Automatic Litterbox Central

What litters are you using/have you tried?

I originally was a LitterMaid user, for a few years. While using LM's, I read on this website a post from a guy who was using a type of chicken feed called Chicken Layer in his LM, and that it worked great. He said it was very much like The World's Best Cat Litter (TWBCL)

I picked some up and have been using it ever since, we're talking about 3-4 years now.

Chicken Layer really is basically the same as TWBCL. It might be a tiny bit chunkier, and doesn't have built-in deodorizer. But I just add a little powdered litterbox deodorizer and it works fine. At about $12.00 for 50 lbs vs. $8.00 for 8 lbs (the going price for TWBCL around here), it was a hell of a great alternative. (LitterMaid makes their own litter, and it also is a dried corn product, very similar to TWBCL.)

That's what I've been using in my SmartScoop. I rarely have any issues with clumps being flung or pushed over the end lip (I have the higher one that came with the upgrade kit) as I've seen reported by a lot of clay litter users here.

I still have the issue everyone has with accumulation of soiled litter forming a layer on the bottom of the tray. With multiple cats, this requires a daily scooping.

Still a major improvement over LitterMaids, and with as many cats as I have, there's no comparison to using a non-automatic litterbox.

I have, when unable to get to my feedstore, used SwheatScoop. That works maybe a touch better than the chicken layer, but costs more than twice as much.

Note if you haven't read my posts about chicken layer in the LM forums: brand and type of layer matters. The ones I have used successfully are Dumor and Layena. Dumor is available at Tractor Supply Company stores, and is specifically labeled as "crumble." Layena is what I get regularly at a local feed store. Last time I picked up a bag, they asked me "pellets or crumble." That was the first time I had been informed that it even came in more than one form. I asked for crumble, and when I opened it a few days later, was chagrined to find they'd given me pellets. The pellet form is a lot like Feline Pine. Doesn't work in automatic litterboxes, I'm afraid.

I picked up another brand, the name of which I don't remember, from a feedstore that I do not frequent. It was horrible. Really large granules that were practically pellets, and it smelled bad.

If you want any further info or have questions about chicken layer as litter, feel free to ask.

Camille

Thank you for posting this, Camille. Customers sometimes ask me for recommendations, and this sounds like a great solution all around. I think I'm going to try it in my own SmartScoop.

I would NOT try this - chicken feed tends to grow mold that contains aflatoxin, which causes liver damage in cats. If the mold is present or grows in the liter, your cat will ingest it after walking in the litter an cleaning her legs/paws.

I know someone on another forum who tried this and all 3 of her cats ended up in the hospital with serious live disease, and they will never fully recover.

World's Best Cat LItter is processed to eliminate moisture and packaged so it can't grow mold, I also contacted the company and they said they test each batch for aflatoxin.

So again, please do not pass on this dangerous idea!

TMN - are you aware of the proven health dangers inherant in Silica-based litters?

Those serious dangers are ZERO when you switch to using something like chicken layer.

I know people who have switched to using it over the years - YEARS - and no health problems have presented in their cats PERIOD.

Myself? 12-14 cats over 3 years, without a single problem. I buy a fresh bag when there's maybe 2 days left in my previous bag. I don't have bags of it sitting around to potentially grow mold. And my feed store does enough business to ensure their product is fresh and mold-free.

The amount of time the litter sits in a litterbox is not enough by FAR to allow mold to grow.

I think you're being waaaay too alarmist. It would be prudent to advise people to not buy lots of bags of chicken feed and allow it to sit around and potentially mold, that I agree, and I appreciate your making this possibility known.

If you know of other examples you can link to on the web perhaps where this has been an issue, you should post them here. Otherwise, I've heard - and experienced - nothing but good from switching to chicken layer as litter.

I'm not being alarmist, I have personal experience with the dangers of chicken layer. It IS a real danger.

I am aware of the potential harm from inhaled dust of crystalline silica, however if a dust-free clay litter such as Dr. Elsey's is used, there is no crystalline silica inhaled.

Personally, I use World's Best Cat LItter and there is a difference between using it and using chicken feed. WBCL is super-dried so there is negligible moisture left in the corn. Chicken feed is only marginally dried, it contains a lot more moisture which can grow mold.

I appreciate your input, TMN. But my experience and the experience of the vast majority of people I know of who use layer supports my stance that the risk of using chicken feed as litter is extremely minimal.

Again - 12-14 cats over 3+ years with no side effects or problems whatsoever. Add to that others I have known over the same period, also with NO problems, and your experience just seems like the exception rather than the rule.

I did a little research. It turns out that the conditions needed to grow the aspergillus fungi which cause aflatoxin are decently specific. It prefers a moisture level above 18% and decently higher temperatures. This isn't going to happen to just ANY and ALL bag of chicken layer - or any corn/wheat/etc product for that matter. (Note: I plan to do a little follow-up and contact Purina and Dumor about the moisture levels in their products, just to be sure.)

A little more research brought up a lot more hits on atafloxin-tainted dog & cat FOODS that contained corn than litters/layer.

I also need to add - TWBCL costs an average of $1.00 per lb. Chicken layer costs about .25 cents per lb. I'd be willing to be your Dr. Elsey's is up there in price, too. Sure, it'd be great to just go to the PetSmart a couple miles away rather than have to go out of my way to the feedstore to get the layer. But even with the added gas expenditure, the cost of that 50lb bag of chicken layer waaaaaaaaaay undercuts the cost of all the TWBCL or Swheatscoop I'd have to buy to keep my 12 current cats in clean litter every day.

Finally! Now that the site is up-and-running, I can post the response I got regarding the litters.

Both of them - Dumor and Layena - are made by Purina Mills. Here is their response:

The moisture level will be more like 7 to 9% and we test all our
incoming corn for aflatoxin contamination.

The pellets are run through an air dryer after pelleting to remove heat
before processing into crumbles.

In conclusion, if you at least stick with Layena & Dumor, atafloxin contamination isn't much of a concern.

Just an update.

As of the date of this post (8/7/09), I am still using primarily Layena chicken layer crumbles with 2 of the most upgraded SmartScoop litterboxes and 11 strictly indoor cats.

The cost of the layer has gone up to now about $13.00 including tax. I buy appx. 1 50 lb bag of Layena each month and 1 container of Tidy Cat litter deodorizer as well, making my monthly expense on litter about a total of $16.00.

I have no plans to change litters, still. The chicken layer is still my 1st choice. I am moving out of state soon and hope I will be able to find a feed store that sells Layena or a Tractor Supply Company store that sells Dumor where I'll be living.