Kittens And Sand As Litter

[Kate_the_Great]

hi there I am living on a small island in SE Asia and rescued a mama and her kittens. The kittens are just about 5 weeks old now and starting to poop and pee without mama cleaning it for them.
I use sand for Mama for litter and obviously it is fine, but I just tried putting a smaller box out for the kittens and putting one of them in the box and they started eating it.
What should I do? Will the sand harm them? I'm thinking if these cats were not saved by me and just out being Ferral they would have eaten sand, no?


Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Kate_the_Great]

Just to be clear I'm talking about sand, not cat litter or clay, etcetera.

 

[Sarthur2]

Discourage them from eating it by taking a little paw and showing them how to dig. They learn very quickly!

You can also remove them to the food bowl instead when they try to taste the sand.

Thank you for rescuing them!

 

[Kate_the_Great]

Discourage them from eating it by taking a little paw and showing them how to dig. They learn very quickly!

You can also remove them to the food bowl instead when they try to taste the sand.

Thank you for rescuing them!

But is it dangerous if they eat it? Will it pass through their system?
Thank you for such a quick response!

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, small amounts should pass through. Sand is more permeable than clumping litter.

Hopefully they have not eaten large amounts?

 

[Kate_the_Great]

Yes, small amounts should pass through. Sand is more permeable than clumping litter.

Hopefully they have not eaten large amounts?

No, not far as I've seen.
Thank you so much! Very helpful!