All natural cat litter for ASFs?

[helanorns]

Hello!

I am wondering if all natural cat litter works for ASFs. Right now, I am using Aspen bedding and I am allergic to the dust. Would any of these work?

• Corn litter
• Grass seed litter
• unscented paper pellets

I work at a pet store so I get a discount on some merch like litter.

thank you!

[Armiyana]

I think the problem with the first two is that they may try to eat it and that can lead to issues especially if they soiled it first. Or possibly mold issues as well?

Paper pellets would probably be fine. I know I personally had some weird allergy pop up when using carefresh even though that's a paper type bedding as well.

[Bogertophis]

If you look on Chewy.com, they carry many paper-type products* other than Carefresh that are soft & appealing- (though I know nothing about raising ASFs). *For example, I like using Oxbow "Pure Comfort" natural, small animal bedding for my snakes. Their free shipping for minimum orders works well for me- I tend to stock up (also buy dogfood from them, etc) & they ship fast.

I have no idea what's in cat litter but it doesn't seem like the right fit for rodent bedding- at least not the ones I remember seeing?

I've never heard of grass seed litter, but I'd avoid the corn cob/husk stuff for sure- maybe mold, or constipation from eating it?

And crushed walnut shells are a "never"! Internal injuries from sharp fragments can result. Maybe they're off the market now? I haven't seen them for ages. I hope so.

I raise mice & have always used pine shavings- I prefer the mini-flakes ("easy pick"- it's for horses!), but all wood shavings have dust- I'm probably 27% pine dust after all these years of raising rodents?

[Bogertophis]

@helanorms- what's actually IN this "natural cat litter" you're asking about? When it comes to advertising, the word "natural" is meaningless- it's used to make you assume that whatever they're selling is "safe"- so let me just remind you that many things are perfectly natural but far from "safe"- arsenic is natural, so is radon gas, & strychnine. See?

I've seen cat litters advertised that have color changing crystals to diagnose your cat's health from how their pee reacts- I wouldn't think that would be safe litter, but there are plenty of other mundane cat litters that might easily contain substances that could make ASFs sick when used as their litter. They're perfectly fine when used for their original purpose, just not safe to use in alternate ways for other animals.

Even some products deliberately sold as animal bedding can be problematic- such as cedar shavings. At least you can read the labels, since you work there, then research any ingredients you're not sure about. You always have to worry about what small animals will be inhaling from such products, not just whether they'll try to eat it.

If you see a product elsewhere, like on Chewy, that you want to try, maybe your store will order it for you, if they don't already carry it. Chewy carries many things for sake of comparison.

[Armiyana]

Chewy carries many things for sake of comparison.

If they work at PetCo, that might not fly. Chewy is owned by Petsmart which is why they will so easily pricematch but can be really weird about other stores. If it IS a Petsmart, you can actually ask the management about returning chewy products to the store.

[Bogertophis]

If they work at PetCo, that might not fly. Chewy is owned by Petsmart which is why they will so easily pricematch but can be really weird about other stores. If it IS a Petsmart, you can actually ask the management about returning chewy products to the store.

I really just meant to find products (brands) they might not otherwise be aware of & carry on site. Wasn't even thinking about price-matching or returns. But good thoughts...& "whatever works".

[helanorns]

Thank you for the reply!

i read more of the product description and it says the pellets have baking soda. Definitely a no then! Will be sticking to aspen bedding.

[Bogertophis]

If you're allergic to the aspen bedding, I think you should keep looking for a better option. Just keep reading the "fine print" though- like for baking soda & other surprises.

[mechnut450]

we use the carefresh crumble stuff and mix it with some aspen chips..
When I had 3 40 gallon tanks I used everything from cat litter to aspen/pine shavings ( basically anything i had on hand ) specially when money was short back when I was on limited income.