Giving diatomaceous earth to my cats?

I recently bought a container of diatomaceous earth, labelled food grade, from my local farming store, to give to my cats to treat for fleas and worms, as the stuff from the vet is too expensive, or one cat always spits the pills out, and giving the worms back to the other cats. I have a few questions...

The vet also claimed the stuff was highly toxic, and dangerous to give to cats, she said it's fine for chickens, but not cats or dogs. I'm thinking maybe she was referring to the non-food grade, since this stuff has no chemicals in it, it can't possibly be toxic.

I plan to put the DE on their dry food, as one cat doesn't like wet. I read to mix it into the food well so it sticks and gives the cats less of a chance to breathe it in when eating. But I was also wondering if it's okay if some cats get more than others? Since some of my cats eat much more than the others. 

Also, if I put this on their fur to help with fleas, when they clean themselves, is there not a chance they will breathe it in then, as well? Do I brush the stuff off later or something to keep them from possibly inhaling it? 

A couple of my cats have dry skin, from allergies, such as fleas.... So I know this will get rid of the fleas, but it may make their skin even more dry, what do I do to keep the skin from drying out? They hate all types of bathes, can't stand getting wet.

I also have one cat who is eating Urinary SO food from the vet, for crystals he has once, could this product interfere with his health because of this?

What have your experiences with the product been? Have there been any cases where this product has harmed your cats? I want to be 100% confident when I start using the product on my animals.

Thanks in advance for any answers or help you can give.  

I used DE around and on my carpets when Ritz had a case of fleas. And bombed my place. And put Advantage or Revolution on.
I also put DE in wet food for the feral cats I feed. They didn't touch it.
I understand it is non-toxic and won't hurt the cat if they eat it, but it can cause breathing problems if inhaled.
Here is an article about using it for de-wormer.

Regarding skin allergy: another reason I'd be inclined to use Advantage or Revolution; I would think the DE would make the skin even dryer.
Regarding whether it would be a problem if some cats ingested more than others: probably not, unless we're talking about kittens.
Good luck.
PS: are these cats outdoors? Where are they getting worms from?
PPS: you posted in Nutrition. You might get more responses if you posted in Health.

I may be completely wrong here, but I thought you killed fleas by putting the DE in the catbeds and on carpets, and in really bad cases by rubbing it on the cat. I have never heard of actually feeding it to the cat. The whole point of getting the food grade is that it won't hurt them if they ingest a small amount when cleaning themselves or breathing a little in.

DE works by attacking the skeletons of the fleas, which are external. The tiny crystals of DE are limestone, from ancient seashells, that are ground up into a fine powder. So it can't attack the fleas from inside the cat - it has to be used externally, so the sharp edges of the crystals break the shells of the parasites. I have never heard if it used for worms, but I would think if the cat had to eat enough to kill worms that the DE, even food grade, would also scratch the intestines.

That makes more sense to me than what I wrote!
I know Rx prescription flea medicine is expensive and some cats have an extreme sensitivity to them, but I think it is wise to in this case use the Rx form. You can get it cheaper online than at your vets.
And in no cases should you use over the counter flea medication; some have caused serious illnesses.

jennyranson said:

I may be completely wrong here, but I thought you killed fleas by putting the DE in the catbeds and on carpets, and in really bad cases by rubbing it on the cat. I have never heard of actually feeding it to the cat. The whole point of getting the food grade is that it won't hurt them if they ingest a small amount when cleaning themselves or breathing a little in.

DE works by attacking the skeletons of the fleas, which are external. The tiny crystals of DE are limestone, from ancient seashells, that are ground up into a fine powder. So it can't attack the fleas from inside the cat - it has to be used externally, so the sharp edges of the crystals break the shells of the parasites. I have never heard if it used for worms, but I would think if the cat had to eat enough to kill worms that the DE, even food grade, would also scratch the intestines.

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I feed my cat DE. It works in the same way for worms but internally. It's just a powder so it's not sharp enough to scratch intestines. But for microscopic parasites it cuts through the exoskeleton and the parasite suffocates. For fleas, it has to be used externally.

dillydolly what kind of dosage do you use?

i've heard of many people using it to get rid of worms and any other parasites that may unknowingly be in the cat. 

I feed 1/4 of a teaspoon at the moment as she's a kitten. Fully grown cats should get 1/2 a teaspoon. I think it does depend where you get it from though. I emailed the woman from the place I buy it from and she was really helpful.

I also am a bit concerned about my cat who is prone to urinary crystals/blockage food grade DE.  Diatomaceous earth is composed of silica which converts to calcium--something you don't want to overfeed a cat with this medical condition.  I wouldn't hesitate sprinkling it on his bedding, but I prefer to use a flea comb with him and minimize the dusting.  I do use it on my other cats--but am cautious around the cat with chronic issues (who is also on the urinary s/o diet).

I asked my vet if I could give my cats diatomaceous earth food grade for potential worms but she said that there have not been enough studies done on it. I would like to be able to give them some but I am too worried about the potential unknown health risks. For fleas I did an internet search and found a company called Wondercide that makes all natural flea sprays for dogs and cats. I took the flea spray to the vet and she approved its use. One of my cats will let me spray her every time but the other one will try her best to run away. I have an easier time with her when I use the new peppermint scent. Both cats seem to like that scent the best. I also spray the house sometimes with the larger size flea spray. I have found there to be no fleas if I spray them twice a week and often I spray them just once a week. They still have no fleas then but I might find a couple of fleas flying around a sink.

My Krista gets a supplement with DE in it if her stools get loose. But she also hates pretty much any supplement going in her food. We’ve had many arguments over finishing a plate to get the medicine inside her.

Here’s been our game changer. I have a small tray (about the size of a 3 oz can but square) that I mix the powders up (enzymes, probiotic, the one that has DE in it when she needs it) in a little bit of CBD oil (a half mL olive oil without the CBD would work just fine here) into a tight slurry that can be scraped to one edge of the tray. Then just in front of that edge, I lay down a ribbon of NaturVet Cat-Cal (Tomlyn NutriCal would probably work just the same) and make sure that slurry is sticking to the gel without mixing it. I don’t want her to taste the powders until she’s already committed to the gel. Finally, I add a touch of tuna water and maybe a piece of tuna in front of the gel to get her to come to the tray. I don’t want the powder slurry to mix with the tuna water because if she smells funky tuna water, the jig is up. That’s why I slurry the powders in oil and keep separated from water with the gel. She starts with the tuna water, discovers the gel, and just about the time she tastes her medicine, she’s also got a mouthful of her favorite cat gel. She wants to protest, but c’mon, it’s cat gel! She takes a tray like this with every meal and most of the time, she’s done when she’s finished that ribbon which is why it’s important to hide as much of the medicine slurry stuck to its backside as possible. She’s usually not going back to finish the tray after she tastes the meds.

This method results in her eating about 90% of the medicine I put out before she’s even tasted her food yet. We no longer argue about eating all her food to get her medicine.

Now we argue about her eating all her food because it is her medicine. She’s a pancreatitis kitty and needs to keep her nutrition up. But at least I’m not “poisoning” her food anymore. (Her words. Probably.)

Action shot. The blue ridged tray is her med tray. She’s probably chewing away at the gel right here.