Cat Information

What is the difference between hamster litter and cat litter?

Besides the obvious. Would it make a difference if I put cat litter in my hamsters litter pan instead of hamster litter? I know when I my cat knocked cat litter out of his pan and my hamster (not the one with the litter pan) ran to dug in it a little and peed on it. So, wouldn't it be the same concept and work?

Public Comments

1. hamster litter is made of wood shavings and cat litter is more like sand or really small pebbles btw i dont think that would be good for either pets , hamsters like to chew on things and it might swallow the cats litter plus unknown chemicals could harm it
2. Do not use cat litter in hamster cages. Cat litter has a very high content of ammonia which can badly damage your hamster's lungs. Use hamster bedding/litter.
3. Well what type of cat litter do you mean? If it is the "common" cat litter that is almost like sand, then this is made of clay, which is extremely dusty and if you hamster stuffs it in his pooches (which he is most likely going to do) he could get it stuck or even swallow it. This will cause suffocation or impaction, both resulting in death. All cat litter that is made of clay or pine is not safe fro hamsters. Cat litter made of newspaper pellets (like Yesterday's News) or wheat grass (like Cat Country) are safe to use. I would just stick with aspen bedding or carefresh or the hamster "potty" litter.
4. In theory it could work. I would highly recommend against it, however. Cat litter is quite dusty in comparison to hamster litter. Their lungs are not accustomed to that and respiratory infections are likely. I would say stick with hamster litter. If you absolutely want to use cat litter, use the paper pellet kind.
5. Ohh lol i thought you meant as in their babies! I was like ??? Ok so, the hamsters might try to eat it (bad) It's just bad for them.
6. If you mean litter and not bedding - the hamster/small critter litter is edible. Meaning if you pet eats it, it won't clog their intestines, nor will it make them sick - it will disolve instead. You'll also probably find out that your hamster will eat some of the small animal litter. The little litter pellets are also a lot smaller than cat litter pellets, depending on the cat litter. Most cat litters are treated with harmful chemicals to control odor - they are not safe for a small critter with a sensitive respiratory system. Cat litter is not edible, safe to be eaten or anything else. Cats don't eat their droppings or their litter, like the various rodents would.