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Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

  • 1.  Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 01-10-2023 11:46 AM
    In the last year and a half we've had real challenges with finding usable litter.  Our previous litter was discontinued by the manufacturer and after that, our litter cost increased by 70%.  We've been scrambling to try and find other options, but either the litter we have found is too dusty, even more expensive, or stores (even Walmart!) told us they can't order in bulk for us.  We've also tried using wood pellets and paper pellets but our staff find it to be too messy as it rapidly dissolves and too many cats dislike using it.  We've also tried generic shop spill clean up clay, but it was either too dusty or not available in our area.

    We are already spot cleaning our cages and using paper scoops to clean litterboxes without dumping them, but it still seems like our usage is high so it has me wondering what other shelters do for litter and if we're just way out of whack with the amount of litter we use.

    Specifically it would be interesting to know:
    • Your total cat intake over 1 year
    • Your annual litter usage
    • Anything else about your process, do you dump, scoop, etc?
    So for our shelter, we served about 700 cats and went through 25 tons (50,000lbs) of litter last year.
    #DataandTechnology
    #OrganizationalManagement

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    Jeff Okazaki
    Humane Society of Jefferson County
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  • 2.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 01-10-2023 12:26 PM
    Hi Jeff- so we too have gone round and round about cat litter. I ended up buying it from Walmart. I buy 12 (which is the max per order) 50 lb bags from them once per week, which are shipped to our facility. It is the most cost-effective solution I have found.

    Looking forward to hearing other solutions in this thread!

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    Alexis Pugh
    Director, Memphis Animal Services
    www.memphisanimalservices.com

    Organizational Management
    & Pet Support Services Specialist
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  • 3.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 01-10-2023 12:36 PM
    Thanks Alexis, that's helpful!

    So it sounds like you do about 31,000lbs a year and do you serve about 1,500-2,000 cats?

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    Jeff Okazaki
    Humane Society of Jefferson County
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  • 4.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 01-10-2023 01:00 PM
    We took in 2143 cats in 2022, but that includes hundreds of bottle babies that went straight to foster, so I think your estimate is correct!

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    Alexis Pugh
    Director, Memphis Animal Services
    www.memphisanimalservices.com

    Organizational Management
    & Pet Support Services Specialist
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 01-11-2023 08:37 AM
    We use wood pellets and dump and wash daily. Our Intake for cats in 2022 was 2439 cats. We do also get other kinds of litter donated to us (clay, paper, etc) and it all helps. Most of our man hours every day are used for cats but we also had a dog intake of 1490 for 2022. This is just that animals that were cleared through our shelter for the year. Our daily count has been over 300 cats and 120 dogs in care. Don't be afraid to ask the public for help with your animal needs. Photos really are worth a thousand words to show your needs.

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    Carrie Ward
    South Utah Valley Animal Services Special Service District
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  • 6.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 10-29-2023 05:25 AM

    I'd really like to revisit this and reinvigorate the conversation. Of all our costs the Litter is by far the one that scares me the most because of the following reasons:

    1. Prices are continuously escalating,
    2. Litter donations are harder to produce because of the low perceived value.
    3. Using the correct kind of litter is essential to pathogen control.
    4. Bad litter habits formed in the shelter could negatively impact long-term pet retention by adopters.

    To that end we are consuming roughly 90x40 pound bags of clay non-clumping litter a month.  We serve approximately 1300 cats a year. We are required by our veterinarian to dump and sanitize each cat's box at least once per day, with some medical conditions requiring higher frequency. In addition, we consume 48x40 pound boxes of clumping litter each month. This litter is used in our open floor adoption spaces, offices, and other longer duration resident spaces. This one we scoop daily and replace when the box becomes overly soiled or when the cats currently using the box are adopted. 

    I can't believe there aren't bulk litter distribution agencies or buy direct from the bagging facilities. Would you all please share ideas on cost reduction or bulk purchasing?



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    Ryan Simonson
    Cat Depot
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  • 7.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 10-29-2023 05:39 AM

    Our entire shelter switched to pine pellets because of the litter prices. It works fine and people are more likely to donate--even pet stores that sell them, sometimes!



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    Jae Taylor
    Foster Coordinator
    McKamey Animal Center
    Chattanooga TN
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  • 8.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 10-29-2023 05:44 AM

    Do you get the pine pellets from a local supplier of a national chain? I've been thinking outside the "litter box" recently and trying all kinds of suggested substitutes. I was experimenting with topsoil at my house because I can get 40 pounds of that for $2. It seems to work well...



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    Ryan Simonson
    Cat Depot
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  • 9.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 10-30-2023 11:03 AM

    We're a smaller non US rescue (150 kittens and cats a year in Portugal) and use wood pellets and wood litter at two sites and clay at the third. Wood pellets are great especially if you make a double layer tray, with the top tray having holes drilled in it. Give it a shake,  empty the bottom and scoop the poop from the top. The main order is in bulk from a fuel supplier.

    Clay we get from the supermarket and it's a real pain not being able to buy in bulk but haven't found anywhere.

    In the past, I have used car workshop spill clay which is ok with a decent brand, but you might like to experiment there. And a very long time ago, we got untreated sawdust from the mill our friends worked at for the cats and horses. That was free! An, happy times.



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    Bettina Vine
    Animal Health Director
    The Kitten Connection
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  • 10.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 10-30-2023 05:37 PM

    I'm very curious about the top soil. In comparison to traditional clumping clay, how did you find the mess/tracking with soil? Did you have any issues with it getting "muddy" and cats stepping in it? How easy was it to scoop? Did it do anything to control odor?



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    Sam Maurice
    Humane Society of Jefferson County
    Jefferson WI
    https://hsjc-wis.com
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  • 11.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 11-03-2023 05:25 AM

    Hi Sam, I use top soil sometimes when I'm getting a street cat used to a litter box (if it is one that I need to keep in for healing after a surgery). It does absolutely nothing for odour and it makes a real mess. What I do is use straight soil the first 1-2 days and if they're using it ok, make the next tray 1/3 clay, then increase to 100% clay by about day 5-7. Then if they are staying longer, I move them to wood pellets.



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    Bettina Vine
    Animal Health Director
    The Kitten Connection
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  • 12.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 11-05-2023 10:37 AM

    Hi Sam,

    Try using Pine litter right from the start, instead of dirt. Pine has a natural smell and you can get it crushed or in pellets. I have handled a lot of recovering ferals and usually only have one accident outside of the box. Key if they miss  is to put the poop into the litter they never have a problem after that. 



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    Theresa Spataro
    President
    Central Jersey Animal Rescue
    NJ
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  • 13.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 11-05-2023 06:01 PM

    Thanks, I don't use dirt though. I've never used it. I was just curious on how well it worked compared to conventional litter.



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    Sam Maurice
    Humane Society of Jefferson County
    Jefferson WI
    https://hsjc-wis.com
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  • 14.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 11-06-2023 12:22 AM

    Hi Theresa

    I've found that some ferals just won't use a pine box straight up, unless they are in a very small cage, so that's why I do the mix.



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    Bettina Vine
    Animal Health Director
    The Kitten Connection
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  • 15.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 12-06-2023 09:25 PM

    Hello, everyone!

    Yesterday, while researching bulk quantities of Kitty Litter and identifying organizations in need of this product, I stumbled upon this forum. After reading through all your comments, I see that many of you are facing a common challenge with the supply of cat litter for your organizations.

    I attempted to reach out individually, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect directly with some of you. I understand you're incredibly busy, given your roles within your respective organizations.

    So, I decided to join this fantastic forum to reach out collectively. I believe this approach might be more effective in sharing information that could benefit as many organizations as possible.

    Depending on your organization's demand and usage needs, I can supply bulk amounts of New/Unused Off-Spec Cat Litter on a weekly or monthly basis. Specifically, these are Super Sacks, each containing 3,000lbs to 4,000lbs of a top-name brand in the industry for cat litter.

    We have two confirmed locations where this product is available: Southwestern California, with an approximate amount of 40,000lbs/month of cat litter, and Southeastern Pennsylvania, with approximately 20,000lbs/month of cat litter. We're also working on a third location in the state of Ohio, which, once confirmed, will allow us to meet even more demand.

    I understand this information can be overwhelming. My goal is to streamline the process and make it as user-friendly as possible. Additionally, I am committed to exploring cost-effective options to ensure that everyone can benefit from this fantastic opportunity without incurring excessive expenses.

    My apologies to anyone not tagged on this thread. If interested, you are more than welcome to contact me as well. For those tagged here, please feel free to share my information with anyone you know who might also be interested.

    Thank you.

     Braulio Hernandez

      Donations Coordinator

      P: +1(908) 543 7583 x 015  W: happenventures.com

      E: braulio@happenventures.com

      ★  Entrepreneur Of The Year | EY 2019 + 2021

      ★  Tech Council Innovator to Watch Award 2018

    @Jeff Okazaki @Alexis Pugh @Carrie Ward @Ryan Simonson @Jae Taylor (she/they) @Jae Taylor (she/they) 
    @Samantha Maurice @Theresa Spataro @Amy Berke @Frances Alford @DHS SPCA of SJC @Newberg Animal Shelter @Michelle Chapman Shelter Manager 



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    Braulio Hernandez
    Donations Coordinator
    HAPPEN VENTURES
    NJ
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  • 16.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 12-07-2023 06:42 AM

    Is this clay litter?



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    Pamela Adelmann
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  • 17.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 12-19-2023 01:17 PM

    Hello! I've seen several discussions on cat litter and I wanted to see if there's anyone doing what we do - we use horse bedding! 100% wood pellets!  A local farm store brings us our order every week. It's SUPER cheap; we only need a small amount, barely covers the bottom of the pans, it doesn't smell, and as I tell customers, it's even compostable! It's great if you have kittens because there's no danger of them ingesting bits of clay or clumping litter. I, being owned by several cats myself, use it exclusively at home, and it costs me (retail) about $5/40# bag. BEST.THING.EVER since water fountains!



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    Monica Lowe
    Development Support Specialist/Matchmaker
    NORTHWEST ORGANIZATION FOR ANIMAL HELP
    WA
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  • 18.  RE: Cat Litter Usage Benchmarking

    Posted 12-20-2023 09:30 AM

    We used to use primarily pine pellets from a farm store.  The problem with pellets was not all cats like to use pellets and it's harder to scoop. So we would use clay for those who didn't like pellets.  We then got a few donations of breeze system boxes and used those on a few of our more long term cats.  They were great for smell and created less garbage. We then got a donation of okocat original litter.  We were in love with it, it's clumping wood.  It's more expensive than wood pellets but because it last longer with regular scooping we saved on our garbage bill.  We went from needing two garbage bins to only needing one garbage bin due to the decreased waste.  We still use some breeze system boxes but have switched from the breeze pellets to the pine pellets in those and just empty the shavings regularly that fall through to the potty pad underneath.  The pine pellets last a lot longer when the pee and shavings fall to the bottom.  We use paper pellets or crumbles for cats with paw injuries or other special needs.

    Pros and cons of each litter we have used below

    pine pellets

    pros: good smell, low cost, eco

    cons: lots of waste, not all cats like pellets, harder to scoop

    clay

    pros: hard clumping

    cons: smell, dust, weight, harder to clean/sanitize boxes between cats, messy, more respiratory issues

    okocat original

    pros: soft clumping, light weight, easy to scoop, eco, less waste, smell

    cons: cost

    paper (crumbles or pellets)

    pros: good for injured cats

    cons: smell, paper crumbles get everywhere, harder to scoop, some cats don't like the pellets

    breeze system with breeze pellets 

    pros: smell, less waste, easy to use

    cons: cost, hard to clean between cats, bad for cats with diarrhea, not all cats use pellets

    for the breeze system we have only used boxes that were donated, have not purchased any more

    breeze system  with pine or other sifting type boxes

    pros: cost, less waste, smell

    cons: harder to clean between cats, not good for diarrhea, not all cats use pellets



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    Christy Schwarz
    Cat coordinator, medical team coordinator
    Oregon Friends of Shelter animals
    OR
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