White vinegar is an excellent, effective and INEXPENSIVE household cleaner.
The smell dissipates as it dries and will be gone in a matter of an hour max.

With five cats, I can't afford to spend a lot of money on "foo foo" litter either. However, I found that spending more money on high quality cat food (like Innova or similar) results in less waste. After the pet food scare last year, I've had it and started making my own cat food.
Its MUCH cheaper, my cats love it.
You can find a lot of info at catnutrition.org
Point and case:
I just spent $11 on ingredients to make 6 pounds of fresh cat food, which will last me about 3 weeks (for FIVE cats!). In addition to that I buy $10 bag of Halo dry food. That's $21 bucks for 5 cats for 3 weeks.
Not bad, eh :)
Now if I could find an affordable, environmentally friendly litter....

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I am still looking for THE PURRR-fect cat litter to use with my five cats and fluctuating number of fosters (kittens or older special needs kitties).

I must have tried them all by now and while there are some better than others, I always end up going back to clumping litter for the 2 boxes that are around our living quarters (there are also 3 large ones in the basement).
My main gripe is the smell.
Corn, Paper and Pine all smell TERRIBLE after just one day (at least with multiple cats). I scoop out all the solids several times a day and sprinkle baking soda on it. On Day 2 I can smell that box as soon as I walk into the door.
With five cats, I feel bad using scoop litter. We're avid recyclers. On some weeks, cat litter makes about 60-75% of our garbage.
So, my quest will continue. I think we're on the right track when it comes to green litter, but not quite there yet....

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Don't forget about the wheat little. It's called Swheat Scoop and it works great! Helps with odor, clumps naturally and is made of non-food grade wheat so they're not taking anything that could be used better. Pretty cool.

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Besides, Vinegar stinks worse than cat urine.

That is the main reason I would never use vinegar anywhere in my house. I wouldn't want my whole place reeking of something that stinks that bad.

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Dear Sharon P.;
That may be all well & good for you, but My house has NO running water. Must be nice for you to have the luxury of hot & cold running water, I wouldn't know. Plus I live on a fixed income which is thousands of dollars below the US Federal Poverty level. Moreover, I am way to busy working trying to scrimp & make ends meet than spend it frivolously on high priced cat litter, & all the extra time which you say is needed to try & keep it clean & sanitary.
Thanks for your suggestion, but for me it is totally impractical.

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I use Cedarific for two cats in a single pan. It tracks a bit, so sweeping regularly is a necessity. I use an old #10 can as a measure and three cans a day does it. The pan gets dumped on a compost (not for garden use) pile daily, the pan sprayed with white vinegar and dish soap solution then rinsed with hot water. This keeps it clean enough that the cats continue to use the pan and litter. The cleaning process takes 5-10 minutes since I have a hose sprayer in the shower that rinses things easily and quickly. Solution is kept mixed in a spray bottle. (7 parts vinegar, 1 part soap.)

The litter is inexpensive and I get it at the grocery store or pet store.

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the idea of using wheat as litter seems a bit daft. i know my sister has had great success using a litter made from corn cobs (so not helping increase global food prices). Sorry, i don't remember the name.

Unfortunately, the only litter available where i live is clumping clay stuff and silica granules. Neither of these works in my very humid apartment. I have tried toilet training my cats. One did well, the other acted like a princess and refused (somehow peeing in the bathtub seemed more acceptable to her...).

Any advice for toilet training kitties? i need help!

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I've tried many, and had the best luck with Papurr. It's paper, looks and feels like clay, and even clumps somewhat, and the cats didn't mind it at all. It is expensive and harder to find though. The only store I found it at was Petsmart.

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For those who are considering putting the litter out with the compost, be aware that pet waste has bacteria and pathogens in it just as human waste does. If it is put in the compost, and then used on a garden wtihout being treated or allowed to decompose completely until it has effectively disappeared, there is a risk of introducing pathogens into the garden. We don't put human waste on our gardens for the same reason! Aside from the smell, of course. I like the idea of toilet training the cat - haven't ever done it but have seen it done. My only concern is that when the cat becomes very old, it may be difficult for her to continue... I have a 19 year old cat and recently had to put a box upstairs, as the stairs were too much for her to manage.

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I just got a cat from a rescue and I plan to toilet train her once she gets settled in. No litter at all.

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