Development of an effective and sustainable cat litter system from indigenous micro organisms and local lake sand

Abstract

A study to develop an effective and sustainable cat litter system from indigenous microorganisms (IMO) and local lake sand was carried out in ABL laboratory, COVAB between October and November 2022. To do this, IMO culture was first made using boiled rice, granulated sugar and maize bran. Three groups were used in the experiment i.e., A (IMO +fecal sample+ plain sand), B (plain sand and fecal sample) and C (commercial cat litter and fecal sample). Seven 500ml bottle containers were set up for each group and connected to seven similar bottles of the same capacity having 45mls of 0.2M H2SO4 to trap ammonia. The pH level and distance to sense unpleasant smell from each litter was recorded for a week as ammonia level was determined at the end of the week. The litter with IMO samples had the lowest pH levels throughout the week. While there was a gradual decrease in pH levels in cat litter and sand litter, however cat litter had a slower decrease than plain sand. There was a decrease in the distance needed to sense smell from the litter with IMO from day 2 to day 5. It took five days for the smell to cease. Both plain sand and cat litter without IMO had an increase in distance to sense smell with increase in number of days. The level of ammona was found to be lower in litter A with IMO (1.57mg/l) followed by plain sand (1.963 mg/l) and cat litter (2.76 mg/l). Generally, IMO incorporated litter was found to be an effective cat litter system as it kept away foul smell and there was less ammonia levels in this system compared to others without IMO. Since this study was carried in bottles in the laboratory, there is a need to carry out the experiment in the cat boxes in order to find out the benefit of IMO in controlling development of foul smell in cat houses.