Homemade Cat Litter

[Abarat]

Maybe most of you already do this, but it was new to me.

Our cat is usually pretty finnicky about her litter so we didn't think it would work, but it works great, is super cheap (near free) and smells even less than your usual cheap-o clay litter! Plus we're hoping to make a special composter for it soon.

Here we go....
1.Shred newspaper in a paper shredder. I collect the shredded paper in an unused litter box.
2.Soak the paper in warm water mixed with a few squirts gentle, biodegradable dish soap (like Ecover). The shredded paper takes on a cooked oatmeal consistency. The paper won’t come completely clean, but the water will turn grey.
3.Drain the water (an old colander works wonders) and repeat the soaking process minus the soap.
4.Sprinkle baking soda liberally on the wet paper. Knead it in to the mixture (you might want to wear gloves to avoid getting ink on your hands).
5.Squeeze the remaining moisture out until it’s as dry as you can get it.
6.Crumble over a screen and leave to dry (it takes a few days).

(got it from this site: http://alliesanswers.com/tip-of-the-...ty-litter/1044)

It's really hot here so ours dries in a couple hours. We just change the box once a week and it works beautifully.

We did get a few menacing looks from the old matriarch but she hasn't had any trouble really and she's generally not shy about letting us know she hates her litter. Used to, if we changed it and she didn't like it we'd find cat poop and pee everywhere but her box. We've used this a few weeks now and no problems! :

Also, we don't get the newspaper but my in-laws do so they just save theirs and give it to us, so all we're paying for is baking soda which we buy in bulk anyway.

[liz-hippymom]

thats really cool, thank you!

[aurora_skys]

baffled

I have a cat, Im not asking this to be a pain or anything, but is this really easier than just using clay litter? You can get huuuge bags of plain clay for like $2 at superstores... Making litter just seems so involved. Why do it?

[Abarat]

It is more involved than just picking up a bag of cat litter from the store. But I think it's worth the small bit of time I put into it.

My reasons for making it:

-It's cheaper, even at $2 for a large bag all I'm paying for is the baking soda which is just a few pennies. My in-laws give us their papers.

-I don't have cat litter strewn all over the floor. Even with a mat in front of her box she manages to get cat litter everywhere and I'd have to say walking on cat litter is my #1 pet peeve of all time.

-I've noticed that her cat box doesn't smell nearly as bad with the newspaper litter as it does with conventional litter.

-Apparently clay cat litter is virtually impossible to compost. DH read about a homemade composter you can make for the newspaper cat litter. We haven't tried it yet but we plan to. We won't use it on the garden or anything but it's one less thing we have to haul off. We're all about reducing what we toss into the landfill.

-Plus it's just empowering to be able to make one more thing that we'd normally go out and buy. DH and I are total homemade/frugal geeks.

I understand it's not worth it to everyone, but thought it might give a few people out there like me a good idea.