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Home→Cat Products→cat litter→Former Employee at Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter Plant Blows the Whistle on the Abrasive Nature of this Product

Former Employee at Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter Plant Blows the Whistle on the Abrasive Nature of this Product

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“Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter is made with perlite which is extremely abrasive…”

Perlite is also known as “volcanic glass”.

Below is an anonymous comment on another well-known article on the subject of Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter. I wrote the article in which I state that there is evidence indicating that it is dangerous because the fine dust that it produces is inhaled by cats and cat caretakers alike. Through users of this product, there is good evidence that it causes severe respiratory health problems in cats.

Tidy Cats Lightweight litter

Tidy Cats Lightweight litter

Although I cannot verify that the comment which I have reproduced verbatim below is genuinely by a former employee of Tidy Cats, it definitely looks it. Anybody is free to comment on it and do their own research on the subject.

In order to protect this website I would wish to state that the below comment is an allegation against Tidy Cats until proven absolutely by further evidence.

The Tidy Cats light weight litter is made with perlite. Perlite is extremely abrasive. It wears holes in metal pipes at the plant in a week.

They had to replace all kinds of equipment and use stronger alloys that can withstand the abrasion factor of this stuff. All the kitty litter, really, is hard on a respiratory system whether man or cat.

I developed asthma while working there before light weight litter, but the dust off this stuff made me cough blood. The guys that unloaded the perlite would wonder what this stuff was doing to them. If you look it up it’s supposedly just an irritant.

I would say real research needs to be done to see the effects on animals and people. I’m sure there are cats that have pulmonary issues that aren’t diagnosed so exposure to any dust can only aggravate that. Besides the perlite the litter also has scent added to it that will take your breath away if too much is added to the product.

Tidy Cat light weight litter itself is just perlite and bentonite then additives are added to it before packaging. The other light weight litters look different and I don’t know what the heck is in those. I just know about Tidy Cat because I worked where it is made.

Just one factory, that’s in Missouri, makes it. I gave some to my parents and I used the stuff I got from give away product and it was dusty and tracked. They are still working the bugs out to reduce dust and uncoated perlite, after all it’s still fairly new to the market.

If you read the comments on the other page about this product you will note that the underlying theme is that cats developed respiratory problems and, as I recall, there are instances of bleeding. If that is the case then you can see how this links up with the abrasive nature of the product as described on this page.

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Comments

Former Employee at Tidy Cats Lightweight Litter Plant Blows the Whistle on the Abrasive Nature of this Product — 27 Comments

  1. Pingback:Is bentonite cat litter safe? – PoC

  2. Pingback:What cat litter is best for kittens? – PoC

  3. sort of late here . I recently tried “Cat’s Pride” because it was lightweight. Within a week I noticed my cat’s fur was ratty and felt rough. Didn’t make the connection until his bowels started acting up. Poor guy, now almost $400 later he is still having problems, Vet found strong evidence of inflammation in his rectal mucosa. His coat is much better since I switched to sWheatone, but My judgement i still out on that. The grooming behavior of Cats can expose them to these sharp silica, and the stuff is hard to wash out of their fur.

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    • Thanks Barbara. I guess that you are saying that Cat’s Pride contains the same abrasive substance. I will use your article to do a short post on this.

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  4. I love that it is light weight, but I have decided today not to use it anymore. It is constantly stuck to our csts fur, it is all over our lsps when they jump up, but more importantly I had to clip chucks of it off my cats feet today. Her poor toes/pads were glued together with globs of litter. Very unhappy as this litter is so expensive and I can’t take it back

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  5. My healthy 5 year old cat developed asthma symptoms just a few weeks after I switched to lightweight litter! Dumped it and back to Dr Elseys Precious Cat litter!!

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  6. According to Snopes.com, the allegation is unproven. Remember…they didn’t say it was false, just unproven.

    Personally, I use a litter called “Cedarific” – it’s very tiny, soft cedar chips and my cats absolutely love it! No odor (except for a very soft, almost indistinguishable cedar scent), and no dust to fill the lungs of my babies or me. Cedar trees are not cut down for this litter and it is environmentally sound.

    When I first used it, the instructions on the bag suggested a 50/50 split with the old litter for the cats to become accustomed to the new. Yea, sure. When I put the Cedarific in their box, before even having the opportunity to add the old litter to it, the cats just jumped right in! What I also like about this product is that all one needs to do is scoop out the poo and add more litter to it. I only need to change the litter box weekly for two cats (urine cannot be scooped) – it’s pretty good.

    During adoptions, I always suggest that adopters never use the type of litter that creates any type of dust. If their lungs fill up with that junk, imagine what it’s doing to the little one(s) who are so close to the ground. Another alternative is Yesterday’s News cat litter. It’s made up of recycled newspaper and looks like pellets. No smell, no dust and you can tell when there’s poo to scoop out. When the cat(s) urinate, the pellets expand, so you know that too.

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    • I meant to add about Cedarific litter that the downside is that cats can track the tiny cedar chips on their paws. Solution? I spent $5USD for a boot tray (has treads on the tray) at our local discount store. The tray is in the bathroom with the litter box on top at the end. When the cats leave the box, there’s about six inches of boot tray tread that they have to walk on to get to the floor. The little treads clean their paws. Viola!

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    • Thanks Gail for sharing your thoughts which are always valuable. When my cat was using cat litter I always used wood-based litter as I believe it is better. It is almost dust free as far as I can tell. I would be very concerned about the dust from cat litter because it can be ingested silently over a period of time without the owner being fully aware of what is going on and then all of a sudden they have a health problem with their cat and they wonder why. It is dangerous in my opinion.

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  7. I have always used Arm & Hammer. . . I will not change from this. I have much success with it, and it hasn’t been an irritant to my cats or myself. Great article!1 Shared it on facebook as this is something VERY important to know. . ♥♥♥

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    • Thanks Diane. You are a wise cat guardian. I think this short article is important too. It is a PoC exclusive 😉 We don’t have many of those!

      I work about what manufacturers put in cat litter. The customer does not know and the cat does not tell us if he is suffering until we see it. This allows abuse of trust by the manufacturers.

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      • I have wondered about most of the other litters as well. . . but Arm & Hammer has been a staple in the US for ages. . . I even add some A&H baking soda to my litter — even though it already has it in it. . .with 10 cats — soon to be 12 again — I have zero odor problems!!!!

        Yes, I will be back up to 12 cats again. A good friend of mine passed, and I am taking 2 of her kitties — a bengal mix and another polydactyl. . . ♥♥♥

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          • Michael, I wish I was better organised!!! — seriously!! I just don’t have the time to do what I need — I work so darned much, plus, when I am home, I sleep a lot as a result of so much work! It’s a vicious cycle. But I do take GREAT care of the kitties, as they are the center of my life. They have full reign of the house, so everything is built around/for them!! They are fed the best food, and get the best litter. I feed them all Science Diet, plus a special kidney diet food from my veterinarian — and you already know about my litter situation. They are royalty in my place!! >>>and I think they know it too — MOL!!! But they dearly love their *Mom*. . . ♥♥♥

            Actually, I do need to get some stuff done — within the last few years, I’ve had some deaths in my family, and, as a result, have accumulated some of the *estate* stuff, and now I just haven’t had the time to get it all organised! I’ll get to it — it just takes time to get it all done. . .♥♥♥

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            • Well, I can sympathise on the time front. It can be tricky. It is good to be active, though, when you get older. I am 67. I don’t know your age but, as I said, keeping active is good.

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              • Michael, I am 55. But I truly dedicate my time to the cats. They come first — for anything! My stuff can wait. Their time is my most important thing to me — cuddling, nuzzling, loving — I am ALWAYS available to them! ♥♥♥

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        • I’ve never really liked A&H and have even tried the new ones. Actually, I’ve probably tried every litter marketed, even generics/store brands.

          My only choices now, and for a few years, is Fresh Step or Scoop Away. For me, they have the best odor control and have lasting value. I have 13 litter boxes to keep clean and now I only have to clean them twice a day. Plus, none of my cats have had any adverse affects and none have rejected it.

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          • Dee, I can understand that. I started using A&H when it first came out. I guess it’s what one gets used to using. I have always had great success with it. I prefer the Ultra Last, but will use Multi Cat as well. They have always worked great for me, and I’ve never had an odor problem!! God bless. . . ♥♥♥

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  8. I quit using it as soon as I saw how dusty it is!! I didn’t need to find out what’s in it. But, now doubly glad I quit it! Thanks for all the info here!

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  10. It seems from what I’ve been able to search, that both Perlite ( in the lightweight product) and what is used in regular Tidy Cat are both silica. Perlite is more amorphous, or without specific shape while the other is more crystalline ( more edges.)I will give you the MSDS of both. The Material Safety Data Sheet is what hospitals and industries refer to find out the hazards of a substance. It’s been changed to the SDS, but not everyone has done it yet. Tidy Cat, that is the regular mix – http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/prodtree?prodcat=Pet+Care&purpose=cat+litter&type=Cats It does have a rather frightening description of respiratory hazard. The silica is like DE, Diatomaceous earth.

    The Lightweight litter – http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/96/96ab7cb9-fc30-46a0-a92a-cbc30d9eafab.pdf
    has Perlite which has a more amorphous shape and appears to be less dangerous. You can read the respiratory warnings. But it’s more easily blown around. There is less crystalline ( or sharp) silica in this product.

    Personally, I have a small HEPA -like air filter by Holmes that picks up many small particles. It is really amazing how much is on the filter!

    There is a big difference between working constantly with either product in a factory and using it a few times a day. I’m not saying that both aren’t hazardous, but Perlite seems to be less.

    In a multi-cat household it’s beginning to be easier to just use the litter with the plastic litter bag and throw it out frequently rather than scoop.

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  11. Almost a year ago, this claim came to light when many consumers complained and some had their cats die from respiratory failure. All of that was ignored.
    It’s so hard to trust companies anymore.
    Sometimes, I just want to dig dirt/sand from outside to put in my boxes like I did as a kid before litter existed.

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