Anyone tried wood pellets in the Tidy Cat Breeze box?

[melesine]

I've been using Tidy Cat Breeze for almost 2 years and love it. But I'm wondering if I can use wood pellets instead of the zeolite ones Tidy Cat sells? I'm concerned that the pellets will dissolve into sawdust when urinated on which I do not want. I like the separate pad system, it's just that I have a lot of boxes now and I can get 40 pounds of wood pellets for 5 dollars. 

 

[catspaw66]

I've been using Tidy Cat Breeze for almost 2 years and love it. But I'm wondering if I can use wood pellets instead of the zeolite ones Tidy Cat sells? I'm concerned that the pellets will dissolve into sawdust when urinated on which I do not want. I like the separate pad system, it's just that I have a lot of boxes now and I can get 40 pounds of wood pellets for 5 dollars. 

Sorry I missed this post.  If you are talking about the wood pellets that go in stoves, they are treated with a chemical to make them burn slower. I used to help a pellet stove salesman and installer and have been to a factory where they make the pellets.

 

[kcoutts]

I would like to know the answer to this as well.

I have been using a sifting litter tray, but not sure of the brand since I got it used from a shelter, the shifting section only.

The wood pellets I buy have not been treated with a chemical, and it actually says that on the package, and says it is suitable for pet litter.

 

[vball91]

I don't think wood pellets will work in the Breeze system. The pine pellets I use definitely break down into sawdust when peed on.

 

[catspaw66]

If they are just steam and pressure formed, they would be excellent. How often do you have to sift or scoop them? Have you noticed any urine odor?

 

[vball91]

I think the pine pellets are very good for urine odor control because all the urine gets absorbed. They aren't as good for poop odor, but it does depend on how much your cat's poop smells and how well he/she buries.

If you have a sifting box system, you can give it a quick shake a couple of times a day and throw the bottom bit out daily. Even if you sift by hand, it's not too time consuming. I find it to be very efficient, clean and inexpensive litter system. I'm lucky that my cat will use it since I know a lot of cats don't like the pellets.

 

[kcoutts]

I like to sift the sawdust through at least once a day, but you can get lazy and do it every few days, but much harder to sift out a large amount of sawdust.  Use a thin layer of pellets only, less than an inch, so it is easy to use a scoop to move the litter around and the sawdust falls through the holes.

You don't smell the urine at all... even if you only remove the sawdust every three days.  I remove the sawdust when it is hard to sift the sawdust, which means the sawdust in the under tray is piling up too high.

You only smell the urine when you dump out the sawdust (completely compostable!) and the tray is slightly damp with urine from the sawdust.  I spray it off with a garden hose, then... no smell at all.  Haven't even used any disinfectant yet, just hose it all off, now been a month.

The poo is a different matter.  The pellets don't really cover up the smell much.  You should remove the poop as soon as it is deposited, which is much cleaner any way.

The pellets do smell strongly of wood, which isn't a bad thing.

 

[kcoutts]

Oh, and I ended up buying the Van Ness CP5 because I couldn't find the Breeze system anywhere in Canada.  The sifting trays were only $19 at Canadian Tire, and you are getting lots for your money: a sifting tray, and two regular trays that stack underneath it.  So you can sift into one, dump the clean pellets into another tray, hose the sifter and sawdust tray, and put the clean pellets back into the sifting tray!  Amazing!  

 

[vball91]

Oh, and I ended up buying the Van Ness CP5 because I couldn't find the Breeze system anywhere in Canada.  The sifting trays were only $19 at Canadian Tire, and you are getting lots for your money: a sifting tray, and two regular trays that stack underneath it.  So you can sift into one, dump the clean pellets into another tray, hose the sifter and sawdust tray, and put the clean pellets back into the sifting tray!  Amazing!  

Oh, thank you for that. I had read online that this sifting system didn't work for pine pellets. I'm really glad to hear that it does work.

 

[kcoutts]

I suspect that it doesn't work for *some* pine pellets.  The ones I buy are just large enough to be too wide to fall through, and mostly too long.  There are some wood pellets that are smaller and shorter.  So you really need to bring some with you when you shop and try them for size.

The wood pellets I use are "stove pellets" available at hardware stores like Canadian Tire and Rona (in Canada).  They are larger than most.

 

[vball91]

Ah, that makes sense. Unfortunately, I can't find that model locally. I was going to DIY a sifting tray, but I can't find the right size that nest just perfectly with enough of a gap.

 

[dreamraider]

Ah, that makes sense. Unfortunately, I can't find that model locally. I was going to DIY a sifting tray, but I can't find the right size that nest just perfectly with enough of a gap.

I followed an online tutorial on drilling holes in a tote.. but I used a cheap litter tray and drills holes in it.. as many as I could without ruining the integrity of it, then put it inside my covered litter box because it fits in and stops about half way to the bottom (bottom is smaller than top on the covered box) .. but I find it doesn't work well because it sifts too slowly.. id have to be there at least an hour shaking it.. maybe the holes are too small. Im going to tray buying two totes that fit together just right and try again. I tried the van ness tray and my pellets fell through.. almost all of them.

 

[mschauer]

I found my boxes actually were a lot easier to shift than the ones sold specifically for use with the litter.

I loved using that litter. The boxes stayed *soo* clean. But I had to stop using them when I got a new cat and she wouldn't use the pellets. I might try again. Who knows, maybe she'll use them now.

 

[melesine]

You all are talking about a totally different system than the Breeze since there is no sifting, in fact we want the pee to flow through to the pad below. So my main concerns are absorption of the pee which I don't want the pellets to do and breakdown into sawdust, which I don't want either. 

 

[kitkat77]

I also use pellet stove pellets with the Breeze system.  You can buy the stove pellets at some Lowes or Home Depot stores for about $5.50 for a 40 lb. bag (not all locations carry them).  Stock up when the weather is cold as it is harder to find them in the summer.  Check the package and make sure they are 100% wood/sawdust.  The pellets break down into sawdust when wet (peed on) and as you remove solid material from the box, scooping around in the box encourages the sawdust to fall to the bottom slide-out pan.  I do use a liner in the bottom slide-out pan for urine, but you can buy cheap, disposable puppy "training pads" (I get mine from Walmart) and cut them down to size.  They don't have the odor control of the Breeze liners, but I am not finding odor to be a big problem and just in case, I give a shake of baking soda into the boxes from time to time. 
I don't know if the Breeze pellets help with odor control.  I went ahead and mixed some of them in with the wood pellets since they came with the Breeze litter box and I had to do something with them.  They seem to be made of Zeolite and one of my cats  occasionally eats one or two.  I've read that Zeolite is used in detox therapy for humans, so I'm thinking it's safe.  I hope Tidy Cat would have researched to make sure the product is safe if ingested.
I should add that my cats are still kittens (9 months and 8 months) and were pretty tolerant as I tried several different litter ideas, but they have been champs and have not had a single accident.  If you try this system, always start with using your old litter on top of the pellets so the cats can get used to it. 
Litter Genie is also great to have for disposing of the solid waste.
I am thrilled to have found an easy, inexpensive, and fairly environmentally friendly solution to cat litter.  I had the added bonus of finding the Breeze systems on craigslist for $15 each, so I am one happy cat mama!