Ban on flushable litter in California?

[Don Juan's mom]

Hey, California PT'ers:

I went to buy a container of my preferred brand, Premium Choice Flushable, but couldn't find it at either of the pet supply shops I usually use. At the second one, I found another brand of litter with a sticker on it stating that the state of California advises against flushing cat feces. The clerk then told me that the state banned flushable litter effective this week, due to the danger posed by the microbes in cat feces to sea otters.

Now I like otters, but I can't help wondering 1) why the sewage treatment applied to the (ahem) other stuff we flush wouldn't render cat poop harmless; and 2) won't the additional plastic bags I'll need for the trash can negate any benefit to the environment gained by using non-flushable litter.

:confused:

Anyone know this for sure?

Liz

[krazyaboutkatz]

I don't use flushable litter but quite a while ago one of our sales reps who is a cat lover brought in a piece of paper that had an otter on it and it asked if you flushed kitty litter down your toilet and it said that it was hazardous to sea otters. I wasn't sure if it was real or a joke. I guess it's true.

[Freedom]

Yup, I "googled" it and here is an article from the L A Times:

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=4900535

Lots of other articles came up in the search, too. Just put in
flushable litter California

Seems the new law took effect Jan 1.

And the search also produced several catalog / on line sales of flushable litter, from places in California that got stuck with the stuff and now can't really sell it locally. So they just want to clear their shelves, I guess.

I used SWheatScoop for a year or so when I lived in the apartment. I was up on the third floor, and so it was convenient.

[catmandu]

I cant see that if the sewage plants can handle human waste,why Cat waste would be a problem.
That just doesnt make a lot of sense to me.

[kb2yjx]

I am amazed!!! Nothing is said about ALL the garbage that is dumped into the ocean, but now cats feces, that will surely muck up the world!!!

[RedHedd]

Interesting. I've never used it; mainly because the plumbing in my 100-year-old apartment building can't handle it.

[Don Juan's mom]

I used SWheatScoop for a year or so when I lived in the apartment. I was up on the third floor, and so it was convenient.

I tried SWheatScoop once. It led to Don Juan waking me up at 6:00 am every morning to let him out so he could use the yard. :rolleyes: Of course, given all the OTHER ways he could have expressed his dislike of the litter, :P I think he was being very nice about it.

Liz