litter question

I see that you posted this question 10 days ago, and nobody answered you. That seems a bit sad.

All I know is that clay litter irritates my lungs, and I hate the dust. Most cat litter is clay, however, and most cat owners probably use it.

I now use World's Best Cat Litter which is corn. I like it much better than clay. No dust, and better for the environment. There are a lot of threads here regarding litter.

I'm about to try chicken feed (also corn) as litter, per strange wings suggestions. I am starting to look for the threads where she says what kind of chicken feed to get (as I know nothing about this). Maybe she will post here and tell again (Please!). I'm going to Tractor Supply Co. tomorrow for TOLW cat food, corn on cobs to feed squirrels, and chicken feed.

I'm also planning on trying the wheat based litter sometime.

Robin

Oh, good!

I just found the reference to the type of chicken feed:

"egg layer crumble or chick starter" but it was from sharky,

not strange wings. I think they both use chicken feed and

recommend it. They have a lot of cats. I have enough that

I want to try to find something cheaper than WBCL.

So, I'm going to try the chicken feed.

I'll report back.

Robin

sharky, others, and I used to use pretty much the same thing. Egg layer crumbles or starter, non-medicated. It's very important that you do not use the medicated kinds because cats lick their feet.
Size of the crumble, whether there's a little dust, and even price varies depending on brand. I used a store brand from a small chain of stores that wouldn't be in your areas, so I can't suggest other brands. Many line Purina's, though.

A couple of tips, though. Some of the chicken feed (even different bags/batches) clumps better than others. To remove urine clumps, especially after more than one cat peed in the same corner of the litter box I would scoop all the poop off the top layer, then tilt the box and scoop/scrap the urine clump out whole. No shifting as that could sometimes make them break apart. Tilt the other way, repeat.
Tip two: get a plastic pail (or little pail) or bucket with a lid and handle. Transfer any remaining chicken feed to the buckets. If you have a lot of litter boxes in multiple rooms, put a few buckets near the boxes. Not having to carry them across the house will save your back. Plus you have some handy if you need to toss a couple of cups in to top it off/freshen it up.

Thanks for the additional info, strange wings!



Robin

So I went to TSC and picked up a 20 lbs. sack of Dumour chick starter/feeder 20%. There were a lot of kinds, maybe 4. I picked Dumour, the TSC house brand, because it was the only one that came in a 20lbs. sack. All the others had only 50 lbs. sacks. I want to try it first before I buy that much.

I don't know if I got the wrong thing because it is the "starter/feeder 20%" and not just chick starter. I looked at it and felt it. It seems courser/rougher than WBCL. Only my cats know if it is acceptable. Time will tell.

There was no ingredient list on the bag, which I don't like. It said nothing about medication, just that it was complete nutrition for poultry (). I asked the man at the info desk, just to be sure, if it was medicated. He said it is not. I asked if it was just corn. He said, no, that it was a combination of grains made into a crumble.

I sure like the price. It was $7.49 for 20 lbs. versus $24.00 for 17 lbs. of WBCL. That's $.38 per pound compared to $1.41 a pound. And I know if I buy the 50 lbs. sack, it will be so much less. So, I hope it works out.

I brought in 3 tubs with lids that I had in the garage, and washed them, to store it in. I keep all this stuff in my unfinished basement (that the cats like) so it is a damp environment. And I do have an occasional mouse or chipmunk get in (once a bat). Though I actually haven't seen any since I got 5 cats.

So, I'll report back once I get the verdict from my cats. I suppose if they don't like it, I can feed it to the birds outside. I feed them anyway.

Robin

Thats a good quality litter. Its flushable too, biodegradable, and its nice knowing that you're not contributing to strip-mining operations which is where most clay comes from. If not already, I think Petsmart has the cheapest I have found for it, in the big (I think 40lb) bags. The red labeled ones seem to have the best clumping ability.

I actually mix world's best with swheat scoop though. World's Best is a bit finer so provides more sturdy terrain for them to stand on instead of sinking far and possibly getting some poo on their back legs and it clumps really well, but I don't like the smell of the litter or odor absorbing, so I "cut" it with 50% Swheat Multicat which seems to absorb not only the pee and poo smell really well, but even the stale corn smell. Available in the big 40lb bags too, and is even a bit cheaper than World's Best.

Unless they have a corn allergy, it won't hurt them.

Since 4 p.m. yesterday, 4 of my 5 cats had access to a litter box with the chick crumble placed next to 2 other clean boxes with fresh WBCL. The, by far, most used box was the one with the chick feed!

Looking at the three litter boxes in a row, it would be hard to tell which one is the chick feed.

I'm so happy with my kitties for choosing the litter that will save me money. And I am thrilled with this recommendation.

Thanks strange wings, sharky, and whomever else is responsible. This is a wonderful tip.

Isn't tcs a great resource?!!

Robin

I'm glad it's working for them. Likely since they were already used to the WBCL it just wasn't that big of a switch for them.

Believe it or not, most cats are pretty tolerant of litter switches. I haven't had any issues yet switching mine around, other than a couple of them meowing grumpily at me. While we see people with problems on here, that's not representative of all cat owners - just the ones with cats that have a problem.

When I changed from clay litter to WBCL I did it gradually, but there were no glitches along the way.

I also switched recently from the aluminum roasting pans, which all my cats were used to from the shelter where they came from, to the Sterilite bins. They like them because they are bigger, and I like them because the sides are higher and less gets out. And they should last a long time.

So, your advice, strange wings, was great there, too. Thanks!


Robin

Eh, it's best to replace plastic bins yearly, or so. The plastic gets little scratches in it and after a while it's harder to get the smell out.

A year is a pretty long time to me.


Robin

When I was throwing out the bag this morning, I realized there is an ingredients list with the Dumor Chick Starter/ Grower 20%-20# bag. It is on a label sewn into the seam instead of being printed on the bag. I managed to overlook it before.

I feel better now.


Robin

Sorry some of us should have told you where to look

Well, thank you. But it was hiding in plain sight.


Duh, Robin???!!!


Robin