I don't "officially" have asthma, but I do recall growing up cleaning the litter box always resulted in me (1.) controlling the urge to retch, and (2.,) having trouble breathing for a long time afterwords, to the point of almost blacking out.

Now the first symptom is likely psychosomatic, but it might have a purging component, the second reminds me of hypoxia.

Twenty years later, I gladly leave the litter chores to Andi, despite my feeling guilty not cleaning them for her.

ETA: Not that I didn't find tricks I would employ should Andi need my assistance. A large t-shirt tucked into my pants and pulled up past my nose helped a lot way back when...Air mask might help.

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I find that Zeolite has made a huge difference with cat litter odor, so much so that I sometimes forget to clean the cat box for days. But then, I've never had asthma-like symptoms.

edit: I use the non-reusable, sprinkle-on kind.

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Windsparrow has asked me to post this response here.

I sent this email to my sister in response to her sending me another anti-Obama scare link. (7obamanations.com)

The text of my reply:

t sister's name,

What do I think?

I think it is another desperate attempt by pathetic liars and scoundrels who will stop at nothing to keep their opponent from taking office.

I think the amazing amount of outright lies, defamation and pointless attacks launched towards Barack Obama have disgraced our country and cheapened the process.

I believe that The extreme wacko hatemonger contingent is out in full force, and that all one has to do is apply a little common sense and read trustworthy, reliable and *independent* sources to get the facts.

For example:

>[link]

>[link]

And a few others.

I believe that I have become tired of the hate and lies coming from the so-called conservatives and people who pretend to be Christian and who have allowed torture, and seem to think that killing thousands of young men and women for a lie about WMD matters less then "getting" the last president for having an affair on the side.

Barack Obama is not a terrorist, he's not a Muslim in disguise, he's not a socialist, and he's not my first choice.

But I will not be responsible for electing a man who once had promise, but has thrown it all away for one last chance to be president before he dies. And I cannot stand the thought of the political group who took a point of national mourning and turned it into a useless war that put my nephew into harms way because they wanted to play God to a region, spending four or eight more years on top, further ripping apart the tattered integrity of my country.

I want my country back, dammit, and if we have to elect someone with a bit more panache and charisma than I like in a politician, so be it.

What do I think of it? I think that if these people put even a tenth of the effort they put into hate and fear into cooperation and understanding, we can make the America we grew up with breathe easily again.

Love,

Daniel

ETA: formatting

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Also? I was right 11 months ago when I moved in and said I could NEVER clean the litter boxes because the litter dust would trigger an asthma attack.

How many cats do you have?

You should really, really (at least while Tim's recovering) look into switching to a dust free litter.

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Daniel, that's a wonderful essay. D surprised me last night when he said, "but he is Muslim, right?" He doesn't think there's anything wrong with being Muslim, but it amazed us both how lies can infect even sensible people.

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Also? I was right 11 months ago when I moved in and said I could NEVER clean the litter boxes because the litter dust would trigger an asthma attack.

How many cats do you have?

Two cats; 3 boxes (no idea what the reason is behind that).

You should really, really (at least while Tim's recovering) look into switching to a dust free litter.

I didn't know such a thing existed; I'll have to mention it, for sure.

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Two cats; 3 boxes (no idea what the reason is behind that).

I have seen two ways of figuring how many litter boxes you need that would get to that number. There are some who say you need 1.5 boxes per cat. And there are some who say the ideal number of boxes equals the number of cats plus one. Some cats like to pee in one spot and poop in another so having more boxes than cats helps that.

As for dust-free, Feline Pine is a good one, and so is World's Best Cat Litter (corn based clumping litter). I like Feline Pine, but while it does not send dust up into the air, it is made of compressed sawdust pellets that disintegrate back into sawdust when exposed to liquid. So it can cause the problem of leaving a scattering of sawdust in the vacinity of the litter box.

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Heh. We have three cats, one ENORMOUS box.

I didn't know such a thing existed; I'll have to mention it, for sure.

Feline Pine and some of the paper-based litters may be your best bet. The crystals are costly, but I bet they'd also be worth a shot. (All you scoop is the poop.)

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but I do recall growing up cleaning the litter box always resulted in me (1.) controlling the urge to retch,

Daniel is me. As a kid, I hated cleaning the box. Now, when I cat-sit for friends, as long as it's not fresh, it's not a problem so much.

I think it is another desperate attempt by pathetic liars and scoundrels who will stop at nothing to keep their opponent from taking office.

Again, Daniel is me. Ya, I wrote a couple of those letters this political season. I'm all for debating points. And will happily concede when they win me over on a point. But get down right grrrr at the fear mongers whisper campaigns, and those that blindly forward them along.

In happier news. I am officially finished watching Stargate SG-1 seasons. It was kinda creepy. The very last episode, they walked through the puddle for the last time just as the drier was done spinning. Timed as if a Stage Manager had cued it. Anyhow, I have the 1st movie, and have put in a request for the 2nd. And almost all up to date on the Stargate Atlantis. Probably by end of next weekend, I'll have to look for something else to obsessively watch. The library has Lost. Hmmm. Maybe.

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Daniel, that letter is a thing of beauty!

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