Clumping litter for a 6month old question...

I've read here before about concerns about using clumping litter with young kittens because it can cause intestinal binding in young kittens. After reading that, I stopped using it since Booger was only about 3 months old.

Well, Booger is now 6 months old and is very healthy and vibrant (personality wise). Do you think it'd be safe to switch back to clumping now that she's older and about twice the size? I really miss it and it's hard to scoop her litter with it all falling apart and she's starting to get more picky about how often her box is cleaned.

 

I think she's ready. Just keep an eye on her the first few times she uses it and make sure she doesn't ingest the litter.

 

Thanks for the quick responce Vene. I'm just about to go to the grocery store and was hoping for a reply before I left hehe.

Booger's box is really big so I've only had to clean it twice a week before it became offensive with me attempting to scoop inbetween...and she was fine with that. But I've noticed that 3 weeks ago, I had let her box go for an extra day...she peed on my bed. And today, it was on the day due to clean and I wasn't here...she peed on the couch! (ouch). I'm pretty sure it's completely litterbox related since I just had her to the vet two weeks ago and she's not only healthy, but eating and peeing/pooping like a horse.

I'm gonna switch back to the Arm and Hammer clumping litter since I really liked that brand. If the odd occasional peeing incidents happen again, I'll ask her vet about it. She's do for her last booster shot of the year on the 17th of Oct.

The only ingesting concern I had was her licking her paws afterwards. Other than that, she doesn't mess with the box other than covering up her business.

 

It doesn't matter what the age of the cat is. Clumping kitty litter has a price tag for it's convenience. The price tag is that it can clump in the intestinal tract as well as elsewhere in the cat's system. These are some of the sites with info on the subject:

Feline Health and Danger of Ingesting Kitty Litter
... KITTY LITTER DANGERS One of the biggest dangers to a cats health and a dogs (some
dogs ingest kitty litter as ... Clumping Clay Kitty Litters: A Deadly Convenience ...
www.treshanley.com/cic/feline.html - 18k - Cached - Similar pages

Cats
... Goldy's Letter (Please Help) new, bendelrio, 0, 05-25-04 23:09. Clumping Kitty
Litter Dangers new, leslie, 0, 05-25-04 19:52. Presents4Pets! ...
www.simplypets.com/pet-forum/ list.php?f=2&t=1089991921&a=3 - 30k - Cached - Similar pages

Recommended Reading on Cats and Cat Health, Including Kitty Litter ...
... reading. If you have not already read my article on the dangers of clumping
clay kitty litters, please take the time to do so. Be ...
www.catmom.com/marina/misc/biblio_cats.html - 16k - Cached - Similar pages

Clumping Litter
... 1994 "Great Clumping Cat Litter-- Is That Why Kitty is So ... Erika Matulich
<ematulich@ALPHA.UTAMPA.EDU> Subject: Clumping cat litter dangers Tequita asked ...
www.geocities.com/ferretsfirst/ClumpingLitter.html - 15k - Cached - Similar pages

 

I've read so much about the dangers of clumping litter but when I asked my vet about it she said she had never heard of a cat actually dying from eating so much litter that it clumped in their intestines. I'd be interested in reading of a case where this actually happened and was proven to be caused by the litter if anyone knows of such one.
My vet did mention the possibility of respiratory problems being associated with the litter dust though. This would not only be clumping litter but also regular clay litter. I've always been concerned about this but have not yet found a natural litter that both my cats and I have been happy with. For now I try to use litter with the least amount of dust and I have rugs in front of the boxes so that the litter that most of the litter that sticks to their feet falls of on the rug.

 

when max was panting...and i took him for an ultrasound....the doctor recommended clumping litter over clay, because it has less dust overall. he was concerned about max developing asthma...so i switched.

actually...he hasnt been panting...since i switched. hmmmm...i wonder if it helped??? hadnt really put 2+2 together until this post!!!

uh...duh..... :roll:

here are a couple pics of him panting.... :shock: you can see mikey in the background...they were running and playing...hard.









he looks kinda goofy, huh?? :roll:

 

Yes, goofy but still so darn cute. :wink: Max sometimes reminds me of a cartoon cat.

 

I have heard that it isn't reccommended for people with allergies to use any clay or clumping. Before I always used the silica stuff, I like that alot, I think it is much easier than clumping, I think clumping is a big mess. I honestly don't see how it is helpful, instead of picking one small piece of something it clumps into a giant nasty thing that breaks when you try to pick it up with the scoop, but that is just my opinion, I don't know the benefits of any of them. I also have another litter box with I have the stuff that looks like livestock pellets (I can't think of the name) it also doesn'T clump, it keeps the smell down, but it is terrible for tracking, always a big mess around that box. I have used that "yesterdays news" stuff, but it was only at the vet and it was too much of any effort to get it (yea I am lazy)

 

i can't ever seem to find anything but clumping kitty litter! can someone reccomend a brand for non-clumbing kind?

the only other thing I can ever find is paper shreds or something...

and i found a box of clay litter ONCE and they haven't restocked since! so i hope this clay litter that i have now will hold over until i can find more!

 

they should have plenty of clay litter. that is the tried and true cat litter. in the grocery store, it is right next to the clumping...tidy cat, johnny cat, and fresh step are very common brands of clay (they all make a clumping also).

if you are going to petsmart, they may have large bags of the clay...like twenty pound bags. but all places will carry both kinds. the clay is in bags, the clumping in boxes or plastic containers. :wink:

 

Max looks so cute even if he is panting. LOL's.

Good luck Rabbit in finding the right litter for your babies!