when they're scratching and digging in the litter, then expand in the lungs, and leads to asthma...

some good ones: recycled paper like Good Mews and Yesterdays News (purina, but recycled newspapers), and of course sWheat Scoops made from wheat, but personally i would take a post consumer product over something that people can eat. Then again if you really have a stinky feline, you might want to use the preconsumer recycled Feline Pine yup, pine scented from pine sawdust

[Fern]

I've been grappling with this as well. The clay clumping litter is bad; i understand the fumes are carcinogenic, plus they way it's strip-mined is definitely not eco-friendly.

My cat dislikes the pine pellets. She's ok with Wheat Scoop and some other stuff. I'm still experimenting, but my cat already has litterbox issues to begin with, so i've got to be careful.

I would think nearly any alternative like the corn cobs has got to be better than clay.

[megsmind]

I just wish the corn cob stuff didn't have that weird sweet putrid smell.

Every time I smell pine I start sneezing so that one is out.

Guess corn it is! LOL

(And Fern, you're in good company with the kitty with litter box issues )

[Fern]

Really??

I love her dearly, but she only poops in it i'd estimate about 50% of the time. I think most people wouldn't stand for that, but she's too dear to me, so i put up with it and groan.

[megsmind]

At least yours poops outside. My 13 year old pees on anything you leave out. Towels, clothes, suitcases. It's miserable. I started keeping all of my towels in plastic tubs and she STILL peed on them. She's driving me batty. Although, I have to say, she's a cranky old bird who has little to do with me at all. At least the other animals have socially redeeming values.

[Fern]

Is the cat with the peeing problem a female? Are there other cats in the house? That may be the problem.

I discovered that females are much more territorial than males. The cat i was talking about earlier, who poops outside the box, also peed outside the box when my other femaile cat was still alive. That cat became ill and i had to her put to sleep. Overnight and magically, the peeing outside the box stopped. I mean, immediately. She apparently did not want the other cat around. They always scuffled somewhat, but never too seriously, i thought.

Cat pee is the worst thing. I feel your pain. You should clean it up asap with vinegar or she will continue to use the same spots over and over again.

Another possiblitiy with the pooping outside the box: if the cat is consipated or has hard stool, they will associate the pain of pooping with the litter box and stop using it. Add a little water and bran to their wet food and you should solve the problem if it's related to that.

[megsmind]

You hit the nail on the head with my cat peeing. Yes, she's a female. She's a spiteful, evil, angry, brat of a female. She really should have been an only animal but she got me as a mother so oh-well. We have 2 other cats and a dog - all of which she detests with every ounce of her being. Even with 3 litter boxes she still goes wherever it'll make me angriest.

I do clean it up right away (as soon as I find it I should say). Thank god for vinegar.

[lee]

you guys have wierd cats. my cat is his own uncle and feral. he was "rescued" from a house that has 20 cats and no people (a 17 year old who got a high paying job at a video game co. lived there, never lived on his own, refused to fix the 2 cats he had in there... and then ended up with 20 of em, so he would show up once or twice a week and fill a giant bowl with catfood). apparenltly there was no liter there. Then the guy who "rescued" him moved away an abandoned him. So now he's my cat. And he doesn't really act like any cat i have ever seen before.

but that being said. he's been using Yesterdays News for over a year now (give or take-- in the summer he is much happier pooing outside) but no complaints (and no smell complaints from me), it seems to work fine.

[GreenBean]

For those of you who are having cat peeing/pooping problems, I have been there! We struggled to figure out the problem and in the meantime he peed on anything we left on the floor and then some. We took him to the vet and they found nothing. Eventually he stopped and we thought maybe it was a seasonal thing but soon he started up again and did not stop. During that time we moved and we started going to a holistic vet. Where our conventional vet would just shrug her shoulders, our holistic vet worked hard with us to figure it out. We found out he had some sediment or something in his bladder (ultrasound was unclear) and so the vet came up with a new diet (raw food) and the strategy was to sort blast out the sediment by really hydrating him (he rarely drank water) with a variety of methods. We were really having great success but still, occasionally it would happen. This is going to sound crazy but (for those of you who have had to clean cat pee you might understand) we consulted an animal communicator (pet psychic). We were very dubious but credible people recommended her and we were desperate. Through her we found out that he was really angry with us about moving and wanted to be more involved with decisions. It was really hard for us to figure out if she was for real but we took her suggestions into consideration and soon he was fine. I give most of the credit to the holistic vet but for that last little bit of help we needed, the animal communicator at the very least gave us some good advice. The raw food diet helped immensely! He is like a kitten again -playful, curious and silly! He is now a much more diverse eater and has a whole new attitude. Anyway, I just wanted to share this in case your cats might have a health problem and their way of telling you is peeing on things or if they are angry about something. Also, cats tend to like one litter box for peeing and another for pooping. For multiple cats there should be multiple litter boxes.

As for cat litter, I use the Feline Pine sawdust. I like it because the pellet kind is too big to go through my scoop. I no longer use any clay although I do think it is best for odor.

[megsmind]

My cat's aren't green, nor is my dog, and that's fine by me. I have no family, no kids, just my pets. My cat's couldn't survive a weekend on their own let alone a lifetime.

Sometimes happiness is worth not always doing the "right" thing.

[Fern]

Gee, Jeffe, using that same logic, why should you have children? They just cost a lot of money and time. Hmmm.

[fugu_v]

recycled paper like Good Mews and Yesterdays News (purina, but recycled newspapers)...

I've also tried dozens of litters, and I'll use Stutzman's goodmews and Pet's Preference for as long as I live. Pet's Preference is marketed more as bedding for small mammals, but it works perfectly as kitty litter as well. The only difference is that it doesn't have the perfumey smell that Goodmews does, but it still eliminates odors. They don't track, they're made from recycled paper, can be flushed if need-be... perfect!!!

[catherine.adele]

I just tried a brand called "the worlds best cat litter," its a corn product. It was nice, but it came packaged in plastic and I'm becoming more and more neurotic about plastic packaging. I am switching them to the wheat stuff. I used it before and remembered it being a little stinky, but you know its pee and poop, so.... a little baking soda mixed in helps.

You could also train your kitties to use the toilet... There is a produc called CityKitty. Clever, I know.

As for the clay, it actually causes something called silicosis, similar to asbestosis (I was a ceramics major in college). The silica particles in the clay get caught in your lungs and cause scarring, which in turn makes you not be able to breathe. It's bad for you and your pets.

I also have a cat that enjoys peeing on my belongings with gusto. We ended up getting a product called Feliway. I'm not sure how environmentally sound it is. All it is is the happy pheremone that cats produce. But, you know, now I don't have to keep buying rugs. It actually helped with all three of my cats. (they weren't all peeing on my things, but they were all a little neurotic...)

[megsmind]

I just checked out the CityKitty website and I'm seriously considering it.