When bringing a new kitten into your home, it feels like you have to baby-proof everything &#; no breakable objects laying around, and definitely keep those kitchen cabinets closed. It seems even common human baby warnings, such as choking hazards, can be a danger to our young felines as well. We&#;re here to share clumping clay litter tips for your new kitten, and debunking myths when it comes to litter safety.
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You just brought your new fur baby home &#; now what? First things first, the bathroom situation must be handled. One big myth in kitten care is that you shouldn&#;t use clumping litter, as the clumps could be considered a choking hazard. While it&#;s understandable to think that way and to want to be overly cautious, cats aren&#;t known to be animals that eat their own excrement.
While it&#;s highly unlikely that your pet will try to eat their litter clumps in general, our veterinary recommendation is that you can start using our Kitten Attract®&#; litter with kittens as young as two months old. At about one year old, we encourage the switch to our Cat Attract® litter to keep litter box usage consistent and straightforward for your furry friend as they grow up.
A lot of pet owners are skeptical of clumping litters, as some claim that it isn&#;t safe for cats due to toxic chemicals or dust affecting their respiratory systems. Here at Dr. Elsey&#;s, we encourage pet owners to invest in clumping clay litters with high quality ingredients like the ones found in our best-selling Ultra litter. Although our litters are all low dust, if you want to prioritize your cats respiratory health, we suggest using our R&R®&#; Respiratory Relief litter.
Learn more about how to care for your new kitten with the resources on our site!
Is clumping litter safe for kittens? While it may make for easy clean-up, the &#;controversy&#; over the best litter for kittens has been raging for years.
By: AlanH2OWhen you have a new cat, one of your most important goals is to make sure they are safe and healthy.
All cats will use the litter box, and one of the first questions on the minds of those with a new cat is what type of litter to buy and is clumping litter safe for kittens.
Clumping litters are convenient because they absorb the waste and make it easy to clean &#; but there has been some concern in recent years about the safety of clumping cat litter and the potential clumping cat litter dangers for kittens especially. So, is clumping litter safe for kittens?
Most kitty litter will form clumps because it is made using sodium bentonite clay, a substance that expands and forms hard clumps when it contacts a liquid. Many clumping litters will also contain quartz silica, and both substances are safe if they aren&#;t ingested.
You can also find some clumping litters that are only made up of natural ingredients such as nut hulls, wood or corn.
Although clumping litter is safe when it remains outside your kitten&#;s body, it becomes a problem if she ingests it.
If the kitten eats just a little of the clumping litter, she will probably be fine or might get a slightly upset stomach. If, however, she has more, whether on purpose or by accident, she may get very sick.
This is because this type of litter carries the real risk of clumping in a kitten&#;s small intestine if it is ingested in larger quantities.
Does that mean other litter types are off the hook? No. Although the natural options don&#;t have any added chemicals, they are still made of items your cat shouldn&#;t ingest and could therefore cause digestive problems.
It&#;s possible that when you use a clumping cat litter, a bit of it will end up on your kitten&#;s paws, especially if the paws are damp when she enters the litter box.
The concern then occurs later when your kitty goes to groom and accidentally ingests some of the litter. Although this is a negligible amount for fully grown cats, it is a greater concern for kittens because of their smaller size.
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Kittens are also more likely to become curious and decide to try eating the litter, especially if they think it is food because of clumps.
&#;It is conceivable that kittens playing in the [litter] box for extended periods could ingest or inhale a sufficient amount of litter to be harmed,&#; according to James Richards, DVM. &#;Even once the kittens are more mobile and spend most of their time outside the nursing area, it is probably still wise to use a nonclumping litter until they are weaned.&#;
If you find your kitten eating litter and notice they ingested some of their clumping litter, it can be important to act fast. Taking them to a veterinarian is advisable to seek professional guidance and care specific to the situation, especially if your kitten ingested a large amount.
If your kitten ate clumping litter symptoms can vary, as kittens who have consumed this litter could develop serious health issues as there&#;s the risk it could cause an internal blockage. It&#;s always a safe bet to err on the side of caution and consult with a vet immediately to get advice on how to best help your cat, even if they only ate a small amount.
Wait until your kitten is 4 months old.
Experts generally agree that a kitten older than 4 months can start using clumping kitty litter. At this point, the kitten knows that the litter is not food.
In addition, by 4 months, most cats are big enough that accidentally swallowing some litter while grooming won&#;t cause serious damage.
I should note that there is a vocal group of people who maintain that the &#;clumping litter is bad for kittens&#; line has been blown way out of proportion.
They point out that this has been the primary type of litter used for years and that very few cats have had problems. They say the controversy all began when a breeder lost several kittens and thought the reason was that they ate clumping litter and it blocked their intestines (and her holistic vet agreed).
These advocates say that the risk of your kitten actually eating litter is incredibly small and that virtually no one has experienced any problems.
If you&#;re anything like me, right now you&#;re thinking: It&#;s better to be safe than sorry.
I think cats expert Franny Syufy has it right when she says, &#;Since the curious little tykes investigate everything first with their mouths, why take chances on their ingesting something that is potentially harmful?&#;
If you want to avoid clumping litters for your young kitten, then you might opt for traditional clay ones or pelleted ones.
Just remember that if you aren&#;t using clumping litter, you should expect to be cleaning out the litter box more often.
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