Dear Uncle Matty: My neighbor keeps telling me that I should not let my cat use kitty litter because it is dangerous to her health. Well, if I don't have a litter box, the house could be dangerous to my health. Is litter going to harm my cat? I'd like to get some "litter-al" answers. Thanks for your help.
—Bonnie W., Miami
Dear Bonnie: Before the mid-1940s, there wasn't any kitty litter. Of course, cats were not as pampered as they are today, and they all went outside for their potty breaks. According to Deborah Straw, author of "Why Is Cancer Killing Our Pets" (Healing Arts Press, 2000), "There are two major problems with many clay-based and clumping litters. The two ingredients in the majority of them are sodium bentonite and quartz silica (sand). Both have led to diseases and to death."
Sodium bentonite is interesting. It is added to a lot of the clumping litters. Marina Michaels said in Cat Fancy magazine that this stuff is like an expandable cement that, when wet, swells to 15 times or more its dry size. What happens when a cat or rabbit ingests some of this? After using the litter box, cats clean their paws. If that isn't bad enough, the sand used in clay litters creates a dust when poured, stirred and scratched. It is called quartz silica, and according to Straw, the International Agency for Research on Cancer says that this substance from occupational sources should be classified as carcinogenic to humans.
So are there alternatives? Yes, and they are carried in some pet stores and some "natural" stores. There is everything from pulverized corncobs to pellets of newspaper. There are cedar and pine shavings and organic vegetable products. Start looking, and in the meantime, check the ingredients of the litter you are currently using. Any plain, old traditional kitty litter is much safer than a clumping litter. If you have a lot of patience, there's a new product on the market that is a cat-friendly toilet seat, and you can train your kitty to use the toilet and a special flush button. Or you can call the manufacturer of the kitty litter you are using for more information.
Dear Uncle Matty: You have said many times that a dog that growls is giving you a warning. Well, when my two children play with Fawn, our yellow lab, she growls sometimes, and the children just laugh. We think that it is normal and funny for her to growl and that she is asserting herself. She has never bitten anyone.
—Charles W., Omaha
Dear Charles: I'll say it again: Growling is a warning. It is not the same as a friendly pant. Make sure your dog doesn't have a condition like hip dysplasia or another physical problem. Take her to a veterinarian. Your children may be roughhousing with her, and this may be causing your dog pain. But chances are, this dog is exhibiting signs of aggression, and this is not funny. In a flash, a growling dog can leap to biting, which can injure and traumatize to a degree that lasts a lifetime.
Ask yourself this question: If the dog were not yours and you were visiting this canine and its family for the first time, would you let your children play with this dog? I think your answer would be "no." If you say "yes," then you could be accused of child endangerment, and that's no laughing matter.
The best defense is adequate education about aggressive dogs. There is a complete, informative department on my Web site about aggression. Visit www.unclematty.com, and enter the "Training Center." Click on the signpost section titled "Aggressive Behavior Information." Pay particular attention to the signs of aggression and the types of aggression. I can't imagine anyone reading this information and ignoring a growling family dog.
WOOF!
—Uncle Matty
Dog trainer Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis is co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and host of the PBS series "WOOF! It's a Dog's Life!" Send your questions to dearuncle.gazetteunclematty.com or mail to Uncle Matty at P.O. Box 3300, Diamond Springs, CA 95619.
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