This is not a pretty picture if we consider our animals' internal plumbing. As cats often lick themselves after using their litter, they may ingest pieces of litter. Or they may sleep in their litter box and then lick their bodies. A breeder of Japanese bobtail cats and writer, Marina Michaels, has lost kittens who passed clay stools until the day they died. In the U.K., since the late 1980s, several rabbit deaths have been reported due to clumping, scoopable litters.
Quartz silica is what makes the litters so dusty when poured and emptied.
According to The International Agency for Research on Cancer, crystalline silica in the form of quartz or cristobalite from occupational sources should be classified as carcinogenic to humans. These changes will take a shift in thinking and shopping habits. Some will require spending more money. But they will increase the lifespan of our cats, dogs, and other companion animals. We can also improve the lives of our animals by spending more time with them.