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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Could I make a wood chip litter box?

16 years ago

I've got a weird one for you. Is it possible to make my kitty a stink free outside potty?

My kitty loves to come with me (leashed) into the garden. Recently, he has taken to pooing in the mulch. I shovel it out. The mad scientist in me would love to dig him his own woodchip bed that he could use. Is there some combination of woodchips and something else that might make a "humanure" litterbox for him. I would not reuse the compost except maybe in the woods. The spot would need to be stink free for his nose and mine.

Is it possible? Is it crazy? Anyone know how to do it?

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Comments (4)

dchall_san_antonio
16 years ago
I think it's crazy. I would not take it out of the mulch. I wouldn't have a cat on a leash either, so maybe we're just incompatible.
sfg_newbie
16 years ago
They have many litters now that biodegrade like World's Best Litter (made from corn) and something made from pine that are scoopable litter consistency. There's also one called Yesterday's News made from newspaper, but it's more like pellets than litter. Petco and PetSmart carry them.

I'm no expert, but I'd think a mix of the biodegradeable scoopable litter and some woodchips would make your friend happy.
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Thorny branches are a good idea. Gardener's supply used to sell these small mat-like things with spikes on them that did the same thing, you could try their website. Actually, I bought some spiked mats from Drs. Foster and Smith pet supply website to keep the dogs off the furniture and they work great! So check the pet supply store, too. But if you have rose or barberry branches available, those would accomplish the same thing and are free, so I'd go that route first, if available. Or, let the dog out. Personally, I'd love to see my dog go after the neighbor's cat, worth the price of admission (this cat has a habit of teasing my dog while she's out on the line - that smart-*ss cat knows exactly how far that line reaches and will stand about 6" away from it and hiss and tease the dog - if I weren't on good terms with my neighbor that cat would be toast by now...)
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I think putting the poop in the litterbox is a good idea. Also, this is going to sound somewhat...mean, but it might work. Have you tried placing the cat in a closet small enough that a normal sized litter box, food and a bed are all that can fit?? (maybe find a way to divide it in half, so the cat cant get past the divider?) Since cats generally hate to eat where they poop, he will try to poop furthest away from his food, and they dont like to poop where they sleep, either. Try placing him in the closet with food and water a few times a day (whenever he needs to eat) and he should have to do his business not long after he eats. Slowly after a few days, try giving him a little more space each time, until everything is normal, and hopefully the cat will have learned where to potty and it'll stick with him. And if he does poop out of the litter box, place it in the litter box and show him, and cover it up. I had to do something simmilar with a litter of kittens. The mother was a great cat, but she just stopped cleaning up after them one day, and they were hopeless with the litter box. I kind of had to show them the ropes myself and only give them so much space so they'd use the box. Eventually they got the hang of it and stopped going outside the box.
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Greetings from another Oscar mommy - my Oscar is 17 with CRF + heart disease. He is also a horrendously picky eater - refuses k/d food and any pate style food - he only tolerates Friskies pouched food these days (chicken and salmon) and Wellness Indoor kibble - he's still mourning the loss of his Science Diet Savoury Cuts (recall casualty). And he drinks lots, I know he's unwell when the volume of urine in the litter boxes goes down. Definitely get your Oscar checked for an infection. My Oscar is prone to them due to a kidney stone in his shrunken kidney - he couldn't tolerate Clavamox for his last infection (last summer) and ended up on a very strong antiobiotic which helped. Low grade infections really do a number on their kidneys and that your Oscar is peeing outside the box certainly indicates he's unhappy about something. I'd definitely get another urinalysis done and get them to culture it to see what grows, if anything, and check for crystals. General consenus with CRF cats is just feed them what they'll eat. Use phosphorous binders to to keep the phos. in check (I'm supposed to be using one with my Oscar but he doesn't like it). My Oscar is on no kidney meds except for a liquid B vitimin supplement and he's on meds for his heart disease (a diuretic due to fluid build-up in his chest - probably the worst kind of drug for a CRF cat!). You should join us over at the Yahoo groups: Caring-for-CRF-Felines and FelineCRF. You'll find tons of support and tons of info on CRF. tess Here is a link that might be useful:
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djscrapbooks
16 years ago
I've used the Yesterday's News litter and a corn based litter (don't know the name of it!) for my bunny in the past. It's expensive stuff but goes right into the compost pile. It was about a year or so ago that I heard you could use wood pellets for litter. I used it for 1/4 the cost of the other stuff bought at Petco or wherever! The wood pellets were around $4 or $5 a bag, the biodegradable litter was closer to $20 (a few years back).

I would try using the wood pellets in one area (I wouldn't actually dig a bed for the cat!) and try to get the cat to go to that spot each time.

I know my dog is trained and we didn't even train him to do this, but he has a small fenced area at the bottom of the deck stairs where he does his business. There's a gate on the other set of stairs so he doesn't take off. When he's allowed out in the yard without a leash (only when I'm out there) he will wander the yard, but if he has to go, he runs back up the steps and down the back ones to his area to go! Maybe you can train the cat to go there where YOU want :) And, I'd treat it just like an indoor litter box and keep it clean! Good luck :)

dj
sylviatexas1
16 years ago
I'd worry about splinters in the paws.
Maybe an area with shredded leaves would work.

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