Use Shredded Paper For Cat Litter

I have nine cats, the result of some volunteer work with a trap, neuter/spay/vaccinate, and release program. (I had trouble with the release part!) With the price of cat litter soaring, I decided to try to use my daily Chicago newspaper, which is large, in litter boxes.

Starting by switching one box at a time (I have six!), at first I shredded sheets, which turned out to be a big chore and also resulted in tracked shreds. Then I tried laying down whole sheets and just tearing one page in strips, and that worked very well, with all the cats accepting the change. Although now and then a strip gets out of the box, it is nothing compared to the tracking of commercial litters. I completely change the used paper each day, so it is no smellier than my old boxes.

Since I need enough paper to avoid puddling underneath each newspaper section and strips, I bulk it up with all my other paper and light cardboard that I would recycle if I weren't reusing it. This uses up all my junk mail, including catalogs. Along with saving money, I have saved myself a lot of hauling of heavy litter. I still have to haul the used paper, now as garbage, but the bags are much lighter than those with litter.

By Barbara from Burlington, WI