Can corn based litter "go bad"?

viatel

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Hi all,

This has been bothering me for a while. One of my cat had recently started peeing right next to the litter box instead of in it. She still go #2 in the box with no issue. I took her to the vet and everything came back good. She's getting along with my other cat, she still eat and drink, play around, and doesn't seem any different.

The day she stopped going outside of the box is when I changed 1 of the box to clay litter. I've always used World's Best ever since they were babies and never had issues before. I like World's Best because clay litter dust gives me allergies. 

I tried to retrace what happened. The box is clean. I have 3 litter boxes. The only thing I could think of is when I ordered the litter from online, one of them came with a small hole. I didn't think much of it so I left that 1 in storage for a while. I think ever since I started using that 1, her problems came out. 

So my question is, can corn based litter go bad? Such as it being exposed to air for a long time could make it smell bad, turn stale, or something. 

My cats do like the clay litter more though. I started with only 1 litter box with clay and they both stopped using the other 2 corn litter boxes. They're all washed with new litter too. Even when the clay box is "full" they still only use that 1. For now I've changed them all to clay buy scooping them sets my allergies going crazy.
 

msserena

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It probably does smell different & cat's noses are way more sensitive than ours, so what you might not detect, they might & might not like it.

I found a non clay litter that's totally dustless, I've run into some breathing issues & stopped using Arm & Hammer Super Scoop cause the box is in the room where I sleep & every time they scratch, dust fills the air. I bought it at Walmart, it's called Fresh Results. It's very pine scenty when you first open the bag but it does wear off. Another one I just opened today is Nature's Miracle & there was no dust in that either. I don't know what either of them are made from but they're both light & airy.
 

Norachan

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I'm not sure about corn based litter, but the wood pellet litter I use sometimes gets mould growing on it. So if the litter has been in a bag but has been a little damp there is a chance that it smells kind of musty to your cats.
 

Columbine

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I have heard of Worlds Best litter going mouldy occasionally.[thread="300599"][/thread] It's certainly possible that a single hole in the bag caused changes of some sort in the litter. I use a pelleted bedding for my pony, and a hole in the bag can definitely make a difference - usually the damaged bag will be damp (as Norachan Norachan mentioned), and it'll often be musty or even broken down as a result.

I suggest you toss the damaged bag of litter, clean all the trays out again, and start over with a fresh bag. There's certainly no need to make yourself sick by using litter you're allergic to. If you ever get a damaged bag again, call the supplier and complain. You wouldn't accept a punctured/damaged bag of food, after all, so there's no need to accept litter with the same problem ;)
 
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viatel

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Thanks for all the feedbacks. I'll get another fresh bag of World's Best and see how that goes.
 
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