Tequita asked about the possible dangers of clumping litters to cats and/or
ferrets.  I have THREE personal experiences with these dangers.  In all
cases these were rescue ferrets who had been kept on clumping litter (the
powdery/sandy kind).  I do not (and never will) use clumping litters for
my ferrets.
 
Ferret #1 (female kit about 10 weeks) was having difficulty pooping.
Palpation and ultrasound showed lumps in her intestine, fortunately close
enough to the anus to be extracted without surgery.  It was clumping litter
that had swollen and adhered to the intestinal wall.  The vet and I assumed
that particles of the litter had worked their way up when she did her "butt
wipe" in the litterbox.
 
Ferret #2 (male about 5 years) was having blockage symptoms (occasional
vomiting and small poops).  Palpation and X-ray showed a floating ball
in the stomach that would sometimes block the entrance to the intestines.
Surgery revealed that the ball was a gob of clumping litter with an
interesting thick gel coating on the outside that allowed it to slide
around in the stomach and pick up more particles as they were ingested.
However, it was too big to pass (about the size of a grape).
 
Ferret #3 (female about 4 years) was having severe nasal problems.
Ultrasound revealed what looked like a tumor in her nasal passages, with an
extreme amount of inflammation and infection.  Despite massive antibiotic
therapy, it was too late for this little rescue.  Necropsy revealed not a
tumor, but clumping litter that had been inhaled.  The piece lodged in the
nasal passage and began to swell, bursting the nasal passage and allowing
infection to set in and spread to the brain.
 
I think there are plenty of safe litters on the market so you don't have to
use clumping litters (my favorite is Gentle Touch, which is an aspenwood
pellet).  Does anyone know anything about the new silica pearl litters and
whether they would be safe for ferrets?
 
- Erika and the Eleven Fuzzballs
[Posted in FML issue 2932]