RE: Check out Clumping Clay Kitty Litters and Your Cat's Health

[Hideyo Yamamoto]

Also, Dr Elley’s (sp?) cat litter is a clay litter, but does not contain silica, and therefore it’s supposed to be safe.. and much much cheaper than any other kinds..   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, July 04, 2006 3:22 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Check out Clumping Clay Kitty Litters and Your Cat's Health   This is what i found on one of the web pages my mom sent me:   ·  Most, if not all, clay litters contain silica, which is potentially harmful. >From a Web page at The Andersons' Web site (manufacturers of FIELDFresh): "Crystalline Silica, once airborne, shows the ability of causing Silicosis. This can cause incurable lesions on the lungs and throat, rendering that tissue useless for transferring oxygen. Crystalline Silica is a naturally occurring element, also known as Quartz, and is found in some of the clay litters. ... According to government standards, silica is a known carcinogen and a Prop 65 material in California."   Yours is mostly dust-free, so maybe it is ok.  I would be paranoid about it, though. The dessicant stuff that Arm and Hammer compares it to is definitely harmful if eaten (that's what all those little bags in vitamin bottles are filled with, and they always say "caution: do not eat" on them), and they do tend to get litter on their paws and lick their paws.   The websites my mom sent recommend using corn or wheat litter, or using recycled newspaper litter (they say that the chemical that used to make ink harmful is now illegal for newspapers to use, but I still don't like the idea of any ink being in the litter box).  I use Worlds' Best Cat Litter, which is made of corn, and is great. It clumps just enough to be able to scoop it, but the clumps are soft, not hard, and it is just corn, which is digestible if swallowed, and safe.  One of the websites my mom sent me said it is the safest, healthiest, and most environmental of the litters. Another said it is not the best because the corn is not organic and hence has some pesticides on it, and recommended using an organic wheat litter or recycled newspaper litter instead.  There are apparently other plant-based litters also, like ones made out of kanaf.   Hope this helps, Michelle