It can be. Eating indigestible matter, including cat litter, can cause an intestinal obstruction or constipation in a cat or kitten. Clay-based clumping litters contain sodium bentonite, which can swell when moisture is added, and form hard lumps immediately or over time.
Clumping litters are linked to a wide range of cat health problems including diarrhea, vomiting, kidney and respiratory problems, lethargy, etc. Clumping litter forms a hard, insoluble mass when it gets wet. It also produces a fine dust.
Clumping clay litters can be particularly dangerous to the digestive tract, creating a rock-like obstruction as the litter hardens. As a general rule, such litters are not recommended for kittens.
Some clumping litter is bad for cats. Naturally clumping litters like corn can produce mold growth. Breathing in clay and silica dust has been linked to respiratory issues in humans. And breathing wood dust can cause cancer.
One of the first causes of cat constipation is behavioral concerns. This happens when the litter box situation is less than ideal for your kitty. This could include having too dirty of a litter box, having a litter they don't like, or having multiple cats competing for the same litter box.
Clumping clay litter has been linked to vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal obstruction, and respiratory problems in cats. Ingestion of this litter can form a cement-like concretion of material in the stomach, leading to blockage of movement in the intestines.
Vet Treatment for Constipation in Cats
Effective treatment involves identifying and correcting the underlying disorder (if possible), removing the impacted feces, and preventing recurrences. For immediate relief of constipation, your veterinarian can give your cat fluids and/or an enema.
Cats tend to prefer unscented clumping cat litter that's medium-fine textured. Giving your cat some samples by putting litter boxes side by side with different litters can be a great way to determine which they prefer.
How Often Should You Change the Cat Litter? If you use a clumping litter, it's best to scoop the box daily and change it out completely at least monthly. If you have more than one cat, it may be best to change the cat litter more often, every 2-3 weeks.
Silica litter prevents bacteria with crystals that absorb urine and help dehydrate feces, making your cat's litter box too dry to sustain any growth. This helps prevent kidney problems and UTIs in cats. Environmentally, silica litters will biodegrade and are non-toxic, making them a better choice than clay.
Though many cats appear to prefer clumping litter because it is easier for them to push aside, some cats prefer non-clumping clay. Both clumping and non-clumping cat litters do produce some dust, although there are formulations of both types that are designed to decrease the amount of dust in the litter.
Clumping litters usually contain sodium bentonite, which is a natural clay. Even though sodium bentonite is considered to be an inert, non-toxic substance, many clumping litters form very hard, cement-like clumps which are not safe to be flushed as they may clog the plumbing in your home.
Intestinal blockages can look very similar to normal constipation. Your cat will have a difficult time defecating, it may appear to strain and vocalize in the litter box and it may also begin to vomit. Cats experiencing an obstruction also tend to refuse to eat, experience abdominal pain and are lethargic.
Both tofu and wood pellet litters are non-toxic to cats and humans, though there are some caveats: Any purpose made wood cat litter will be kiln-dried, which evaporates essential oils and phenols that are toxic to cats. If not kiln-dried (which is rare), wood pellets can pose some danger to cats.
You need enough litter for your cat to cover his or her waste, but it's easy to go overboard. If you're using too much litter, your cat will find a way to let you know—usually by displaying undesirable litter box behavior, like going outside the box.
Scoop waste daily. How often you replace the litter depends on the number of cats you have, the number of litter boxes and the type of litter you use. Twice a week is a general guideline for replacing clay litter, but depending on your circumstances, you may need to replace it every other day or only once a week.
Dr. Elsey's recommends completely changing the litter in your box every 4 weeks if you are using a clumping clay litter. Be sure to remove the clumps daily and top off with fresh litter to maintain a three-inch level. For non-clumping litter, we recommend changing the litter box every 7-10 days.
An extension of this problem is having too few litter boxes for your cats -- the rule of thumb is at least one more litter box than the number of cats in the house. Litter boxes should be scooped at least once or twice a day, and it's even better if you can get to it as soon as your cat has finished his business.
Vets often say that unscented clumping litter is best: “I always recommend unscented, clumping cat litter,” says Jim D. Carlson. “Scented litter is designed for humans, not cats. Felines have a strong sense of smell with 67 million scent receptors.
With clumping litter, scooping is easy because urine clumps into fairly solid chunks which can be scooped out while sifting the clean litter back into the box. Poop gets coated with the litter so that it doesn't stick to the scoop. The litter box should be scooped a minimum of twice daily, and more often if needed.
Mixing the two types of litter will result in greater difficulty scooping the box because the clumping properties of the clay litter are lessened from the non-clumping litter. This will cause you to empty the box more often, which will add more waste to the landfills and require you to purchase cat litter more often.
Affected cats usually strain unsuccessfully to defecate, and may cry in pain. Any feces passed are hard and dry. The cat may also show signs of lethargy, reluctance to eat, abdominal pain and distension, and vomiting.
You can try a few techniques to stimulate a constipated cat to poop. One option is adding more fiber to their diet. You can also encourage them to drink water by adding flavored broth, providing water fountains, or dripping faucets. A gentle massage around the belly can also help.
Treatment of constipation in cats involves making sure that an affected cat is well hydrated, the elimination of causative agents where possible, medical management using laxatives, enemas, and drugs that increase intestinal motility, dietary modification, and, in severe/unresponsive cases in which the colon becomes ...