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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 2005Crystaline Cat Litter
I heard something at the pet store that really frightened me... Usually I use the clumping brands, but a week ago I saw a display for "Litter Pearls"..If you haven't seen it - it's clear pebbles with a "broken glass" appearance (that's a warning sign right there). I bought a container to try it out, it claimed real "absorbtion" properties. It also said that it eliminated tracking, and that each 1" filling lasts a month. When I got home, I filled the litter box with an inch with it..It really did work as it claimed. The pebbles totally absorbed urine, there was no smell - they just turned a dull yellow - pretty amazing. However, the pebbles did track quite a distance..well out of the room. And they did not exactly feel great on bare feet - as a matter of fact - they hurt a lot! It made me wonder what they must feel like on tender cat paws. There was just something about the product that made me uncomfortable, so after a few days I emptied the pan, gave the container with the remainder to my husband to use on the walkway to prevent slipping in rain/ice, and went back to our remaining supply of clumping cat litter. I was back in the pet store a few days ago and I saw a fellow "cat shopper", sometimes we talk about cat stuff when we see eachother there. I told her about the Litter Pearls and she went white.."Those things are terrible!" she said.."They burn the cat's feet when they urinate..the splashings have been known to permanently damage their organs!!"... I was horrified - first of all, my suspicions were well-founded. And second - how can major chains sell this stuff if this is true? Isn't anybody testing these products to make sure they're safe? In any event she recommended "Feline Pine"..although that doesn't cover the smell nearly as well as anything else, it seems the most cat-sensitive to me. The cat doesn't care about the smell! Well..if they can train cats to use toilet seats, maybe they can train them to use Glade Spring Rain Scent air freshener? I won't use any litter that I wouldn't feel comfortable walking on in bare feet. IMO the crystal litters and feline pine or other pelleted litters are not textures cats prefer and therefore are not appropriate to use for cats. If you use an unscented sandy clumping litter, scoop twice daily and clean the box and change the litter completely at least once a month, odor should not be an issue. See: http://community.webtv.net/getcathelp/litterbox Megan  Signature"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray > I was back in the pet store a few days ago and I saw a fellow "cat > shopper", sometimes we talk about cat stuff when we see eachother there. I [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > I was horrified - first of all, my suspicions were well-founded. Ummm, you're taking some stranger's assertion as proof that your suspicions were well founded? I wouldn't. Have you done any research since? Also, think like this -- if you walk on a pathway full of stones, they feel okay on your feet because they form a surface. When you step on one or two, they hurt. Your cat in the box is walking on surface. You're stepping on one or two. Naturally they feel sharp to you. I didn't like the pearls because they're round and roll around under the stove, etc. I'm still finding them a year or more later. I think there must be more important things to freak out over. Signaturehttp://www.slywy.com/pages/hodge.html >> I was back in the pet store a few days ago and I saw a fellow "cat >> shopper", sometimes we talk about cat stuff when we see eachother there. I [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > I think there must be more important things to freak out over. Could be. > I heard something at the pet store that really frightened me... > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > to try it out, it claimed real "absorbtion" properties. It also said that > it eliminated tracking, and that each 1" filling lasts a month. Litter Pearls, & similar silica cat litters have been around for years. IME, they work very well, but I'd never use the original "pearls" again, because of their shape - they can roll all over the house & can drive one nuts (as you sort of mentioned below). The cats didn't seem to mind the texture, no matter which brand of similar litters I've tried with them. I use a silica litter in their "second" box, not their primary one. Some litters use a combo of clay & silica granules. Cathy > When I got home, I filled the litter box with an inch with it..It really > did work as it claimed. The pebbles totally absorbed urine, there was no [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > toilet seats, maybe they can train them to use Glade Spring Rain Scent air > freshener? > I heard something at the pet store that really frightened me... > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > to try it out, it claimed real "absorbtion" properties. It also said that > it eliminated tracking, and that each 1" filling lasts a month. I treid using Magic litter pearls once and got fed up with it tracking. Kim prefers fine cat litter but I still have some pearls in case she gets cystitis. They're handy to see if there is blood in her urine. > I was back in the pet store a few days ago and I saw a fellow "cat > shopper", sometimes we talk about cat stuff when we see eachother there. I > told her about the Litter Pearls and she went white.."Those things are > terrible!" she said.."They burn the cat's feet when they urinate..the > splashings have been known to permanently damage their organs!!"... Absolutely not true. Silica is inert - there is now way it can "burn" anything. Sheesh. Here's a review I did of a name-brand silica-based cat litter (from a previous post): "I like the idea of the silica crystals. So, I'm doing a "test" to see if it will work for me and my cats. I did an initial transition to the crystals last week, by mixing them into my old cat litter...This week, I switched to an entire pan of the crystals. Data: Litter Select brand - largish crystals, including blue "pretty-smelling" ones. One bag is supposed to last 40 days with two cats (one box). Cost $6.99/bag. Seems like a good deal. Trial: I filled the box on 5/13. New bag, clean box, lined it with the provided "liner" that is supposed to soak up the pee that runs to the bottom. Poured entire bag into box. 5/14 - no problem. Working as it is supposed to. The poops were easily removed. The pee "balls" were stirred into the rest, as instructed. Liner has pee spots on it, but looks ok. By 5/15, the liner was getting pretty wet. By today, 5/16, the liner is completely soaked, and pee is running underneath the liner and starting to stink. I think that by tomorrow, I will have to go to the pet supply store and buy some of my old scoopable clay brand, Precious Cat, which, to date, is still the best thing I have found to control odor and last long. :o/ I'm sorely disappointed, and will call the company to inform them of my test." HTH, -L. > I heard something at the pet store that really frightened me... > [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > toilet seats, maybe they can train them to use Glade Spring Rain Scent air > freshener? Not true. Silicates are inert matter and don't "give off" any chemical no matter what they are mixed with. After Bandit had her surgery she wasn't allowed to use the clumping litter since it might contaminate her wound. I got the "Pearl Fresh" brand of silicate litter (ouch, *WAY* expensive, but it does last longer). The "pearls" are perfectly round and smooth (unlike some other "crystal" type litters), so they don't hurt her paws. There is *NO* reaction or emissions, the "pearls" soak up all the urine and seem to absorb all the odor. Now that Bandit is better and not restricted to my bedroom she has free access to the other litter boxes with the regular clumping litter, but she is still using the box with the silicate litter. I don't think she would continue to use something that hurt her! If it weren't so darned expensive I'd consider continuing to use it. Hugs, CatNipped > -- > Message posted via http://www.catkb.com Oh honestly! I feel like such a dummy! I'm so gullible! Next I'll be staring in the toilet bowl looking for alligators and scanning the backyard for UFO droppings... The product I bought is "Tracks-Less" Litter Pearls, by Harvest Ventures (877) 473-2759...Oh! they also have a website, called, not surprisingly www.litterpearls.com. All of this was in teensy-tiny letters on the back container label - hard to read. I'll do a websearch on "litter pearls" and "burn" and see what I find. Also visit the website, maybe give a call, too. I'll get back with my results. My mother used to say there's a kernel of truth in every rumor. (even the Richard Gere gerbil rumor?) There is one thing that is true, though - the "pearls" of this brand are not round at all (like hail, or pellets). They are similiar to that cut glass gravel that people put in their fish tanks..And they really do hurt my feet when I step on them! There's still something strange about this product - there's no relation to what the cat would normally use in the wild...It reminds me of the "clear" craze in products a few years ago..Clear Coca Cola, Clear toothpaste...Clear condoms (!) I like the Feline Pine, so does the cat, so we'll stick with that. This is what I found on my search about Litter Pearls, and "burn" on the web - this report from www.petinfo4u.com suggests Litter Pearls as a solution to the hazards of clumping cat litter! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ from www.petinfo4u.com Cat Clumping Litter - Several of our visitors have recently asked about the health concerns of clay clumping litter and their cat. The common term for this health issue is Bentonite Toxicosis. Bentonite is a mineral ingredient found in any clay and clay product such as clay cat clumping litter. This mineral is prized for its absorbing and clumping qualities, thus why it is used in cat litter. It is believed that clay cat litter may be responsible for the rise in stomach problems in cats. The problem can begin when a cat gets the clumping material stuck to their feet or hair and proceeds to lick it off. Overtime, the product is said to "clog" the intestinal tract and cause irritations to the stomach lining. Symptoms may include; diarrhea, vomiting (with no hairballs), and irritable bowel syndrome. If you are concerned enough to change cat litters, there are many products on the market from which to choose. Some types include; pellets of recycled newspaper, pine or grains, or litter pearls made from silica. We have recommended litter pearls in the past because of its absorbing qualities and minimizing of odors, however, it can be cost prohibitive. From our research, it seems that there is a lot of disagreement as to whether or not this is an actual health problem. From our perspective, it does seem to make sense that a product that is like glue when wet, could be a health issue in the digestive tract. However, we have listed some links below that have more information on the topic: http://www.thelighthouseonline.com/marina/articles/moredata.html http://www.thelighthouseonline.com/marina/articles/clump.html http://www.thelighthouseonline.com/marina/articles/hornfeldt.html > This is what I found on my search about Litter Pearls, and "burn" on the > web - this report from www.petinfo4u.com suggests Litter Pearls as a > solution to the hazards of clumping cat litter! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > from www.petinfo4u.com > > Cat Clumping Litter - Several of our visitors have recently asked about the > health concerns of clay clumping litter and their cat. The common term > for this health issue is Bentonite Toxicosis. Bentonite toxicosis is *extremely* rare - so rare in fact that there is only one reported case of it in the literature. There was some chicken little on the ngs that posted this stuff awhile back. It really isn't a concern. -L. > I heard something at the pet store that really frightened me... > [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > toilet seats, maybe they can train them to use Glade Spring Rain Scent air > freshener? I have provided that kind of litter my cats, when I had 2, for a little test. One ignored it completely, the other thought it was a box to play in and bat around the crystals. Don't believe everything you hear. If what this person is saying was truly happening I suspect there would have been many consumers being very vocal about it... the products would have been withdrawn from the market. Totally true. But that's what makes rumors spread - there is something about that product that's very "chemical" in feeling..So it sounds plausible that it might burn cats. I wonder though, if there is a "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval for pet items. If not, there should be. And ZuZu@webtv pointed out that the Feline Pine pellets aren't really cat- friendly either, my Hershey does seem to sink into them as he positions himself in the pan. The search continues. In the meantime, I'm still watching that toilet bowl for alligators. > Totally true. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > friendly either, my Hershey does seem to sink into them as he positions > himself in the pan. The search continues. Yeah, I agree. One of the things I tried recently with Bandit was the compressed paper product, "Yesterday's Mews", and the compressed pine product. The "Yesterday's Mews" was slightly better than the pine, but both broke down into a sort of dusty sludge when wet. If it weren't for the price (which, I don't know, may even out since you can use less and it lasts longer), I think I'd go with the "Pearl Fresh". It has *NO* dust (which is nice for me *and* the cats to not have to breathe in), has *NO* smell, and isn't as messy as any of the other kinds I've tried. Hugs, CatNipped > In the meantime, I'm still watching that toilet bowl for alligators. > > -- > Message posted via http://www.catkb.com > The cat doesn't care about the smell! Well..if they can train cats to use > toilet seats, maybe they can train them to use Glade Spring Rain Scent air > freshener? Actually, I knew a cat who only ever peed inappropriately when his owner tried to switch him to the crystals. When they figured out the reason, the vet said that it's not unusual for cats to avoid crystal litter because of the strong scent. I've gone from using a perfumed litter to an unscented litter, just as I try to get unscented laundry soap, softner, etc. I figure all those perfumes are just irritants. Er, that is to say, I've started *buying* unscented litter, not using it. Oscar uses it. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca I use Swheat Scoop, an all natural litter made from wheat. It naturally clumps, has no chemicals or perfumes, and the cats seem to like it. Suddenly, without warning, PawsForThought exclaimed (3/27/2005 4:28 AM): > I use Swheat Scoop, an all natural litter made from wheat. It > naturally clumps, has no chemicals or perfumes, and the cats seem to > like it. I used to use Swheat Scoop, but even loaded deep, it was clumping too hard, and glues itself to the side of the litter box (she always pees against a side). It also seemed to track a lot. We've switched to Worlds Best Cat Litter, which both Meep and I prefer - she does less digging (which is always a sign she doesn't like the litter), there's less tracking, and I don't need a pickax to get the clumps off the side of the box. We also tried Yesterday's Mews or some other paper based product - grey blobs of paper, and Meep hated it. She'd use it, but would dig and dig and dig before going. I quit using clays years ago, because even though there might be few documented problems, I did worry about what a lifetime of eating clay would do to her innards. Plus, I quite like being able to clean the box directly into the toilet! And before anyone complains that this isnt a good idea, been doing it for, lessee, 7 or 8 years now, in three different countries, never had a problem with the plumbing. jmc |
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