Silica Litter? Maybe Not.

[Mamanyt1953]

A friend has been looking into the new silica litters, specifically one that says it can monitor your cat's health. And we've decided NOT to purchase ANY silica litters at all. This is why: ALL silica litters involve some silica dust. We know for a fact that silica dust causes silicosis in humans. Now granted, the amount of dust in the litter is very small compared to the level of exposure in industries that cause silicosis in humans, but our cats' lungs are also very tiny.

This is what the American Lung Association has to say about silicosis in humans:

Silicosis Symptoms, Causes, and Risk Factors

I also found a very good answer to whether or not to use silica litters on Quora. Her research is good, so I'll let you read it as she wrote it. She did a much better job of explaining things than I could have.

https://www.quora.com/Is-silica-cat-litter-associated-with-silicosis-in-cat-How-safe-is-it

Not taking any chances, here. I'll stick with the corn litter than Hekitty loves.

 

[FelisCatus]

Yeah, silica dust is what I was trying to point out in my post not that long ago:

Cancer Causing Cat Litter?

I am personally going with the kiln dried pine shaving I can pick up at my local tractor supply store. Along with the method the lady showed us in that YouTube clip in the other thread to minimize any dust.

 

[Wile]

A friend has been looking into the new silica litters, specifically one that says it can monitor your cat's health. And we've decided NOT to purchase ANY silica litters at all. This is why: ALL silica litters involve some silica dust. We know for a fact that silica dust causes silicosis in humans. Now granted, the amount of dust in the litter is very small compared to the level of exposure in industries that cause silicosis in humans, but our cats' lungs are also very tiny.

This is what the American Lung Association has to say about silicosis in humans:

Silicosis Symptoms, Causes, and Risk Factors

I also found a very good answer to whether or not to use silica litters on Quora. Her research is good, so I'll let you read it as she wrote it. She did a much better job of explaining things than I could have.

https://www.quora.com/Is-silica-cat-litter-associated-with-silicosis-in-cat-How-safe-is-it

Not taking any chances, here. I'll stick with the corn litter than Hekitty loves.

Is there a difference between sodium silicate (what is in cat litter) and crystalline silicate, which is what causes silicosis? I thought sodium silicate was supposed to be relatively safe unless eaten?

 

[Willowy]

Despite the name, silica crystal litters do not contain crystalline silica. Bentonite clay does, though.

I wasn't able to read the Quora all the way through (I must have reached my Quora quota ), but I caught a glimpse of a line near the end saying that silica crystal litters would expand in the intestines if ingested. But it doesn't expand at all, even when very wet (which, trust me, Petunia has tested it entirely). So IDK if they got it mixed up with bentonite clay or what.

 

[She's a witch]

I am personally going with the kiln dried pine shaving I can pick up at my local tractor supply store. Along with the method the lady showed us in that YouTube clip in the other thread to minimize any dust.

I always thought that pine is toxic to cats, have you done any research about this?

No litter seems to be safe, this is very frustrating

 

[FelisCatus]

I always thought that pine is toxic to cats, have you done any research about this?

No litter seems to be safe, this is very frustrating

Pine is normally toxic yes, but if you buy kiln dried pine it removes the toxins/oils !

 

[jcat]

Acceptance of silica litters is low, probably because most brands have irregular edges and the litter isn't comfortable to stand on. People are constantly donating it to our shelter because their cats wouldn't use it, but most of the shelter cats don't like it, either. We end up giving it away.

Funny story: When I tried it for our last cat, he found it so objectionable that he scratched almost all of it out of his box, which was in the upstairs hallway. That didn't satisfy him. When I got home from work, I found the litter at the foot of the stairs; he must have spent hours scratching to get the "horrible stuff" down the stairs!

 

[Willowy]

A lot of the brands have big rocks. I don't know why they think cats like to walk on huge chunks to do their business.

But Dr Elsey's Senior and Respiratory Relief varieties are very fine, like clumping clay litter. That's what I use for my oldest cat Petunia; she's de-clawed and arthritic and tends toward litterbox avoidance. But she likes those litters, although they're expensive so they aren't exactly my favorites, lol.

The litter formerly known as Mimi (sold at Walmart; I forget the new name and don't want to run out to the garage to look) isn't as fine as Dr Elsey's Senior/Respiratory Relief but is finer than most crystal litter and seems to have a high acceptance rate. Petunia will deign to use it if I run out of Dr Elsey's.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ I use a few cups mixed with Tidy Cats clumping litter . It helps with odor & moisture . Especially good on the very bottom of the box. I also use a few cups of baking soda to enhance the entire litter box experience ..

 

[kittyluv387]

Mimi was sooo dusty. My friend recommended it before for the semi auto litter box but it was too much for me so I went back to the more expensive ones. Now I use a litter robot plus world’s best.

 

[molly92]

Yes, the dangers of silica dust are referring to the ingredient in clay litters, not silica, oddly enough:
What’s the Big Deal About Cat Litter? - PetMAC

Which Cat Litter to Use

I love Dr. Elsey's respiratory relief silica litter. It's a bit easier fo my cat with arthritis, and my cats picked it over World's Best as soon as I put it out. I suspect it must dry out their paws a little, but that's the only con I can come up with.

Every litter does have its "dangers"--some of which is more anecdotal. (I'm skeptical that there's a huge risk of clumping litters causing blockages when ingested-I've never heard of it actually happening.) Corn litter is supposed to harbor mold that produces aflotoxins, for example.

I'd say pick your litter based on your cat. If your cat eats a lot if litter, use a biodegradable one. If they're having respiratory problems, it might be good to switch. (I did find a cool little study:
Respiratory Disease: Study on Silica Dust in Cats - Texas Animal Guardians. All the cats were using clay litter, but the ones who had respiratory symptoms also had more silica dust in their lungs. So some cats either filter out the dust better or don't inhale as much to begin with.)

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Thanks for the updates and corrections. That said, Hek loves her corn or walnut based litters, and I'll be sticking with that!