When I went to a pet product distributor convention last year, many of the
manufacturers of silica-based beaded/pearl litters were there demonstrating
their wares to potential retail buyers.  I had lots of fun seeing how
absorbent the material was in the test displays.  In one test, the
representative had me dip my hands in water and then swish my hands around
in a bucket of pearls.  My hands were quickly dry!  It was amazing stuff --
until I accidentally touched my eye.  The residue on my finger immediately
absorbed all the moisture from my eye - I could not blink, because my
eyelid was stuck to the top of my eye.  The other untouched eye began
tearing up immediately, but every bit of moisture in the affected eye was
sucked up.  It was an extremely uncomfortable experience for several long
minutes.
 
I concluded (as did the representative), that these types of litters are
NOT good for ferrets, because ferrets stick their faces into litter quite
often to dig or play, thus exposing damp mucous membranes in the nose and
eyes to this stuff.  Furthermore, ferrets wipe their butts, and I hate to
think of the discomfort of dry tissues in that area.  I'm sticking with
aspen or denatured pine pellets -- they have worked great for me and my
ten furballs.
 
- Erika Matulich and the Terrific Ten
[Posted in FML issue 3297]