How to Make Homemade Cat Litter

Most people don't realize that the clay found in ordinary kitty litter is strip-mined, and actually causes a great deal of damage to the environment. There are a number of environmentally-friendly kitty litter brands on the market today. These make a good substitute for clay litters if you can afford them. You can also make your own litter out of newspaper and baking soda, but you won't have enough newspaper if you don't take a daily paper. So another possibility is to use chicken scratch.

Things You'll Need

  • Chicken scratch
  • Baking soda
  • Cedar savings, optional
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Instructions

    • 1

      Purchase a 50-lb. bag of chicken scratch at a farm or feed store. Though you can use any sort of chicken scratch, the best for making kitty litter contains ground corn, and may be sold as a layer mix or as a chick mix. Talk to staff about which type of scratch they sell has the highest proportion of ground corn or other seeds.

    • 2

      Buy a bale of cedar savings while you're at the feed store if you want to add a scent to the litter. Cedar savings will be much cheaper at the feed store than they will be at a pet store.

    • 3

      Pour about 2 inches of the chicken scratch into a clean litter box. Add about ¼ cup of baking soda to the scratch. Stir the ingredients to mix them.

    • 4

      Crumble a few handfuls of cedar chips in your hands and stir them into the chicken scratch. Keep the chips small so they stay distributed throughout the chicken scratch.

    • 5

      Scoop out the litter daily, just as you would any kitty litter. If the chicken scratch contains a high degree of ground corn or seeds, the litter will clump. If not, it will still be easy to scoop out.

    • 6

      Dispose of solid wastes, and compost the remaining litter. Once composted, it will make an excellent fertilizer for your lawn, trees and ornamentals.