Wheat Based Kitty Liter?

[gretchen]

Hi,

I have been reading through some of the posts and noticed the mention of wheat based kitty liter. I would have never thought to check my cats kitty liter for wheat? I will need to look at the label the next time I do my grocery shopping. Does anyone have any suggestions on a safe kitty liter to use? I can see how using a wheat based kitty liter could be problemsome as the cat of the house can contaminate many surfaces.

Also, I am looking for safe shampoos, lotions, laundry soaps, dish soaps, etc. Currently my husband (diagnosed with Celiac in November) is using suave body lotion and suave body wash. The shampoo in the house is a brand of herbal essence. I recently bought Tide laundry soap because I heard it was gluten free. I am having a difficult time to find if these are gluten free as I find the label reading on such products much more difficult than food labels. Does anyone have any suggestions or resource information?

Thanks, Gretchen

[jerseyangel]

Hi,

I have been reading through some of the posts and noticed the mention of wheat based kitty liter. I would have never thought to check my cats kitty liter for wheat? I will need to look at the label the next time I do my grocery shopping. Does anyone have any suggestions on a safe kitty liter to use? I can see how using a wheat based kitty liter could be problemsome as the cat of the house can contaminate many surfaces.

Also, I am looking for safe shampoos, lotions, laundry soaps, dish soaps, etc. Currently my husband (diagnosed with Celiac in November) is using suave body lotion and suave body wash. The shampoo in the house is a brand of herbal essence. I recently bought Tide laundry soap because I heard it was gluten free. I am having a difficult time to find if these are gluten free as I find the label reading on such products much more difficult than food labels. Does anyone have any suggestions or resource information?

Thanks, Gretchen

Hi Gretchen,

There are a couple brands of cat litter that are based on wheat but most are not. I use Scoop Away--it's mostly clay.

Suave will list any gluten on the label, so all you have to do is read those. Tide is gluten-free, also so you're ok there.

[gretchen]

Hi Gretchen,

There are a couple brands of cat litter that are based on wheat but most are not. I use Scoop Away--it's mostly clay.

Suave will list any gluten on the label, so all you have to do is read those. Tide is gluten-free, also so you're ok there.

Wow! Thanks for the quick reply. I currently use Arm & Hammer Super Scoop for kitty liter...maybe I will change to the scoop away to be on the safe side. Thanks so much for the info. I am really trying to get the house totally gluten free to prevent any contamination.

Gretchen

[psawyer]

Arm & Hammer Super Scoop is safe. We use it.

The principal one to avoid is Swheat Scoop - it is made from wheat as the primary ingredient. It works very well, but for obvious reasons I won't have it in the house.

Other than Swheat Scoop, just about any unscented litter is likely to be safe. Also, there is one other that I don't have details on (it is not available in Canada), and it is similar to Swheat Scoop but made from barley.

[missy'smom]

We use an unscented one from Petsmart called Exquisicat. It's clay based and scoopable.

[gretchen]

Arm & Hammer Super Scoop is safe. We use it.

The principal one to avoid is Swheat Scoop - it is made from wheat as the primary ingredient. It works very well, but for obvious reasons I won't have it in the house.

Other than Swheat Scoop, just about any unscented litter is likely to be safe. Also, there is one other that I don't have details on (it is not available in Canada), and it is similar to Swheat Scoop but made from barley.

Thanks, I really appreciate the info. So much to learn it can be very overwhelming.

Gretchen

[Janessa]

Clay based litters are the worst for your cat and the environment, there are tons of chemicals, your cats can swallow some when they clean themselves and the clay rocks are not a sustainable material. Worlds Best Cat Litter is made from corn and biodegradable (and clumps) there are also recycled paper litters and pine litters

[2kids4me]

There are a number of cat litter types available. The recycled newspaper and pine ones are good - we use them in our clinic. The scoopable ones are the most likely to have wheat in them - as mentioned - there are "gluten free" scoopable litters with a sand like quality

The one caution is that cats can be picky about the "substrate" used for litter. It is one of the big causes of litter box avoidance - then they pee or poop outside the box. It is related to the 'feel" of it when they dig - some cats love the sand but avoid pelleted littler, others may prefer pelleted types and avoid clay based or scoopable types. Many cats could care less.

A sign that your kitty doesnt like the substrate is failure to bury the poop / avoiding the box- they poop and get out of the box. Normal behavior is for cats to bury it. Some cats perch on the edge of the box and let it drop in - again because they dont like the feel of the litter choice on their feet.

Just some little tidbits of info in case any cat owners are having issues with cats when they change litter.

Placement of the box can be crucial too - if the box is in a furnace room (or near it) and the furnace kicks on when they are using the box- the noise is then associated with a "scare" and they will avoid the litter and pee elsewhere. Cats with urinary tract infections often pee in the bathtub or on bedding. It is partly related to feeling pain when they pee - and they associate pain with the litter box and thus avoid it.

Nothing like cat psycology

Sandy

[Celiaction]

Reading this Cat Litter Blog led me to check on my own brand - Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat. I was told it is pure sodium bentonite. It is more reasonably priced, clumps great and the "feel" is just right for cats. You can find it online at www.preciouscat.com. There may be other reasons to avoid clay litter from what I see here though.

David