cat litter

i recently bought a 25 lbs bag of cat litter in the US I did the fired or not test and as i suspected it was unfired. so... could i just fire the litter my self and if I can should i fire it on high fire setting or low fire. I don't own a kiln but theres an art school my mom works at and she could get bunch fired.
thank in advance, zac

I don't think so. I'll leave the details to the potters, but there's more to it than just shovelling 20 pounds of cat litter into a kiln.

Why don't you just buy some Turface (or one of its clones)? Here's a dealer in Wilmington:

Newsom Seed, Inc.

Wilmington
(240) 554-0359
www.newsomseed.com

newsom isn't actually in wilmington otherwise i would have been there. its actually located in maryland. 240 is a maryland area code.

Unfired cat litter can be made out of many different things. Including wood pulp. Fire that! The ONLY cat litter that is any use is high fired Montmorillinite. If you can't find that, Turface is the preferred option in the USA.

i checked the back of the package the ingredients are ground clay and deodorizing system. so can i fire it on low fire?

zac

I personally wouldn't take my chances.
The other products aren't that expensive, so I dont think its worth the effort really.

zooloo10 wrote:newsom isn't actually in wilmington otherwise i would have been there. its actually located in maryland. 240 is a maryland area code.

Well, don't know the geography very well up there, but the TURFACE company considers it to be Wilmington so I imagine it's pretty close. Maybe Wilmington Metro Area. At any rate probably not a long trip. Turface is a Helluva lot better than any kitty litter I know of sold in the USA.

zooloo10 wrote:i checked the back of the package the ingredients are ground clay and deodorizing system. so can i fire it on low fire?

zac

NO! The deodorizing chemicals will not be good for your trees (or the kiln!!!!!)

ok... well i just went to the grocery store and saw they had Johnny Cat Litter. i didn't buy it though so i could get the approval of my fellow bonsaiers. So is Johnny cat okay to use? ive read that it is. so cant wait for a reply... zac

FORGET THE CAT LITTER. You can get Montmorillinite (a sort of natural Turface) or Zeolite (a similar substance) or a mixture of the two at places that sell pond plants. They are not that expensive for a small bonsai collection. You will also want not too coarse aquarium gravel or crushed granite chicken grit, and fine pine bark mulch, sifted thoroughly to remove fine particles. Sift or wash everything. I add 10% charcoal.
Iris

http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basicscatlitter.htm
will give you an idea of what type of cat litter you should get !! it must be non clumping and is a "Diatomaceous Earth" then you should be ok

"Montmorillinite (a sort of natural Turface) or Zeolite (a similar substance)" are both used in cat litter .

zooloo10 wrote:ok... well i just went to the grocery store and saw they had Johnny Cat Litter. i didn't buy it though so i could get the approval of my fellow bonsaiers. So is Johnny cat okay to use? ive read that it is. so cant wait for a reply... zac

I thought we'd been clear. CAT litter is not used in the USA. It has too much crud added (for our sensitive noses, aesthetic sensibilities, etc.). You have a nearby source of turface. Or use aquarium gravel. Or . . . . but NOT cat litter.

Johnny Cat has more additives than litter. I use it -- for my CAT!

tim stubbs wrote:http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basicscatlitter.htm
will give you an idea of what type of cat litter you should get !! it must be non clumping and is a "Diatomaceous Earth" then you should be ok

"Montmorillinite (a sort of natural Turface) or Zeolite (a similar substance)" are both used in cat litter .

We just don't seem to have that kind of material over here.

I agree with those who reminded us that there are many types of cat litter.

Here, the composition of the litter, its pH and other characteristics are printed on the bags. I had found one brand that seemed more or less OK, but some Acer ginnala that are planted in a mix that includes some of it show signs of chlorosis, whereas others from the same stock planted in pozzolane and composted pine bark don't. Food for thought...

JimLewis wrote:

tim stubbs wrote:http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basicscatlitter.htm
will give you an idea of what type of cat litter you should get !! it must be non clumping and is a "Diatomaceous Earth" then you should be ok

"Montmorillinite (a sort of natural Turface) or Zeolite (a similar substance)" are both used in cat litter .

We just don't seem to have that kind of material over here.

http://www.moltan.com/Products/absorbentsDE.htm is one

to quote from them
Moltan History


For over 30 years, The Moltan Company, L.P. has been a leading distributor of absorbent products made from 100% natural earthen minerals for use in a wide variety of applications. The quality of our products is guaranteed by seamless operation, which can only be maintained through our direct ownership of raw deposits, processing, packaging, sales and marketing. Our value-added products include diatomaceous earth, a naturally occurring mineral with superior absorptive ability; conventional granular montmorillonite clay formulations; and natural zeolites. The Moltan Company was founded in 1976 near Middleton, Tennessee, where our first clay producing plant was built.
Middleton, located 60 miles east of Memphis, is where the heart of the Mid-Continent clay deposit is located and where Moltan mines our montmorillonite clay products. In 1988, the Moltan Company opened our second plant 45 miles east of Reno, Nevada. This plant produces high porosity products from diatomaceous earth. These products are considered the premium products of the industry. "

its the same company who digs up your "montmorillonite"

ok well i found a absorber that is made of
Calcium chloride %90-97
Sodium chloride %1-2
Potassium chloride %2-3
Strontium chloride %0-1

its called MaryKate Moister Absorber
would it be good?

that doesnt sound like cat litter to me !!!!! it is a Diatomaceous Earth you need
if you read the following
http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basicscatlitter.htm that will explain what you need or http://www.moltan.com/Products/absorbentsDE.htm they show what else it can be called

bu read the article FIRST

i have,
ive gone to the moltan site also,
i'm having trouble finding a place that sells the moltan products. forget the mary kate it comes in miniscule amounts

OH MY GOODNESS
I JUST FOUND THE PERFECT STUFF it's moltan's OIL-DRI... 40 lbs for ..............................6.99

so what other stuff should i put in my mix???? i know i need some aged pine bark fineswhat eles do i need :hooray:

mostly i only use pumice or grit which ever i have ; sometimes for organic matter , small bark chips or rough peat , not much though

thanks tim,
what is your grit made of?

whatever is in the bag , mostly it will be granite :just as long as its cheap

zooloo10 wrote:OH MY GOODNESS
I JUST FOUND THE PERFECT STUFF it's moltan's OIL-DRI... 40 lbs for ..............................6.99

so what other stuff should i put in my mix???? i know i need some aged pine bark fineswhat eles do i need :hooray:

You might test it first. Oil Dri absorbant seems to be inconsistent, bag to bag. Some turns to mush while the next bag might not. You might want to look at THIS page on the Oil-Dri website: http://www.oildri.com/agri/index.html . It would have what you want more than the absorbant.

zooloo10 wrote:i recently bought a 25 lbs bag of cat litter in the US I did the fired or not test and as i suspected it was unfired. so... could i just fire the litter my self and if I can should i fire it on high fire setting or low fire. I don't own a kiln but theres an art school my mom works at and she could get bunch fired.
thank in advance, zac

Hey Guys, let Zac fire his clay, his mom said he could. Its not a big deal...

-Load into a saggar to hold the aggregate

-Ask the kiln manager to run it in a bisque ^06 or lower. No higher to avoid sintering and a big ball of fused clay

-After firing dump it out, sift for size and add to mix. no big whoop.

-as long as it doesnt list any fluxes (talc, metallic oxides, etc) you are good to go. Deodorizers etc. will burn off at +570f


Sorry kitty

ps. Ive added my wheel trimmings to saggars and sent along in bisque firings for years, makes nice sharp "aka-claya"

If you do fire it, you'll want to wet it down afterwards before you try it on trees. Any limestone will have calcined and will dissolve in water. I use this technique to remove limestone chips from a feldspar sand I use as an additive in my clay bodies. If you ask me it seems simpler to get some turface.