I have been using World's Best Cat Litter for quite a number of years and even sold in in our shop before we changed careers. I love that it clumps, is made of a natural ingredient, corn, has no dust....but the price is just too much. They used to offer coupons but have done away with that and at almost $9. for a 7 pound bag - it is overpriced especially, if you multiple cats like we do.
A friend tried corn chicken feed and aside from the fact that wildlife was trying to get in her outdoor pen to eat it, found it to be a great replacement for WBCL! Another friend with many cats tried it as she could not afford WBCL anymore at the new price and was converted to chicken feed as cat litter.
We bought a ten pound bag of Dumor at Tractor Supply and it works fine! There are several brands - we got Dumor affordable, and has no dust. We add baking soda for odor control and the cats seem to accept it readily.
Here are some things about buying chicken feed so you know what to get if you want to save money and still use a safe affordable cat litter instead of clay or any others with dangerous additives.:
- Buy corn feed for layers or chick starter without additives or medication in it. Make sure it is corn and states no additives on the bag.
- It comes in pellets or crumbles. Both work but crumbles looks most like WBCL and seems to have more clumping qualities.
- Many feed stores have their own brands - some big name brands that make quality feed are Dumor, and Layena. Just buy the smaller size to try it out. The bags range in price from 10 pounds for $3-5. or 25 pounds for $8-10. You can't beat the price.
- One issue other forums on this subject have brought up is that the chicken feed can get moldy and make your cats sick. The solution is to buy fresh feed only in the amount you need and store it in plastic bins. The conditions needed to grow the aspergillus fungi which cause aflatoxin are very specific - the mold prefers a moisture level above 18% and higher temperatures.
- Some folks have found that adding some baking soda to the litter deodorizes the box and helps with odor control. I had to do this with WBCL anyway.
- As far as clumping - the WBCL performed good but not great - I still had to scrape the pee clumps off the bottom of the litter box. This happens as well if the chicken feed litter amount is too low in the box. Keep the box full and you can prevent this from happening.
Online I found many cat owners who have used chicken feed as litter for years and loved it. Even eHow.com suggests chicken feed as a homemade alternative to buying cat litter. Properly stored and used, it is much safer than some of the commercial silica, and clay litters on the market.
