In November 2015, social media rumors claimed that Tidy Cats lightweight cat litter can make pets sick (especially causing "breathing problems"):

Hearing cats suffered severe breathing problems and died due to the use of Tidy Cats light cat litter.

I believe that Tidy Cat light litter either caused the death of my cat or contributed to its death. She is 19 years old and has never been sick in her life. We started using this trash about 6 months ago or more, and she started to have breathing problems about 4 months ago. After going to the vet many times and spending a lot of money, we finally had to put her down about 3 weeks ago. On the day we took her to the vet for the last time, we noticed that her feet were covered with these rubbish. Not only that, it was still on her belly. In addition, every place she laid in the past month was covered with cat litter.

Multiple emails we received cited Amazon.com reviews (as early as February 2014), which described instances where Tidy Cats Lightweight litter allegedly made cats sick:

...She developed strange symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, and then sprayed a spit of blood on the floor of her room before I realized what was wrong. This rubbish makes her sick! The dust made her look like she had a cold. Then she swallowed some garbage while desperately trying to get it out between her toes, it tore her belly. I was terrified. At first the veterinarian thought her bloody symptoms might be caused by infection, but her test results were clean. Then I suddenly realized that it was all rubbish. I mentioned this to the veterinarian and they agreed.

This rubbish may cause harm to your pet. Last weekend, an acquaintance of mine bought this litter litter for the first time. Her cat has never had any respiratory problems and started to gasp. This escalated into a severe asthma attack and had to stay in the oxygen cage to recover. This cat may now have lifelong asthma, and she has never had this kind of asthma before. Many people say that dust hurts the lungs when shoveling, and pets sneeze and gasp after using the box. Please pay attention to the product and what may happen. I have to edit my comment. The cat that was so severely affected by this litter has passed away. Keep away from this product.

We bought this last week to replace the normal tidy cat formula we use, and we started to see our cats and even our dogs (even if they don't use the litter box) sneezing and respiratory problems. We noticed the online warning about this formula and contacted Tidy Cats directly and were told to pay close attention to them and take them to the veterinarian as needed. We were also told. And just yesterday (5/14/2014), they received a large number of similar reports. In the past 5 days, there were 7 deaths in cats reported to them. Today, May 15, 2014, they received another report of death due to garbage. Due to severe respiratory problems, one of our cats passed away this afternoon. Other cats are being watched closely, and we have removed all traces of litter from the house. Based on Purina's results, we may file a lawsuit against them.

Obviously, at least through Amazon reviews, rumors about Tidy Cats’ light weight and respiratory problems have been circulating for months. However, some of the most acclaimed reviews described anecdotal experiences with the product (via acquaintances), others mentioned an unsubstantiated suspicion that the veterinarian allegedly agreed with, and a third claimed that she " It was told that a group of cats died, but it did not indicate who gave her such information. (Did it come from Purina or a social media rumor?) A Reddit user speculated that their cat's death was attributed to Tidy Cats Lightweight, but other users of the site pointed out that the pet was only 19 years old and its demise.

Some versions of the rumor insist that Purina did not change the formula to deal with the so-called cat death, but chose to quietly compensate the grieving pet owner to calm the rumor:

@TidyCats @howdycuz2 According to a friend of mine, when they complain, they pay people

We were unable to find any first-hand reports of Tidy Cats customers receiving compensation for pet sickness or injury, although the image-based example above includes claims that "friends" received a portion of veterinary expenses for a $300 check from Purina. In response to Twitter inquiries about rumors, the @TidyCats account responded:

@RussellMadison_ Pets are our passion. Please rest assured that all our products are completely safe. Ask a question: https://t.co/22GQLHNOud — Tidy Cats (@TidyCats) November 13, 2015

On December 7, 2015, we received a reply from the representative of Purina regarding the inquiry about rumors:

Tidy Cats Lightweight cat litter is safe for cats. We understand the concerns of cat owners when they see negative posts on social media, but the rumors about Tidy Cats LightWeight cat litter are not true. Unfortunately, social posts like this are usually anonymous, based on hearsay, or contain unsupported information. People sympathized and shared these posts, which unfortunately spread more confusion.

Nearly half of cat households use Tidy Cats. Like any product used by more than 16 million households, consumers occasionally post on social media or contact us to express concerns, especially when their pets have other problems. We take every consumer inquiry seriously, and encourage any consumers who are concerned about their pet experience to consult their veterinarian and call our toll-free number so that we can better understand and solve their specific problems.

We are also cat lovers, and our first commitment is the health and well-being of pets. We conduct extensive tests on our waste products, including dust and safety reviews of all materials used in the manufacturing process by veterinary toxicologists. Consumers can continue to buy Tidy Cats with confidence.

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