BEWARE – TIDY CAT CAN KILL YOUR KITTEN!
I want to spread the word about a hard lesson I learned – a very heartbreaking lesson. Forest, the runt of our very first litter (we called him Forest cuz he walked like Forest Gump lol) was an absolute angel (see attached picture) Forest was the smallest kitten but had the biggest personality.
Anyway, at about 2 weeks of age, he and the other kittens started acting a little sick so i brought them to the doctor and was told that they had a mild cold and was given a round of antibiotics for them. Within 48 hours everyone was feeling better and improving – except for Forest. He got progressively worse, losing more weight every day, and within 72 hours was unrecognizable as the kitten he was just days earlier. He was lethargic, depressed, and almost zombie like. He would stand to attempt to eat only to fall on his side seconds later and lay there for hours just staring into space with no expression. His breathing became more labored as the minutes passed and I would take him to vet 3 more times within the following 8 days…only to be told that “the runt of the litter is often unable to thrive and his little immune system just could not tackle the cold/infection like his littermates’ systems did.”
After countless sleepless nights and $900 in vet bills, at 1:30 a.m. on a Friday morning, I was trying to feed him through a syringe when he finally stopped fighting and died in my arms. At the very moment of his death, dark red blood poured from his little bottom all over my chest. I knew that was not normal for a kitten who just died from a “cold.” I started researching online to figure out what happened to this poor creature! Within 30 minutes, I found an article that shattered my already broken heart! The article can be found here :
http://www.ny-petrescue.org/clumping.php
I did not know that clumping litter (Tidy Cat, Fresh step, etc.) was unsafe for cats and deadly for kittens!! I figured if it is sold at the store, it must be safe right??? WRONG and not even the Vet knew of the dangers until I brought my dead Forest to their office along with the printed article and pointed out every single last symptom my kittens had, and every last symptom that resulted in Forest’s death was attributable to his ingesting and breathing in dust from the litter box!!! (I would find him asleep in the litter box sometimes!)
Basically, my ignorance killed that little sweetheart and I will do my best to spread the word CLUMPING CLAY LITTER KILLS! Please read the article and if you want to use clumping litter, you should try to buy the kind made from grass seed, wheat or corn NOT Clay.
Some people insist on using the clay clumping litters and I understand why – it’s convenient – it’s easier to find in stores and it’s somewhat affordable….but I strongly urge, at a minimum, that you do not use the clay clumping litter until your kittens are at least 4-6 months old. Depending on how many cats/kittens we have in our home at any given time, we also have had to resort to using the commerical store-bought convenient and more affordable “Tidy Cat” type litters. However, we use it with GREAT CAUTION and pay very close attention to make sure that the kittens are NOT playing in the litterbox, NOT eating the cat litter, and are basically doing their “business” and promptly exiting the litterbox.
This is a fairly new litter on the market called Pretty Litter. It is FABULOUS and not too expensive!
This is another litter that I use. It’s made of grass seed and is honestly the best litter I have used! It clumps very well and hides odors much better than the litters I have used in the past! Most importantly, it is safe for our fur babies! (I’ve had trouble finding this in stores lately so I’ve been using the product above (the Pretty Litter…I love it!!)
Please also take a moment to read the important information about Nutrition and what to feed your kitten under the “Cat Food” tab.