Cat Litter Composting – 01-05-09

Atlantis
#1. January 6th, 2009, at 8:35 PM.

I recently added used clumping all natural pine kitty litter to my thriving worm bin — no urine clumps or waste. I added water to off set the dryness. All but a handful of my worms died (Had about 8 – 10 pounds). I added some pulled weeds and kitchen scraps to what was already there. Watered it again to be sure it is moist enough (about like a damp sponge) and am letting it sit. Any suggestions on how to get my farm back in order? I didn’t find anything about pine being bad for worms when I researched.

Angie Hill
#3. January 16th, 2009, at 8:40 PM.

I have four cats. They use pelleted pine sawdust cat litter. I have one designated cat-poo wormbin which is a large adapted plant pot. I separate the cat-poo from the litter, and add to the wormbin-The urine-soaked cat-litter gets used under thick cardboard mulch along paths in my garden. This suppresses weeds very well, and also eventually degrades, encouraging beneficial microbes, and of course,worms! I’ve not had any problems with the worm population. In fact, it seems to thrive on the cat-poo! I did one similar years ago with dog-poo. Same results. Great vermicompost after a year or so, which I used in flower beds and the lawn-not on vegetables just in case there were any pathogens lurking. Sad about your worms dying, Atlantis, but I think it might have something to do with the amount of cat litter added to the system. The sawdust will be carbon, which is good, but the pine may still have turpene residues. I would only add that in small quantities. Hope this helps.

Angie Hill
#4. January 16th, 2009, at 8:49 PM.

Meant to add that I (well, the cats!) tried the paper based cat litter in their litter trays with no success-all 4 cats went outside the litter tray!!! The only other “green” alternative here is the pine sawdust based one. In the UK we don’t have corn husk cat litter. I’m seriously thinking of trying chipped or shredded hedge prunings soon, so watch this space. If they are willing to use this, then it would mean fewer plastic bags of bought stuff, and of course, fewer trips to the petshop.

Jessica
#5. August 3rd, 2009, at 10:14 AM.

Any updates on vermicomposting the cat waste?

What about the C:N balance? Do you think using newspaper-based litter – e.g. either shredded or straight up newspapers (http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Green-Pee-Cat-Litter-System/) or a commercial pellet product (http://www.yesterdaysnews.com/home.html) – might help to maintain such a balance?

For those who are interested, here is a link to a very interesting student experiment on vermicomposting cat litter:
http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/youngnaturalistawards/2005/Eric.html

I find the idea of rotting cat litter in a landfill to be the worst aspect of cat ownership so I’m particularly interested in the status of your own experiment.

Bentley
#6. August 7th, 2009, at 9:41 PM.

Hi Jessica,
Sorry for the delay responding – I just posted an update on the cat waste vermicomposting front. Thanks for the nudge.
Here is the link:
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/worm-composting/cat-litter-composting-08-07-09/

C:N balance isn’t quite so important with vermicomposting as with regular composting – although, that being said, I don’t mean to imply that it’s OK to have a low C:N (since that may result in the release of ammonia which is not a good thing). What I mean is that it is totally fine to end up with a habitat (including food) that has a high C:N ratio, and in fact, it’s not a bad idea to aim for this. What I’ve been doing apart from relying on the carbon-rich (corn cob based) litter material is adding other carbon-rich stuff like peat most, cardboard, straw etc.

As I wrote in my update post, everything seems to be working even better than expected!

You are absolutely right – there is NO reason that cat litter waste should end up in a landfill. Well OK, the nasty stuff you get when you use clay-based litter can only really go to the landfill. BUT – everyone should explore compostable alternatives! I love the stuff I’ve been using – so much nicer than the normal clumping cat litter! Being able to then feed it to a herd of worms is just like icing on the cake!

Lia
#7. April 22nd, 2010, at 8:16 PM.

Hello!

I am in the process of obtaining my very own worm bin (quite ridiculously excited about this, actually) and have been reading conflicting reports on composting pet waste. We have a total of seven cats and use the natural pine litter (vastly superior in odor control and length of usage compared to clay litters that have been used in our household). I’d love to be able to compost this, even if I just turn it into soil to help level out the back yard! I do have a smallish area behind the shed that is shaded where I could fence it off (from the dog) and perhaps work an in-ground bin, as I really don’t want the litter exposed.

I’ve been reading and researching, but I’m still kind of lost at where to start something like this, especially with conflicting reports on pine litter. I don’t mind terribly that it hits the landfills right now as I figure it will eventually decompose there and help other things decompose there, but I would rather be able to compost it at home if possible.

If I’m reading right: It looks like if I build a large enough bin (open bottom? size recs?) that I can easily tuck into the corner behind the shed will hold all of the litter (urine soaked/dried and all) and if I mix it with leaves and plant material and just keep it turned periodically, it should mellow out enough to add worms or have the worms show up on their own? I have a front yard of shade that gets a thick coating of dead leaves and pine needles, but again, PINE.

Help would definitely be appreciated and thanks is already given as I’ve been learning tons and can’t wait to have my first batch of veggie-ready compost from the kitchen waste.

Angie Hill
#8. April 28th, 2010, at 8:51 PM.

Hi! I wrote about my own experiences with composting used cat
litter last January. I have just emptied my first cat poop wormery, and it’s not only fullof healthy looking red worms, the vermicompost looks great-and I shall be using it under some new fruit bushes I am planting. (Under meaning in the planting hole, not as a mulch after planting!). I think the trick is to separate the poop from the main bulk of pine sawdust-the sawdust needs weathering/ageing for a while before adding to a worm bin. I still use the sawdust under cardboard, finally adding a layer of shredded leylandii to make great paths between my vegetable beds. It seems to suppress weeds, and eventually decomposes, attracting fungi and loads of worms to finish the job!

Chris Picher
#9. November 18th, 2011, at 7:56 PM.

In Durban S.Africa friends and I kept stables and all the wood chips/sawdust, which we used for bedding, plus the urine/manure went into a heap. This heap turned into magnificent compost. Now it did heat up but it was home to the finger sized grubs of some sort of moth or beetle. The dropings of these grubs were the main component of the compost.