BREAKING: Cat Allergy Source FOUND!

Allergists and researchers have known for a long time that a protein in cat saliva known as Fel d 1 has been responsible for countless itchy and swollen eyes, sneezing fits, even asthma attacks. But no one has really understood why -- until now.

photo: Wikimedia Commons

Research done by scientists at Cambridge University's School of Veterinary Medicine indicates that it's not really the cat protein that is the culprit. Rather, it's an environmental bacterial toxin called lipopolysaccharide, or LPS.

The university calls LPS "ubiquitous" because it's found simply everywhere. It's in Listeria bacteria (which causes food poisoning), it's been implicated in the failure of implants in arthritis sufferers, and is suspected as one of the causes of chronic airway infections in people with cystic fibrosis. It's even been linked to septic shock. I could go on but you get the idea - this little bug gets around!

And now it's been ID'ed as the cause behind why some people are so deathly allergic to cats.

Evidently small amounts of LPS have been found as contaminants in cat saliva. When LPS binds with the protein Fel d 1 in cat saliva, it can cause an inordinately strong inflammatory response in a human. And when LPS is absent, the allergic response is much diminished.

photo: Wikimedia Commons

As a volunteer in a cat shelter, I've found the occasional cat that elicits a strong allergic response in me - and I've always wondered what  was different about that specific cat. Why would this cat cause itching and swelling when exposure to every other cat induces nothing of the sort?

Now I wonder if those cats might not have had greater amounts of LPS present...?

We all know that identification is the first step in finding a solution. But the news gets even better. The researchers also discovered that the part of our immune system that reacts to LPS is a pathogen recognition receptor called TLR4.

And it just so happens there is a drug already formulated to block TLR4 response. So they tested it on cat saliva contaminated by LPS.

Success! The TLR4 inhibitor blocked the body's immune response to the cat dander/LPS combo.

Dr Clare Bryant, lead author of the research from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine, said: “As drugs have already been developed to inhibit the receptor TLR4, we are hopeful that our research will lead to new and improved treatments for cat allergy sufferers.”

And since they've also discovered the same LPS contamination in the dog equivalent (a protein called Can f 6, found in dog dander), researchers believe that dog-allergy sufferers could also benefit from new drugs which inhibit TLR4.

Fabulous news for a Friday!

Maxwell: "I promise, I'm LPS-free, Momma!"

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Sources:
http://www.cyberlipid.org/glycolip/glyl0005.htm
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/new-research-reveals-how-cat-dander-triggers-allergic-responses
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16735873s
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10567263
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2569852/

World's Best Litter Review & Giveaway

We like World's Best Cat Litter for three reasons:

First, it's not clay. Clumping clay litter often contains sodium bentonite - which itself is a form of clay, and there are concerns that it can be a contributing factor in gastrointestinal blockage in cats. Kittens are particularly vulnerable to sodium bentonite toxicosis, and many shelters (including ours) instruct foster families to avoid clay litters for that reason.

Second, it's not clay! Clay litter also contains silica dust, which can cause respiratory problems if inhaled.

Third, it's biodegradable and made of 100% natural, plant based materials. This also means it's eco-friendly, since clay litter use promotes clay strip mining.

Recently we were asked to review their newest litter formulation, the Advanced Natural Series. World's Best very kindly sent us a free bag to test out, and here are our findings:

According to the press release, this is a new advanced formula specially made for "high performance clumping."

We were happy to hear that this new formula still retained its all-natural, plant based ingredients.

But I was worried that this new version was not going to be flushable, and I immediately noticed there was no mention of that in the press release for this new formula.

So I wrote and asked about it.

Here's what they said: "Consumers have been flushing our product for years and we are not aware of any issues that it has caused. But due to changing laws, we are in the process of getting the needed testing to make this claim on bags or our website in the future."

I'm happy to hear they're actively pursuing the testing so they can actually promote this on their bags. Personally, I think this would be a huge win for them - it's certainly the reason I use their brand.

My understanding is that currently, your city or township's sewage treatment plants may have local policies that allow for flushing plant-based materials and you should check with them before flushing. Or if you live out in the country and have a septic tank, you'll need to follow the guidelines laid out by the septic manufacturer on what's flushable and what isn't.

So is it really better at clumping?

I hate dust in the litter area, which is one of the many reasons I refuse to use clay-based litter products. So I wondered how this new bag would stack up against their existing, almost dust-free Multiple Cat formula. I was happy to see that the litter looked as coarse as Multiple Cat. So far, so good!

Advanced Natural formula on left, Multiple Cat on right

I filled two of our 4 litter boxes from our standard Multiple Cat bag, then used the other two to test the new Advanced Formula bag. After a week of testing? Their press release wasn't kidding. It does seem to clump slightly better. And it does as good a job at odor control as the Multiple Cat.  I'm very happy with this product.

Giveaway Time!

Anyone want to test drive a free bag? World's Best is offering one free bag of their Advanced Natural Series to our readers - U.S. only. (please see rules & disclaimer below)

All you need to do is tell us you're interested in entering the giveaway, and indicate which scent you prefer, if your name is chosen. You can select either Original Scent - which we found to have a pleasantly mild, slightly nutty smell - or the Pine Blend.

Good luck! A winner will be chosen by Random.org and announced next Friday, August 2.

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Rules and Disclaimer: 
No purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Winners are chosen using random.org and will be notified by e-mail. The winner of the giveaway will need to give us a physical address (no P.O. boxes please) to which the prize will be mailed within 72 hours. 

If a reply email containing the physical address where the prize should be mailed is not received, an alternate winner will be chosen again by random. The winner will be announced in a separate post following the drawing.

We were given a bag of litter by World's Best to review, but were not compensated for hosting the giveaway. All opinions in this article are our own.

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EDIT: Thanks to Connie of Tails from the Foster Kittens who caught a few typos and helped me realize I hadn't included all my source links.  It's bentonite toxicosis, (not toxosis) and it was written up in the journal Veterinary and Human Toxicology in 1997 (abstract can be found here).

It's also important to distinguish between sodium bentonite and calclium bentonite.

Sodium Bentonite is used in oil drilling, clumping cat litter and as a bonding agent in cosmetics and medicines, and even some livestock feeds. It's currently being investigated as a way food producers can ensure E. Coli bacteria removal prior to delivering produce to market. It's also used in the filtration of protein sediment in beer and wine.

The danger of toxicity appears to be in free quartz particles, which can present an inhalation hazard. And according to californiaminerals.com, this particular type of bentonite often has an exaggerated caustic Ph value.

The danger of intestinal blockage is also much higher in sodium bentonite than in other forms of the clay. Depending on the amount of montmorillonite (a mineral) found in its composition, sodium bentonite has the ability to expand to up to 20 times its volume in the presence of water.

Thanks to Connie, we have a story that links clumping cat litter (containing sodium bentonite, not calcium bentonite) to the death of a basset hound who ingested it.

Calcium Bentonite, on the other hand, has been used medicinally for centuries by humans all over the world to detoxify. A simple google search will reveal a ton of products on the market for both internal and external cleansing and purifying of the body - everything from a colon cleanse to an herbal whole body supplement to detoxifying soaps and baths.

The important thing to know about Calcium Bentonite is how it differs from Sodium Bentonite. Many of the products you find when googling assure you that their calcium bentonite product is a way for you to "alkalize safely" (a reference to the caustic Ph value of sodium bentonite).

And research in 2007 by Arizona State University even indicated that calcium bentonite clay might have antibacterial properties!

Sadly, it's not calcium bentonite that is in our litters. 

One last thing to note: the FDA does not distinguish between Sodium and Calcium Bentonite, and classifies it as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) only under the following conditions:
"to assist in the clarification of juices, beverages, and other food products, as a binding agent for the preparation of pelleted animal feeds, and as an ingredient of coatings and adhesives for food packaging materials."
(source: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/fcnDetailNavigation.cfm?rpt=scogslisting&id=35)
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Sources on sodium bentonite:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/184332-what-are-the-types-of-bentonite-clay/ 
http://www.engr.colostate.edu/ce/homepages/shackel/Papers/35.pdf
http://www.clays.org/journal/archive/volume%2010/10-1-272.pdf
http://www.californiaearthminerals.com/science/clay-minerals-research.php?16 
and http://digitalfire.com/4sight/hazards/ceramic_hazard_bentonite_toxicity_31.html

Sources on calcium bentonite:
http://www.clays.org/journal/archive/volume%2010/10-1-272.pdf
http://researchmatters.asu.edu/stories/healing-clay-906
https://www.google.com/search?q=calcium+bentonite+purification&oq=calcium+bentonite+purification&aqs=chrome.0.69i57.9324j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=calcium+bentonite+detox&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ei=TLHyUeHQLNLKqQGX-YFI&sqi=2&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAw&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=85154c461bfcc325&biw=1551&bih=918&bvm=pv.xjs.s.en_US.MpiVkF51mpA.O

Thursday Trivia: The Catbird Seat

The phrase "sitting in the catbird seat" is one that dates back to the 1940's and seems to have originated from the southern United States.

It is said that someone who sits in the catbird seat holds a position of power and advantage. Random House's Word Maven claims it's not only southern but also dates back to the 19th century, thoguh officially listed as "origin unknown".

It's earliest known published reference is in a short story written by James Thurber in 1942, where one of his characters mentions having heard the phrase at a baseball game:

Red Barber, public domain

"In the halls, in the elevator, even in his own office, into which she romped now and then like a circus horse, she was constantly shouting these silly questions at him.

“Are you lifting the oxcart out of the ditch? Are you tearing up the pea patch? Are you hollering down the rain barrel? Are you scraping around the bottom of the pickle barrel? Are you sitting in the catbird seat?”

It was Joey Hart, one of Mr. Martin’s two assistants, who had explained what the gibberish meant. “She must be a Dodger fan,” he had said. “Red Barber announces the Dodger games over the radio and he uses those expressions — picked ’em up down South.”

- from Catbird Seat by James Thurber, The New Yorker, November 14, 1942

Red Barber was a real person - the announcer for the Brooklyn Dodgers' baseball team. And he really did use that phrase.

He told the Saturday Review in a 1958 interview that he'd first heard it in a poker game in Cincinatti, liked it, and decided to use it in his radio broadcasts.

Photo: cuatrok77 via Wikimedia Commons

Interestingly, there really is a bird known as the catbird. And ornithologists tell us that this bird, a member of the mockingbird family, may have come about its name because of its odd call, which sounds almost like a cat mewing.

 As to why the phrase has come to mean someone who holds a position of advantage, World Wide Words tells us it's because of the tendency for the catbird to prefer the highest perch it can find to roost.

That preference for high vantage points - the catbird seat - was considered to be a position of strength, strategically speaking.

(Of course in baseball terms today, we'd call that the nosebleed section...!)

Our personal favorite catbird, however, is the Rutan Catbird - a high efficiency plane that set two world speed records, and as of May 2012, they still held!

A Rutan Model 81 CatBird
Photo: Jim Reid, Creative Commons

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Sources:
World Wide Words
Random House's Word Maven
Wordsmith.org

Wordless Wednesday

'Toon Tuesdays

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Toon Tuesdays feature cat & dog cartoons made by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!

Monday Medical: Summer Pet Safety Part 2

Last week we talked about the dangers that summer storms such as hurricanes and tornadoes can present to our pets.

This week's Medical Monday is about the dangers lurking on a sunny day - namely the everyday things you might not think about that can harm both cats and dogs.

Although this infographic calls out dogs, cats can actually be in more danger from some of these than dogs. For instance, the common ingredient in many fertilizers is permethrin, the same ingredient in dog flea collars.

And while excessive exposure to this can indeed cause vomiting in your dog, it can be absolutely deadly for your cat. This nerve toxin is a killer - which is why it's imperative that you never, ever put a dog flea collar on a cat!

Both dogs and cats are attracted to coolant, and it takes far less to kill a cat, or a small dog, than it would a dog with a large body mass.

And heartworms?  Stay tuned for a special 2-part interview with Dr. Sara Huber on the very critical issue of heartworms in cats, on next week's Medical Monday.

We thank Petfinder for these great Infographics. Personally, we think these would make great posters for shelters, as well as library and pet store bulletin boards. Next time you're out shopping, why not suggest these?

The Upper Paw

Maxwell has the upper paw since he's on the stairs, looking down on Faraday.
Or so he thinks.

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