# What do you do with litter waste?



## CatMom13 (Mar 2, 2015)

I have a litter genie, as I didn't want to put waste in the kitchen garbage. Even if bagged in a grocery bag, I feel like it will still just be unpleasant. 
I do like the genie, but now I'm thinking purchasing refills are going to be a pain($$$)

I was thinking that I could purchase biodegradable doggy waste bags, scoop the waste into that, and then put _that_ into the trash. 

What do you guys do? I'm a newer cat mom, and just unsure of how to make clean up easier for myself.

Thanks!


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## Mandy and Ellie (Oct 22, 2013)

I save plastic grocery bags to scoop the litter box into. I just scoop into the bag, tie it up, and toss it in the trash. I've never had noticeable odors in my trash can using this method. It's free and reuses the grocery bags that would just be in the garbage anyways! My only tip is to check for holes... Walmarts bags are especially bad at having holes at the bottom! I learned that the hard way when I scooped once and it fell right through, lol.


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## CatMom13 (Mar 2, 2015)

Haha that must have been a shock!

As much as I like the genie, I'm thinking bags will be something I go to eventually. I like that I don't have to run up and down to the trash multiple times a day, but I'm thinking now that spending the money on refills will be annoying after a while.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Mandy,
Walmart bags!! Me too, and boy was it a mess to clean up!!
Sharon


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## CatMom13 (Mar 2, 2015)

That's sort of why I'm thinking the doggy poo bags will be better...They seem to be quite tough.
With my past cat, we used non-clumping litter, and it was never my job to change the litter, which is why I'm just not sure of what method will be the best/easiest.

Now that my new kitty is "_my_" cat, it's my job to do the clean up!


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

We use doggy bags for our 4 cats. We scoop 2x per day (sometimes more) and have never had a rip. We use the old litter genie with the 'often holey' walmart bag and the 2+bags each day end up double bagged. Added bonus, the doggie bags we use are vanilla scented so no real stink from them.....we get them from Walmart....60 for less than $1


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## CatMom13 (Mar 2, 2015)

Mochas Mommy said:


> We use doggy bags for our 4 cats. We scoop 2x per day (sometimes more) and have never had a rip. We use the old litter genie with the 'often holey' walmart bag and the 2+bags each day end up double bagged. Added bonus, the doggie bags we use are vanilla scented so no real stink from them.....we get them from Walmart....60 for less than $1



Do you put the doggy bags in the litter genie? Like a makeshift refill?


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

Plastic Walmart bags is what I use. Oh, yes, check for holes first. I learned that the hard way too! Then I put it in the trash can. Never had any odor problems but if you are concerned try sprinkling a little baking soda in the bag before tying and putting in the trash.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I use the biodegradable dog poop bags (plastic grocery bags are illegal here). Scoop into it and then tie it off to toss it in the kitchen trash.

I take the kitchen trash out on Monday/Wednesdays/Fridays in the winter but in the summer I find I have to take it out almost every day. When it gets hot it smells faster.


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## jking (Feb 22, 2014)

I use the dog waste bags too, I've never had one break.

I was cleaning one of the litter boxes upstairs and I dumped all of the litter into a large garbage bag. I proceeded to run down the stairs with it, not realizing it had a 
small hole in the bottom. By the time I got to the bottom of the stairs I realized something had gone wrong..there were little piles of cat litter on every step


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

LOL Jking.

I emptied the boxes (to wash and refill) and when I swung the bag up into the complex dumpster it hit the side and split....... dirty litter went EVERYWHERE, including all over me. Had to take a shower, change, and then go back out and try to sweep it up. Thank goodness it wasn't raining that day!


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

Just use the litter genie was a Walmart bag holder so 
I only have to make one trip out to the garbage can a day.
At least I get sone use out of that expensive genie.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

I too, have the litter genie, and I wasn't going to invest $7-10 per cartridge refill. One refill only lasted maybe 2 weeks, and it wasn't always clear when I was reaching the end. So I've been using my 13 gallon kitchen bag instead after I got this idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukBowjbfVO0
(Fast fwd to 3:36)

I end up doubling my kitchen bag right before I toss it out weekly because clay litter is soooooo heavy and my two eliminates a lot of pee clumps. Kitchen bags do not contain the smell as effectively as the litter genie refills, but I do try to sanitize the genie container insides with lysol spray and leave it outdoors to air dry before bringing it back in. The lysol spray isn't something I like to use--it's heavily perfumed and strong! I'm only using it to rid of it and use it maybe once a month. Rather use unscented diaper wipes next.


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

We have fortnightly green waste collection here, so when I do have a kitty, I'll probably scoop into biodegradable bags (or straight from the tray) into the green bin.


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## Kaylesh (Aug 22, 2010)

Used to use diaper sacks. but they were too thin.. 

Like many others have used the doggy bags meant for dog poo.. I just scoop into that and tie it up and put it in my bin on the pation. In Scotland we have a blue bin for general waste that gets emptied every two weeks so i just put it in that as its outside  Never had any issues since i went to the doggy bags..


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## CatMom13 (Mar 2, 2015)

Thanks for all the ideas! 
Have to admit the stories with walmart bags are pretty funny! I'll be sure to avoid those!


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

I have several small scoop stations set up. Small plastic waste bins with grocery store liners in each. In the foster room, I use the pine pellets and have a large kitchen size can with an auto closing lid. I use the regular kitchen garbage bags in that one. That gets dumped every day with a lot of kittens in that room or every few days with only a couple kittens. There is never a smell in my house unless someone freshly pooped but it usually dissipates in minutes.


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## Sabrina767 (Sep 5, 2014)

I have litter genie and never buy the refills, too expensive...plastic bags work perfectly fine, exactly the way the refills work. I reuse the ones that I get from the store, and also any trash bag 4-7 gal works great. The "ruffies" from target are super cheap and work perfect.


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## Mandy and Ellie (Oct 22, 2013)

10cats2dogs said:


> Mandy,
> Walmart bags!! Me too, and boy was it a mess to clean up!!
> Sharon





Jetlaya67 said:


> Plastic Walmart bags is what I use. Oh, yes, check for holes first.


LOL!! Glad I'm not the only one! Boy did I get a shock when the bag was light as a feather... then saw the clumps on the ground! :lol: Walmarts are the worst for holes, I've never had issues with other places!


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## sasasola (Apr 5, 2013)

I've thought of using the doggy bags as well, but how do you scoop into those? The opening is so small! Or do you just put the bag over your hand like you would to pick up dog poop and do it that way?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I have a small tupperware bowl that had seen MUCH better days. Now it's a poop catcher. 

I put the open bag into the little bowl and drape the bag over the out sides of the bowl. It holds the bag open and upright so I can scoop into it.

Then I gather up the ends that are hanging down and tie them off before tossing the closed bag in the kitchen trash. The poop never touches the bowl so it stays clean. I tuck the scoop into the bowl and store them both beside the litter box.


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

Sometimes I use the doggy bag as a "glove" over my hand....other times I scoop into it...have to admit, it takes practice to scoop into that little opening! Hold the bag over the box so if you miss, it just falls back in the box and you can try again.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

I have a slightly different approach to litter. I scoop whenever a cat uses the box and I happen to be home, this equals many times a day. I use a pail and a scoop. The pail goes right back outside. When it's 3/4 full, I dump it in one of those huge coated bags that hold blackoil sunflower seed and this goes into the shed. When the bag reaches a critical mass, I slip it (upright) into a trash bag and off to the transfer station it goes. 

I live in the country....some of my friends just dump litter somewhere on their property, but the idea doesn't sit well with me.


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## G-PEG123 (Feb 20, 2014)

Mochas Mommy said:


> We use doggy bags for our 4 cats. We scoop 2x per day (sometimes more) and have never had a rip. We use the old litter genie with the 'often holey' walmart bag and the 2+bags each day end up double bagged. Added bonus, the doggie bags we use are vanilla scented so no real stink from them.....we get them from Walmart....60 for less than $1


Are the doggie bags biodegradable? I scoop every day into a plastic bag. That doesn't sit great with me. I toss the bag out into the garage and when I take out the kitchen garbage I pick them up and put them into that. And yeah, I've had a few leakers


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

YOu can buy biodegradable doggie waste bags. My local Winco (grocery store) sells them so I imagine most pet stores will as well.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Ok peeps, I'm a bit confused. For those of us who use clumping clay litter, why bother using biodegradeable bags at all? Clay litter isn't biodegradeable, or am I mistaken?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Clay is a naturally produced ..thing. It's found underneath the top layers of soil. IMO it's just moving clay from a pit where it's gathered to a landfill where we dump it. It's not adding EXTRA waste to the earth. Even if it's manufactured I thought they were materials found in nature.


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## Cat Minion (Feb 7, 2015)

I use some zip lock food storage bags. I get 20 for $2. It seals great and no smells come from it.


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

The bags I use are advertised as 100% biodegradable and vanilla scented!
I haven't personally buried a bag and waited to see how long (or if) it degraded. <grin>


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## 64Lynnie (Dec 11, 2014)

I use generic gallon zipiloc type bags that I buy at Walmart for about 40 for $3.97. Then deposit it in kitchen trash. No smells.


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## Marshel (Dec 22, 2010)

Maybe I missed something. I use a very high clumping clay litter. 
When I go to the grocery store I have the groceries packed in paper. Like they use to do many years ago. I use the paper bag and scoop the litter into them. Fold them over a couple of times and set them on the back porch. If not full I will scoop the next night into them. I will then put them in the garbage bag before taking it to the bin. Paper: Free and biodegradable.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Well, here in the Pacific NW, they actually _charge_ you for paper bags at 0.5 each. And many places already have implemented a ban on those plastic shopping bags, so we mainly have to buy and use our own recyclable/reusable shopping bags when we go to the store. Or stuff it in your purse, lol. It's been this way since 2011, some cities earlier than us.

http://www.opb.org/news/article/city-by-city-northwest-bans-plastic-shopping-bags/


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

It's actually .05 per bag.  If it were fifty cents we'd all be screaming pretty loud.

I wish they'd push that ban into a national thing. I also wish they'd ban all plastic storage baggies (and force all trash bags to be biodegradable). They don't need to sit in land fills for up to 1000 years. 

The dog poop bags I use degrade within 45 days (normally faster here because of the rain).


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Ah my bad; thanks for catching that Krissy, you're right. My typo!  It's a _nickel_ per bag (right now anyway)! Most grocery stores do not carry plastic bags anymore here, so if you ever visit our area, remember to bring your own!


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## mainecoon14 (Oct 4, 2014)

As with most here, I scoop up the litter and put it into our grocery bags. While I'd much rather recycle the plastic bags, this method works out pretty well.


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## AnnaM (Jun 13, 2014)

Just wanted to mention, poop of any kind is meant to go in the trash can, never ever in the green bin. 

Anna


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

In my council area pet animal waste is allowed to be recycled in the green waste collection bin


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## kbear (May 12, 2013)

after watching a great video on youtube, I changed up my whole litter set up. firstly I got rid of my litter boxes because the sides weren't high enough. I bought a big Rubbermaid tote and cut an opening in it. it's at least a foot tall so my boys can't pee over the side anymore, yea!. then I got a small trash can that has a tight lid which I use for the urine clumps. all the poo goes in my litter genie. with 3 cats it's too expensive to put everything in the genie but it works great for the poo. no smell at all. we just switched to the arm and hammer clump and seal and it is THE BEST litter I've ever used! I've tried a bunch but this smells great, clumps great and tracks very very little. then the bags with the urine clumps go in the trash daily (I scoop at least 2x a day) and I empty the genie whenever it's full.


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## petebutter (Mar 17, 2015)

what do u guys use for litter mats? My cat isnt terrible but I HATE litter on the floor and it collects pretty bad since its on tile. 

I was also going to say I use the store garbage bags and or baby diaper bags bc they are scented. I only have one cat so the bag is big enough. 

I am from the pacific northwest too but live in the south currently ;p


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## ThreeCatzGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

For my litter waste.....I use a plastic bag and put the litter in there and keep it in a small garbage bin. When that fills up, I take the bin to our bigger garbage bin that's in the garage and I dump it in there. My mom gets kinda mad that I keep adding all of these litter bags to the garbage bin...but theres not much I can do about that. It has to go somewhere. 


As for a litter mat..... I just use a cheap-o bathroom mat that can be washed easily. 

I also have those litter mats that traps the extra litter that the cats kick out.. but I have to shake the whole thing out and the litter falls into the floor and then I sweep it up. 

hope that helps


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I use plush, inexpensive bath mats. I also have a barrier put up in front of the entrance/exit of the litter box, so they have to exit slowly and walk around it. It's better than them leaping out of the box and over the mat and scattering the litter all over. Every little bit helps.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I just sweep it up and use the handvac on it every night. I empty the handvac-ed litter right back into the box.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I keep a mini (about four inches) hand broom and dustpan beside the litter box and I do a quick sweep each time I scoop. I tried using a mat once, but I found having to shake/clean the mat to be a bigger pain than just quickly sweeping the stray litter.


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

ok.. not sure how I ended up in this thread.. was posting in another!!!!!

*takes her post and goes back to the proper one***


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## Comet (Dec 8, 2012)

Thats interesting. I'm in the Pacific NW too and we dont get charged for paper bags. Thats what I use to clean the litter. Then just put it in the outside bin.


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## catbrah (Dec 1, 2014)

trash


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## Floridagal (Nov 2, 2014)

I recycle my plastic bags from the stores, then place them in a cheap plastic trash can with swivel lid out on my deck. When getting the big cans ready to put out on trash day, I just dump the contents in with the other garbage.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

We get charged for platic carrier bags here too. I am now really going to show my ignorance - what is a litter genie?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

google

Cat Litter Disposal System | Litter Genie


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Thank, Marie73.

I have nine at present so a huge amount of litter (the boxes with puppy pads are the easiest and least bulky). To add to the problem, the local council has decided to severely restrict the size of trash bins. I recycle everything that is possible to recycle but I am struggling. They will allow bigger bins for "special circumstance" but normally you have to have at least six people living in your house. Cats don't count. My nephew and his wife have three children and four cats - they are struggling as well. I was wondering if wood based pellets could count as garden waste for recycling? Probably not.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Marcia said:


> I use the regular kitchen garbage bags in that one. That gets dumped every day with a lot of kittens in


Oh how sad, poor kittens!

:wink:


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## lgnutah (Aug 7, 2010)

I buy a vanilla scenter small plastic garbage bag. I use 2 to line an old lidded 40 lb cat litter bucket (they used to come in nice buckets with lids you can snap on so wonderfully reusable) and when I scoop, the used litter goes in there and the snap on lid keeps all odors sealed in.
When this gets full, and I am taking the other trash to the dump (no trash pickup here) I just add the used litter to my regular trash. Double baggjng insures no breakage.
However, this adds tk the weight of my trash and the men who help me dump my trash cans into the big compactor always comment "I'll bet you have cat litter jn here"


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