Instructions
Purchase two litter pans. Choose a design that allows one of the pan to sit inside the other.
Drill holes 1/8 inch to 3/16 inch in diameter in the bottom of the first litter pan. Set the holes no more than 1 inch apart. Leave an undrilled 1.5 inch border around the perimeter of the litter pan.
Line the bottom of the second litter pan with one to two sheets of newspaper. Sprinkle a layer of baking soda over the newspaper. Place a second sheet of newspaper over the baking soda.
Fill the cat's box with the usual litter in one half and fine pea gravel in the other half. Maintain the familiar location of the cat box. Allow the cat to mix the gravel and the litter.
Clean the box daily by removing solid waste from the gravel-litter mixture. Remove the newspaper from the second tray once or twice a week, and replace it as in Step 3.
Give the cat time to adjust to pea gravel instead of conventional cat litter. Replenish the "litter" by adding more pea gravel and less cat litter until the tray has only pea gravel in it. Transition slowly over a period of several weeks or a couple of months.
Hose off the pea gravel as needed and allow it to dry completely. Rotate batches of pea gravel. Dump the pea gravel outside, and allow the rain to clean it and then re-use.
How to Green a Cat
This "green" litter system does away with cat litter, eliminating the need to dispose of it in landfills. The most significant change is the use of a mix of litter and pea gravel along with a second tray. The cat's box is then lined with absorbent newspapers and odor-neutralizing baking soda, which creates no additional chemical waste.