Any cat owners here compost??

[Moondog55]

Just in case any of the ethical pet owners here use a "Pet-Poo" composter system rather than flush cat faeces down the loo?

If so could you spare some worms that are already acclimatised to this diet. I am having some trouble getting my worms to eat cat S***
Also what compostable litter are you using and have you found any difference between various litters?
This cat leaves about 120-150 grams of poo a day and my worms cannot keep up; I know I need another quarter kilo of worms [about a 1000 I guess] but would prefer ones already to go with what is a strongly nitrogenous diet
We could go back to flushing but I hate to waste Nitrogen

[north-north-west]

Get the right worms and they'd eat the cats. Problem solved.

[Moondog55]

My beloved wife would not like that, I just tolerate the puss because it keeps her happy, but when it dies guess where it goes!

[doogs]

My beloved wife would not like that, I just tolerate the puss because it keeps her happy, but when it dies guess where it goes!

You can't possibly fit a cat down the toilet..can you??

[MickyB]

What do you plan using the compost for? If you plan using it on your veggie garden I would strongly advise not to compost your cat poo. As cats are omnivores their waste can contain harmful bacteria that can make humans sick if our food was to come into contact with it. There are no problems if you plan using it on your garden as long as it has been composted for a long time. Paper based kitty litters will break down quicker than most. We used to have tiger worms in our compost and they ate everything but we never added cat waste so not sure if they would be your answer.

[Strider]

+1

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis

See section regarding Transmission.

[Moondog55]

Thanx Strider. I'm familiar with that subject>
Resulting compost would be reserved for the ornamentals in the front yard and not put anywhere near our fruit and vegetables. Tigers, reds and Indian Blues in my bins. We have been using a pelletised paper litter for a while now, there is a separate compost bin just for that
Micky, unlike dogs; cats are only inadvertent omnivores because we put stuff other than meat in the dry food but in the wild they are more often than not dedicated carnivores

Strider have you read any of the papers linking Toxoplasmosis to Schizophrenia? Interesting reading.

[MickyB]

Micky, unlike dogs; cats are only inadvertent omnivores because we put stuff other than meat in the dry food but in the wild they are more often than not dedicated carnivores

Sorry Moondog. I did mean to type carnivore. Either way though as long as the cat (or dog) eats meat you would have problems with the compost IF you were spreading it near edible crops.

We have been using a pelletised paper litter for a while now, there is a separate compost bin just for that

If the used kitty litter is all that you are putting in that compost bin you may end up with too much carbon. You may have to add more nitogen rich matter such as veggie scraps, lawn clipping etc. You should have a higher carbon to nitrogen ratio (2/3 carbon 1/3 nitogen). If you get this balance correct you will end up with a healthy compost that the worms will love.

[Strider]

No I haven't read any deeper on the subject. Wiki is the limit of my understanding!

[Moondog55]

Actually the problem with kitty litter composting is too much nitrogen in the form of ammonia so I usually need to add extra carbon. luckily we eat takeaway pizza about once a week so we get that plus we shred almost all the personal papers. Torn newspaper also goes in. Kitchen scraps usually get composted via the chooks first LOL

[MickyB]

The cat poo would be nitrogen. The kitty litter (if paper based) would be carbon.

Does your compost bin smell (apart from the cat poo ). If so, you have too much nitrogen

If you have too much carbon material the composting process will be very slow.

[Moondog55]

Yes but the poop goes in a dedicated worm bin with a minimum of litter. The litter goes in another dedicated compost bin. This way I can keep ornamental garden and vegetable garden composts separate. Cat urine is very concentrated and strong

[MickyB]

Sorry. I thought it was all going in the one bin. Have you tried putting litter and poo in one compost bin for you ornamentals and have another compost bin for you veggie garden?

[Nuts]

Red Wriggles and African Night Crawlers but they are here and you're there
To strong to just chuck directly around ornamentals I gather?

[Moondog55]

Micky I have about 5 bins on the go at the moment. I like the compost to mature for about a year before using it on the vegies. To these I added to worm farm and the tumbler for the cat refuse and I have an old olive drum I intend to drill holes in around the base and half bury near the lemon tree for other stuff too. I have to say tho that last year was a disaster as far as our garden goes; too hot and too dry and we haven't got tha water tanks hooked up yet due to that being the low priority where the renovations are concerned. I do want to try and get this system up and running tho

[puredingo]

I used to work with a bloke who bred exotic parrots etc, he would trap the cats that would stalk his aviary, drown them and then bury them in his garden.

neighbours couldn't understand why it looked like he lived in a rain forest during a hot, dry, drought ridden time.

Composting cats is a boon for the garden.

[Strider]

I once loved next to a bloke who pumped out septic tanks for a living. Biggest/best veggie garden I've ever seen in my life!

[andrewa]

Good passionfruit vines too.