Hazards of Cat Litter

Cats are extremely popular pets in the United States and many other countries worldwide. When asked why they chose to bring a cat into their homes and their lives, cat owners will often cite cleanliness and low maintenance. Cats are easier to take care of than dogs in this regard -- a few scoops of litter every few days is far easier than taking a dog out every few hours in inclement weather. However, some hazards are associated with cat litter that all cat owners should be informed about, for their own safety and that of their cats.

  1. Sodium Bentonite

    • Clay-based cat litters that clump around waste material for easy scooping removal are extremely popular with cat owners for their convenience and availability. However, clumping cat litters contain sodium bentonite, which may pose a risk to your cat's health. Sodium bentonite is the clumping agent in these cat litters, acting as a type of expandable cement to latch onto waste and clump together. A cat that accidentally ingests this substance, through licking its paws after using the litter box, for example, can suffer intestinal blockages when the litter expands in its stomach.

    Allergies

    • Some people are allergic to the silica dust in cat litter. Cat litter allergies are just like any other allergy in terms of the symptoms they produce. If you are allergic to cat litter, you may experience sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes. These symptoms typically worsen when you are in proximity to the litter box. Cats can be allergic to litter just as humans can, so if you see signs of sneezing, coughing, inflammation of the face or refusal to use the litter box, your cat may be allergic to the litter. Switching to a non-clay-based litter, such as pine litter, usually helps eliminate allergies to cat litter.

    Toxoplasmosis

    • The litter box can pose a significant threat to pregnant women. Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection that can be passed from cats to humans through feces. Symptoms of the infection in humans include fever and aching joints. Though the infection typically causes no lasting harm to humans, it can cause vision or hearing problems in unborn babies. For this reason, a pregnant woman should not clean her cat's litter box, to reduce the possibility of exposure to the infection.

    Avoidance Behavior

    • A litter box that goes too long without cleaning carries with it a certain aesthetic unpleasantness, both from its unsanitary appearance and the smell that often accompanies it. But aside from aesthetic objections, uncleaned litter boxes can be hazardous to a cat's behavior and the effect that has on your house. Cats are sanitary creatures, which means that if a cat's litter box is too unclean, it may resort to eliminating waste in another place, such as your carpet or your potted plants. This is called avoidance behavior, and luckily the solution is simple: Keep the litter box clean, and the cat will continue to use it without a problem.