ökocat Natural Wood Cat Litter, 18.6 lbs., Clumping for Long Hair Breeds

As someone who has searched high and low for a cat litter that would not end up in my bed and all over my floor, I LOVE this product (Okocat for long hair breeds). My little bundle of hyperactivity (aka a part Saimese, medium/long haired beauty named Mia) loves to dig deep into her cat litter. She also loves to leap straight out of her litter box and right onto my poor, ever suffering, bed. As someone who has to keep the box in my room (due to space requirements and a waaaaay too curious puppy dog), having a clean space is super important to me and as such, I have been struggling with maintaining a clean environment for myself and my cat since I got her 6 months ago. Every other litter has ended up everywhere, and has either had dust issues (I have allergies), an overwhelming smell/perfume issue, or is just generally unhealthy for my Mia (I'd much rather she not get lung cancer or asthma from using clay litters, but will admit that until now, clay had been the best option for us). Alas, I thought I was going to have to live with little disgusting pieces of litter in my bed and on my floors forever. Also, crystals were not an option because my last cat actually died from health problems caused by his crystal cat litter (it was horrible and I highly suggest that people research health concerns related to crystals before innocently bringing it into their homes...). Anyway, after trial and error with just about every cat litter under the sun (thank goodness I have an adventurous cat who will try anything), I ran into Okocat for long hair breeds.So, all the good things about this litter: 1. There is almost no tracking at all (just a bit around the box when an excited kitty jumps out). 2. There is no smell other than a slight wood smell right after the cat pees (if you notice a smell after your cat poops, try adding another inch or 2 of pellets as my cat just needed the extra pellets to figure out how to get everything covered), 3. It feels/seems cleaner due to Okocat claiming that it kills 99% of all bacteria (unlike other litters that only claim to kill odor causing bacteria...what about all the other nasties?!). 4 It clumps pretty well (they do break up some, but I have a solution for that issue if you read further) for a natural litter. 5. It is natural and healthier for my cat than other options.The downsides (not many, but worth considering): 1. You'll have to shop around because the prices on here can be good some days and terrible the next. Recently, I found this litter on another site for $10 less per box...so yeah...make sure you are getting the best price. 2. There is some dust. It's not horrible, but if you have allergies like me, you'll want to use a sifter of some kind to put clean litter in so you don't end up pouring sawdust in the litterbox every time you put new litter in. Also, after a couple weeks of use (even with scooping 2 times per day like I do), you'll notice some sawdust building up in the litterbox just from litter getting crumbled up with digging, etc... Even though it works up my allergies a bit when cleaning, I can accept some coughing (it's just for a few minutes anyway) if it means that I'm not exposing my cat to types of dust that can cause lung cancer down the line - I'd like to note that other types of litter made my cat cough, but this doesn't seem to do that to her as much. 3. It takes some creativity to get the scooping process to actually leave a nice and clean box if you are not used to clumping pellet litter. So, onward to my solution!!!There is no specific scoop that has been made by Okocat for scooping this litter, so you have to find something that won't scoop out too much good litter while also being able to get rid of small pieces that may break away from a main clump of pee while scooping (poop is not a problem. It just dries out and is easy to remove). While some people suggest the Catit litter scoop, this was not useful to me since I have back problems and can't bend down to get at the litter to scoop it without suffering later. So, after some trial and error, I found a great and easy option.First, I got the PURRR-FECT SCOOP (I already had it), which is basically a litter scoop that you can stand while using. The newest version of this scoop has holes at the front that are wide enough to let pellets through and small holes at the back that can capture even tiny broken pieces that might usually be missed when scooping. This is a great scoop. However, it is too small to sift through the whole box quickly and if you scoop too much at once, the whole thing clogs up and is useless. So, I use this just to get the small pieces that escape my main scooper.My main scoop basically had to be made because there are no standing scoopers that have holes big enough for pellets (as far as I could find). BUT, this was easy to do. I found a generic metal scoop in my local Walmart that had huge holes (perfect for pellets) but a tiny handle. So, I spent $2 to get a 1 inch diameter pvc pipe from my local hardware store, had a store employee cut the pipe to about 3 feel long and used waterproof (just in case!) Gorilla tape to tape everything together. I basically just stuck the handle of the metal scoop into one end of the pvc pipe and then wrapped Gorilla tape around it all to keep it strongly attached.I have now been using my 2 standing litter scoops (one bought and one made) for 3 weeks and the scooping process is MUCH easier. I can clean out all clumps, all little broken pieces, etc....and an added bonus is that since I no longer have to bend down to scoop, my face is far enough away from the box when cleaning that my allergies are barely affected by any sawdust that might be around.So, to repeat, I LOVE the litter, but the only reason that I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because aside from the price issues, I had to do a little bit of problem solving to make it perfect for myself. Once that was done, I have found myself happier with Okocat than any other, and my Mia is happy as well.

I'm going to write the review I wish I saw before I bought this! Tl;Dr: Okocat litter is the best. Original is very chunky, Supersoft is way finer, Featherweight is about the same; Supersoft is my favorite. This is seriously an incredible litter. It's so good! Okocat seriously beats the pants off of all competitors when it comes to dust especially.I've been trying to transition my cats to a litter other than clay, but also didn't want to spend a fortune or deal with bugs (wheat, walnut, corn litters.) Cheap wood litter is really dusty (Feline Pine), smells bad (Catalyst Unscented), doesn't clump well (sorry, Feline Pine) or has unnecessary additives (Naturals) so I was trying to find one that fixed those problems, too. We were coming from Arm & Hammer Clump & Seal Unscented, which is a super fine, odorless clay that my cats liked a lot. It was pretty low dust, clumped well, and was easy to scoop.I started with Okocat Original because it was really inexpensive. I wound up buying three types of Okocat (Original, Supersoft, and Featherweight) because the Original performed amazingly, but my little cat just didn't like the texture very much (my big kitto had no problem whatsoever.) I've included pictures of all three varieties and their textures with a quarter for scale so you can see the differences between all three.The original Okocat was about 50 cents a pound when I bought it, which made it even cheaper than my clay litter! (Keep in mind wood is also lighter than clay, so an equal weight does not mean equal volume either. And this was a big box!) It's lasted me a much, much longer time than my clay litter ever did.The first thing I noticed when I got it was the Original is CHONKY. I was kind of shocked. The litter "grains" are straight-up wood chunks. This makes scooping a pain because it takes quite a bit of shaking to finally get the granules separated from the clumps. Personally, I can live with it, but my husband hates scooping this because he thinks it's sort of wasteful and takes forever. (Update: I got us one of these scoops and it solves all our problems with scooping! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X4VSNX7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_ZACJXPKQ0ZKZ6KT6PAP7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1) With that said, the wood smells nice (like fresh sawdust), controls odors incredibly, and the litter is super absorbent so the box stays DRY! The Original isn't as great at sticking to poop as the other types because, again, it's chunky as heck, but that also means it doesn't stick to the litterbox whatsoever and there's NO DUST. The wood smell fades after a while but my litterbox room somehow still doesn't stink at all!! The other advantage of the larger chunks is it rarely tracks far because the chunks simply don't get caught in my cats' paws. If you prefer a litter that doesnt track and don't mind sifting the larger chunks, this one also happens to be the most affordable variety. My larger kitty uses this litterbox consistently, but my tiny cat with her tiny paws doesn't seem to like it as much. This Okocat was absolutely *perfect* except for the texture. I'd still buy this again without a second thought if I couldn't get the other two.So I bought the Supersoft next. And it is, well, much softer. The grains are way smaller. Much closer to clay texture than the original, but still not "sawdust". In fact, it's not dusty at all. I don't know what sorcery Okocat does to accomplish this, but its competitors with similar textures just DON'T compare. The sides of my litterboxes are SO CLEAN. No plumes of dust while sifting. Anyway, the texture isn't completely uniform, as there are still some larger grains mixed in, but they are not anywhere near as large as those in the Original. I usually wind up tossing the larger grains because they get caught in the scoop while the rest falls through. My tiny cat seems to still prefer the sand-like texture of clay, but she uses this one (and chooses it over the Original) presumably because it's softer on her tiny paws and feels more like clay. This is the litter she used when the clay box was too soiled for her liking; now that there isn't a clay box available to her, she uses this one consistently. The Supersoft definitely clumps and sticks to poop better than the Original. It is just as absorbent as the Original; the litterbox cleans up like an absolute dream, with nothing cemented to the sides. It does track more than the Original, though, due to the finer grains. This one usually costs about 20 cents more per pound than the Original, but I'll totally spring for the difference for the texture my cat prefers and the easier scooping.I tried the Featherweight most recently when I discovered it existed. It apparently is sold exclusively through a large chain brick-and-mortar pet store, though I saw a third-party seller had it on Amazon, too. This one is the most expensive of the three, at about 90 cents a pound on sale. Long story short, this is the Supersoft without the larger chunks. Honestly, it's hard to tell the difference between the two, but I think it's maybe more uniform. I think this one seems dustier than the Supersoft. Regardless, it performs exactly the same as the Supersoft. I'll buy this one if it's cheaper than the Supersoft, but otherwise I'll just stick with the Supersoft.

Several months ago, my boyfriend and I decided to expand our household by adopting a cat. Even though we hadn't yet found a cat to adopt, we wanted to prepare everything ahead of time so we'd be ready to go whenever that did happen. One of the first things I did was extensively research what kind of litter we should use.My boyfriend and I both have very sensitive noses and are bothered by the smell of cat elimination. We have both lived in households with cats before and it has always been an issue for the both of us. We wanted to make sure that whichever litter we picked, the smell would be masked as much as possible. Additionally, my boyfriend cares a lot about the environment (as do I, but not to his level!) so another factor that was important to us was that the litter be biodegradable. We were also hoping that we could flush the litter as well; we don't like the idea of using disposable bags every time we clean the box, and we also felt like we couldn't keep around a container for litter cleanings since we're so sensitive to the smell. We hoped for something we could get rid of quickly.When I was doing my research, I focused exclusively on the factors above. Several brands came up multiple times and I went back and forth between them all, weighing the pros and cons of each. I didn't buy anything as we didn't have a cat in mind yet and didn't know when we'd adopt, so I added it to the list.Our chance for adoption came unexpectedly! A family friend's cat had just had a litter and they were looking for good homes for the kittens. One of them was a tiny black kitten, and my boyfriend and I immediately fell in love. We had wanted to get a cat who was at least a few years old, but when we saw her we knew that she was ours. The family friends let us know that the kitten would be ready to go home with us in just a couple of weeks. The race was on!We spent so much time kitten-proofing the house that we completely forgot to buy litter. Just a few days before our kitten was to be taken home, I panicked when I realized that I had forgotten to decide which litter to buy. I chose Okocat because of two factors in particular: 1) the size was the smallest I could get of all the kinds of litters we had looked at and we didn't know if she'd take to it, and 2) the price was the cheapest per amount of litter than the other brands we'd looked at as well. I made a last-minute decision and gave it a purchase, figuring that if she didn't like the litter then I could just buy one of the other types later.I'm not a strong person, but on arrival I was very happy with the weight of the box. Nice and light, and bigger than I expected. Boyfriend and I filled up the litter box we had ready and crossed our fingers that the kitty would like it.We took the kitten home, and to our surprise, she took to the litter IMMEDIATELY. She was exactly 8 weeks when we took her home, and we were worried that she would have issues. Our home is several hours away from where she was born and weaned, so she had had a rough time on the car ride back. We also were concerned because when she was being weaned the family friends had been using the inexpensive kind of clay litter and we didn't know if the kitten would take to Okocat. A move plus a change of litter plus all the regular stresses of just being in a new environment made us anxious that she would be unhappy or disagreeable. Luckily, she seemed to love the litter.Even though our kitten is so young, she has not had a single accident. Every time, ever since the first time, she has gone right in the litter box and used it perfectly. She definitely likes to dig around in her box before and after doing her business, and the Okocat kind seems to be good for her to do so. It's soft on her sensitive kitten paws and hides her poo to her content. She has not made a single complaint about it.As for me and the boyfriend, neither of us have a hard time with cleaning. We have a heavy-duty scoop with average-sized slots and the litter filters through just fine. The clumps aren't the tightest but we don't really care about that since we only have one kitten and are able to afford to buy more litter as needed. The clumps are easy to spot and don't break apart when we shake the scoop to filter. They also flush well and with no issue, another thing that we were incredibly concerned about.As for cons, as several people here have mentioned, there is some issue with tracking. Even though my cat wipes her paws on the mat and the entrance to the box before leaving the area, there's still some litter that kind of just goes everywhere in front of the litter box (it's not due to digging, as we have a hooded box which catches all of the litter that flies around when kitten digs). Lots can get stuck on her little feet, and it's hard to clean when that does happen, as some of the grains are too big for our (admittedly weak) vacuum to pick up. And if you accidentally get that little bit of litter wet, it's near impossible to clean in the moment. It looks super gross when it gets wet. But as of now, that's honestly the only issue that we've had.We've had our kitten for almost two weeks now and we're more than happy with Okocat Natural Wood Clumping litter. I've had no reason to consider switching brands at all. If anything changes I will be back to update, but as of now it's looking pretty good. Take it from me - I never leave reviews unless I'm pleasantly surprised about a product, and for this litter I was! I will only be using this as long as the kitten likes it - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.tl;dr: it's pretty good stuff!Edit: It’s been a little over 3 years now and my (now-)husband and I still continue to recommend Okocat! We now have another cat and she took to it right away as well. It doesn’t flush great in large quantities so if you do flush the litter do it in parts and not all at once, but otherwise it still works just as well as it did when we first got it for our new kitten. The tracking is still an issue, but we got a new litter mat (the kind with the holes for it to fall through) and it’s improved a lot. Would still recommend!Another edit: Since getting another cat, the litter isn’t as good at covering smells. So we bought some little box odor eliminator (Rocco & Roxie, but I’m sure you could use whatever) and omg it works GREAT with this litter. If you’re still having trouble with smell get something like this and it mixes right in!

So, I went through a phase where I tried any and every cat litter I could. I don’t like clay litter and for maybe 2 years cycled through litters trying to find the perfect one. I really liked Feline Pine which are wood pellets but it doesn’t clump so I was going through a bag of litter unbelievably quick. In comes Okocat. Pine pellets but it actually clumps. So I’ve been using the Okocat less mess for about a year maybe and I love it. Doesn’t smell, low tracking has worked out great. However, I hate the version you get when you order from here. The Exclusive Online Packaging is trash and the litter itself is different for some reason. Way dustier, the pellets are smaller and also comes with an odd odor. If you’re going to buy this litter, get it from a store.

Update after 6 moths:Still really like this litter. Zero urine smell even with the box going 2 days & the cat pees several times a day (clumping litter is great for keeping tabs on that). Do you smell poops? Of course. No litter prevents that right after the cat poops. Are your poops odorless? No. But the litter dries the poops out quickly and there is no lingering poop smell. Yes, it tracks - a lot. Yes, it's very dusty but it's not the fine dust of clay. But still very dusty - just being honest. There's a film on everything near the box. The top entry box is a must with this litter & there is still lots of little particles outside the box, but again, it's physics. If you want a soft wood-based litter that clumps, you have to compromise on something. This clumps really well.Update after 3 months:Odor control: Really quite good. One cat household. Male. One litter box.Clumping: the secret seems to be you have to keep enough litter in the box. We had been using a regular litter pan & only putting about 1.5" of litter because the little devil would kick so much out while digging. And then the clumps would be pancakes stuck to the bottom that we'd have to scrape off. Switched to a top entry box where we can keep the litter deeper - about 4" - and now we get perfect spheres. And the clumps stay clumped.Dust: Have to amend this to say this litter is more than a little dusty. With the top entry box, you can now see the dust adhered to the inside of the box. We will try the larger particle Okocat next time (bigger particles than this soft paws stuff, smaller than pellets) as we've decided we like the clumping litter.Tracking: Light tiny bits of wood so yeah, it tracks. Short haired cat. Most stays close to the box, but if tracking is a deal breaker for you, probably try the other version of clumping Okocat or the pellets.Original Review:We have a 4 month old kitten that's been using traditional non-clumping clay as starter litter. HATE the fragrance. HATE the dust. God, the dust. So terrible for lungs. Ours & the cat's. And it's worse because this cat likes to get in the box and go nuts digging & moving the litter into mini-mountains. Just for fun.We tried pine pellets which we'd used with all our other cats in the past, but the little menace wanted to eat them. (I swear we did not pray for patience.)So we went looking for something that was similar in consistency to clay but wood. I'm sure the cat would eat corn or wheat litter so that was never even considered.PROS:Very little dust & what dust there is settles fastSuper light - makes it easy to move the box & empty itAlmost no scent at all & what scent there is is basically a faint fresh lumber smellTexture is very fine (see photos) so Mr. Picky Pants doesn't try to eat it or act like he's being asked to walk on hot coalsSo far, good odor control (urine & feces) even after 2 weeksCONS:Tracks like CRAZY (see photos) - cat's boxes are in the condo & most stays in there, thoughClumps are not super strong - you have to be very gentle with the scoopingSometimes the clumps stick to the bottom of the pan & break up when trying to release themWe put out one box of regular clay and one of this. We didn't mix them. I hate that. Over a week, he gradually moved to using the Okocat mostly. He's still using the clay some, but he's doing all his business in the Okocat to some degree. We'll take away the clay next week and see what happens.We are considering making our own top entry box from a rubbermaid container for him to see if that cuts down on the tracking (and because he'll probably start spray-peeing soon).I expected the tracking - you can't make something this fine & light & not expect it to track. Our cat is short haired. I can only imagine what a long haired cat would be like...What they need to work on is the clumping. I know from reading about the product, they say you should wait an hour before trying to scoop pee. But in my experience, if you wait too long (like overnight pee), the clumping gets weaker. maybe due to evaporation of the liquid. Dunno.