Used Mixed Litters Heated Up in Bag

[Tobermory]

“Huh?” you say. So yes, this is totally weird. I mixed three kinds of litter, and after I scooped the clumps into my usual paper lunch bag and put it in the trash, it warmed up.

I use Abound clumping grass litter, but when I saw SmartCat clumping grass and Okocat clumping wood litters on sale, I bought them. (I’ve used both before, although not mixed.) As I needed to add more to the boxes, I used both of the new litters so I ended up with a three-way mix. I scooped the urine clumps and poop into lunch bags then tossed them into the plastic bag-lined trash can in the garage.

Last night when I pulled the plastic bag out to put it into the big bin for the garbage collection, the plastic bag felt really warm in spots. I hadn’t put anything hot into the trash so I excavated (fun job…ick) and discovered that the used litter in the paper bags was generating heat! The only thing I can figure out is that the combo of the three litters with the urine created some kind of fermentation process.

I don’t know if it would have continued to warm up and spontaneously combusted. Probably not, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. I‘ve replaced their litter with Abound only again.

Weird, huh?

 

[fionasmom]

I have heard that under certain conditions leaves which are warm or wet can heat up to the point where they can spontaneously combust so, assuming that this is true, I suppose that the same premise applies to your cat litter. It is really strange though.

 

[Tobermory]

It is really strange though.

Isn’t it?!

I now have a metal pail with a lid in the garage. That’s where the bags of used litter are now being stored until trash day.

 

[Tobermory]

Well, it wasn’t the mixing of different kinds of litter. It’s still happening with just the one kind…but not to every bag. I checked four bags of used litter this morning before putting them out for trash collection, and two of the four were warm. Oh, well. Just one of the mysteries of the universe.

 

[catloverfromwayback]

Now you just need to figure out how to use the power generated by your internal-combustion engine litter!

 

[Hellenww]

Your litter is made of natural/compostable materials so it's not surprising it cooks like a compost pile. It's amazing it started so quickly. I wouldn't have thought cat waste should be used in compost because of the high acidic urine. I was wrong.

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