John Rich Wrote:
>From:    John Rich <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Litter...
>".....Now I know there are "many" qualities of litter, so some may be
>acceptable, where others aren`t.  Due to money being tight,(like I have
>to tell anyone about that!(HA!)), I`ve been using "tidy cat Scoop", no
>fragrence, no baking soda, just dustless & hard clumping!..& yeah, the
>boxes are cleaned twice a day.......
 
Hello John-
 
Many years ago 1998 or so- I was writing a product review column for
Ferrets Mag... some may remember - some may not- Litter was an annual
topic and I did personal review MANY litters.  The jist is this - on
clumping litters- if your ferrets are older and do NOT snorkle, rub their
chins etc., in it it may work fine- HOWEVER with ANY of the clumping
litters there are grave potentials for ferrets.  Young ferrets or ill
ferrets who bury their nose, eyes etc into it can get serious health
challenges when the clumping agent adheres to areas with body fluids :
eye mucosa, tears, nasal drainage, , etc., If swallowed you can imagine
the peril.
 
With ferrets being so low to the ground by design there are far greater
risk to plugging tear ducts, anuses, and nasal channels but if your
ferrets are older & wiserr these risks may not apply to you.
 
With regard to allergies many perfumes pose risks in addition to the risk
of dust clinging to tthe lung villa which could render an irreversible
respiratory condition.
 
I hope this helps
 
Alicai Drakiotes
www.ferretwise.org
 
PS- I have a home full of old personal ferrets ( 5 years plus) they do
not go into our cat box which has a clumping litter in it...but if we
brought a young ferret in I would change the litter in a heartbeat!
[Posted in FML issue 5210]