Cat scat disposal.

by Chuck L.
(Ct, USA)

I am assisting a friend with many cats. My first order of business is the litter box amply covered at your wonderful site.
My specific question is how to dispose of several pounds of scat and urine clumps litter a day? My wife and I have five cats in our home and I bag the scat and clumped litter and add it to our outgoing kitchen garbage that is then taken with the weekly roadside pickup. This works for us and our five and does not overwhelm the can with odor but our friend has a farm and over the years have become a haven for abandoned cats.
The solution needs to be environmentally and garbage collector friendly.

Thanks.

Chuck L.

RESPONSE:

This is an excellent question and an ongoing issue! We do the same thing that you do!
While there are many enviromentally safe litters on the market today, they can be costly. But still, it is an alternative. Since your friend has a farm, he can do what one farm family does:
They dug a big hole in the "back forty" where no planting occurs and dump the waste there to let it degrade over time. They use sawdust and sawdust type litter to aid in decomosition. Because cat scat is protein, it can't be used as composte for plants.
Since we doubt your friend has weekly trash pick-up, his only other alternative may be to bag the stuff in odor minimizing bags and take weekly trips to the dump himself.
We don't recommend he try the "flushable" litter - unless he is also a plumber! And we doubt teaching them all to use the toilet is an option for him either!
We wish we had a better answer for you but until they come up with cat scat/cat litter eating enzymes like they have for oil spills, these are his best alternatives.
Anybody else have any good ideas?!

Donna
House Full Cats Mom