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You may recall that I recently had an article posted about whether or not it’s a good idea to compost your cat litter.  This time, I’m flipping it around to “can you use your compost as cat litter?”

Let me remind you that I don’t own a cat…I merely deal with them crapping all over the side of my house and I’m basically okay with that.  Working with waste all the time means I don’t smell much of anything anyway.  Here’s a photo of the gifts that the alley cats leave for me:

I have a feeling these cats would have no problem using compost in their litter box, if they had one.  I have not observed these cats seeking out my compost in the (fenced off) backyard to sit in.  Looks like I have a new experiment to try…

I received an email a few days ago from Anne in Austin, Texas.  She writes:

“I’ve found lots of discussions about using cat litter as compost, but haven’t found any discussions about this: Is it safe to use compost AS cat litter? I’ve been using a good quality garden compost from my local nursery as cat litter for several months. Cheaper than litter, no switchover problems, no smell — in fact, I usually just catch that “sweet” compost smell. It doesn’t seem to track as badly as other litters. I start out with about an inch in the box and then add more over the week. Then I dump the used stuff in a low-traffic area of the yard (not in the veggie garden). Use a rake to spread it out; might throw some cut grass on top to help accelerate breakdown.”

Anne: Awesome question.  Well, it seems that you’ve made quite an interesting discovery. Anyone else out there want to try this?  I would love to hear your experiences with it.  She continues:

“So far, I’m liking this. But my vet wonders about possible health concerns for the cat; she wonders if the “fresh” compost from the nursery contains bacteria/pathogens that might be harmful to the cats. I’m thinking No, but only because: Hey, if I use this stuff on my veggie garden, how harmful can it be to my cats? Is it reasonable to assume that the compost I buy at a nursery is (mostly) harmless?”

As for the doctor’s concerns, I would be shocked if the compost contained anything harmful.  I responded to Anne to ask her if the compost was “aged” for several months and/or certified by the U.S. Composting Council, which would certify that the compost was at thermal kill temperatures (above 140F) for several days straight…the answer: it was.  🙂

So let’s recap…it appears that using compost as cat litter has had the following perks:

-significantly cheaper

-good at absorbing urine

-doesn’t smell

-doesn’t require scooping

-has next to no tracking

-is easier to clean up

-you avoid the landfill (YES!)

Some suggestions… if you’re worried about pathogens, make sure you’re getting U.S. Composting Council certified compost.  I would be surprised if nurseries sold any sub-par compost, but somewhere like Home Depot or Lowe’s might.  Also, keep the compost from drying out…its naturally moist properties are what help this process along.  Last thing: keep the “compoost” (Anne coined this term!) separate from your normal compost pile.  So there you have it, no sweat…get to it.

Too good to be true?  I’m sure there’s cats that won’t like it, but some might…maybe stray/outdoor cats?  So give it a shot and let me know what happens.  I’m not responsible if your cat craps on your couch instead.

Now I’m starting to wonder if I should take in a stray cat just for this experiment…it’s tempting!