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In November 2015, social media rumors claimed Tidy Cats Lightweight cat litter was making pets ill (in particular, causing breathing problems): Multiple e-mails we received referenced Amazon.com reviews (dating back as far as February 2014) that described instances in which cats were purportedly sickened by Tidy Cats Lightweight cat litter: Clearly, the rumors about Tidy Cats Lightweight and respiratory problems in cats circulated for several months, at least via Amazon reviews. However, some of the top-rated reviews described anecdotal experiences with the product (via an acquaintance), others mentioned an unsubstantiated suspicion with which a vet purportedly agreed, and a third claimed she was informed of a cluster of cat deaths without indicating by whom she was given such information. (Did it come from Purina, or was it a social media rumor?) A Reddit user surmised their cat's death was attributable to Tidy Cats Lightweight, but fellow users of the site pointed out that the pet in question was 19 years old at the time of its demise. Some versions of the rumor maintained that rather than altering the formula in response to the purported cat deaths, Purina opted to quietly compensate grieving pet owners to quash rumors: We were unable to find any first-hand reports of Tidy Cats customers receiving compensation for illness or injury to their pets, though the image-based example seen above included a claim that a friend had received a $300 check from Purina for a portion of veterinary expenses. In response to Twitter queries about the rumor, the @TidyCats account responded: On 7 December 2015, we received a response from a Purina representative regarding an inquiry about the rumor:
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