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gardeningwithlcgrace

any gardening use for used cat litter?

Lcgrace Mahoney
15 years ago

We've been throwing this away. Is there any other use for it? This would be the scoopable, clumping kind with scent added.

I don't want to end up with the neighborhood's cat box in the garden.

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

Comments (9)

  • jmsimpson9
    15 years ago

    I would really hesitate to use it.

    Have you seen what it turns into when it gets really wet? A gooey mess.

    Although I would not worry about the urine, I would not want to use the turdies in the garden as I do not think its safe.

    But I will admit, there are times when I work in the garden turning the soil where its all nice and fluffy and the next day I find kitty tracks and presents in the garden.

  • Lcgrace Mahoney
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    It seems like such a "waste" to be throwing away 14 lbs of this stuff to the garbage man every week!

    It is nasty when it gets wet and is prob full of all kinds of nasty germs....I guess the garbage man is the best place for it to go.

  • joepyeweed
    15 years ago

    It depends upon the litter. If you use a organic natural kind of litter, like Feline Pine or Yesterday's News, those types of litters can be composted.

    I've had cats that were finicky about their litter, it helps to switch over gradually. (I don't have cats anymore.)

    I had friends who switched to this type of litter because their cat was having irritated paws and they found the natural litter was easier on his paws.

  • Belgianpup
    15 years ago

    UNUSED non-clumping kitty litter made from benonite (Jonny cat, Scoop Away, Ever Clean, Fresh Step) can be an easily-found source of clay to add to a too-sandy garden. The clay and humus colloids in the soil are what attract and hold soil nutrients. You don't need a tremendous amount.

    But the parasite problem with used litter is an issue most people wouldn't want to deal with, as some parasite eggs are extremely hardy to both heat and cold.

    Sue

  • dchall_san_antonio
    15 years ago

    Check the ingredients. If it has ANY baking soda, the best place for it is in the trash. Baking soda is very hard on the soil microbes and can leave your lawn unprotected from disease.

    I use kitty litter containing 100% zeolite as a filler for low spots in my yard. I only know of one store chain that carries this litter. If you are not in southern Texas, I can't help you.

  • trancegemini_wa
    15 years ago

    This is something Ive been looking into but I need to change my cat over to another litter because the litter I buy wouldnt be suitable. I would check the bag and see what the litter is made of. many of the kitty litters are made of zeolite - zeolite is also sold as an expensive garden amendment which holds water and nutrients and is said to slowly release them to plants, or bentonite clay is also another one used for clumping litters and also sold as a soil amendment for sandy soil. If you scoop the poop and dispose of it, the rest it should have lots of nitrogen from the urine in there and the rest is clean litter normally anyway. the main pathogen risk would come from the poop. I think this is something that someone needs to do a study on to see if there is a better way to dispose of and find a better end use for it.

  • jackie morrison
    2 years ago

    I started using World's Best Cat Litter a few years ago(compressed corn)...about the same time I ran across some "Organic Preen", which was corn gluten. I bought a 50# bag of corn gluten after realizing that the Preen was super expensive. I used it up and decided to use the used/sifted cat litter on my iris bed. The spots that I sprinkled the litter had no weeds. So it much have some of the gluten properties in the littler. I order it from Chewy's and it comes in 28# bags(2), much cheaper than corn gluten and it works for 2 things...Cats AND garden. I'm ahead a bag, so I'm going to use that on my garlic, as I've read it will help with weeds AND supply some N.

  • john zuijdveld
    2 years ago

    I've been searching for an answer to these 2 Qu. "What are the toxins that make cat poo unsafe to use in a vegetable garden?" I can't find an answer, and what are the possible downsides to these toxins if one were to consume vegetables with the likely levels of toxins as a result?