Week One: Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract and ökocat
Today Kitties Blue and I embark on a new series to appear on either Friday or Monday for the next several weeks.
If you have followed us for any length of time, you know that I am obsessed with finding just the right litter on which all the kitties, their dad, and I can agree. I know as a cat guardian this dusty, messy stuff is an evil necessity. And with eight kitties, many litter boxes are required as well. We have seven. They all prefer the same two.
Our current, primary litter is Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract. We have been using this for at least a couple of years. The kitties are happy with it, and I like that it is fairly low in dust. But when peed on it turns into cement and glues itself to the bottom of the litter box. If you have one or more kitties who like to pee in the corners, as we do, you need to call in the Incredible Hulk to scrape it out.
We currently are using four or five different litters. I honestly am having trouble keeping track. Just as some kitties are picky about what food they’ll eat, several of ours are just as picky about litter. Anytime I have the opportunity to try a new litter and review it, I do so.
Last year I spent quite a bit of time speaking to the representative from ökocat at the BlogPaws conference. I was impressed with the natural wood litter. When one of our affiliates, Propel Communications, gave us the opportunity to try it, I selected the ökocat Clumping Litter and the litter for Long-Haired Cats.
This post will cover the clumping litter. According to ökocat the benefits of their product are:
- Controls odors for 7 days
- Absorbs 500% of its weight in moisture
- Coniferous wood (pine) fights bacterial growth
- Free of harmful chemicals & synthetic scents
- Offers little to no airborne dust to bother allergies
The litter is biodegradable and flushable. Even when a litter claims to be flushable, I just won’t flush it. I know this would be better for our environment, but I am afraid of clogging the plumbing. The biodegradability appears to be true, as any damp litter tracked outside the box usually turned to mush on the floor. I found that our users seemed to throw less litter out of the box when covering, but did track more when leaving the box.
Misty May was the only cat to use the litter with any regularity. Calista Jo and Lily Olivia were occasional users. I would have loved for every kitty to find this litter to their liking as it is unscented, made from a natural product and did control odor quite well, but alas that was not the case. Regardless, if you are looking for a new litter, I recommend you give it a try. If you do, and decide to flush it, please let me know how that goes. If anyone is already using ökocat, I would be interested in hearing about your and your cat(s) experiences with it.
Book Winner
I am pleased to announce the winner of a copy of the book, The True Tails of Baker and Taylor by Jan Louch with Lisa Rogak: Congratulations to Wally, Ernie, Zoey and Mom Sue of The Island Cats. For those of you who didn’t win, I recommend this book as one you’ll want to read and add to your collection.
Thank You
Fiona asked me to convey her appreciation for all the kind and encouraging comments in reply to her post yesterday: Weight Up & Numbers Down. Fiona, as well as her dad and I, are so pleased with her progress. We know the purrs, prayers and POTP so many of you have sent us are part of the reason for her improvement. Please keep them coming. I really want our sweet girl to have many more years with us.
We switched from Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract to Dr. Elsey’s Precious because of the difference in price. The cat clan and I couldn’t tell the difference. We also use pine pellets in some of the boxes. That Okocat looks interesting but it would be nearly double the cost. With seven, it just can’t financially be done.
Congrats to The Island Cats ! I know what you mean about cement at the bottom of the litter box, it is a pain.
Litter is a critical element is a cat household, especially multiple cats. Each one is so individual…it is a process to choose.
Email coming this weekend…HUGS!
Concatulations to Fiona! This is most fabulishious news! This sounds like a great litter. Mommy is going to check and see is she can find it on her next trip over the border. With a all hardwood floor (except for the bedroom) in our teeny tiny apartment, no matter what Mommy does, litter gets EVERYWHERE! Yep mes is a tracker!
Kisses
Nellie
We would like to try a diffurent litter sometimes…but we seem to do OK with a store branded clay clumping litter…which also turns into cement in the corners!
We also have budgetary concerns…like who doesn’t these days?? MOL!
Litter is a very important topic! We have been using World’s Best for many years. It can be dusty, but we all use it without complaint and it doesn’t have any artificial scents or things to bother us or sensitive humans. We’ll be interesting to see what all you try in this new series and what results you have!
We’ve never had good success with litters made from wood, corn, paper, etc. We’ve been using Dr. Elsey’s Precious Cat and really like it. Yep, it does get kinda like cement when mix with pee, but the mom has been able to handle it without calling in the Hulk. 😉
We’re SO excited that we won the book…well, we don’t care much, but the mom is excited.
This is the Dad. The pine I feel has an odd odor. We used it in the foster room and stopped as some kittens tried to eat some larger wood chunks. Not good
We have lost faith in many litters. Arm and Hammer has less dust but the cost is too high with 7 of us. Our local supermarket, Giant, has a new store brand that is a bit lighter and not much dust at all. Half the cost of Tidy Cat so we are giving it a go.
Good luck on your quest
Hurrah to thee Island Katss fur winnin yur contenst Aunty Janet an Kittiess Blue!
LadyMum iss feelin a bit better today so mee iss stopping bye as many bloggiess as pawssibull….
***nose bumpsss*** Siddhartha Henry xxxxxxxxx
Hey Mau…how did I NOT know you were the Cat on my Head? TOGM(the old gray mare) thought (she should not think) Kitties Blues and Cat on my head were different. MOL
Dang I need a new assistant…well I guess the old one is ok but she needs to get with the program.
I’m so happy you and Allie enjoyed the get away. It was such fun and we were thrilled you and Allie were available on such short notice!!
thank you for your sweet comment.
Hugs madi your bfff Looking forward to the big day!!
We use either whatever is unscented and on sale or stuff we get to review but Dr. Elsey’s Precious Cat is our go-to litter. Like you, TW will not flush any litter. Hey, is it ok that we’re posting a “Sunday Selfie” tomorrow?
This sounds like a great series, Mom Janet. We switched to World’s Best a few months ago, and have been a lot happier. Zoe and Gracie have asthma, and much less dust is a big plus for all of us.
Congratulations to Wally, Ernie, Zoey and Mom Sue!
ahh, the eternal hunt for delectable litter. I do like Okocat. See what the tribe thinks of Tidy Cats Pure Nature clumping. I do not like the perfumed litter type.
We’re picky about litter which frustrates our mommy because she keeps trying all the new fangled stuff that’s supposed to be good. We’ll be doing a review on that litter one of these days too. We’re so far behind!
Looking forward to this series, as I am looking for a good litter.
Like so many things with kitties : it’s complicated. WE hope your search finds just the right solution for everyone!
Around our house, as long as its in a litter box and we can dig in it, we’ll pee and poo on it! Great post about the different kinds of litter!!
Fortunately for Mom, we’re not picky about litter so she can try new things. She won’t buy anything with added scents either. We ALL seem to like the corners of the box and Mom knows what you mean about how hard it is to get out!!!
Please let Mau know that Raz’s gal Madi has a special surprise at her blog today for the engaged couple.
The Florida Furkids with bazillions of smoochies and love to Mau from Allie
Lucky me, none of the kitties at my house are picky about litter. Because of his paralysis, Evan is towel trained and does great with that. I use World’s Best litter for the other three cats in the house, and they use it religiously and without issue. I know I am very, very lucky in that.
However, my parents are not so lucky, and their house sounds more like yours. They have four cats, and three different kind of litters being tested right now. Their girl Freya is by far the most picky, and she will simply refuse to use the litter box if she doesn’t like what’s in it. I am going to look into getting some of this okocat litter for them to try. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Purrs to all the Kitties Blue!
Like Sammy, we use the Arm & Hammer Super Scoop unscented clumping litter. I love everything about it, except that it’s a clay litter. I know it’s bad for the environment, but the other types of litter are just so much more expensive. I’d love to hear if you find a natural, clumping, unscented and affordable litter! Good luck on your litter journey – we look forward to reading more about your litter trials! Sampy sends a kiss to Astrid for every grain of litter in the world, and we all send lots of love!
We’re so lucky that we live in a quiet rural area with a secure garden so my cat can come and go as she pleases. I keep a litter tray for emergencies, like when she is ill (mercifully, very, very rarely). We had to get it out one year when we had deep snow. It’s a very unusual occurrence where I live and she refused to go out in it!
We’re tried a number of litters here but Sam is so picky it’s ridiculous! The one litter he has always used and seems to prefer is Arm and Hammer Super Scoop clumping unscented. That’s it. It’s what we’ve used for years now….. We were SUPER DUPER happy that Fiona seems to be doing so much better – – – – YOU GO GIRL!
Love, Sammy
I bet the whole litter thing is complicated at your place, with so many cats and so many preferences! We use World’s Best, and have for years, with the recent addition of Almost Invisible Cat Litter. It works for us… but then, there are only 3 of us kitties here!