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Why is my cat eating litter with kidney disease? Is any litter safe?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 10.5 lbs

My 19 yr old cat with diagnosed kidney disease has started eating his clumping clay litter. Is pine clumping litter safe or would nonclumping pine be safer?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on April 26th, 2017

I'm sorry to hear about Oberon's kidney disease! Eating litter is most often a sign of anemia in cats - this would fit with his kidney disease, since anemia is a common finding in late-stage kidney problems like this. It may be worth talking to your vet about treatment options for this problem (such as Epigen injections, or even a blood transfusion), as this is likely going to be the only way to keep him from continuing to eat whatever litter you provide. In terms of safety, ingesting large amounts of any cat litter can potentially cause some stomach upset, constipation, or even an intestinal blockage - there is no evidence that non-clumping litter is any safer than clumping varieties, or that pine would be any safer than clay. So I would go ahead and continue using whatever Oberon is most comfortable going to the bathroom in, and see if you can treat the underlying anemia to help address the problem that way if possible :)

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on January 7th, 2019

    Hi there. Eating litter is a common sign of anemia, which often develops in cats with kidney failure because their bodies don't make enough red blood cells. I would suggest taking her to the vet for some lab work to check on this. If she is anemic, this can often be treated with EPO (erythropoeitin) injections, at least for a while - this would likely make her feel better, and should reduce or stop her tendency to eat litter as well.

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