Silica Gel Crystal is another variety of Cat Litter that is very popular in the market.

Silica gel is  cat litter often touted as harmless to humans and animals alike. However, some people use crushed silica gel to kill bed bugs and cockroaches, apparently! Regarding silica gel, the following excerpts might serve to illustrate exactly how harmless it really is as cat litter.

We have been using “crystal” cat litter that is a silica gel for several months. It is far and away the best litter we’ve tried in terms of odor control and ease of use.

However there is a tremendous amount of dust emanating from the stuff. It is so heavy, I fill the box by taking it outside, holding the bag several feet above the box, and pouring slowly so the dust blows off in the breeze. I hold my breath too. If by chance I breathe it, intense coughing is the result.

I’ve also noticed a few times, that when the box is fresh, the cat will leave the box and wheeze a few times

That quote is from a real life user of silica gel cat litter.

(http://www.mothering.com/community/t/794980/silica-dust-in-cat-litter-dangerous)

And this one is from a real life case study on silica  in cat litter and its effect on cats :
(http://www.stuffweuse.com/Lungwash.html)

Inhaled silica dust has been implicated as a cause of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases in humans and several animal species. Electron microscopy and x-ray spectroscopy were used to identify and characterize dust particles from seven brands of commercially available clay cat litters and to identify, characterize and quantify particles in the lung wash fluid of six cats with and six cats without signs of respiratory disease. Dust particles from clay cat litter have an identifiable appearance and elemental ratio (primarily aluminum and silica) and the same pattern was observed in particles obtained from lung wash fluid. Significantly more silica particles were obtained from cats with than without respiratory disease. This suggests an association between presence of silica particles and respiratory disease, but it is unknown whether silica dust particles contribute to respiratory disease or accumulate because of interference with normal lung ciliary function.

Silica Gel Crystal Cat Litter

Silica crystals are filled with millions of micro pores that absorb the moisture. Silica gel increases the porosity of sodium silicate. This cat litter is made from silica dioxide, the type of sand found in quartz. This, mixed with oxygen and water, make silica gel. The crystals are super absorbent, and suck the moisture out of the kitty poo. No wonder it makes for an excellent cat litter.

Sodium Bentonite is not the only culprit in clay based cat litters. Clay, as a substance is harmful if inhaled in the dust form. Apart from that, in clay based clump cat litter, silicon constitutes most of the dust particles. And that is not a healthy situation for either the human members of the household or the feline one that is using the cat litter.

The possible carcinogenic property of silica and the disease Silicosis probably should not be taken lightly. The blue colour often found in silica cat litters that indicates that the litter is fresh (and turns pink when fully abosrbed) is created by Cobalt Chloride, once again ‘possibly carcinogenic’ to humans and definitely hazardous to aquatic life and the environment in general. Cobalt Chloride free Silica Gel is being made available in the market for that very reason though not as cat litter . So far, we have not found any cat litter that advertises itself as being silica gel crystal without the ‘possible’ potential threat. Please feel free to post a comment if you are aware of an environment friendly and non-threatening silica gel cat litter brand. It may be a simple move to switch to organic cat litter, since organic alternatives to silica gel are abundantly available in the market.

Cat owners, if they were aware of the properties of silica gel cat litter, would surely check out these organic alternatives.

If you are convinced by now that there is more to silica gel cat litter than meets the eye and ear,

Please click on the buttons below to encourage people to find out the truth about silica gel cat litter.

RESOURCE/REFERENCE:
GREENMEDINFO.COM | TIPPEDEARCLAN.WORDPRESS.COM | EHOW.COM | MOTHERING.COM | STUFFWEUSE.COM | WIKIPAEDIA.ORG | COBALTCHLORIDE.NET | CONSERVATIONRESOURCES.COM