Should I Worry?

[Squall]

Well first of all let me say thank you to everyone who has been posting here.

its the first time i post a message but i have been reading for the last 3 weeks and it helped me a lot..

i have been diagnosed with celiac 3 weeks ago and you people are really helpfull.

oh ok so my question is this..i have 6 cats at home ( yes i know 6 cats is a lot but hey its easier to live with than another human being if you ask me..)

and they eat cat food wich contains gluten...now maybe im freaking out but should i worry about cross contamination when i pet them since they wash themselve a lot...oh and should i change my microwave too? i did trow out my toaster and everything that ever touched gluten but i still have my old microwave....

anyway i know it may sound kind of silly but im a lil paraoid right now haha..

thanks.

p.s forgive my bad english im not used to writing it

[Guest nini]

I live with three cats and a dog and they all eat gluten containing foods... I just wash my hands after petting them or feeding them, and don't let them lick me on the face. There are pet foods out there that don't contain gluten if you are really worried, but I'm extremely sensitive and it doesn't bother me. I did go out and buy them all gluten free foods at first, but they hated them, and refused to eat. Oh well.

Also, a thorough cleaning of your microwave should be sufficient. If you have any non stick pans that have any scratches in the surface you will want to replace those as gluten can hide in the cracks, if you have any wooden cutting boards or spoons, replace those too. Also collanders for draining pasta (these are really hard to get clean)...

you are not being silly or paranoid, this is all just part of the process! Eventually you will get the hang of it, and you will become more comfortable with things. Three weeks is still really early, so just hang in there, it will get better!

[plantime]

Welcome to the board! I have 3 cats, and I buy them glutenfree food, that way I don't have to worry about it. I wouldn't throw out the microwave, just clean it very well.

[Squall]

thank you for the quick reply and the nice comments

i will clean my microwave then ..nice to know i dont have to buy a new one...and i dont have to worry about pan ,spoons or knife i throw them already..i read about crosscontamination on this board in fact..my doc never talked to me about that.....

i dunno what to do with the cats food ..ill see if i can find gluten free foods for them ..but i dont want them to hate me lol...i wish to be extra carefull and wash my hands every time i touch them but they like to cuddle a lot and im a lil scared oh well..

and its nice to be here thank you

[popoki321]

Hi, I'm new too and have a million and one questions.

I have 4 cats and I didn't even think about getting contaminated from them. I guess I was only thinking in terms of the gluten in food

Is it possible that some people are more sensitive than others? I'm just curious if it's possible to have a mild case of Celiac where touching something with gluten would not bother you. Is that possible?

I'm just wondering how severe my case is.

[Rusla]

I have two cats, one who likes to kiss me like I kiss her. The only way I get glutened is from the litter box because all clay and clumping liters that do not flush have wheat in them to keep the smell down. I wear gloves and a mask to clean the box and then wash right after. Their food is not a problem for me, as I don't plan on eating it.

[jerseyangel]

I have a cat (as you can see!) and he eats food with wheat in it. He's 14, and I really don't want to change his food. I just be sure to wash my hands after feeding him. I use Scoop Away cat litter, and called the Clorox Pet Co. to see if the product had any wheat in it. I was told there was no wheat in it--just clay, and 2 other things--I can't remember them now--one was for odor. I posted the exact answer at the time, so it's here somewhere! Although there are litters that have wheat in them--Scoop Away is a safe one.

[psawyer]

Be careful of sweeping generalizations. Not all cat litter has wheat. Not even most does.

I buy literally tons of cat litter. January 31 was a small order. Only 2144 pounds that week. Most of that litter is wheat free. The unscented clay formulas that I carry in my store are all just 100% pure clay. If there is a scent added, it could be wheat based, but that is not usually the case.

World's Best Cat Litter is made from corn and is wheat free and flushable.

Swheat Scoop is made entirely from wheat, so I strongly urge you to stay away from that brand.

There is another grain-based litter recently available in the US which is made from barley, and is also not a good choice for a home with a celiac. I have not seen it in Canada yet, and

Using gloves when working with litter is sensible, although personally I don't. I just wash thoroughly immediately afterwards.