[SustainableTompkins] dealing with cat litter

[Bethany Schroeder]

I probably wasn't clear in my earlier post about what we're doing with 
our wheat litter: Jon built a separate compost wire bin, which is 
located outside of the garden and near the property's former chicken 
coop. The idea is to compost the bird seed and news/cage paper, as well 
as the cat waste out there, for use with the land's non-edible plants. I 
hadn't thought about cooking the stuff after it breaks down in the bin; 
seems a little farther than we need to go. But we don't live in the city 
and have several acres at our disposal (no pun . . . )

Bethany




James Hogg wrote:
> My imagination is working on this problem now.
> 
> I like the idea of composting cat waste/litter. We have three cats  
> and now we are using litters that are not clay. Still we are throwing  
> it in the trash. I have heard about not being able to compost cat  
> waste in regular compost bins because it doesn't heat up enough to  
> kill the parasites. I hadn't thought about making a separate cat  
> waste compost and using it outside of the vegetable garden.
> 
> Does this seem like a plausible idea, or just wacky. Segregate the  
> cat waste into its own compost pile. WHen it has baked down naturally  
> could it be cooked more say in a turkey roast tray on a covered  
> outside grill. Make it hot enough to kill the bad stuff. I forgot  
> what the temperature needs to be, something like 150 degrees... Is  
> this likely to work?
> 
> On another pet waste topic, we also have a dog. Last autumn I bought  
> a Doggie Dooley, which is a plastic pail that works like a septic  
> tank. I dug a hole, put the thing in and fill it with water and a  
> plumbing/septic system enzyme. The dog waste is supposed to break  
> down and the water overflows the pail and goes in the hole where is  
> absorbs into the ground. We filled it before winter, now it is frozen  
> "something." It is supposed to work at temperatures above 40 degrees.
> 
> Doogie Dooley
> http://www.amazon.com/Dooley-2000-Septic-Tank-Style-Pet-Waste- 
> Disposal/dp/B0002DI34A/ref=pd_sbs_k_njs_title_5
> 
> The Doggie Dooley website is terrible. So I linked to Amazon
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