Ever heard of pine pellets? Can you use them in cat litter boxes?
First off, what are pine pellets? Well, they’re designed and manufactured as equine bedding material…in other words, made with horses in mind. But they are also well suited to other animals, including pets. They can work great for rabbit, cat and dog litter boxes.
Long story short, my husband and I adopted two adorable puppies from one of his cousins last summer. They were so teeny, not much bigger than guinea pigs at six weeks of age. We used puppy pads when they were at that early stage. But as they got older we wanted to graduate them to something a little more “grown up” (in addition to taking them outside regular…well, a couple times a day, …) It’s no fun to step in your know what on your way to the kitchen in the dark. Ick! But I’m getting off track a little…
I saw a video on Youtube of a woman who was training her puppies with litter trays. It seemed like a more relaxed version of crate training. They did have a nice pen that was big enough to run around but they were being trained to use this plastic tray filled with some substrate that was not kitty litter, but pine pellets.
She then proceeded to tell us viewers that she only paid about $7 for a 25-pound bag from Tractor Supply. Better yet, the puppies seemed to take to them. I had no idea that it was possible to train a puppy to “go in” a litter box the way cats do. I’ve had kittens and they will take to them pretty easily, even at six to eight weeks. But at 7 dollars a bag, it was worth a shot. And a tray looked easier for them to crawl into. The key is to keep them in the pen while you feed them and then watch to make sure they get used to the trays.
When they do, you praise them loudly and offer a treat. So I got started. I filled up one of those under-the-bed boxes with the new bag of pellets (it was as heavy as all get-out…) and my youngest cat (Blaze) wasted no time and made a beeline for the box and prompted to…yep, that’s right.
Of course, I wouldn’t know if the puppies were using the tray or my cats were, so I made sure to fill up two of them and position one in the puppy pen and the other outside living room. So as it turns out cats, even those who are used to commonplace clay litter, will surprisingly take to wood pine pellets. My other two cats have only been exposed to one other type of littler that was dehydrated corn cob based. I remember when I got them neutered and spayed I was told I need to replace their litter with shredded paper as it would be easier for them post-op. They didn’t like that too well, until I mixed in paper strips with the litter they were used to.
So what are the advantages of using pine pellets for cats? Well, if you’d like to see for yourself…
- Odor minimizing…Pine is a naturally fresh scent and no perfumes to deal with which is one thing I don’t like about some litter brands.
- The pellets break down upon use…when kitty urinates, the pellets dissolve into sawdust. Biodegradeable and earth-friendly.
- Comes in a big bag that will last a long time (depending on how many cats you have.)
- Change it out periodically by pouring it out in the backyard. Pooper Scooper optional
- Cost. Litter is somewhere around $10-$12 for about a gallon sized amount.
And now, the cons, or disadvantages….
Bag is heavy. Weighs 50 pounds…Be sure and lift with your knees when you lug it into the house! If using a tray/litter pan, you may find stray pellets on the floor and stepping on them can be a b!tch, especially if your shoes are off.
How safe are pine pellets? Well, our dogs would eat the odd pellet, but nothing serious happened. After awhile the honeymoon was over for these things, and our dogs would want to go outside to “go”. (it’s getting easier now that they are getting older) We eventually just put pieces of cardboard in the trays as they’d rather play in the pellet tray like it’s a sandbox..the littlest one would use it as a place to hide her toys from her brother, lol…)
And I kind of got aggravated stepping on these things, they hurt just like stepping on a Lego when you’ve got bare feet. So I decided to put what was left of them into one of my cats’ covered boxes, and they do use it, it does not stink like the litter does (it takes about a month or so to get to that point.) With clay litter, if I’m in the next room and I hear one of them digging, I know she or he has just eliminated. With these pellets, I can’t tell. Cats in general will not try to eat the pellets, at least mine don’t. So, suffice it to say they are generally safe for cats.
If you use a covered litter box rather than one of those flatter pans that are 4-5″ in height, you won’t have to deal with stray pellets everywhere. They won’t be able to kick them out. Me, I use a large Sterile bin with a hole cut in the top. That is their box!
The smell of urine /ammonia at some point, will tell you that it’s time to change out the pellets for a batch of fresh ones. Even though the pellets do a good job of absorption, at some point it will have run its course.
So now I hope you can see how using wood pellets for cat litter makes sense, your nose and your wallet may thank you, your back may forgive you at some point 🙂 Your feline friends will take to it, hopefully and maybe even like it as well as their “other” litter.
