OT just a warning for you cat and dog owners

[CMcNeil]

yesterday at 7am my mother dog was whining at our door and woke me up.i went out to see why she was making all the noise thinking she had to go pee or poop and wanted out.so i opened the door to let her out and opened the kennel to let the pups out.all but one of the pups came running out.my little baby girl Kona just layed there.i proceeded to try and get her up but she didnt seem to want to go.i picked her up and when she tried to stand she was very unstable and almost looked like she was drunk.her balance was off and equilibrium was very bad.she could barely walk without falling over and was really unresponsive.i knew something was wrong and immediately called my vet and woke up my lady.we took her in at 8am to the vet,and they went to work trying to figure out what was wrong with her.we found out that she had gotten into the cats litter box and had eaten cat poop along with some cat litter.the cat litter was fresh step crystal super absorbant(it is a blue crystal).the dogs colon was completely full of poop and cat litter and her bladder was full.the cat litter was dehydrating her from the inside and she was so dehydrated that she couldnt even pee.they xrayed her and her colon was packed full.the vet did some searching about the litter and found out it was TOXIC if eaten.the dogs breathing was very shallow and she was doing very bad.the vet gave her an enima,blood work,fluids,and electrolites.the puppy could have died if we didnt bring her in when we did.so i want to warn any of you that have cats and dogs,that if you use that litter to please make sure your dog cant get to it.i would hate to see someone lose a family pet to something like this.Kona is doing great now and back to 100%.we have since moved the litter box to the top of our dryer so the puppies cant get to it.i for one will not be using that litter anymore and will stick to good old clay based litters.i will be writing the manufacturer of the litter and telling them about how it almost killed our puppy.maybe they will reformulate it so this doesnt happen to any other dogs.i would like to thank haines road animal hospitol for saving my baby girls life,without them she might not be her today.here is a link to the exact litter and i would avoid using it if i were you and you have a cat and dog.

http://www.freshstep.com/prodcrystals.php

 

[jk1138]

Wow! Sorry that happened, but glad it turned out good.

 

[tozzi]

They make litter out of something thats toxic, idiots. Glad the pups ok

 

[CMcNeil]

They make litter out of something thats toxic, idiots. Glad the pups ok

i guess they dont figure on dogs getting in it but they do.we have written the manufacturer about it and hope they respond to our letter.

 

[InADream]

OMG, man I am glad to hear that the pup is doing great.

I have cats and we have always used fresh step clumping litter. They now have a new extreme litter that eliminates almost every smell possible. We have use various litters in the past and this is the best one.

Best part Sams club has it, 42lbs for $14 bucks.

Good Luck..

 

[CMcNeil]

Dan,we are happy Kona is back to normal.we love all of our animals like family.

 

[forddna]

i guess they dont figure on dogs getting in it but they do.we have written the manufacturer about it and hope they respond to our letter.

Actually, it's pretty common for dogs to eat cat poop. You can get a covered litterbox at Walmart for $15 or $20. If you were closer, I'd give you the one I have.

Glad lil Kona is all better now!!

 

[SwampyBill]

Glad to hear the pup's ok, McNeil...Another word of caution for those of you that have both dogs & cats--keep cats away from dog food...Something in the ash content of dog food will play havoc w/ a cats smaller system & can be toxic/fatal as well.

 

[CMcNeil]

Amanda,we do have a covered box they just put there heads in the hole lol.even my adult lab does it.I guess the cat poop is like tootsie rolls to them lol.
Bill you are correct about the ash I'm dog food.it is higher than in cat food and is not good for the cat long term.if they get in it once in a while it won't hurt them.my cat has ate the dogs food one or two times and he's fine.

 

[funkman262]

I use the Breeze kitty box which you can get info off Petsmart's website here. It's not an absorbing litter; the urine passes through it into a pee-pad underneath and the poop just stays on top. It's nice because the cats don't trail litter all over the house. I'd imagine this would be much safer if the dog ate some of this but I'm no vet.

 

[CMcNeil]

I'm sure it is safer if they ate just poop but I don't want my dogs eating it at all lol.I just don't know why they like that cat poop so much,I'm mean seriously ewwwwww!

 

[JDL1000]

I guess the cat poop is like tootsie rolls to them lol.

That quote was funny!



Glad your puppy is doing better! I guess you have to treat puppies like small children?

 

[SwampyBill]

Fairly typical for dogs eating 'tootsie rolls'...My retrievers used to scarff up doggie doo on walks & then wanna come give me kisses...I don't think so!

 

[jbird0420]

Glad to hear the lil one made it.
And glad to know about the litter, cause we use the same for our cat. Yet, My Dobe's hate cat poop, but love cat food.

 

[boatguy]

I can always tell when our chocolate lab has been having some some crunchy tootsie roll snacks cause he has kitty poo breath, yuck. We have tried every thing to keep him out of the cat box. I never thought he might get hurt. Glad to hear your pup is OK. By the way our lab also got into a bunch of dirty freshwater fish tank gravel and ate it. (somewhere around 3 or 4 pounds of it) It all came out the other end and he seems no worse for wear.

 

[Postal]

If you want to keep your dogs out of the cat litter then use one of these...

http://www.petco.com/product/11197/Booda-Clean-Step-Litter-Box-in-Pearl-Dove.aspx

While a small dog can still get in and a large dog can knock it over it they are determined enough, it is at least a reasonable alternative that would help most situations.

http://www.cherrybrook.com/images/catalog/staging/imageLibrary/5AA6E59DF21C5CFADA5CF3B60B0281A4M.jpg
<img src="http://www.cherrybrook.com/images/catalog/staging/imageLibrary/5AA6E59DF21C5CFADA5CF3B60B0281A4M.jpg" />

 

[CMcNeil]

We have already handled the cat box issue.it is now on top of the dryer and there won't be any problems anymore.thanks you all the well wishes.I just thought it was worth telling others about it so it doesn't happen to their pets.

 

[anbosu]

I'm sure it is safer if they ate just poop but I don't want my dogs eating it at all lol.I just don't know why they like that cat poop so much,I'm mean seriously ewwwwww!

It is gross - I guess cat good is almost 100% protein, and cat's don't process all of it. Dogs like the protein, so they eat the cat poop. We have a baby gate up on the room for our litter box so our dog can't get to it.