DIY cat litter?

[veggietreegirl]

Hi all! I am looking for good litter suggestions for my new kitty. When I had cats as a teenager the scented and clay litters always irritated my asthma, so I want something that is healthy for me, kitty and hopefully the environment too. I'm kinda a crunchy, frugal DIYer and have seen lots of pins on pinterest for making your own cat litter for cheap. Has anyone tried any? The only one I don't want to try is the chicken feed litter. We live in a semi rural area and that would attract too many creepy critters.

Thanks all.

 

[Willowy]

There are a lot of alternative litters available now. I like corn cob horse bedding pellets; I get them at Tractor Supply. I don't find they attract bugs. Pine pellets are also available at farm stores, plus chicken crumbles (which are the same as World's Best Cat Litter). There are also walnut, wheat, and paper litters, but they're usually at pet stores not farm stores so they cost more.

Personally, I find that natural litters trigger my asthma more than clay litters :/. Pine and wheat especially. It depends what your triggers are, I guess. For clay litters, I like Tidy Cats Premium Scoop (Small Spaces is my favorite) and Fresh Step non-clumping (Fresh Step clumping litter really makes me wheeze). It really takes a lot of experimentation to find out what you and your cat like best.

I've seen info on how to make litter out of old newspapers but it seems too time-consuming. Maybe if I were unemployed or something. . ..

 

[maggiewheels]

I've never used it but I've heard that blue buffalo cat litter is good. My sinus grove me nuts until I tried a few different cat litters. My sinus did well with tidy cats 99% dust free

 

[gmm80]

I foster for a local spay/neuter organization and they use stove pellets for cat litter. At any given time they have around 50 cats in their shelter and it's the cheapest option for the amount of litter they go through. I'll have to confirm it with my contact there, but instead of using it in pellet form, I believe they wet it a bit until it breaks apart and becomes fluffy, and use it that way.

 

[veggietreegirl]

Thanks for all the responses everyone!

 

[catapault]

Do you have a paper shredder that will handle newspaper? Tear the newspaper into suitable width to pass through the feed slot, then shred away. Quick, easy, and - provided your cat accepts it - a "go green" recycled kitty litter. Drawback - you'll need to scoop frequently as it will not control odor.