Is this white stuff in the litter box from the litter or from my cat?
July 8, 2013 5:49 PM Subscribe
Last night I came home from a long weekend and when I scooped my cat's litter box, one of the clumps of litter had what looked like baking soda in it, but the litter doesn't have baking soda in it (World's Best, Original - not multi-cat). Then when I scooped it today, there was another clump with white powder. I've never seen this before, and my cat had a urinary blockage about three years ago, so I get nervous around litter box issues. But money is really tight and I'd prefer not to take him to the vet if I'm being a hypochondriac (but I absolutely will if it sounds like if I have reason to worry.) Here's a (cell phone) picture of the clump.
Details that may be useful:
- My cat is the only cat in the household and this is the only litter box.
- I've been using World's Best for years and have never seen this or ever had a problem with the litter.
- His water intake and urine output seem within his normal limits.
- When I got home from my long weekend, I found some hairballs and some puked up food, but he gets hairballs and won't eat the hairball medicine, and has a tendency to gorge on his food and then yak it back up, so this also didn't seem out of the ordinary. But then again, I don't want to ignore that if it might be an issue.
- He hasn't been acting lethargic or as if he were in pain, or anything unusual other than he's been clingy since I was away. But right now he's sitting next to me very calm and peacefully.
This is about all I can think of to include, but feel free to ask for more info. My little guy and I thank you.
Obligatory cat pics!
(And of course he swatted at my fingers from behind the laptop screen as I typed.)
Details that may be useful:
- My cat is the only cat in the household and this is the only litter box.
- I've been using World's Best for years and have never seen this or ever had a problem with the litter.
- His water intake and urine output seem within his normal limits.
- When I got home from my long weekend, I found some hairballs and some puked up food, but he gets hairballs and won't eat the hairball medicine, and has a tendency to gorge on his food and then yak it back up, so this also didn't seem out of the ordinary. But then again, I don't want to ignore that if it might be an issue.
- He hasn't been acting lethargic or as if he were in pain, or anything unusual other than he's been clingy since I was away. But right now he's sitting next to me very calm and peacefully.
This is about all I can think of to include, but feel free to ask for more info. My little guy and I thank you.
Obligatory cat pics!
(And of course he swatted at my fingers from behind the laptop screen as I typed.)
It is probably the clumping agent. Corn doesn't clump on its own! I noticed reactions like that when I used World's Best, and in other clumping litters as well.
posted by monopas at 5:55 PM on July 8, 2013
posted by monopas at 5:55 PM on July 8, 2013
Best answer: Hey,
I'm a Vet Tech.
I have some (ahem) experience with cat litter but we are most likely to use the cheaper stuff or "Yesterday's News" (recycled newspaper) cause once it's been soiled we just throw it away, so I really can't say anything about the particular litter you are using or the brands of fancy stuff that's out there, including the clumping stuff. Yes I have cats but do it the same way at home.
However: You did include the important information with your question. Namely, he is acting NORMAL. Normal is key. Eating/drinking/peeing/pooping/personality ... if these things are normal, I'd say there's no concern, even if he has a urinary health history.
Next time you see your vet, bring this weird litter thing up. Since you have been using it awhile (the brand) it is kinda strange to see it behave differently than usual, but maybe cause you didn't scoop it so fast because of the long weekend?
Anyway, the obligatory cat pics are adorable. Keep him away from matches, though!
posted by bebrave! at 6:23 PM on July 8, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'm a Vet Tech.
I have some (ahem) experience with cat litter but we are most likely to use the cheaper stuff or "Yesterday's News" (recycled newspaper) cause once it's been soiled we just throw it away, so I really can't say anything about the particular litter you are using or the brands of fancy stuff that's out there, including the clumping stuff. Yes I have cats but do it the same way at home.
However: You did include the important information with your question. Namely, he is acting NORMAL. Normal is key. Eating/drinking/peeing/pooping/personality ... if these things are normal, I'd say there's no concern, even if he has a urinary health history.
Next time you see your vet, bring this weird litter thing up. Since you have been using it awhile (the brand) it is kinda strange to see it behave differently than usual, but maybe cause you didn't scoop it so fast because of the long weekend?
Anyway, the obligatory cat pics are adorable. Keep him away from matches, though!
posted by bebrave! at 6:23 PM on July 8, 2013 [3 favorites]
Since he seems normal, I don't think you need to worry tonight. But tomorrow, you may as well just call your vet, ask if you can email them this picture, and let the person on the phone advise you whether or not you should bring in your (very handsome) cat or if there is anything else to look out for. For what it's worth, I use World's Best and I haven't seen litter do that with either of my cats. One of them is older and shows some early signs of kidney issues, but that hasn't been a symptom so far.
posted by juliplease at 7:08 PM on July 8, 2013
posted by juliplease at 7:08 PM on July 8, 2013
Have you tried pouring a little water into the same batch of litter your cat has been using to see what happens?
posted by Jacqueline at 7:17 PM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Jacqueline at 7:17 PM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Keep an eye on the cat. As long as the cat is behaving normally, everything should be fine.
We had a cat once who developed feline diabetes and this became evident when mold started growing rapidly in the litter box because of all the sugar that was being passed.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:33 PM on July 8, 2013
We had a cat once who developed feline diabetes and this became evident when mold started growing rapidly in the litter box because of all the sugar that was being passed.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:33 PM on July 8, 2013
Best answer: Where's your litter box? What's your weather been like? Your profile says NY, so I'm going to bet it's been much like PA's weather--humid, disgusting, and rainy. Yes?
I ask because several times, we've had either a litter box in a (dampish) basement, or we've had it in an upstairs room during bouts of high humidity, and we've gotten that white, powder-seeming stuff. In our case, it was mold starting to grow on the cat shit. We found out when there were a couple clumps we missed, and when we went down to scoop again a few days later, they were sporting impressively fluffy, gross mold growths. You mention a long weekend, so I'm wondering if you left the litter a little bit longer than usual, which could be why you don't often see this. (The one you found today could have been one you missed yesterday, or it could be that the mold's gotten a foothold and now grows faster because it's already in the box and doesn't have to fly over on the air currents, or whatever mold does.)
If you think this might be the case for you, your options are basically (1) move the litter to a less humid location (out of a basement/the bathroom), (2) put a dehumidifier in the same room as the litter, or (3) accept that you're occasionally going to find mold sprouting in the cat box, and do your best to stay on top of it. Assuming that you scoop regularly, I would anecdotally say that option number three won't hurt anything, and is less expensive and less of a pain in the ass than other options. (That is, I went with option three after the cats made it clear that litter box relocation Would Not Be Tolerated, and they're all fine.)
That said, do a total litter change, and wash the box out when you do--if it is mold, this will at least (again, in my experience!) decrease the rate at which it grows/force the mold to recolonize the litter box instead of just, you know, living long and prospering in there.
posted by MeghanC at 8:06 PM on July 8, 2013 [3 favorites]
I ask because several times, we've had either a litter box in a (dampish) basement, or we've had it in an upstairs room during bouts of high humidity, and we've gotten that white, powder-seeming stuff. In our case, it was mold starting to grow on the cat shit. We found out when there were a couple clumps we missed, and when we went down to scoop again a few days later, they were sporting impressively fluffy, gross mold growths. You mention a long weekend, so I'm wondering if you left the litter a little bit longer than usual, which could be why you don't often see this. (The one you found today could have been one you missed yesterday, or it could be that the mold's gotten a foothold and now grows faster because it's already in the box and doesn't have to fly over on the air currents, or whatever mold does.)
If you think this might be the case for you, your options are basically (1) move the litter to a less humid location (out of a basement/the bathroom), (2) put a dehumidifier in the same room as the litter, or (3) accept that you're occasionally going to find mold sprouting in the cat box, and do your best to stay on top of it. Assuming that you scoop regularly, I would anecdotally say that option number three won't hurt anything, and is less expensive and less of a pain in the ass than other options. (That is, I went with option three after the cats made it clear that litter box relocation Would Not Be Tolerated, and they're all fine.)
That said, do a total litter change, and wash the box out when you do--if it is mold, this will at least (again, in my experience!) decrease the rate at which it grows/force the mold to recolonize the litter box instead of just, you know, living long and prospering in there.
posted by MeghanC at 8:06 PM on July 8, 2013 [3 favorites]
I know a bit about fungus and that sure looks like some kind of mycelium growth to me. I think MeghanC has your plan, change the box and give it a thorough clean with hot soapy water before adding fresh litter, scoop frequently for a few days and see if more is showing up.
posted by Luke Skywalker at 8:51 PM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Luke Skywalker at 8:51 PM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Lately, I've noticed fine crystals collecting around spots where my cats have urinated in their litter pan and I'm pretty sure this is the same thing. My guess is that what we're seeing is urea crystals or maybe some sort of nitrate.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 2:33 AM on July 9, 2013
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 2:33 AM on July 9, 2013
Response by poster: Oh wow, I can't believe the mold/fungus possibility didn't occur to me - it has indeed been hot and humid in my apartment, and the window AC doesn't cool down the location of the litter box well at all. I will scour the box tonight, get fresh litter, and move the box into a better location during the worst of the summer humidity. Thanks!
posted by Neely O'Hara at 8:18 AM on July 9, 2013
posted by Neely O'Hara at 8:18 AM on July 9, 2013
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posted by Neely O'Hara at 5:51 PM on July 8, 2013