Silica Crystal Kitty Litter

Lots of people say that they cant get their cats to use this. Our two 6 week old kittens use it just fine and seem to enjoy it. It does not stink at all and I love it.

My concern is that Silica is bad for us humans, the dust gets in your lungs and its very bad for you. My one kitty has started sneezing a bit and I was told to change the litter but after researching this crystal litter it seems that it is the litter with the LEAST DUST?

My thoughts are most cat litter has silica in it, these are silica crystals and might be more contained and sealed then silica sand thats just an ingredient in other cat litters?

I want my kittys to have a healty long life and I dont mind spending a few more bucks on kitty litter, should I stay with the silica crystals or go to maybe corn litter...what is the corn litter all about?

Looking at this chart (http://cat-urine-cleaner.com/litterb...gredients.html) it seems that the only decent one WITHOUT silica is the Biodegradable litter, does the corn litter fall under the biodegradable catagory?

Thanks,
Matt

Yes, silica dust is just as bad for kitties as it is for people

yes, biodegradable is good

The most popular biodegradable litters are:
World's Best Cat Litter - made out of corn
Purina Layena chicken feed (non medicated) also made of corn
Swheat scoop - made with wheat
Yesterday's news - made with newspaper
Feline Pine - made with pine pellets - smells good, some kitties don't like pellets under their feet
Arm & Hammer - biodegradable litter - I think it is made with non-food corn pieces...it is what I use and my kitties love it.

I looked at the worlds best and its about $40 a bag out here in Canada and the Swheat scoop is just under that about $36 a bag. I did find another one though thats made of corn at walmart which was about half the price, came in a plasic square container I forget the name but the ingredents just say "made from corn" or somthing along those lines, looks the same as the worlds best. How about using that? Id assume corn litter is corn litter...?

yes! special kitty I think thats the name?? Its not cheap clay stuff its probably the most expencive at walmart and its all 100% corn.

Well I just want a healty litter, seems that the corn is the best and the special kitty is corn, so is worlds best, both seem to have the same ingredents only diffrence is the granuals it seems? how were the reviews on it? I would rather pay half the amount for the special kitty then I would for worlds best, its just there arnt many canadian dealers for the worlds best so its really overpriced.

Both the Swheatscoop and the World's Best are flushable -- that is one reason I prefer them. I have seen two others that are corn or wheat I believe, one at our Walmart is by Arm & Hammer. I think it is wheat--seems just like the World's Best, but for some reason it says not to flush.

If you decide to try the World's Best, you can go to their website and email them that you would like to try it. They will send you a coupon for a free 7 lb. bag. That way you can see what it is like to compare it to the other.

Kody liked both the WB and Swheatscoop, but I think the WB clumps better.

Anne

Originally Posted by Kody's Mom

Both the Swheatscoop and the World's Best are flushable -- that is one reason I prefer them. I have seen two others that are corn or wheat I believe, one at our Walmart is by Arm & Hammer. I think it is wheat--seems just like the World's Best, but for some reason it says not to flush.

If you decide to try the World's Best, you can go to their website and email them that you would like to try it. They will send you a coupon for a free 7 lb. bag. That way you can see what it is like to compare it to the other.

Kody liked both the WB and Swheatscoop, but I think the WB clumps better.

Anne

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Well saying as our kittys like the crystals I think they will like anything lol! Flushing isnt a big deal to me since we dont have our litter in the washroom we just have a special bin for it.

Maybe ill try to get a coupon then! Thanks for the idea, I still think I will try the special kitty (or what ever brand it is, 100% corn) from walmart since it seems identical to the Worlds Best at nearly half the price. Of course its cheaper because its walmart the worlds best is only avail at a local pet store.

Comments?

I've never seen the Special Kitty--don't think our WalMart carries it. But for half the price I would definitely go for it, especially since you don't mind not flushing it. And it might be flushable, for that matter.

Both the corn and wheat litters weigh so much less than the clay--that's nice too.

I just went to the Contact Us link and asked if they had any coupons available as I had recently adopted a cat and had read good things about their product and would like to try it. 3 days later I received one for a free bag in the mail.

Originally Posted by Kody's Mom

I've never seen the Special Kitty--don't think our WalMart carries it. But for half the price I would definitely go for it, especially since you don't mind not flushing it. And it might be flushable, for that matter.

Both the corn and wheat litters weigh so much less than the clay--that's nice too.

I just went to the Contact Us link and asked if they had any coupons available as I had recently adopted a cat and had read good things about their product and would like to try it. 3 days later I received one for a free bag in the mail.

Click to expand...

Yeah well I thought corn is corn so might as well get it, ill find out the actual name soon and report back here with it and a picture maybe.

The sample you got was from worlds best right? i sent them a email thanks.

Matt

I use the crystals and have had the same concern. I've stuck with them because I find it less dusty than the scoopable litter and figure we're all breathing less of the silica that way. I've used the pine litter which I love but I'm allergic (severely) to it and had to give it up. As a pet sitter I get to sample a lot of litters at client's houses. I don't care for the Sweat Scoop because I can't stand the way it smells but it certainly does avoid the silica and it scoops well. Yesterday's news is dusty to me and I find it almost as bad for my allergies as the pine but it works just as well so I think whatever you pick you'd be happy with unless you're allergic too!

Yes, I emailed World's Best through the Contact Us link on their website. I will be curious to see how you think it compares to the other. I did see it today at WalMart--Fresh Results--it is $6.22 for 10 lbs. at my WalMart (in Texas). It certainly reads right..just like the Arm & Hammer corn litter that was right next to it at a higher price. But both of them say not to flush (even though I don't know why, if World's Best is flushable, why aren't these other two), so I have to stay with WB.

Anne

Well I gotta say one thing, I think the Sliica Kitty Litter might of saved our kittens life...reason being is the clear/white crystals we noticed blood in one of our kittens urine, I dont think we would of noticed this with the corn, would we???

Well I did get the corn the other day, im just keeping them on the crystals so I can clearly see the progress of my kittens urinary tract infection.

The walmart stuff is 100% corn, it doesnt say anything about flushing it on the container, it comes in a plastic container. It is 5.4KG @ $15.00 made by Special Kitty.

I wanted to point out something I've been researching about silica. There are two different forms commonly used and one is toxic - crystalline silica. The other, amorphous silica is non-toxic although if inhaled it can cause mild problems (sneezing, coughing). I'm not sure what kind of silica is in your litter, but the one used in Dr. Elsey's Senior cat litter is amorphous. It is my understanding that this is essentially the same thing as diatomaceous earth. I would definitely never use one with crystalline silica. It's known to cause cancer in humans where as amorphous is not. Just a little FYI.