Question About Using Sand As Litter

[WhatchaCallKitty]

Due to economic & other reasons, we have decided to combine ~30% sand with our kitty litter in order to stretch it further. Sand is natural for cats and built into their DNA, so mixing it into their box is OK.

To sterilize it, we bake at 400+ Fahrenheit for at least 30 minutes (as recommended). However, our small tabletop oven doesn't fit much more than a cup or 2 of sand at once, so it is a long process. Does the sand need direct heat to kill all of the bacteria? Wondering if balling/wrapping it in layers of aluminum foil will also work.

We can bake twice the amount by wrapping it in foil. Though, we aren't sure if this is as effective at killing bacteria. If you have any experience and/or suggestions, please let us know!

 

[vince]

I only ever used sand as an emergency cat litter, and never heated it to sterilize, but I think you could get an oven thermometer with a stem to make sure of the temperature. Alternatively, if your tabletop oven has a sensor, you could use that. It's the heat at the middle of the sand and the time at that heat that makes the difference; whether it's heated in a tray or packaged in foil shouldn't matter.

 

[Willowy]

Where are you getting the sand? If you're getting it out of bags from a store, it should have been screened and somewhat processed to prevent it from smelling bad in the store. I'd just use it out of the bag.

If you're snitching it from the playground () or you have a heap of sand in the backyard, then, yeah, I suppose you should sterilize it. It just needs to be heated through, so wrapping it in foil is fine as long as you bake it long enough for the middle to get heated.