Cat Litter for cat with allergies

2crazykittens

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
134
Purraise
23
Location
Ontario
Simon has unknown allergies. At the moment we are trying to get him on an all natural cat litter or at least one that is good for sensitive cats. I have been trying out the Swheat scoop brand but I find that it stinks. :sigh: I clean the litter box twice a day but still find that when they do a number 2 it's like a bomb went off in my apartment. I need recommendations for a good cat litter that is perfume free, as little dust as possible and is not in pellet form. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.:nod:
 

stephanie42

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
232
Purraise
21
Location
Long Island, NY
we've been using arm & hammer essentials.  it's not GREAT at covering really stinky odors, but it's doing a really good job in our small apartment.  we supplement with baking soda or another litter deodorizer to help on bad days.  and it seems to be lasting longer than the old litters we used.  SO MUCH LESS DUST!  better for me and my asthmatic cat... and for dusting the apartment!
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
I buy Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief. It's expensive but there's hardly any dust at all and our cat completely stopped coughing when we switched from super-dusty and perfumed Fresh Step. (Our cats, particularly the one with the slight issues, really, really stir up the litter when they use the box!) Dr. Elsey's clumps very well, though it does really stick to the bottom of the box... of course that's probably because the cats dig right down to the plastic and pile the litter on their puddles. Respiratory Relief has no perfumes and what amazes me most is how new-looking and -smelling it stays. I should add that I think the cats' low-carb diet, which includes a fair bit of raw food, helps keep the smell down a lot, too.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

2crazykittens

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
134
Purraise
23
Location
Ontario
Thank-you for the replies!


Simon's allergies show themselves on his skin (granuloma complex). So it might be tough to narrow down the triggering allergen. He used to be on scented cat litter, mostly max scoop. It is heavily scented and it could be causing a reaction, but I am not entirely sure. So I decided to just do an all over allergen reduction in the enviroment and in his diet too.

He used to eat friskies wet, I have now got him on Fancy Feast pate (all grain free and no wheat glutens) and he is also on the PC Extra Meaty wet as it is very similar to the Fancy Feast ingredients. I also finaly got him a raw diet he actually likes, which happens to be the Primal Raw Turkey formula. So he is getting a 50/50 diet now of the raw and wet food.


All detergents and cleaning supplies have also been changed to hypoallergenic supplies, and heck it can't hurt any considering I have skin allergies myself. He eats strictly from porcalin or stainless steel, and all dishes are cleaned following meals.

I really need a great cat litter though that is as good at odor control or at least better than the Swheat Scoop. I have read that the arm and hammer essentials has a pretty heavy scent even though it is an all natural product. How do you find the smell @stephgas? @LisaHE, how expensive are we talking for a box of the Dr. Elsey's? Is this a clay litter?

Thanks again everyone I really appreciate the suggestions.
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
Originally Posted by 2crazykittens  

I also finaly got him a raw diet he actually likes, which happens to be the Primal Raw Turkey formula. So he is getting a 50/50 diet now of the raw and wet food.

I really need a great cat litter though that is as good at odor control or at least better than the Swheat Scoop. I have read that the arm and hammer essentials has a pretty heavy scent even though it is an all natural product. How do you find the smell @stephgas? @LisaHE, how expensive are we talking for a box of the Dr. Elsey's? Is this a clay litter?
2crazykittens, Dr. Elsey's Respiratory Relief comes in 20-pound bags; each one has an info booklet with coupons for $1 off all sorts of Dr. Elsey products. Depending on the store, the price for the bag is between $13-17, minus $1, if you remember the coupon. Yes, it is clay. Crazy though it may sound, it really seems worth it for us: beyond the cat not coughing, the house stays cleaner, we had kitty litter dust allergy problems with Fresh Step, too, plus this stuff just doesn't seem to develop an ammonia smell. This may sound strange but it seems to stay really dry and not get heavy like the Fresh Step always seemed to.

Our cats also eat Primal Raw turkey formula as about 50% of their diet, usually a combination of freeze-dried and frozen, usually with a little of the frozen beef/salmon formula mixed in. It's been very popular around here!
  Good luck with Simon's allergies!
 

donnajean

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
117
Purraise
12
Hello,

I started out using world's Best cat litter but since one of my babies  has allergies  I found WBCL to be too dusty and also expensive with 3 cats.

I then tried SWheat cat litter multi-cat and had been using that for quite some time . I also tried Blue Buffalo's Walnut clumping litter, too dusty and also very expensive.

Back to SWheat, although an excellent cat litter, controls odors, clumps nicely, I have stared noticing much more dust when pouring it in the litter boxes.. At first I thought it was because I didn't buy the multi-cat because it was not in stock but the next time I purchased the multi I noticed alot of dust coming up from the litter box as I poured it in.

This also got me thinking since one of my cats has allergies and probable inflammatory Bowel Disease is SWheat what I should be using ?

Pine litter was out, paper pellets, no go my cats wouldn't even get in their litter boxes .

So, I went against the grain, so to speak, something I never have done except for many many  years ago... I saw Cat's Pride had a new litter out called Fresh & Light, "fragrance free, 99% dust free formula is purfect for sensitive cats..."

I poured it into the empty litter box and waited for any dust and to my surprise I did not detect any....

I wish there was a natural clumping litter, which I think Cat's Pride also just came out with recycled paper clumping litter but of course it is scented.

I e-mailed them about an unscented one in this product but they said it would not hide any odors ....so looks like they will not be coming out with it in unscented..

So, I will keep on looking, until I find something else I will be using Cat's pride Fresh and Light I guess...

FYI, I had no problems with transitioning my cats to this litter...
 

stephenq

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 19, 2003
Messages
5,672
Purraise
944
Location
East Coast, USA

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
 
Litter made out of silica crystals is chemically inert, zero dust and many people have told me it works really well.  You can get 3+ weeks out of one litterbox.  The poop gets scooped and the crystals absorb all the urine, you just stir them around so you don't have clumps of crystals that can't absorb more.  A link below.
I bought Fresh Step crystals for a previous cat and it worked out well for everyone. It did have some dust, though far less than typical clay litter... but this was four or five years ago (maybe even longer) and it may be much improved by now.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

2crazykittens

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
134
Purraise
23
Location
Ontario
Thanks everyone!


You have all suggested so great alternatives. I will have a look next time I go to buy some litter. I was skeptical at first about the silica crystals, but I will have a look at that too. Simon seems to be doing well at the moment but he is on prednisolone for the last breakout. It would be hard to know if anything is working for him right now since he is on those meds. I will have to wait and see again if he has another trigger following the removal of the medication.

I really hope that I will be able to help him out in time. Just wish I knew what it was that is creating this problem in the first place.
 

donnajean

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
117
Purraise
12
Dr. Elsey's is a very good cat litter. I picked up a small bag last week just to compare and try it out.

It is suppose to be 99.9 % dust free and there is no dust that I could see . It is perfume, dye free completely unscented , clumps very well and seems to keep odor at bay but I scoop several times a day (I have 5 litter boxes )

I think this is the one I am leaning toward as it isn't that expensive compared to SWheat, Blue Buffalo and world's best .

I really know very little about your cat's condition but have read that omega 3 and L-Lysine could be beneficial. Also using one novel protein source for 6-8 weeks  can help rule out a food allergy.(with food intolerances it can be a protein source or grains such as corn, wheat.., a preservative. soy is also a potential allergen)

My IBD/ allergy boy is on Royal canin Duck & pea canned and he gets some natural balance duck & pea Limited ingredient diet dry.(I would like to get away from the dry and have managed to get his diet to at least 75% canned) I don't know what he is allergic to either but I think he not only has food allergies (chicken and a potential grain like corn or wheat gluten) but he also has other allergies such as seasonal.

An antihistamine can also be something to ask your vet about, or a more natural approach would be something like quercetin . GoHolistic a member on this board is using Quercetin for her pancreatitis boy, it is suppose to be a natural "benadryl" without the side effects and it is also  anti-inflammatory.

Of course always ask your vet before starting any of these. My current vet is at least open to supplements and such and will do some research on them then give me either the go ahead or not.
 

donnajean

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
117
Purraise
12
Stephen,

The one and only problem I could see with this is since it is not a clumping litter per say you wouldn't be able to monitor your cat's urination as far as amount they are urinating, true ?
 

luv2cats

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Apr 26, 2014
Messages
66
Purraise
12
I've been using Dr. Elsey's Silca Respiratory & Relief litter because my one cat has allergies.  This helped her weeping eyes, but now I can't find it at the store.  Today I went to four stores and no one had the crystal version - I had to purchase the non-crystal version R&R litter.  I sent a message to the company to find out if it has been discontinued 
  Never fails when I find something that works, the company stops making it ... I hope it is just backordered.  I'm not in love with the stuff because it tracks like crazy I can hear myself "crunching" when walking around but the cats don't mind it and I do love the fact I don't have to lug tons of clumped litter to the trash every day or lug a 40# bag of the stuff up three flights of stairs.

I used to use WBCL but that also stunk especially if it was hot and humid, always was a find coat of yellow dust on everything and I found the occasionally ant in the bag too.  The natural stuff sounds good in theory but and that is a big but most dont' do a good job clumping and the odor control is nil.  I know there is a tea leaf litter but that is as much as I know about that.  Good luck in your search, 
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
 
I've been using Dr. Elsey's Silca Respiratory & Relief litter because my one cat has allergies.  This helped her weeping eyes, but now I can't find it at the store.  Today I went to four stores and no one had the crystal version - I had to purchase the non-crystal version R&R litter.  I sent a message to the company to find out if it has been discontinued 
  Never fails when I find something that works, the company stops making it ... I hope it is just backordered. 
I bought my last several bags of Dr. E's Respiratory Relief (regular, not silica) from Chewy.com, which also sells the silica kind... supply at our local stores is often limited, too, and Dr. Elsey's has reduced our cat's coughing to nearly nothing so I don't ever want to buy/use anything else! Chewy has free shipping for any order that's $49 or more and I have to admit I rather enjoyed not having to pull bags of litter off shelves or lift them into to the car.
  Good luck!
 

stephenq

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 19, 2003
Messages
5,672
Purraise
944
Location
East Coast, USA
Stephen,
The one and only problem I could see with this is since it is not a clumping litter per say you wouldn't be able to monitor your cat's urination as far as amount they are urinating, true ?
@donnajean

Sorry for the delay but since you didn't quote me or put the @ sign before my name I wasn't notified of your post/question. I think with crystals you can still track the urine because the crystals turn yellow when they are peed on.
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,150
Purraise
4,969
Location
Maine
Sorry for the delay but since you didn't quote me or put the @ sign before my name I wasn't notified of your post/question. I think with crystals you can still track the urine because the crystals turn yellow when they are peed on.
@donnajean

I used Fresh Step crystals for a year or two with a previous cat: Yes, the crystals definitely turn color. They also get heavier and smellier with use and time. That said, if I had serious concerns about a cat's urination frequency and quantity, I'd probably prefer clumps because they're more obvious. I really liked using crystals, though, and the cat adapted to them without any problem whatsoever.
 

kgrl2015

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Nov 28, 2015
Messages
2
Purraise
2
Location
southwest florida
Ive been using worlds best litter for last 3 weeks and noticed cat was getting bald spots on fur,i had always used cheap unscented clay litter but hated the tracking of it,now i think i need to go back to the cheap old clay,anyone else have problem with worlds best?
 

samus

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2015
Messages
374
Purraise
27
I always thought that World's Best and Swheat scoop sounded like a bad idea because of how widespread cat allergies to grains are. (Also when I had a dog, she would eat it... can't remember which of the two I had that problem with.) I tried some green tea litter that I liked better than Feline Pine clumping but it was a few years ago so I don't remember any other details. My favorite non-clay litter was clumping Blue Buffalo walnut. Hardest and best clumping natural litter I've tried. The dust wasn't too bad, but I've never tried Dr Elsey's so maybe I've never really experienced a really low dust litter. (But they all say "99% dust free!")  Never tried a silica litter because I'm worried about lung silicosis.
 

jenny82

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 19, 2006
Messages
5,773
Purraise
114
Location
Maryland
I use green tea litter and I love it, no dust and very lightweight. If you go to petfooddirect.com and search for green tea litter you will find it. I always get free shipping coupons for the site in my email, they send them every couple weeks.
 
Top