Tip: You Can Replace Your Cat Litter With Chicken Feed!

That's so interesting - I didn't realize that what mattered mostly was just the texture! What about odor?

Wow! That is SO good to know!!! thank you!

It does not have any deodorants in it, but I have not found it to be unusually smelly after use.

It does continue to absorb so the faster you scoop, the longer it lasts.

Where do you purchase it at ?

Feed stores that sell feed for horses and farm animals. I heard you can buy it on Amazon, but it seems that the weight would make shipping expensive. I don't know though.

I have an aging cat who won't use a litter box twice without completely emptying the contents and putting fresh in...yeah, she's 17+ (shelter cat) so this might help with her foibles. Thank you.

Great idea, you can just add to compost (after cleaning, of course)!

we have 16 rescues now and this is great to know. litter is very expensive.

It lasts longer if you are diligent about removing the urine clumps. This is because it continues to absorb using more fresh stuff.

AWESOME TIP! Thank you!

Wouldnt it attract insects and rodents?

I do put the used litter (minus the clumps) outside. Interestingly, little critters, birds, squirrelS, etc. don't mind it's been used, and eat the corn. What is not eaten seems to dissolve into the ground, especially after a rain. So I figure it's helping the soil by composting itself.

No issues with insects that I have seen. I do live on acreage and there are critters here. I actually enjoy seeing the birds come and eat it, especially in the winter when their pickings are slim.

i guess it depends on where you live, and your issues with rodents. I am fine with feeding whoever wants it, since I'm disposing of it anyway.

As an alternative you could bury it, and get the same compost-type benefits.

You should post this on pinterest or facebook. I know a lot of cat owners who could benefit from this knowledge.

OK, I can do that. Not as sure how to post on Pinterest, though.

I also have been doing animal rescue for years and discovered the wood shavings and pine pellets for horse bedding are excellent litter but the shavings are definitely dusty.

i tried those, too and loved the smell. But, they don't clump, and so the boxes are harder to clean, but worse was what the pine shavings did to my vacuum!

How is it in Controlling the urine odor ?

Thank you. I have a 24 year old cat who is starting to have kidney problems. He is not drinking a lot, but just goes to his litter tray constantly. I don't think he is in pain, and most of the time he is not actually having a pee.. The vet has given us something, but nothing has changed.

He sleeps on our bed as we live in an old huge french farmhouse. We just can't afford to to keep the fire roaring away all night for one cat downstairs. He makes such a mess as he puts his hind end in the litter tray and his front paws on the floor out of the box. Then he turns around and covers whatever with his front paws scattering the cat lit till it is about 2 feet around the tray. This happens about 24 times through the night :( Worse he sleeps on top of me, so he wakes me up, and he does not mind what he walks over which includes my husband and the little miniature Italian whippet. The former sleeps on blissfully unaware, but I hear growls coming from under the covers! Peaceful nights . The lit is very expensive. I clean his tray all the time. So this is wonderful to know. Though we do have rats I can hear them. In fact they can just walk under the ancient front door .There are two doors, but everybody has used the left side since 1750 so there is a great dip in the stone step :) Lizards walk in, rats in the winter, door mice, and mice. I cannot think of anyway of resolving this problem. I rather like looking at the step, all those memories.

I will try this, I am clearing up all the time anyway (even through the night, although there has been no pee), as he will not go into a used tray, not alas one with a cover. Maybe his memory is going. I know the feeling :) I will just hope I don't become a pied piper for the rats! Have a great Sunday. Fran

If he has been not peeing for a while, it usually means his kidneys are shutting down. He may be in pain, I've had several cats reach that stage over the years, and my vets have always recommended euthanasia, as it usually means end-stage renal disease. It is a sad, hard thing to say goodbye, but I've always thought it better than thinking of them in discomfort/pain. Good Luck.

I would be afraid this might attract mice. When I had chickens, the feed was a huge mouse magnet.

If it did attract mice, my cats would be delighted!

In all the years I've been using this, I have never had an issue with attracting mice And I do live in an area where the small field mice and the cute kangaroo mice are all over. I think the threat of a cat and certain death is enough to keep them away.

Anything that attracts mice therefore attracts snakes.

Are you talking about chicken scratch then or layer crumbles or pellets? I have chickens, there is a big difference between the different types of feed.

It sounds like she means chicken scratch

If disposed of properly it could not attract anything. But if disposed out in the open it will attract birds and mice. Snakes go where there is food. They also need water and a place to hide. Tidy properties won't attract them but not everyone is tidy.