Do You Use Clumping Litter for Your Cats? Beware!

Since many dog lovers are also cat lovers, I thought I should share what I learned today.

This morning's e-mail brought a sad message from Nicole at Kent County Animal Rescue - and along with it a warning for those with kittens... Here's the story in Nicole's words:

"Lately we have lost a few kittens from sudden death. We had come to the conclusion it was some kind of sickness from birth or other illness but last night after spending a few hours trying to save yet another one I realized that the vomit contained wet cat litter.. So i went to read up on it and here is what I have learned..."

"Do NOT use clumping litter for a young kitten! Use pellet-style litter until the kitten is at least eight weeks old. Caution about clumping litter: Ingesting sodium bentonite can be harmful or fatal to your cat. Your cat may ingest the litter when cleaning her paws. Litter containing Sodium Bentonite should be avoided, especially for small kittens. They have small crystals that once inhaled will expand in their lungs or if eaten will expand in their intestines."