Cat Litter Dust

[Jaskalas]

On the topic of cat litter dust...

Background - So you rescue some cats. Clean the pans twice daily, seems to work out nicely. After about 5 years, one of the older, original cats (not rescued) has labored breathing. You take him to a vet and the lung x-ray is terrible looking. Lots of scaring on the lungs. Cancer is suspected but there are no other symptoms or signs of it. Blood work comes back clean. Few months pass and you realize it has to be something else...

Primary concern - silica dust:

• Silicosis
• Lung Fibrosis

I need suggestions for alternative cat litter.

Truly dust free, not the "99% dust free" we use now which is clearly not sufficient. I mean you can see it go airborne when you pour it, when you scoop through it... You can smell the dust across the room after the ill cat digs through it. Connect the dots and, well...changes have to be made.

Moreover, until a suitable replacement is found, what sort of protective masks should be worn when handling it? A little research into silica is quite alarming.

 

[Rakehellion]

World's Best cat litter. It's dustless and made from corn. Probably edible. It's nice, but has no odor control.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

While my cat has been recovering from surgeries, I was told to use paper-based litter. It actually looked like old newspaper that had been compressed into little pellets.

It soaked up urine alright, and sort of clumped a little, but the odor was worse. Overall, not a fan. But if you're convinced you need to do this, that's one option.

There are other options as well:

http://grist.org/article/should-i-clay-or-should-i-go-now/

 

[NetWareHead]

World's Best cat litter. It's dustless and made from corn. Probably edible. It's nice, but has no odor control.

We use this too. (It is edible actually being made from corn). It clumps pretty well to scoop out the urine and doesnt upset the kitty's breathing. The urine smell is handled pretty well by this litter. I agree it has worse odor control than conventional cat litters when it comes to cat poo. You can definitely tell when one of them has shit in the box. They make scented litters now including one for "multiple cats" in this brand. The odor control is better than the non-scented litters but still not up to par. Overall it is still worth it for the superior dust control and better feline health.

If anything, the conventional litters made me oblivious to the presence of shits in the box and then you went longer between cleaning/scooping the box. The corn based litter forces you to clean it more often. Which is a good thing when you think about it. Your cat sits in the box to do its business and then you innocently pick him up, touch/pet him etc... Your cat is as clean as his litter box. And by extension, you are as clean as the cat box too. So if it makes you clean the box more often, I think this cant be such a bad thing.

 

[QuantumPion]

We've used crystal litter for a while, it is totally dust free but doesn't work as well as regular litter, especially for poops. We started using the Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal and it works great. Totally absorbs all urine and odors. It seems to be pretty dust free to me compared to any other silica litter.

 

[JoeBleed]

There is sweetscoop or something like that. only problem with that is check the bags for holes as moths follow it and get in the bags in shipping or the store.

There is another that's wallnut based. few brands. neither seem to do a lot for odor control. both can be a little dusty, but shouldn't contain silica.

I had to use that paper pellet stuff for one cat after he had his leg amputated per vets advice. it was ok other than no oder control like the others. I used the remainder in a second litter box for the others to try also.

another thing to note, i've had a few different types so scoops doing this. some litter needs scoops with big holes, some needs smaller holes to make scooping easer.

I use neither of them anymore and just use the basic armenhamer stuff. i pour it slowly and scoop slowly to cut down the dust. not noticeable except for pouring. as for the cats. i only have one that seems to try and cover shit up. the rest of them don't do much more than one or two swipes in that area....

I've never given much thought into the dust and contents of the litter. only reason i tried the two types above was i was looking something biodegradable so i could start tossing that in the woods vs carrying out with the trash. But i didn't like it that much and cats seem to prefer armenhamer as well during my trials.

 

[TechBoyJK]

just let them shit on the carpet in the corner

 

[Gooberlx2]

World's Best cat litter. It's dustless and made from corn. Probably edible. It's nice, but has no odor control.

Not really dustless, but certainly less dust than clay clumping. IMO, seems to clump better and last longer than clay as well.

OP, if your cat will tolerate the transition, you could try wood stove pellets from the hardware or grocery store. $5 for 40lbs. Just research the brand/maker and be sure there are no fuels additives and that it's bedding worthy for livestock.

Piss turns the pellets to sawdust, and there's little to no odor control for shit. The upside is there's little litter tracking. You can buy or make sifting boxes to allow the sawdust to settle to a lower box for easier cleanup. Also flushable if your litter box is near a toilet...as are most of these other non-clay/non-silica suggestions.

 

[thomsbrain]

Arm and Hammer has the least dust of the brands I have tried.

Currently using Fresh Step since it is practically free at Costco, but the dust when pouring is like 10x worse than Arm and Hammer.

Have you considered using a covered box with a computer fan glued to the top vent to pull in clean air?

 

[amicold]

I have a friend who uses feline pine. I think it's essentially sawdust. Cat likes it, doesn't smell (smells like pine) at all from what I can tell.

 

[kage69]

World's Best cat litter. It's dustless and made from corn. Probably edible. It's nice, but has no odor control.

We use a 50/50 mix of that and this cedar stuff which is basically the cedar equivalent of Feline Pine. Works great, no bad smells, no dust.

 

[torpid]

Not sure how you plan to put a mask on a cat... sounds interesting.

World's Best and Swheat Scoop are not dust free. Actually, they get VERY dusty if you do not regularly replace the entire litter box. However, I suspect that their dust is harmless, unlike clay-based litter.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

While my cat has been recovering from surgeries, I was told to use paper-based litter. It actually looked like old newspaper that had been compressed into little pellets.

It soaked up urine alright, and sort of clumped a little, but the odor was worse. Overall, not a fan. But if you're convinced you need to do this, that's one option.

There are other options as well:

http://grist.org/article/should-i-clay-or-should-i-go-now/

Yesterdays news is the brand of the this we have used from time to time, odor control is non existent though

 

[Cuular]

Swheat Scoop, was the first of the grain based ones, came out before the corn one. Does a better job to me of masking odors, and is also edible/non toxic.

The cats and I both like it better. it smells better, and the cats really prefer it over the corn based one.

The corn based one smells sort of like carmelized sugar(burnt sugar). the wheat one smells like baked bread.

 

[mmntech]

Dogs. Poops out in the yard. Pick up with snow shovel, toss it over the fence. Now it's the plaza's problem. No cat piss dust to give you cancer.

 

[Phoenix86]

Dogs. Poops out in the yard. Pick up with snow shovel, toss it over the fence. Now it's the plaza's problem. No cat piss dust to give you cancer.

You must be really good at dog training.

 

[djnsmith7]

Used the Precious Cat Ultra Premium Clumping Cat Litter earlier this year & it was great (99.9% dust free). Placing another order next week.

 

[Ichinisan]

World's Best cat litter. It's dustless and made from corn. Probably edible. It's nice, but has no odor control.

No.

That "World's Best" shit claims to be 99% dust free and it's dusty as hell.

Switched to the new Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal.

Fucking amazing new technology shit. I would never consider going back to "World's Best."

Seriously. Try the A&H C&S. Thank me later.

 

[Ichinisan]

We've used crystal litter for a while, it is totally dust free but doesn't work as well as regular litter, especially for poops. We started using the Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal and it works great. Totally absorbs all urine and odors. It seems to be pretty dust free to me compared to any other silica litter.

:thumbsup:

I can't believe how well this stuff clumps. I used to over-fill my ModKat litter box to keep stuff from collecting in the seams at the bottom. No problems with that since I switched to A&H C&S. I think this is some new type of litter that will pretty much replace all the other types.

 

[Blanky]

Like the op I have been concerne about this stuff, too. In the past when dumping s bunch of fresh litter I would hold my breath until the cloud disperses, for what good it is. Still ,I suspect my exposure is not as bad as laborers who mix concrete without masks at the job site. That stuff with water must be wrecking their lungs.

 

[MongGrel]

My wife has two litter boxes set up for ours, and swears by this system.

No dust , no tracking, and no smell.

http://www.tidycats.com/Products/Breeze

It's pellets, not conventional cat litter.

There are like disposable diapers that go into the bottom tray.

You just scoop out the poo and change the bottom liner and goes well a while before even have to change/add pellets.

No dust at all.

They seem to be ceramic looking pellets, reminds me of what I've seen in metal deburring tumblers in the past.

She had tried wood/corn and several things over the last 25 years.

 

[MongGrel]

This is a bit tongue in cheek there, I'd think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Yi7zlXl8Y#t=47

 

[Gooberlx2]

Heh. I like how the rubber ball representations of cat shit are supposed to just sit nicely on top of the pellets...because cats never bury their shit or something.