Diatomaceous earth ?

Anyone here mix it in with kitty food ? I've got some and I'd like to give it a try. Have read no bad results anywhere.
Thinking of starting with 1/8 tsp. to start.
Thanks to all who are using it, or know someone who does.
Marty

If it is the human/food grade it will not hurt your kitty and will assist in killing any internal parasites. I know of one man who does add some to his diet on a regular basis. I wouldn't probably give it to the kitty every day but maybe once a week or bi-weekly.

I tried a half tsp. yesterday and again in the evening. Will try this for a week and maybe double for the next week. I have read of many people who use a heaping tbsp. daily ! Not sure about that. I'm still a little squeamish. I plan to be the guinea pig before feeding to kitty. All the while gathering evidence.
Thanks !
Marty

I have some that i got to try to get of some bugs. One thing is that it is very dusty and you have be careful not to breathe it when you're putting it down. That makes me very nervous to have it around, let alone feed it to my kitties. Not that great getting rid of bugs either from what I can see.

Originally Posted by Misty8723

I have some that i got to try to get of some bugs. One thing is that it is very dusty and you have be careful not to breathe it when you're putting it down. That makes me very nervous to have it around, let alone feed it to my kitties. Not that great getting rid of bugs either from what I can see.

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^ Exactly this.

Its perfectly fine to put in feed (not course enough to hurt the lining thats replaced frequently anyway), but some put it in their carpet and the like to deal with insects and this is a bad idea as the vacuum will kick it up and a micro-abrasive dust is a bad idea to breath in. So just important to use it safely.

For an indoor cat though that doesn't have fleas or a reason to believe they have parasites and the like, I don't see why anyone would feed it.

Thanks for the input ! I too bought some for the carpet. It seems to help some with the fleas. Maybe more important is just vacuuming, but DE does make a noticeable difference. I put it down when the "gang" is outside and vacuum the next day. Always have the windows open for good ventilation.
Marty
P.S. I think I went a little overboard when I bought 10 pounds of DE !
I didn't realize just how much I'd end up with.

Originally Posted by ewemule

Thanks for the input ! I too bought some for the carpet. It seems to help some with the fleas. Maybe more important is just vacuuming, but DE does make a noticeable difference. I put it down when the "gang" is outside and vacuum the next day. Always have the windows open for good ventilation.
Marty
P.S. I think I went a little overboard when I bought 10 pounds of DE !
I didn't realize just how much I'd end up with.

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OMG - 10 pounds!! It is so light that is a huge amount.

DE is a fine powder so of course when you are putting it down into carpeting you should be careful not to breathe it in. It won't hurt your lungs but can irritate them. I found it made a huge difference for me when I had an ant problem. You will need to brush it down into the fibres of your carpets with a broom and I'd leave it more than one day before vacuuming it up.

Since you have so much, spread the joy of DE with your friends and family.

LOL about 10 lbs. You have a lot to use there.

I am an avid user of DE, too.

It does have health benefits besides the elimination of internal parasites. (to include helping to prevent kidney stones, urinary infections and also help in reducing inflammation) along with many other health benefits.

I do give mine DE regularly. I mix some with their dry food and wet food.

With the dry, I mix and mix and mix until all of the kibbles are coated with the powder and no longer dusty.

I also use DE - for both deworming and to get rid of fleas. When I use it for internal parasites, I mix it with a bit of water, and give it to the cat via syringe. It works very well that way!

I'm one of those people that takes DE daily as well. I typically have 2 tablespoons a day, and yes, I have noticed a differance in how I feel!

It is probably safe to assume that everyone here has had some DE in their lifetime - whether it be from the bread they eat, or in their toothpaste

I have one 5 lb. bag unopened and about 4-1/2 pounds of the other one.
I think some are squeamish of the idea. But, I do offer.
Thanks again for the info. !
Marty

Where do you get this stuff at? I've wanted to try some but am weary about any place online because I'm not sure whether it's the food grade kind or not. Is there a certain brand?

Originally Posted by FleshFlowers

Where do you get this stuff at? I've wanted to try some but am weary about any place online because I'm not sure whether it's the food grade kind or not. Is there a certain brand?

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You should be able to get it at a nursery (plants) or a farm supply company as many farmers put some in the food for their livestock. If they don't have it ask if they'll order some for you.

We use FOOD GRADE DE (Diatomaceous Earth) with our cats, the dose is 1/2 tsp for kittens and 1 tsp for an adult cat. You can give it a few times per week. It's very good for all kinds of things..Here is a great page on it, and this page was created by a big animal sanctuary in California. It's called Wolf Creek Ranch..They give it all kinds of their rescued animals. This page is very, very helpful to understand how it works and how to use it. They also sell it too..This Sanctuary also has a wonderful online supplement store/product store for cats and dogs (scroll way down to see those menus/tabs)..I love them!

http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

We humans can take this too for all kinds of good things. Our dose is 1 Tablespoon.

Read all about it here! :-)

Lynn in Illinois

I started giving my cat DE two weeks ago. I mix about 1/16 of a teaspoon in a tbsp of water and give with wet food. She doesn't even taste or smell it.
I have noticed that Miss Kitty (named by a Gunsmoke fan) has a bowel movement once a day instead of every other day now. I guess that is good? I wanted to try it for hairballs originally and haven't seen a hairball, but I have been brushing more too. So far, so good.

Dasust said:

I started giving my cat DE two weeks ago. I mix about 1/16 of a teaspoon in a tbsp of water and give with wet food. She doesn't even taste or smell it.
I have noticed that Miss Kitty (named by a Gunsmoke fan) has a bowel movement once a day instead of every other day now. I guess that is good? I wanted to try it for hairballs originally and haven't seen a hairball, but I have been brushing more too. So far, so good.

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I started my cats on this last week. A couple days a week I put a little in with their wet food and they devour it. They don't even care about the powder that is on the place. They just lick it right up like it's powdered sugar on donuts LOL.

I had a lady tell me to mix 1 tsp with a glass of water or juice and drink it daily and it will help my skin issues. I haven't started it yet but if my cats will eat it no problem I can too. I will start soon.

** I also put a little on Zander's neck because she was scratching and had some sores and they have almost cleared up and she don't scratch anymore.

There are alot of positives using DE, the WolfCreek Ranch page above I have posted (which is the BEST page ever on how to use it and why, they are a huge animal sanctuary in CA who use it on many different species of animals with great results. I have read that we can give too LITTLE, but, cannot overdose using this with us or our pets. 

***Wolf Creek Ranch page: http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

With your Zander's fur loss on his neck, you can also use some coconut oil on there, my friend used that and it really healed her kitty quickly too.

From my learning and reading, and holistic vets, fur loss can mean they need Omega 3's..You can feed your Zander some sardines in water once a week to boost that, or a holistic vet suggested feeding chia seeds SOAKED first for about 8 minutes before mixing them in their wet food, these are an easy way to give them much needed Omegas..Cats cannot get this easily, so adding these things are great!

 We do both with our kitties, they LOVE The sardines, and they are not a pricey item either..for $1.19 it's a nice treat for them and helps boost their immune systems too.

Hope this helps! I did not get my messages from anyone here because i changed my email and didn't realize I hadn't updated my profile here, but, now it is working! This is a nice site for cat lovers..

Lynn in IL

I haven't had any problems with giving my girls the DE mixed with their food. They devour it like normal. I haven't seen any scratching and that's a good thing, plus the sores on Zander's neck have completely healed. I will continue as long as it works.

What is it?

I just can't see where something that kills bugs by making them explode, or implode or whatever it does could be good to feed to a cat (food grade or otherwise).  I know I accidentally breathed some  in once when I was trying to put some down for the bugs and thought I had killed myself. Definitely won't be having any of that in my house anymore.

Stewball said:

What is it?

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It's the shells of fossilized algae.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth