Dr. Elsey's Senior Cat Litter

Discussion in 'Pets & Critters' started by Ken Anderson, Jan 11, 2019.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Cutie, as you know, is 28 years old now. As, no doubt, do some of us, she has trouble bending. Subsequently, I have to help her groom herself, which is generally nothing more than wiping her down with some pet wipes from time to time, and combing or brushing her out to keep her fur from matting, particularly on the stomach. She tries and does pretty good wherever she can reach.

    However, she also tends to get cat litter stuck in her paws. Maybe that's a common problem with cats, but that they usually clean them out before anyone notices But I have to clean her paws out every once in a while. Chunks of litter in her paws must make it painful for her to walk.

    A bigger problem is when those chunks of cat litter aren't clean. Since she has some kidney problems already, and kidney failure is the most common cause of death in senior cats, I want to make her as free from bacteria as possible.

    A few months ago, I decided to try some cat litter especially made for senior cats. Dr. Elsey's Senior cat litter is hugely expensive, per pound, as compared to other cat litters, at $20 or more for eight pounds of cat litter.

    What I found is it lasts a long time. It absorbs urine and dries out the fecal matter quite effectively, so none of the litter is removed with the fecal matter, and there is almost no smell involved. The urine is absorbed within the crystals. At the point where they can absorb no more, they become discolored and, although the litter doesn't form clumps, as with clumping litter, they cling together at that point so that they can be easily removed.

    I generally, scoop the litter from the boxes every morning. I think I could let this stuff go longer than that, but there's no point in it.

    Another big plus is that it doesn't seem to stick to Cutie's feet. Right now, I still have to clean them sometimes because I am still using another kind of litter, but I don't see that any of the Dr. Elsey's stuff is sticking to her feet.

    I think I'm going to switch to this stuff entirely. Neither of the cats minds it and, given that it lasts a lot longer than the other stuff, maybe it's not so expensive after all. They recommend using half of what might be used in another type of litter, but I think it works better when I use more than that.

    The litter uses silica gel, so I was initially worried about that, given that the little packets of silica that is packaged with a lot of stuff that you buy are labeled as toxic, but it seems that the culprit is the stuff with cobalt chloride, which this cat litter doesn't have. Another problem with silica gel is with inhalation, but this uses amorphous silica gel, which doesn't have crystalline silica and doesn't cause silicosis.

    As long as it's offered from Amazon.com with free shipping, I'll be using it. Petco carries it but its more expensive from Petco. It's not eligible for Amazon Prime but it is still offered with free shipping. Hopefully, that will hold.

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    Last edited: Jan 12, 2019
  2. Patsy Faye

    Patsy Faye Supreme Member
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    Well done Ken, I'm sure Cutie appreciates your efforts - I know I would
     
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  3. Lulu Moppet

    Lulu Moppet Veteran Member
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    You really love your cats, Ken. As a cat lover, thanks. I currently have 2 cats. They enrich my life in so many ways.
     
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  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    They do. I have almost always had a cat, and I have had cats from Cutie's family for more than half my life, and have had Cutie for well over a third of my life. Sometimes I consider that if I had treated myself the way I do my cats, I might not have had cancer twice.
     
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