World's Best Cat Litter

A few years back I went in search of a more natural cat litter.  I felt it would likely be better for my cat's health and the environment if I could figure something out.

While in the cat litter section at my local HyVee, I spotted a small green and black one called World's Best Cat Litter.

I wasn't sure what to think, and Captain certainly gawked at the price (more than twice our normal expense).

Here are the benefits that they claim:

~ All natural made from corn

~ Outstanding odor control

~ Quick clumping and easy scooping

~ Pet and people friendly

~ Planet friendly

I decided that I would address each of these claims as I have experienced them.

~ It certainly seems to be made from corn, no complaint there.  The guy at a show I was at recently even ate it!  I'm not prepared to go that far, but do feel good about it's all natural properties.

~ The odor control seems satisfactory, don't know if I'd say outstanding.  The litter itself has an off odor, but you get used to it.  My cats are not always the best at burying their leavings, so that can be partially their fault as well.

~Quick clumping and easy scooping are probably the biggest advantage on the list.  This litter clumps better than any litter I've ever used.  The clumps stay together and remove easily from the rest.  There will always be the occasional fall apart issue, but WBCL certainly is the best I've seen.

~Pet and people friendly is hard to gauge.  Neither me or my cats have an allergy of any kind, so I cannot attest to that, nor have they ever had breathing problems to my knowledge.

~ Planet friendly seems totally legit.  I've read that some people put the litter in their compost pile!  I'm not quite ready for that step, but I always feel better putting something in the trash that decomposes quickly. ( I think I read it is flushable, though I am on a septic and hate to chance it until I read for sure).

My only complaint of this litter is that after frequent use, the kernels can be pulverized into a dust that seems to get on a lot of the surrounding areas.  I also see my black cat's paws coated in it occasionally.  To be fair, the white cat probably has it sometimes too, it's just less obvious.  I feel like it's not as big of a deal, though, since it's all natural.

To help the price factor, the litter lasts a very long time, I'm not sure if it's twice as long to justify the price, but certainly less often than before.

All in all, I consider this litter to be a great choice for my cats.  It's also more locally available than other natural options.

I'm able to get it at the nearby HyVee, Target, and feed store, or many places online:
Amazon:  World's Best Cat Litter (17-lb bag)

Introduction to Homesteading

We are Captain Galt and Moonbeam Zen, and together we make the Zen Galt Homestead.  It probably won't surprise you at all that these are pseudonyms, but will allow you to identify us when necessary.

We are new to homesteading as well as blogging, so we thought it best to start by introducing ourselves and our homestead that we've called Zen Galt.

I am Moonbeam Zen, I represent the completely inexperienced point of view in all of this.  I grew up living in-town, and had little experience with those that lived elsewhere.  I represent the Zen half of Zen Galt because for me, homesteading is more about staying close to nature and working within natural processes to maintain balance in the body, mind, and soul.  Some may call me a hippie (especially Capt) and I'm okay with that.  I adhere to the eastern philosophy of Taoism which teaches us to live with the land, to be humble, considerate, and keep things as simple as possible.  Because of these beliefs, I consented to move to the country with my country-born husband last year.  We have a small homestead, and all of the concepts are new to me, so I will definitely be learning loads as we go.  I'm happy to be sharing that part of my journey with you.  I am a writer, so much of the posting will likely be done by me.

I am Captain Galt and I represent the slightly more experienced point of view.  I grew up living out in the country, though not on working farm.  While growing up I learned many skills that are fading from our society today.  We always had a big garden where we grew our own vegetables, and as a result of this, I learned about home canning and preserving the harvest.  I also learned skills such as hunting, fishing, butchering, shooting, and general home fix-it skills.  For the purpose of this blog, I will go by the name Captain Galt.  I have chosen this name for two reasons: 1. I have folks that call me Captain as a nickname,  2.  My love of the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  My desire for homesteading comes not only from my upbringing, but also my fear that our society is headed down a dangerous path similar to the one described in the aforementioned novel.  Now I don't want to come off as some crazy person here, I just feel that being as self-sufficient as possible can help a person through tough times.  Those tough times can be brought on by any number of reasons, from natural disasters to personal disasters to economic depressions.

Together, we make quite the couple.  So now that we are here, in the country, we have certain goals we'd like to obtain.

 - Grow and produce as much of our own food as possible.
 - Preserve that food and always have an abundance of it on hand.
 - Reduce our dependence on the power grid, and eventually eliminate it altogether.
 - Prepare nutrition rich wholesome food from scratch.
 - Find ways to save money and still complete our goals.
 - Maintain awareness of current events and continue to promote the libertarian philosophy.

These are obviously quite vague, and we will discuss our plans more in depth in future posts.  
Thank you for joining us!

Captain Galt     &     Moonbeam Zen