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chrisgreaves

Coffee and cat litter

chrisgreaves
17 years ago

I have begun an experiment with unscented clumping litter in a vertical tower vermicomposter.

I have two bustling coffee shops right across the street.

My mind turns to the use of coffee grounds as a kitty litter, and so I solicit opinions. It seems to me that cat faces & urine embedded in coffee grounds has to be better for the worms than clumping clay.

I'm not sure about the cat; paws could bec0ome dis-coloured?

The apartment would adopt a strong smell of coffee, I have no doubt.

Comments (18)

  • socks
    17 years ago

    Would you dry the coffee grounds for the cat's use? Cat litter tracked around the house is bad enough, not sure if coffee grounds would be an improvement! I commend you for your experiment. Are you using "used" cat litter, or fresh from the bag?

  • swampboogiequeen
    17 years ago

    Yeah, cat urine is the worst!!!

    There's a product called 'yesterdays news' or something like that. It's made from old newpapers. Also, feline pine????

    I personally DONT compost anything cat related. If it works, please let us know!!!

  • sammy23
    15 years ago

    Hi! Were you able to try out using coffee grounds as cat litter?

    I was thinking the same thing since they are liquid and odor absorbent you can get them for free -- have 11 cats.

  • pyropunk
    15 years ago

    chris,

    swampboogiequeen (what a cute name) is right. I would NEVER compost cat faeces. For the simple reason that Toxoplasmosis is not a pretty disease!

    But the concept of using coffee grounds as cat litter is appealing:
    pros:
    1) it smells better than cat urine!
    2) it available for free (or at least very cheap)
    3) it's already brown ;-)

    cons:
    1) cats may no like it
    2) cats may track it through your house
    3) cat's paws, carpets etc may discolor.

  • rosegone
    14 years ago

    I'll love to hear the result too. I have 2 indoor cats myself. My personal opinion, you'll have better success using "Yesterday News".

    For people worry about "Toxoplasmosis", do indoor cats still gets toxoplasmosis? Also, wouldn't Toxoplasmosis occurs naturally in the wild? If that's the case, why would toxoplasma harm red worm? Just curious.

  • mndtrp
    14 years ago

    Drop some dry coffee grounds on your carpet, and then try to clean it up. No way would I use them as litter.

    On the other hand, I would like to see how worms reacted the feces and urine. I don't use my vermipost on edible plants, so I'm not concerned with anything that might leach it's way into the vermipost.

  • pyropunk
    14 years ago

    rosegone,

    Toxoplasmosis does not affect the worms but after the worms have processed all the faeces it may still be present in the compost and end up in the soil if you use it in your garden. And possibly end up in your food if you grow your own vegetables.

  • miss_h_josephine_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    'Causes, incidence, and risk factors

    Toxoplasmosis is found in humans worldwide, and in many species of animals and birds. Cats are the definitive host of the parasite.

    Human infection may result from:

    Blood transfusions or solid organ transplants

    Carelessly handling cat litter, which can lead to accidental consumption of infectious particles

    Eating contaminated soil

    Eating raw or undercooked meat (lamb, pork, and beef)

    Toxoplasmosis also affects people who have weakened immune systems.'

    i would not use it as compost

    Here is a link that might be useful: toxoplasmosis

  • officedrone
    12 years ago

    It is highly dangerous to your cat to expost them to coffee grounds. Caffeine is very toxic to cats and when your cat grooms, he/she will ingest the coffee and either become extremely ill or die.

  • Barbara Greene
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    https://truthaboutpetfood.com/caution-to-use-of-corn-based-cat-litters/

    Be very careful when using "natural" cat litters. Corn, wheat, and paper based cat litter can grow deadly AFLATOXINS which can lead to respiratory failure in cats.

    Also, as for coffee grounds, it deters cats and snails so it is something you might want to use in your garden; it will deter cats and snails from using the soil as a toilet, thus, NOT a good choice for the litter box. They can also absorb the coffee caffeine through their paws which would be a good reason NOT to use it in a litter box.

  • Priswell
    5 years ago

    Get some stove pellets. They sell for less than $10 for 40lbs at a hardware store. Next time you need bin filler, put ~3 cups in the cat box, and spray the pellets a few times, or sprinkle 1/4-1/2 cup water over them to get some to disintegrate into sawdust. Pellets kill cat urine smell. Makes awesome cat litter.

  • Barbara Greene
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellet_fuel

    Depending on what the stove pellets are made of, they can be toxic.

  • Priswell
    5 years ago

    All you have to do is read the label. I haven't run into any yet, that are made of anything but pressed wood sawdust.

  • HU-428975324
    5 years ago

    Im just going to say it; you can NEVER conserve too much. This planet has billions of people on it with some areas becoming less inhabitable! Anyway, I had the same thought, but I use coffee grounds to dye my hair. So i use them over and over running water through them. After awhile they may not stain? Or use them as litter only in basements or tile?

  • Leah Green
    4 years ago

    Caffeine can be absorbed through their paws, causing kidney and or heart problems.

  • napapen
    4 years ago

    Don't put anything from a meat eating animal in a compost bin. Any pathogens that might be in the manure might carry over into your plants!!!!


  • HighColdDesert
    4 years ago

    For litterbox purposes, wood pellets or even just sawdust sourced from a woodworking shop or carpenter is a nice natural version, and I have found cats like to use it. I don't think worms will like the commercial litter clay. Compost worms might like a tiny bit of clay, but not a huge mass of it.

    For composting, I have always lived in places with enough outdoor space for compost bins, so in the few stretches of time that I had a cat kept indoors, I would always make a separate bin for the used cat litter. I wasn't really planning to dig it out and use it in the garden. I figured it would decompose and surrounding trees and landscape plants would use the compost.

    I once heard someone describe a system he uses for his dog poop, which I think would also work great for cat litter. He cut the bottom off a bucket or bin or garbage can that has a tight fitting lid, and buried it halfway in a back corner of the garden. He threw some worms and worm bedding in it, and then scoops the dog poop into there daily. The worms reduce it so it hasn't filled after a few years of use. If it does fill, he'll gently pull it up (because it is bottomless) and move it to a different spot. I like this idea -- if I had that, I'd also throw yardwaste and flower deadheads with unwanted seeds and weed seeds in it.

    But these ideas require that you have some space outdoors. If you are in an apartment, you have less options.

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