We all know how important cat litter is for our cats, but is it dangerous? The answer is yes if it is not handled correctly.
Your cat litter box should be cleaned out regularly, and you should not let more than one cat share the same litter box because it could lead to your cat not wanting to use it. You should also take extra care if composting cat litter.
Can I compost cat litter?
You can compost cat litter if it has been made from food byproducts or wood, but you must ensure that all cat faeces has been removed and placed in the bin before attempting to do so.
Composting cat litter is not a good idea, however, even if you think you have safely removed all the faeces, because diseases and parasites are present in cat faeces.
The most serious of these, Toxoplasma gondii, can cause human birth defects, so you must not handle cat litter if you are pregnant.
It is highly unlikely that domestic composting would ever reach the temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, which is required to kill off these diseases, and you are also in danger of your soil becoming contaminated. It is just not worth taking the risk.
If you wish to help the environment, you are better off choosing a cat litter that comes in recyclable packaging.
If, despite the risks, you still wish to attempt to compost cat litter, you should ensure that the compost is only used on a flower garden, and most definitely not on your vegetable or fruit gardens. You should also ensure that your children do not dig around it.
It is vitally important that you wash your hands thoroughly after handling cat litter.
Can I reuse cat litter?
Cat litter contains substances that make it able to absorb water. Washing the litter would remove that capacity, but would not remove the urine that the litter had already absorbed.
It would take a great deal of work on your part and would include using a vast number of chemicals that would probably be expensive to purchase.
It is much better to buy a cat litter scooper, and scoop out the used litter every few days, replacing the whole of the litter when it begins to smell of cat pee.
Your cat may even refuse to use the litter because, even though we are not able to smell it, cats will be able to because they have sensitive noses and can smell things we are unable to.
Disposing of cat litter
When disposing of cat litter it is best to place the litter into a bag before disposing of it in one of the outside bins. Once you have scooped the litter into the bag, it is important that you clean the scooper.
If you are concerned about the effects on the environment of placing the cat litter into a plastic bag before placing it into the bin, you could use a compostable caddy liner, which will help to reduce this effect.
It is imperative that you do not place used cat litter into your inside household bins because over time, the cat litter will begin to release a distasteful smell, which will permeate around your whole house and would be most unpleasant for both you and any visitors you may have.
You must never flush the cat litter down the toilet; because of the diseases present in cat litter, you could be placing other people in danger by disposing of these harmful bacteria down the drain because parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii cannot be killed during waste plant treatment.
You may also inadvertently block the sewage system because cat faeces is higher in density than human faeces.
Clean your cat’s litter box – it can be dangerous
Cat litter boxes should be placed away from the kitchen, scooped out once or twice a day, and completely changed twice weekly if using a non-clumping cat litter, or monthly if using a clumping cat litter. This involves completely washing out the litter box using soap and warm water and perhaps even a disinfectant. Cats deserve a sanitary place to do their business; after all, it is their toilet. We would not want to use a dirty toilet, so why should we expect out pets to?
If a cat litter box is not cleaned, your cat may try and hold the excrement in because they do not want to use the box. They could also get excrement on their paws, and if they then leapt up on to your kitchen worktop, the consequences could be disastrous. If you are interested in learning more about stopping your cats getting onto your worktops, please read my article: https://devotedtocats.com/how-to-keep-your-cat-off-the-worktop-tips-that-work/
If your cat is no longer able to hold in its business, it could begin to poop in other places around your house, perhaps even under your bed, which means you would have to constantly clear up after it, and your house would begin to smell awful.
If you have not had the chance to remove the excrement, your children could easily pick it up, not realising what it is, possibly becoming very ill because the bacteria and parasites present in the faeces could get on to their hands and then transferred to the food they eat.
Your cat could begin to suffer from diseases it may pass on to you
If your cat has to hold in its urine or faeces, this could lead to your cat suffering from diseases such as urinary tract infections such as bladder inflammation, urinary tract disease.
Other diseases your cat could suffer from are kidney blockage and kidney failure, the treatment of which could cost you time and money, and in some cases could end tragically for your cat.
Your cat’s dirty litter box could be bad for you and your children’s health too because ammonia fumes can be produced by the urine and faeces which have built up in the litter box. This could to you suffering from an overexposure to ammonia, which can cause dizziness and in some cases, pneumonia.
If your cat enters a dirty litter box, it could pick up fungal infections such as ringworm, a skin infection, and this could be passed on to you.
If your cat is seen to be suffering from ringworm, it should be quarantined immediately and your whole house would have to be cleaned and disinfected.
Other illnesses your cat could pick up and pass on to you are bacterial infections such as cat-scratch fever and salmonellosis, which can be traced back to cat pee and poop.
If your cat has a bacterial infection and scratches or bites you, it could pass on the infection to you. Some of the symptoms of cat scratch fever are fatigue, headaches, swollen lymph nodes or fever.
Salmonellosis can be passed on to you if you do not wash your hands thoroughly after cleaning out the litter box.
Can two cats share the same litter box?
It is not a good idea for two cats to share the same litter box because should one cat be ill, it could pass on the illness to the other cat through sharing a litter box.
Cleaning the litter box could become more difficult because if more than one cat is using a box, it will make it that much more difficult for you to clean it out enough for them to feel confident enough to use it, which could lead to them finding other places to do their business.
If one cat is more dominant than the other, it may ‘guard’ the litter box, which could mean that the less confident cat is never able to use the litter box. If you have one litter box per cat, it solves that problem because the dominant cat cannot guard both at the same time.
Some cats hate sharing a litter box, so you may find that one cat does its business outside of the box. To solve this problem, it is important to ensure that each cat has its own litter box.
Conclusion
Cat litter can be very dangerous if not handled correctly. You should be very careful if you choose to recycle or compost cat litter because of the diseases and parasites present in the litter.
You should always regularly clean out your cat’s litter box because many problems can arise if your cat decides not to use it – your cat and your family could suffer greatly if your cat were to suffer from a disease and pass it on to you.
Should your cat begin to do its business around your home, your house could smell awful, which is bad for you and for any guests that may come to visit. It is just not worth taking the risk.
Please be careful when handling cat litter – it can be more dangerous than you think!!