[SustainableTompkins] dealing with cat litter

Wed Jan 30 17:50:06 PST 2008

Hamster litter and its contents should be okay in your compost as they are
vegetarian and not likely to carry pathogens that cause human health risk.

Mark Darling
Program Coordinator
Recycling/Resource Management
201 Facilities Building
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-274-1777

"We cannot solve the problems that we have created with the same thinking
that created them."
 - Albert Einstein

> i've been thinking about this thread. we have cats who toilet
> outside, but recently my son got a hamster that uses shavings.  i
> thought we should compost it (glad to have something dry in my
> compost) but wonder if there are dangers to this.  we have raised bed
> vegetable gardens in our downtown yard so we have good control over
> what goes in.
>
> thanks,
> marlo
> On Jan 30, 2008, at 5:17 PM, Adam Michaelides wrote:
>
>> I have enjoyed reading the recent string on composting cat litter.
>> We do
>> not recommend composting pet (carnivore) feces. More advanced
>> composters -
>> who understand the risks and recommended methods - may compost cat
>> litter
>> with some caution. In reading the various posts, I thought a number of
>> sound recommendations emerged, such as: compost cat litter in it's own
>> bin/pile, let it compost a long time and then use on non-food
>> crops, wash
>> hands and refer to Joseph Jenkins' book:
>> http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html (free to read online) for
>> information about pathogen kill.
>>
>> As for the issue about what to do with the poops themselves, it
>> makes sense
>> to scoop every day before potential Toxoplasma oocysts "ripen" or
>> become
>> infectious. By burying the poop (some sources recommend doing so at
>> least
>> 8" down away from wells, streams, the water table) or flushing it
>> into an
>> on-site system, you run the risk of spreading the disease. But
>> disposing of
>> it in a sealed plastic bag produces the waste we are all trying to
>> avoid.
>> (At least the volume and weight doesn't compare to the litter.)
>> Lastly, I
>> also imagine that the oocysts are destroyed at the waste water
>> treatment plant.
>>
>> I did some research on the various potential pathogens in cat feces
>> a few
>> years back. Included are various bacteria, enteric helminthes
>> (worms) and
>> enteric protozoa. Besides Toxoplasma gondii, other recognizable
>> pathogens
>> are Salmonella, E. coli (both bacterial), Toxocara cati - cat
>> roundworm,
>> hookworms, Giardia and Cryptosporidium (both protozoa). And there
>> are more.
>> The Cornell Waste Management Institute did a study of pathogens in
>> backyard
>> compost in 2004. Their 2-page factsheet from this study is available
>> online: http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/smallscaleguidance.pdf Many of the
>> suggested guidelines have already been mentioned.
>>
>> Lastly, I wanted to remind folks that Tompkins County residents with
>> compost questions can call us at the "Rotline" at 272 - 2292 x 124.
>>
>> Adam Michaelides
>> Program Manager, Compost Education
>> CCETC
>>
>> At 02:06 PM 1/28/2008, Mark Darling wrote:
>>> To follow up on this fascinating string cat litter. According to the
>>> American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)brochure on
>>> Toxoplasmosis:
>>> "Toxoplasma in meat can be killed by cooking at 152ºF (66ºC) or
>>> higher or
>>> freezing for a day in a household freezer. Cats are the definitive
>>> host
>>> for the production of the infectious and resistant Toxoplasma
>>> oocysts. The
>>> oocyst, released from the intestine of cats in their feces, is
>>> very hardy
>>> and can survive freezing-even several months of extreme heat and
>>> dehydration. Moreover, oocysts can be carried long distances in
>>> wind and
>>> water."
>>> (http://www.avma.org/communications/brochures/toxoplasmosis/
>>> toxoplasmosis_brochure.asp)
>>>
>>>
>>> I hate to say it but, cleaning the cat feces from the cat box
>>> litter daily
>>> and disposing of them in a sealed plastic bag in a sanitary
>>> landfill looks
>>> to be the preferred method for protecting human health. It would
>>> appear
>>> that if this is done, then composting urine soaked litter, a
>>> suitable one,
>>> has little or no risk of spreading toxoplasmosis.
>>>
>>> It would also appear that flushing the feces into an on-site
>>> septic system
>>> isn't such a good idea either. I suspect that the oocycsts are
>>> destroyed
>>> in a waste water treatment plant.
>>>
>>> The best protection is to "scoop those poops" every day. which we
>>> all do ,
>>> right? And wash your hands after cleaning the box.
>>>
>>> MD
>>>
>>>
>>> Mark Darling
>>> Program Coordinator
>>> Recycling/Resource Management
>>> 201 Facilities Building
>>> Ithaca, NY 14850
>>> 607-274-1777
>>>
>>> "We cannot solve the problems that we have created with the same
>>> thinking
>>> that created them."
>>>  - Albert Einstein
>>>
>>>
>>>> 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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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Mark Darling
>>> Program Coordinator
>>> Recycling/Resource Management
>>> 201 Facilities Building
>>> Ithaca, NY 14850
>>> 607-274-1777
>>>
>>> "We cannot solve the problems that we have created with the same
>>> thinking
>>> that created them."
>>>  - Albert Einstein
>>
>> Adam Michaelides
>> Program Manager, Compost Education
>> Cornell Cooperative Extension
>> 615 Willow Ave.
>> Ithaca, NY  14850
>> (607) 272 - 2292
>> acm1 at cornell.edu
>> http://www.cce.cornell.edu/tompkins/compost
>>
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>
> Marlo Capoccia
> Garden Gate
> www.gardengatedelivery.com
>
>
>
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