Comments on: Don’t Be Fooled By Deceptive Marketing! Clay Cat Litter Is Dangerous!

By: Not convinced

Not convinced — Thu, 05 May 2011 01:59:42 +0000

I have used NON clumping clay litter for six years now without any problems. The only one that I foresee is the dust when I empty the 25# bag and that would be to me. I have no respiratory problems yet. Have tried all the rest and none do the job that the clay does. The sodium/calcium benzonites are edible clays and very good for you. Zeolite would be a great cat litter, wish I could find it. They used this when Chernobyl exploded and it absorbs all VOC’s and heavy metals. Protects people from VOC’s and heavy metals as well. It would make the best, natural cat litter available.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:18:11 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yM2wC7NoO8

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:17:29 +0000

Check out the CAC protest in Berkley, CA!!

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:15:01 +0000

I had a friend mention all the bad stuff about using clay-based litters and, like a good caretaker, researched it and then tried the other “natural” litters. The results were appauling. After following the mfg. recomdations to slowly change the litter from the finer, clumping litter I had been using, my cat didn’t like it and actually revolted against it – he started going in other places in the house, something he had NEVER done before.
The oder was horrendous and the addition of baking soda didn’t help. Just a note – baking soda is a CHEMICAL and is a FINE POWDER that can get into their lungs too!
Secondly, pine alternatives are harmful to cats as well. There is a fine powder that is in that as well as every other alternative – corn, newspaper, etc.
Anything that you put in their box will stick to their feet and they will ingest it. Pine is NOT good for them!
Just as a final thought, my cat, Buster, has used clumping cat litters all his life and he will turn 19 in May. He has never had a respiratory or digestive problem.

By: Dru

Dru — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:35:32 +0000

I am so very lucky, I live in a small community in Nevada where they process the best natural cat litter I’ve ever found in over 50 years. It is the approximate consistancy of sand, it is dust free, odor free, it clumps, it holds all the odor the cats contribute, it is biodegradeable and it is even good for the cats when they ingest some when cleaning themselves. It is nothing but the natural mineral Zeolite which is being used in multiple applications all over the world. I’m also lucky that my local Zeolite is 95% pure which has been proven to be the purest in the world.
I’m lucky, I can just go to the mill and buy a few bags at a time. However, when I asked about a store where it could be purchased, they said they are finding it difficult to get retailers interested. So, everytime I go into town, I give whatever retailer I am shopping at a hard time trying to get it out there for ALL cat lovers.
The name of the company that processes this wonderful cat litter is: KMI Zeolite Inc. in Sandy Valley, NV.
I know they have a website and I hope every cat lover climbs all over their local retailer to get some.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:35:54 +0000

World’s Best Cat Litter is awesome, once you get past the weird smell of it. I think it clumps well for a natural litter and does fine for the smell, too.

By: Say NO to Clay Litter! « Wag, Purr, and Dook

Say NO to Clay Litter! « Wag, Purr, and Dook — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:34:07 +0000

[...] NO to Clay Litter! April 7, 2010 Filed under: pets and animals — msktty89 @ 7:33 PM A wonderful article that summarizes why clay litter is an all-around bad idea. Leave a [...]

By: Ilovemykitty

Ilovemykitty — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:03:55 +0000

After reading into my brand of litter that I use, I changed my mind switched. Clay litter gets stuck in cat paws, and when washing their own paws, they ingest some. But that clay expands to about triple the size that it was when it was eaten, this will get stuck in the cats system and cause pain and could possibly be fatal if too much is eaten.
STOP HURTING POOR CATS!

By: Elly

Elly — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:42:11 +0000

I use only clay litter and have read very few bad things about it! In fact most books reccamend it! This is very disturbing news, I am off to reasearch.

By: Jacquie

Jacquie — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:40:41 +0000

Lay Crumble has changed my life.
I live in Los Angeles & just run up to Stephen’s Hay & Grain next to Griffith Park- $15 for 50 lbs.
I add a few shakes of baking soda & even cut some lavender from the front yard- absolutely no smell & it clumps just as well, actually better than the expensive brands.
I highly recommend Lay Crumble.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:44:32 +0000

News flash: MANY cats will not USE the so-called natural litters. I have lived w/ 2 of them, and was told in NO uncertain terms that scoopable clay is the ONLY acceptable litter. I no longer take that particular risk in my life. Most cats do not like pellets, nor do they like the strong odor of pine-based litters. The paper-based litters stink and it’s very hard to remove all urine-soaked litter. I’ll continue to use scoopable clay!

By: Hannah

Hannah — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:50:52 +0000

Swheat Scoop is the best, and it keeps odor down much better as well, it’s not too much more expensive than other litters – especially at places like Target.

By: nikki

nikki — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:20:45 +0000

Hola! I was just wondering if this litter http://www.freshstep.com/prodcrystals.php is any good? Its the only litter that my kitty has known and it works pretty well, but i wanted to see if you know anything about it? Thanks!

By: Dawn

Dawn — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:59:52 +0000

If you are really on a budget or live in a rural area where you can’t get the fancy natural litter, try Chicken Lay crumbles that you can find at any feed store. I used it for my cats forever, it’s just corn based chicken feed but it still clumps the pee so you can scoop it out. It is very similar to The Worlds Best cat litter except the granules are bigger and the odor control probably isn’t as good, I just dump in some baking soda and that seems to help. It’s about $12 for a large bag that compares to $40 for TWBCL. Of course if you have the money to spend on the higher quality stuff you’ll probably get better results. My cat boxes are in a utility room so the odor never bothered me.

Also for everyone who has multiple cats, you should also have multiple boxes. A vet once told me you should have as many boxes as you have cats plus one. I have two cats and two boxes and that seems to work fine, but I scoop at least twice a day.

By: Nikoline

Nikoline — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:59:52 +0000

I would like to stop using clay litter, but i live in Denmark and i can’t find non clay litter anywhere, any suggestion to what i can do?

By: Grooming Your Cat « Pet Epicure

Grooming Your Cat « Pet Epicure — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:27:06 +0000

[...] NOTE:Ã‚Â All long haired cats should use NON CLUMPING litter and NEVER CLAY.Ã‚Â See this excellent post by Kate Benjamin of ModernCat for more information. [...]

By: Missive Maven

Missive Maven — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:58:34 +0000

We (which includes 3 cats) swear by Feline Pine clumping litter. It works nearly as well as clay and controls odor MUCH better.

By: mod*mom

mod*mom — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:56:41 +0000

wow i’m so glad to know this!
thank you

By: Peggy

Peggy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:00:51 +0000

This is the perfect reason companies like those who make Feline Pine should donate to animal shelters and rescues. I have only ever used Feline Pine, and that’s because my cat was used to it since he used that at the rescue. To me, it “works” as well as anything. And it costs what it costs.

By: dane

dane — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:31:03 +0000

i commented above how whole foods just had clay and feline pine… i went to the same one again yesterday and they had something they didn’t have before… a green cat litter that was made of recycled post consumer paper… so i guess they do have another option, they were just out when i went a few days prior

By: Tess

Tess — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:14:03 +0000

How to know? I was trying to check the litter I use to see if it’s clay, but there’s no ingredients specified. So how do I find out?

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:41:38 +0000

I, like Mandy (comment #41) am also an avid researcher when it comes to issues cat related! I learned about the harmful effects of cat litter when I had my first kitten. She was having a lot of health issues and I stumbled across an immense amount of information regarding clay litter. After that I switched to Swheat Scoop and then learned about World’s best. I now have three cats – with a fourth on the way – and combine World’s Best and Swheat Scoop. My cats don’t like the scent of the Pine litter but have no problems using the World’s Best, etc. The great thing about World’s Best is their rewards program. You receive great coupons when you send in your UPC codes.

I also have a Smart Litter Box for one of my cats. The best part of this litter box is *no smell* – seriously. The only issue I’ve had is that the box isn’t “deep enough” for my cat…she likes a lot of litter to scoop!

By: Marena

Marena — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:08:54 +0000

My kitties and I love Feline Pine as well. The key for me was purchasing two of their litter box system to make clean up easy. I have two cats, both adopted as adults from shelters separately and I started them with clay, but then read about the effects so shortly thereafter I tried a number of natural litters with mixed success and finally settled on Feline Pine, been using it for 2 years now and love it – v. little smell and for me v. cheap….but every cat is different, my cats have never peed outside of the litter box no matter how many times I changed their litter

By: Mandy

Mandy — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 06:45:45 +0000

Holy cow. That was a lot longer than it seemed as I was typing it. *blush*

By: Mandy

Mandy — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 06:45:17 +0000

Yay! I’m happy to see you, Moderncat, using your platform to raise awareness! Next mission: cat food?

I’m an avid researcher when it comes to all things cat-related. I did research before I adopted my cats and found that clay litter is dangerous. After six years and numerous litters (luckily my cats are up for trying anything), I’ve found Feline Pine Scoop to be my favorite. It’s like Feline Pine (pellets), but ground finer – almost like sawdust without as much dust as other – even natural – litters. It controls the odor very well. It tracks, but nothing a sticky lint roller can’t tackle. My cats also prefer as much room as possible in their potty, so I’m limited to which box/pan I can use. I get round ones. Otherwise, the box mentioned here a few times would be intriguing. I’ve had a Litter Robot, Littermaid, and Petmate Purrforma Plus among others, and have always come back to plain ol’ (except for being huge and round) litter pans, as my cats prefer them. Your cats will let you know what they want if you pay attention.

I recommend cleaning the entire litter out once a week & scooping twice a day. I concur with the lady who mentioned the non-biodegrading. I often see people with noble intentions purchasing biodegradable products, and then tossing them in the trash; it won’t biodegrade in a landfill. I also agree with not flushing the litter or toilet training kitties.

Plenty of information is available online. Don’t count on your vets to have the knowledge you can easily find yourself. It’s your responsibility. Cats develop cancer and other illnesses – who knows what causes them? The least we can do is everything we can.