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Boardwalk :: Forum List Six (6) New Worm Digest Forums 1) General Earthworm Discussion Forum
falco
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A Fertile Cocoon
Posts: 2
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 Yesterday's News cat litter: additives? - 2005/12/25 02:17 Can anyone tell me if Purina's Yesterday's News cat litter, Original, Unsented, contains ANY additives (beyond newspaper)? And, secondly, does it contain any additives that are inimical to Eisenia foetida?

My worms are completely avoiding used Yesterday's News (i.e. cat feces + urine + Yesterday's News).

It has occurred to me that some characteristic of cat feces or urine may drive the worms away: pH? salts? ammonia?

I have heard of one other person, however, being able to vermicompost used cat litter newspaper pellets sucessfully. He indicated that the cat feces were processed by the worms.

In some pelletizing/extruding processes, calcium sulphate hemihydrate (CaSO.sub.4.1/2H.sub.2 O)(gypsum plaster)is added to form the newspaper slurry. The bulk density and moisture absorbency are controlled by varying the water content relative to the plaster. It is also possible to control such characteristics by including various additives in various amounts. The water content is varied in conjunction with the additive.

"Such additives are light weight naturally absorptive materials, as for example, paper pulp, or finely divided paper, or wood dust, peat dust, or light weight clay dust. Normally such additives are introduced into the mixing in the proportion of 1% to 20% of the weight of the plaster."

See: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4163674.html

Thank you.
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redhen
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 703
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 Re:Yesterday's News cat litter: additives? - 2005/12/26 10:47 My cats are indoor/outdoor cats so the world is their litter box. I would not put cat litter in my bins, as I use the vermicompost on edible plants, many people have their hands in my bins when I demonstrate the systems and many of my bins are indoors. IMHO.. pet feces would be better disposed of in a "hot" composting system. Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth.
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Judy
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A Juvenile Earthworm
Posts: 40
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 Re:Yesterday's News cat litter: additives? - 2005/12/28 07:36 Are the worms being offered anything else?
1. Food source that is more decomposed and appealing? If so, time might take care of the problem.
2. Any other bedding such as damp peat mixed in with the cat litter instead of just the cat box? If not, the environment could be kind of caustic. Hot composting before running it through a worm bin, the way some people who use chicken manure and other caustic manures do, would seem to be a good double whammy for pathogens.

In other discussions, people who do pet waste are advised to use a separate system and put the castings onto decorative plants, not food plants because of the pathogen risk. You get enough of that when the rascals see the freshly tilled garden as a place to potty. But, the worms seem willing to work in the pet waste.

I suspect the paper is just more caustic than they really like. I would try either mixing it with other bedding such as peat or crosscut shredded paper or hot composting it first. When Life Gives You Scraps, Make A Quilt.
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falco
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A Fertile Cocoon
Posts: 2
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 Re:Yesterday's News cat litter: additives? - 2005/12/28 13:54 JudyAnn,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. When I set up the bin it was one in which the worms were provided with decomposing food waste across the bottom and they were thriving...are thriving in that material. I have added the cat littter to the bin at one end (of a 38 litre container) only.

The used cat litter was insufficiently moist to add directly so I water it and let it sit a day to soak up water so that it's moist and the newspaper pellets crumble.

I have not yet tried mixing the cat litter with a more worm-appealing material (like food-waste) and that is an option I shall try in the future should this trial fail as it looks like it will. (I began the bin about three months ago.)

Thermophilic composting the cat litter first would defeat the whole purpose of my trial which is to have a containerized worm system that vermicomposts cat litter with same convenience of vermicomposting food waste indoors.

Your observation that the cat litter may be too caustic (i.e. alkaline, pH 8 and up) may certainly be true if gypsum is indeed one othe constituents of Yesterday's News manufacturing process. Cat urine, I understand has a normal pH of 5 to 7 (slightly acid to neutral) so its presence would tend to counterbalance the higher pH of the gypsum.

Even if the cat litter pellets are alkaline it does not answer my central question: Can anyone document the constituent's of Purina's Yesterday's News? I want first to know its ingredients as a clue to understanding why simple moistened newspaper strips (used by most everyone as worm 'bedding') is welcomed as an energy source by the worms but Yesterday's News is not.

(As an aside, given E. foetida's natural habitat, moist newspaper strips are perhaps better described as an artificial leaf layer rather than as 'bedding'.)

I am well aware of the problem of pathogen transmission from carnvores to humans and my worm management reflects that reality. Many are unaware, however, that to some, mostly unknown, extent passage through an Eisenia foetida's intestine can significantly reduce the numbers of some pathogens. The whole decomposition process is wonderous to behold.
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redhen
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 703
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 Re:Yesterday's News cat litter: additives? - 2005/12/28 16:20 falco..Perhaps you could go to Purina's web site and email the question about their litter, to get your best information about what is used in manufacturing it. Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth.
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gnosnhoj
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A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 544
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 Re:Yesterday's News cat litter: additives? - 2005/12/30 13:21 I agree with Redhen's latest post - think your best bet to get composition info is straight from the maker. Recommend you explain fully why you are requesting info - they might think you are a corporate kitty-litter spy

GJ Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY
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