Litter & Collar tags

[xcourtney3]

Two parter here..

1.If my cats pee a lot, would I be better off using clumping litter vs non clumping? Having issues with the non clumping right now.

2. I'm thinking about getting tags for my cats. What type would you recommend? Regular tags with the silencers or the kind that slide onto the collar? I've seen the kind that slide on but they are expensive to get the ones for breakaway collars. Most seem to be for dog collars. I need something not too bothersome; I had to take bells off their collars because it freaks them out.

 

[xcourtney3]

For anyone who replies to this, can you give me cheap litter suggestions? Are wood pellets safe?

 

[catnamedpanda]

Wood pellets are safe and very cost effective. They simply break down into saw dust. If you buy a sifting litter pan cleaning it out is very simple.

As far as tags go the type is a personal preference. I use regular tags I order online, much cheaper than at the pet store.

 

[huntercats]

Homemade newspaper pellet litter costs almost nothing and saves the planet. Not so sure about the absorbency. I made a bag full this week to get ready for litter training these babies. It took long to dry, even in the heat so I'm guessing they can hold a lot of water.

 

[Willowy]

Sometimes the more expensive litter might come out cheaper in the end, as you don't have to change it as often. If you scoop every day (like you should), clumping litter is probably best for cats who pee a lot, because you can scoop the pee clumps out and leave the rest of the litterbox dry.

I like Boomerang CollarTags best. They are expensive but they're very well made and will last forever---they won't become unreadable like some brands. So if your cat isn't in the habit of losing his collar every week, and you don't move every few months, they're a good choice.

 

[socksy]

On litter: I use wood pellets.  They are the most cost effective I have found.  I use wood stove pellets or "stable pellets", not the kind marketed as cat litter.  It's way cheaper.  I have homemade sifting-type pans.  Basically, two litter boxes stacked with the top one having holes drilled in it, like so (I use plastic storage bins instead of "litter boxes" though because, again, it's less expensive than items marketed as pet products).  When the pellets get wet, they break down into sawdust and fall through the holes.  In the bottom tray, I have some newspapers and baking soda to absorb odours from the pee sawdust and make cleaning it out super easy; I just fold the newspaper up with the sawdust inside and it goes in the garbage.  It could also be composted.  I have a litter scoop with extra big holes (one that I found at the store with big round holes, one which had smaller slots, but I cut it to make the holes bigger) which I use to scoop the poops out.  The pellets fall through the big holes of the scoop and the poops go in the toilet.  

I like this system because the pee doesn't stay in the litter box for any length of time.  As soon as the cat pees, the pellets disintegrate, and the action of the cats digging in the pellets causes them to sift down very quickly.  The pellets themselves, plus the baking soda and newspaper keeps odours under control.  

On tags: Boomerang pet tags are, in fact, very high quality.  My dogs have Boomerang collar tags which I wove right into collars I made for them out of paracord.  The tags hold up extremely well and never fade, which means they are less expensive in the long run because you don't have to replace them.  

BUT.. when it comes to cats, I'm hesitant to spend that much on ID tags because they lose their collars faster than cheap tags wear out.  At least, Hester does.  So, for the cats, I make them ID collars out of #6 plastic, which acts like shrink plastic (marketed as shrinky dinks).  #6 plastic is often used for disposable containers that food comes in, so just watch for those containers and check to see if it's #6 (make sure it's not #1, which is also common, but won't work).  I type up my info, print it off, and trace it onto the plastic with permanent marker.  It's very neat and legible and is basically free, so I make a bunch and it's no big deal when they get lost.  This also works on vacation, if you have temporary info that you want your pets to have.  

As for dangly vs collar tag, well, I think the less dangly a tag is the better.  They are less likely to get caught on things and I think the hanging ones annoy a lot of cats.  I use really small split rings to attach the tags I make and I was thinking of making a collar tag, but I'm not quite sure how I want to do that yet.