Manure is not at all necessary in a compost pile. You can make wonderful compost without it, as I have done for 20 years or more. Those of us who live in the city or suburbs simply don't have access to it.

Some people use all manure, including human. Unless you have attained expert compost status, whith HOT compost, it's not something I would recommend. I wouldn't worry about a cat getting into it, though. If it worries you, you could use a bin with a lid to keep them out.

Using poop from carnivores brings with it E. coli and other things. People with hot compost often feel secure that sufficient heat for a sufficient length of time will kill the nasties. However, if you're a compost novice, it can take a while to attain that heat on a regular basis. Do yourself a favor and avoid poop until you reach the expert status, at least.

Karen

I wouldn't use compost with cat poop for a food garden. I'd also think that, if the cats are pooping there, they are also peeing there, and that's going to stink big time. I'd spray an animal deterrent around the area for a while until they stop coming.

Manure is not at all necessary to make compost. It can make nice compost, but a person can make nice compost without it.

Lloyd

Manure can be a good catylist in a compost pile and should be mixed 1 part manure to 3 parts vegetative waste. I'm not sure what "safe" manure would be unless it is from animals not routinely doctored with antibiotics. All animal manure will potentially have disease pathogens which should be killed by the composting process.

Hey, Kimmsr...Manure can be a good catalist..." Pun intended? ;)
Anyway, any carnivorous animal, including us, is more prone to parasites and harmful pathogens. Also harder for "helpful" microbes in the compost pile to "digest." (in quotes, because I'm not sure that's the best words to choose, but you get my point.
My old landlord, who is a vet and farmer, always offered us horse poo from the stables, but he would caution that we don't use it right away. He said it should mature or age a while to diminish the nitrogen levels.

The writer has evidently read in this forum, and probably in other forums about the use of manures as being good for a compost pile and possibly believes it is a required addition. It isn't. Manure, when you think of it, is just animal waste that doesn't have the usual bad pathogens that come with other manures....such as humans, dogs, cats.
But, if you can lay your hands (or shovel) on other manures, fowl, rabbits, monkey, sheep, they're wonderful additions. But without them, a compost pile can be had just by giving what you commonly see....food wastes, clippings from your lawn, leaves, newspaper, fish carcasses, etc etc.

Just don't go overboard on any one type of thing...a balanced pile heats up better and breaks down better for your garden use and one other thing is important...time.
Give a pile time to work and it'll be worth any effort.

I hardly ever use manure. My pile consists primarily of kitchen scraps and shredded junk mail.

It gets a few fall leaves, but not many because I use most of my leaves for mulch and insulation. (I bury plants in leaves to help minimize freezing).

I've become much more like Goren and joepyeweed; minimalistic. Right now it's a real toss game. We covered an area with newspaper, and every day I dump the kitchen stuff in. And the men in my life water it occasionally. Liquid Gold, ya know. This is when I start getting excited for spring. I peeked at one area, and already it's loosening up underneath it all.

My neighbor has the most beautiful flowers, but she also has 5 cats. She doesn't seem to mind, but everything she brings me smells like cat pee. I swear, it permeates the plants. Awful.

The problem with the feces from cats is the potential that they might have the toxoplasmosis pathogens. Toxoplasmosis canbe a major problem for women of child bearing age since it affects any potential child she may have.

Y'all answered all my questions and more. I'm pretty much taking the minimalistic approach, too. I'm patient, so I don't mind just throwing stuff in it and letting nature do it's work.

Poop is not necessary to a healthy compost pile. I've composted for years without it. I live in the city so there isn't a lot of desirable poop around. I just got a couple chickens to roam my backyard so now I have some poop to add.

You really should avoid poop from dogs and cats. Some studies have shown dangerous bacteria to be present in compost 2 years after cat poop has been added. The implications of this to your vegetable garden should be obvious. If you are looking for an earth friendly way of disposing of the contents of your litterbox without risking your health I would use a biodegradable litter (made from newpaper or some other plant material) and bury all litter box wastes at least 2 feet down and 20+ feet away from where food is grown.

Hi dirtysouth, your post is incomplete. True you do not need poop, but what would you use in it's place. You know "vegan composting". Comfrey is #1, but you could use alfalfa,clover,
buck wheat,pea vines. Mostly any plant that is a cover crop.
I used cow,horse, chicken, rabbit & pig manure all my life on the farm. I still use some horse manure. But I am way more in to plants. Cover crops are cheap & easy, if you have the space to rotate them though your garden beds. For beekeepers these plants bloom & you get honey too.

Question
If you compost without manure and use only chipped leaves and chipped greens, would you expect to gain a source of nitrogen from your finished compost?
Thanks

Everything you can add to a compost pile will have some Nitrogen, even sawdust (a C:N ratio of about 400:1). When one replaces manure in the process then the N needs of the bacteria must be supplemented and fresh grass clippings or many other sources can be used.
While testing compost for Nitrogen will not indicate much, because the Nitrogen in compost is very stabile and usually only released when your Soil Food Web does that, when your plants need it.

I know that approaching things scientifically will probably produce "better" compost, but honestly, I measure nothing, throw everything in and my plants love it.
In the fall, I stop using my bin; I just throw the stuff right on the ground in the garden. It's great.

ken1, Steve Solomon talks about a nitrogen fixing bacteria he calls azobacteria (chapter nine Curing the Heap) but wiki calls it Azotobacter. It seems that some N can be fixed from the atmosphere under some conditions.

Not sure if that is what you are looking for.

Lloyd

I know it is hard to believe,ken1, but it is true,do a search.
Rabbit manure is one of the best at nitrogen of 2.4, phosphate of 1.4, potash at 0.6. Hen at 1.1, 0.8, 0.5.
They are the best/ highest manure.
Peanut shell 3.6, .70..45, coffee waste 2.0,0, 2.0.
Tobacco stems 2.5, 1.0, 4.5-7.0 .
Cottonseed meal 7.0, 3.0, 1.5,
This data came from the some book.
When you are searching, check on COMFREY, it is said to be even higher then clove,alfalfa, cow peas.
Note: these facts came from
organic gardening magazine & http://kitchengardeners.org
.

I want to apologize to dirtysouth, I did not intend for this question to be posted here on top of him, I just goofed.
However I do thank kimmsr, lloyd and Joli for their responses. Lloyd, that article you put the link up on is gold for information on understanding a lot of things, I thank you.
All of your comments are helpful and I do appreciate your help.
I'll pay better attention next time I ask a question and try not to step on another persons post.
Ken

Hi Ken,
I thought your question was perfectly aligned with the original post.
Nancy

If you compost without manure and use only chipped leaves and chipped greens, would you expect to gain a source of nitrogen from your finished compost?

No, I don't expect compost to be a source of nitrogen. I consider compost a soil amendment, not fertilizer.

Hi Ken, I agree with nancyjeanmc!
We all have a right to ask or answer as we see fit.
I apologize if I was rude or overbearing. I never heard of comfrey up until May of 2008. I now have the plant, have not seen it work in a compost pile as of yet.
It does not matter what I think, if you prefer manure or not, then you have that right.
Happy Holidays everyone.