ÖKOCAT Natural Wood Clumping Litter

I reviewed this product quite awhile back and was thoroughly unhappy at the time because of tracking and scooping issues. I still object to those problems. I can’t find my old review but wanted to submit a new one.

After several months, I can now say that I like this stuff very, very much. I’m currently switching from World’s Best and Swheat Scoop. I abandoned Arm & Hammer’s disappointing corn-base litter long ago, and I find Blue Buffalo litter a bit on the heavy side, and the odor control isn’t in the same league with this stuff.

Pros:
– Odor control. Wow. Some of the best I’ve encountered, either with natural, clay, or unnatural (e.g., silica-based). It works remarkably well w/o heavy masking scents. I have three very large cat boxes; I use World’s Best (or Swheat) in two, and Oko in the other. The first two boxes need to be scooped out at least once a day and emptied completely after 3-4 weeks. With the Oko, I confess I’ve gone as long as 4-5 days without scooping at all (while I’ve been away). After 5 days w/o scooping, the Oko smells about the same as World’s Best or Swheat after 1-2 days.

– Dust. There isn’t any, to speak of. I notice this when vacuuming the mats under my litter boxes. No dust at all around the Oko box. I thought the other “natural” litters were good about dust, but this is the best, as far as I can tell.

– Weight. Fantastic. I have a bad back, but the containers are light and easy to handle. Environmentally I prefer the cardboard containers to World’ Best’s plastic bags. I have an Oko subscription; both my package delivery people and I are much happier these days. Also, even heavily used Oko litter can be dumped out of the box and carried with much less trouble than other lightweight litters.

– Quality control. I’ve had moldy batches of both World’s Best and Swheat. Also, rodents are sometimes attracted to both the corn and wheat-based products. They seem largely uninterested in wood.

Neutrals:

– Clumping is ok but not the tightest on the planet.

– Texture. It’s different. With a fussy cat, I’d mix litters for a few weeks and then continue with the Oko litter. Mine don’t mind it at all; they don’t seem to prefer the other litters when given the choice between boxes.

– Environmental issues. I simply don’t know how this compares with other option. I have personal objections to corn subsidies, and wheat is problematic on several levels. I don’t know enough about the Oko production process to evaluate its impact on the environment, sustainability, or any potential hazards to pets or humans during its creation or use.

Cons:

– Tracking, tracking, tracking. It’s not a particularly trackable litter, ironically; the problem is that whatever does track consists of large particles that are highly visible and painful to bare feet (and believe me, you don’t want the stuff anywhere near your bed). Since I’m not presently using the long-haired breed version, I find a lot of it sticking to my long-haired cat’s backside. I recently ordered a box of the long-haired version and will review it later.

– Scooping. You may need to replace your litter scoop. The particles are too large to go through the fine scoops that normally work well w/clumping litters.

Conclusion: I’ve tried other wood-based litters, and this is far and away the best of the lot. In terms of odor control, weight, dust, and economics, this is one of the best of ANY litters on the market. It could be better, but I’m still giving it five stars because I think it’s that much better than everything else I’ve tried.

Oh—and alas, I did NOT receive this product free, so this really is an unbiased review.