cat litter-dry dog food

peppero · February 23, 2012

has anybody used cat litter(new) as a supplement for containers or in transplanting and, if so, what were the results? i have heard that dry dog food is good as a source of nitrogen. has anyone tried it? jon

Worth1 · February 23, 2012

Cat litter No way it is nothing but clay and is horrible.

I rented a place years ago and the people that lived there before me just dumped the stuff out in the back yard.
It wont go away!!!!!!!
I had to scoop it all up and put it in the garbage.

My dog Boo Boo would kill me if I used his dog food for such a thing.
He read this post and started growling.

Worth

Zana · February 23, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

My dog Boo Boo would kill me if I used his dog food for such a thing.
He read this post and started growling.

Worth

Boo Boo is one smart dawg!!!!!

Did he help you type your response too? :p

Petronius_II · February 23, 2012

For overly sandy soil and/or overly acid, cat litter wouldn't be too bad a thing.

Dog food? I just wouldn't. As far as anything involving uncomposted meat goes, I'd think a smallish can of water-packed sardines whizzed in a blender (perhaps after removing the skins, which are somewhat oily) with lots of water, and diluted with lots more water, would be the safest and most effective form of uncomposted meat I can think of. Presuming it's fresh and thus unfermented, not necessarily a good idea to apply it too close to the roots of existing plants.

That's just a hypothesis. Please don't sue me if experimental results fail to confirm the hypothesis.

Heritage · February 23, 2012

Jon, I wouldn't consider using either.

Dog food would attract rats, mice, raccoons, dogs, possums, and just about every other varmit. Besides, doesn't a bag of dog food cost more than a bag of perlite/peat/nitrolized wood chips?

Cat litter, if it is the clay, clumping type, would be a mess and probably a quick way to kill a plant. Again, the cat litter I buy costs more than perlite, I don't know why I would even consider it.

I would stick to the amendments discussed elsewhere on this forum, although if you decide to experiment, let us know how it goes. Nothing wrong with experimenting! I may be totally wrong.

Steve

delltraveller · February 23, 2012

I have used old, stale cheap cat food to mix into the soil and in the bottom of new raised beds. You will, indeed, get some wildlife activity when it's mixed into the upper regions, less so if it's beneath six or eight inches of other material. I've also added old cakes mixes, bags of flour, old dry pasta, and old flour tortillas. Waste not, want not.

delltraveller · February 23, 2012

Petronius II,

With what most dry dog and cat food goes through to come into existence, it might be more than composted!

Heritage · February 23, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by delltraveller

I have used old, stale cheap cat food to mix into the soil and in the bottom of new raised beds. You will, indeed, get some wildlife activity when it's mixed into the upper regions, less so if it's beneath six or eight inches of other material. I've also added old cakes mixes, bags of flour, old dry pasta, and old flour tortillas. Waste not, want not.

You need a chicken!

My chicken eats stale cat food and tortillas.
Come to think of it, chickens also attract coyotes, raccoons and skunks...

delltraveller · February 23, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heritage

You need a chicken!

My chicken eats stale cat food and tortillas.

Here, I'd have to take a class, pay $25 per year, officially inform neighbors and, to meet distance requirements, build a coop up in the air to have six hens.

Mudman · February 23, 2012

Most cat litter is just fireclay. Not sure what benefit that would have in a potting mix.
Fire Clay (AP Green)- 52% SiO2, 30% Al2O3, 1% Fe2O3, 1.5% TiO2, .05% CaO, .05% Na2O, .2% K2O, and .03% MnO2.

peppero · February 23, 2012

worth i think you and i could have some interesting conversations. jon

fortyonenorth · February 23, 2012

Some cat litters turn to a nasty mud-like substance when exposed to moisture. Others contain deodorizers and/or additives that are unsuitable for landscape use. Still others are made from a calcined clay that's similar to NAPA floor-dry and a ball field conditioner called Turface. The latter are ideal soil conditioners: high cation exchange capacity, perfect texture and excellent moisture retaining properties. They are also very stable - rated at something like 5% breakdown over 20 years.

I use Turface as a significant component of my potting mixes and wouldn't grow without it.

Tracydr · February 26, 2012

I feed my dogs and cats eat raw meat. When I'm replacing it I end up with a lot of blood. I usually give this to the chickens but sometimes, if I have too much, I'll dilute it and use it on the garden.
Anybody know a way, without too much trouble, to compost feathers? I get a lot of those.
Dog food is made of so much disgusting stuff, I won't even feed it to my chickens, even the organic. Have you seen some of the you tube videos where they take pet carcasses behind vet offices to grind for pet foods? That would be meat by-products!

February 26, 2012

My Dollar Tree store sells 5# bags of cat litter that is 100% diatomaceous earth, and I have been using it as a soil amendment for both containers and in ground for 2 years with success. It is about the consistency of perlite, and greatly adds to the aeration capability os the soil.

Tracydr · February 27, 2012

DE as soil conditioner? Wo would of thought? I use it in my coop and garden all the time to prevent pests like ants, lice, mice and aphids.

February 23, 2012	#1
peppero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: selmer, tn Posts: 2,944	cat litter-dry dog food has anybody used cat litter(new) as a supplement for containers or in transplanting and, if so, what were the results? i have heard that dry dog food is good as a source of nitrogen. has anyone tried it? jon

February 23, 2012	#10
Mudman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NW Wisconsin Posts: 910	Most cat litter is just fireclay. Not sure what benefit that would have in a potting mix. Fire Clay (AP Green)- 52% SiO2, 30% Al2O3, 1% Fe2O3, 1.5% TiO2, .05% CaO, .05% Na2O, .2% K2O, and .03% MnO2. __________________ Mike

February 23, 2012	#2
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Cat litter No way it is nothing but clay and is horrible. I rented a place years ago and the people that lived there before me just dumped the stuff out in the back yard. It wont go away!!!!!!! I had to scoop it all up and put it in the garbage. My dog Boo Boo would kill me if I used his dog food for such a thing. He read this post and started growling. Worth

February 23, 2012	#4
Petronius_II Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Albuquerque, NM - Zone 7a Posts: 209	For overly sandy soil and/or overly acid, cat litter wouldn't be too bad a thing. Dog food? I just wouldn't. As far as anything involving uncomposted meat goes, I'd think a smallish can of water-packed sardines whizzed in a blender (perhaps after removing the skins, which are somewhat oily) with lots of water, and diluted with lots more water, would be the safest and most effective form of uncomposted meat I can think of. Presuming it's fresh and thus unfermented, not necessarily a good idea to apply it too close to the roots of existing plants. That's just a hypothesis. Please don't sue me if experimental results fail to confirm the hypothesis.

February 23, 2012	#5
Heritage Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: San Diego Posts: 1,255	Jon, I wouldn't consider using either. Dog food would attract rats, mice, raccoons, dogs, possums, and just about every other varmit. Besides, doesn't a bag of dog food cost more than a bag of perlite/peat/nitrolized wood chips? Cat litter, if it is the clay, clumping type, would be a mess and probably a quick way to kill a plant. Again, the cat litter I buy costs more than perlite, I don't know why I would even consider it. I would stick to the amendments discussed elsewhere on this forum, although if you decide to experiment, let us know how it goes. Nothing wrong with experimenting! I may be totally wrong. Steve

February 23, 2012	#6
delltraveller Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Iowa Posts: 481	I have used old, stale cheap cat food to mix into the soil and in the bottom of new raised beds. You will, indeed, get some wildlife activity when it's mixed into the upper regions, less so if it's beneath six or eight inches of other material. I've also added old cakes mixes, bags of flour, old dry pasta, and old flour tortillas. Waste not, want not.

February 23, 2012	#12
fortyonenorth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 1,150	Some cat litters turn to a nasty mud-like substance when exposed to moisture. Others contain deodorizers and/or additives that are unsuitable for landscape use. Still others are made from a calcined clay that's similar to NAPA floor-dry and a ball field conditioner called Turface. The latter are ideal soil conditioners: high cation exchange capacity, perfect texture and excellent moisture retaining properties. They are also very stable - rated at something like 5% breakdown over 20 years. I use Turface as a significant component of my potting mixes and wouldn't grow without it.

February 26, 2012	#13
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I feed my dogs and cats eat raw meat. When I'm replacing it I end up with a lot of blood. I usually give this to the chickens but sometimes, if I have too much, I'll dilute it and use it on the garden. Anybody know a way, without too much trouble, to compost feathers? I get a lot of those. Dog food is made of so much disgusting stuff, I won't even feed it to my chickens, even the organic. Have you seen some of the you tube videos where they take pet carcasses behind vet offices to grind for pet foods? That would be meat by-products!

February 26, 2012	#14
JoParrott Guest Posts: n/a	My Dollar Tree store sells 5# bags of cat litter that is 100% diatomaceous earth, and I have been using it as a soil amendment for both containers and in ground for 2 years with success. It is about the consistency of perlite, and greatly adds to the aeration capability os the soil.

February 27, 2012	#15
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	DE as soil conditioner? Wo would of thought? I use it in my coop and garden all the time to prevent pests like ants, lice, mice and aphids.