So, next year we are moving to a townhouse (fingers crossed) and we can get a pet! Because we go to school most of the time, a cat is just a much better choice than a dog.
The problem is, pet cats can cause a huge issue, environmentally. Their feces is subject to dangerous bacteria and such because they are carnivores. This means it is imperative their waste be kept out of the ground water.
Cat litter is also a huge problem. Clay cat litter causes extensive mining damage to the environment and the most popular commercial alternative is made of pine chips--not much better for the forests.
Some people toilet-train their cats, but this introduces their feces to the water supply. Some people use a commercial litter alternative made from recycled paper -- this still ends up in the landfill, though.
Could you compost cat feces? Why yes! The temperatures and fast turn around associated with vermicomposting are perfect -- the high temperature kills the dangerous bacteria and large amounts of waste can be broken down on a regular basis. You can dispose of your cats' litter in your own back yard!
But -- commercial cat litters contain anti-microbial agents that can kill your red wrigglers and undermine your whole waste disposal system.
Why not make your own recycled paper newspaper though? Is it possible? Of course!
http://thegreenists.com/pets/tip-of-the-day-make-your-own-kitty-litter/1044
Here is a simple tutorial I found online that uses regular newspaper and turns it into litter! Paper litter (along with pine litter) don't clump like clay litter does, which turns off many cat owners, but it still absorbs it and the whole pan can be dumped into your vermicomposter with minimal fear of hurting your worms or in turn, your plants grown from the eventual compost.
Win-win? I think so!
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