I’m totally down with saving the environment but is making your own cat litter really going to reduce your carbon footprint? Full instructions after the jump.
1. Shred newspaper in a paper shredder and collect it in an unused litter box.
2. Soak the paper in warm water mixed with a few squirts gentle, biodegradable dish soap. The shredded paper takes on a cooked oatmeal consistency. The paper won’t come completely clean, but the water will turn grey.
3. Drain the water (an old colander works wonders) and repeat the soaking process minus the soap.
4. Sprinkle baking soda liberally on the wet paper. Knead it in to the mixture (you might want to wear gloves to avoid getting ink on your hands).
5. Squeeze the remaining moisture out until it’s as dry as you can get it.
6. Crumble over a screen and leave to dry for a few days.
7. Once it’s dry, put about an inch and a half to two inches of the paper crumbles in the litter box. Scoop solids daily and change it once a week. It takes about a half an hour to 45 minutes to make a 2-3 week supply of litter.
Silly humans.
It’s not just about your carbon footprint, it’s about MY health! All that nasty clay litter (the mining of which is terrible for the environment, BTW) kicks up a whole bunch of dust that’s bad for kitteh lungs. And human lungs, too — which is important, since we need you around to feed us.
Anyway, you don’t have to make your own. There are lots of litters out there that are better for the environment and better for our health. The post you linked to has a whole list of ‘em.