Sukie is a wealth of information, but I will strongly disagree with her
conclusions on this one. The research she cites is related to airborne
dust, or shavings with the volatile organic compounds still intact. The
pellets that many of us have used for decades for litter have neither
of these.

Yes, there is sawdust when the litter gets wet and breaks down, but
it is not the fine aerosolized dust that is described in the articles.
Also, any pelletized wood is cooked and extruded at very high
temperatures, which boils off the volatile oils that cause problems
with untreated softwoods.

Our shelter, and many others, have used pellets literally for decades
with no significant increase in the kinds of issues cited. On the
positive side, I've yet to find anything which does as good a job at
keeping odors down, and it's cheap. ($6 for a 40 pound bag typically)

Kevin Farlee

[Posted in FML 7352]