Cat Litter In Compost Mix

[Bigmallly]

Heyup, I have 2 bags of Cat Litter over from a previous venture................As it is made to absorb liquid, my lickle brain wondered if it could be used as a water retainer in compost mix as you would with Vermiculite............What do you reckon?

[Guest]

There was a similar question not that long ago and I think the out come was mainly no due to additives to the litter. Think odour neutraliser etc. If I find the thread I will link, but don't cross your fingers as I am struggling to find things at the mo

[noviceveggrower]

Wont it go all slimy on top and clump together? If it was mixed with your compost I think there could be a chance it could clog all the compost together and go into one big mess. If it dried out to much then it could damage plant roots.
Could be experiment time

[Bigmallly]

Could be experiment time

Already started.....................I'm only putting a handfull into a bowl full of MPC so hopefully shouldn't be detrimental to the plants but at the same time aid moisture retention.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Not sure if you are on to a winner here, BM. . Depends on the cat litter type - is it cheap paper/wood based or clay based, or perfumed (as others have said), or clumping or ultra clumping.

Domino cat parks his delicate derriere in a cat litter tray full of ultra clumping cat litter, which (as you might imagine) sets solid with liquid - that would be no good for you to grow things in! The Next-door's cat uses a clay based odour absorbent (C@tsan) which the liquid goes straight through, and it looks like vermiculite - albeit very grained stuff. Wouldn't think that it would work well for you for seeds as it is coarse.

[mothhawk]

Donate it to your local PDSA/RSPCA/CPL branch. They'll be very pleased to have it.

[Penellype]

When I took over my friend's veg garden there was a large pile of cat litter nearby, which looked like a pile of grit, and I had similar thoughts. We added a bit to the soil, thinking it might improve the structure, but soon stopped as it seemed to have the opposite effect. Once in, of course, it isn't possible to get it out.

[Bigmallly]

Thanks for your advice, it's Coshida Fullers Earth, not sure if it's good or bad.

[TrysHard]

Fullers Earth is basically a type of clay.

As my Granddad use to say he don't know is he is on this earth or fullers.

He use to use it the the garden not sure for what.

[Kristen]

I've not tried it, but I have heard of folk using Cat Litter (particularly Tesco's - not sure what is specifically important about that, but I know there are different types of materials included, so it will be related to that) for things that require very sharp drainage - re-rooting a Cactus that has rotted off, or Bonsai for example:

growingontheedge.net - View topic - Trichocereus terscheckii
Cat Litter as Bonsai Soil