Saturday, December 28, 2013

Product Review: Kaytee Soft Granule Blend Small Pet Bedding

Today we're going to review Kaytee Soft Granule Blend Small Pet Bedding.

Another bedding? I hope this one isn't too hard on our feet!
The last two bedding products we reviewed, Oxbow BeneTerra Eco-Straw Litter and Vitakraft Fresh World Bedding Crumble, were both too hard on our feet. We want a litter that doesn't feel like we're walking on pebbles, and in that regard, this bedding delivers.

Hey, that stuff does look softer!
However, there are three problems with this bedding, two of which are minor, and one of which is major. Let's start with the minor ones. Problem number one is that the granules are so small that when we walk on it, the stuff moves around. After a few days, we had moved enough of the litter to expose the bottom of the cage, resulting in bald patches. Problem number two is that this stuff has a tendency to stick to the fur of longer-haired piggies:
Do I have something on my chin?
Problem number three (the big problem) is that the back of the packaging says the following: "WARNING: This product contains wood dust, a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer." Say what?! I think the humans didn't read the package carefully enough before buying this stuff. They say they are going to replace it with something without health warnings ASAP.

Shame on you, Kaytee, for selling a carcinogenic bedding to guinea pigs! Because of this, we're going to have to give Kaytee Soft Granule Blend Small Pet Bedding our lowest rating of 1/5 stars.

5 comments:

  1. Wood dust is a chemical and it causes cancer.... Does this mean i need to give up woodworking?

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    1. Wood dust is bad news for guinea pigs. According to the Center for Disease Control's page on wood dust, in one experiment, "Lung examination revealed that, at 90 days, Grade I fibrosis of the lungs had occurred in the guinea pigs injected with mango or jute, while those treated with sheesham or hemp had developed Grade II pulmonary fibrosis." In another experiment, "Histopathological examination showed lung changes, described by the authors as moderate to severe, in all exposed guinea pigs."

      As for humans, the CDC page indicates that it isn't good for you, either: "Summary of evidence for nasal and sinus cavity cancers. NIOSH (1987a/Ex. 1-1005) concluded that the literature clearly demonstrates an association between occupational wood dust exposure and nasal cancer. English studies first identified this link by showing a 10- to 20-times-greater incidence of nasal adenocarcinoma among woodworkers in the furniture industry than among other woodworkers and 100 times greater than in the general population. In the United States, three studies have reported a fourfold risk of nasal cancer or adenocarcinoma in furniture workers, and another study noted a similar relationship between nasal cancer and wood dust exposure. One other study failed to find such an association for furniture workers, but did find an increase among logging and timber industry workers."

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  2. This sucks..I use the stuff and I'm very sure the bags with the old design didn't have the warning so I've never looked at the new bags. I spot clean daily (with gloves of course!) and this product always worked the best but now it looks like I'll have to switch.

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  3. Your information is really good. Thank you for sharing.........


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  4. Basically wear a mask while woodworking and you'll be fine...

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