Aquarium sand and small pebbles as cat litter

Question

My neighborhood is implementing a new trash disposal mechanism. They said that they will be composting pet poop. However, cat litter is not compostable (from what I know which could be limited knowledge).
We were thinking of using small-sized aquarium pebbles as an alternative. These are polished stones that are about 3-5mm in diameter. Our litter boxes are outdoors on a balcony so the smell won’t be an issue. We will collect the solid poop into separate bags for composting. The additional chore would be washing the pebbles every day to get rid of the urine.
Also, it remains to be seen if our cats will accept this as an alternative. We have been looking for an alternative since locally available brands contain bentonite which is not environment friendly (apart from that German brand which is paper shreds. We and our cats dislike that since it sticks to just about everything).
Any input and thoughts would be appreciated.

Elmy · Answer

There are much better alternatives than aquarium pebble for cat litter. And a recent "incident" in a carrier box was an unpleasant reminder that common household detergent is not able to wash away the smell of cat urine.
If you look at different brands of commercial cat litter, you may well find several brands advertised as "compostable" or "biodegradable". Some of those use clay as the main material, others wood or natural fibres.
If all else fails, I would try fine soft wood shavings for rodent pets (not sawdust! That can irritate your cat's airways) or playground sand that can be disposed of regularly.

Aquarium sand and small pebbles as cat litter

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