Scoopable Cat Litter

The majority of cat owners use some type of scoopable cat litter made of clay.
Unfortunately, some clay litters are a little less friendly than we would like, on our little friends and us as well. In this post we will not discuss all clay litter, only clumping clay litter.

Clumping scoopable cat litter made of clay has a natural occuring ingredient in it called sodium bentonite. Bentonite will swell up to 15 times it's original size when it comes into contact with a liquid. This is what causes the litter to clump together. This makes it a very convenient scoopable cat litter, but it also has it's downsides as well.

Cats will most likely inhale dust off of the litter, and will therefore inhale the sodium bentonite.
They will also most likely clean their feet after leaving the litter box. Their feet may have clumps of the litter on them when they clean them. We all know what happens when something goes in to a cats mouth... they swallow it. The sodium bentonite isn't really toxic at all. The problem is the fact that clumping may occur inside the cat's intestines if swallowed, forming a mass, which has swollen since being swallowed . This could cause dehydration by absorbing fluids from the body. Inhaling the dust could also cause issues inside the lungs of the cat, being that lungs are moist. Lots of litters now advertise "Low Dust" or "No Dust", and I would advise on buying those over the 50 cent bags, which are 99% dust.

Don't let this completely scare you from using this kind of litter. People have been using it since the early 1980s. Just keep things in mind such as: Keep your litter clean by emptying out the clumps, check your cat's feet for stuck litter after using the litter box, and never allow your cat or dog to eat the litter.