Thanks for this advice...I would have never thought about using this as cat
litter. I might try it out and see how it works, a bit worried that they may
play with it though or chew on it, do you have this problem with your
younger cats? I'm not worried if they spread it around the litter box since
I'm always sweeping around the area at least twice a day as it is (they
sometimes like to play IN the litter box together, just worried they may
drag the shavings all over the house and use it as a toy.

Christina

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"Knack" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Christina" wrote in message
...
Hi I'm new here, although I've been "lurking" and reading the posts for
a
few days. I have two male cats (brothers) Scooby and Sylvester who will
make a year on May 1st. I have tried all types of different litter, the
scoopable, non-scoop, scented, unscented. I guess I'm just curious as
to
what works best for everyone else who is a cat owner. The past two
weeks
I
have switched to the non-scoopable Tidy Cat and find myself having to
dump
it and hose it out, dry, refill daily. Is this the best method? When I
use
the scoopable litter it leaves little clumps and just never seems very
clean
to me, which is why I'm emptying it on a daily basis. Thanks for your
suggestions! Also, if I can ask one more question, I bathe them once a
week,
is that too often?

As you can tell, I am a fairly new "mommy" of these kittens so I need
all
the advice I can get.

I used clumping clay litter for 8 years until this summer, when I switched
to wood products. This year I tested pine shavings, cedar shavings and
wood
pellets. My 2 adult cats had no problem with the switchover, and neither
did
my 2 kittens who were previously cared for at the shelters with clay
litter.
I wish I had discovered wood shavings years ago.

The are so many advantages that the choice of pine/cedar shavings over any
type of clay litter is quite overwhelming: far more moisture absorbent
(less
maintenance), far lower cost of use, far lighter weight (easier to
handle),
superior odor abatement, zero ammonia formation, easier disposal, and even
recycleable as a landscape mulch. You can easily scoop out the fecal
matter
from pine/cedar/shavings too; quicker than with clay litter because the
shavings can quickly be pushed aside to find the feces. Although the
tracking of wood shavings is more visible than clay, it's much easier to
clean up. This tracking is especially easier to clean up than clumping
clay
litter if it should become scattered over a damp basement floor.

Both pine and cedar shavings are sold not only at pet stores but at places
like K-Mart and Wal-Mart for US$6-$9 per 2 cu. ft. bag. At pet stores
expect
those prices to be up to 30% higher. Don't look for wood shavings in the
area of the stores where cat products are kept though; find them where the
stuff for rabbits, ferrets and hamsters is kept.

Spent (urine containing) cedar shavings will last far longer than pine as
a
landscape mulch.

Although both types of wood shavings are amazingly cheap, pine's cost of
usage is at least half the cost of cedar mostly because it expands to
twice
its volume; the minute you transfer it from its packaging to the litter
box
(higher compression in its packaging).

With regards to wood *pellets*, I would steer people away from them;
especially the expensive pine ones marketed as cat litter. If you choose
wood pellets though, buy the cheap ones that are marketed as fuel for
stoves; sold at places like Home Depot during the heating season. My main
complaint with wood pellets is that they break down to a dust that gets
tracked further away from the litterbox than does shavings. That dust also
becomes an airborn contaminant of the indoor environment that you share
with
your cat(s). My other complaint of wood pellets (not shavings) is that a
litter bed of it weighs almost as much as that of clay. The positives of
wood pellets are its equalities with wood shavings: moisture absorption,
odor abatement, zero ammonia formation, very low usage cost, and disposal
in
the landscape.

All types of wood products can be used in an enclosed litter box for
further
odor abatement. That's how I use the wood shavings.