Cat litter has always been shared as the most important thing to have in the house when you get a cat. It is generally said to have 2 cat litter boxes per cat. The question I have always asked myself is, is the litter toxic?
Is Cat litter toxic to humans and cats? Cat litter can cause a lot of allergies, can be harmful to people with autoimmune diseases, asthma, kids and pregnant women. Cats can ingest the litter which can cause some serious health issues.
I no longer use cat litter, as I feel it is very harmful to the cat. I also feel it is difficult to clean and maintain. I still do use cat litter in emergencies and will share a DIY homemade non-toxic cat litter.
Can Cat litter affect your health?
Cat litter can affect health over extended exposure. Ammonia fumes, bacterial infection, parasites can cause severe health issues. It is advisable to clean the litter often to avoid any health hazards.
| Problem | Cause | Symptoms |
| Ammonia fumes | made from Nitrogen and Hydrogen present in urine a faeces | Nausea, headaches, pneumonia |
| Bacterial Infection | Cat scratch fever, salmonellosis | |
| Parasites | Toxoplasma gondii | Flu with swollen lymph glands, muscle aches and pains, damage to brain, eyes |
| Hookworms | Abdominal pain, diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue and anemia | |
| Roundorms | Visceral larva migrans, Ocular larva migrans, Cutaneous larva migrans. – itchy, red, swollen skin |
To prevent any infections and health hazards here are a few precautions you can take.
- Remove cat faeces daily
- Use disposable litter boxes if you are introducing a new cat to the household
- Don’t let your cat to roam freely and to hunt
- Try not to feed raw meat
- Disinfectants won’t work in killing the parasite, it is advisable to invest in a steam cleaner such as this one on Amazon. This has antimicrobial protection.
Is smelling cat litter bad for you?
Scooping the litter box can cause dust to stir up. Through the dust, you might inhale Toxoplasmosis gondii. This has serious health hazards, you can refer to the chart above.
Ammonia gases formed can cause health issues especially for kids, and people with low immunity. Even though you might think that the odor absorbent litter will absorb all gases, it won’t.
The only solution is to clean the litter daily and sanitize the litter box once a week. Use boiling water to sanitize the litter box. It will kill all microorganisms.
Can dirty cat litter make you sick?
Cat won’t use the litter box if it smells.
UTI, bladder inflammation, and kidney blockage and failure
Check out these cat litter boxes