What types of wood are used in our natural cat litter? Does it contain any phenols, harmful oils?

ökocat litter is a blend of spruce, fir and pine. No trees are harvested to make our litter. We use leftover by-products before any treatments or chemicals are added from local lumber mills.  Our fiber suppliers comply with policies of the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative. All wood is dried at a very high temperature that removes any volatile oils or phenols. We maintain long-term relationships with our wood suppliers and perform 3rd party validation testing to ensure consistent manufacturing of wood products with lower than detectable levels of  VOC (volatile organic compounds) content.

Are there harmful chemicals used in the processing of your cat litter?

No. Any of the additives in our products are those typically found in the production of common household products such as tissue paper and/or products for human consumption.

What scoop is best to use with the larger pellet litters?

There are several scoops with large slots specially designed for use with pellets available at retailers. 

Does ökocat litter work in litter robot or other clumping litter machines?

We only recommend using a manual type of litter machine, not automatic, as the formed clumps should sit for 1-2 hours before sifting for best results. We recommend using the super soft wood clumping litter which is grounded into fine granules much like clay litter. The ones that performed the best in our testing were the sifting style or manually rolled ones. The Low Tracking Less Mess formula does not work for any type of litter machine as the pellets are too large.

Where does the paper come from in ökocat Dust Free litter?

Paper is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from trees. Rather than using recycled newspaper that contains inks and dyes like some other paper litters, our paper is produced from natural wood fibers in our own processing facilities specifically designed to make paper cat litter. These wood fibers are washed and screened via a proprietary process. This process melds the fibers together to produce a finished pellet that is then dried and screened to very specific specifications and packed on dedicated packaging lines.

Is the ökocat paper bag recyclable?

Yes, the paper ökocat bag is 100% recyclable. Just place in your mixed paper bin. The glue used to seal the bags is water soluble (just like glue used for sealing cardboard boxes and containers) and can be put in curbside recycling. 

Why is there a PROP 65 Warning on the packaging of your cat litters?

We realize the requirement posed (only) by the state of California sounds scary. It needn't be. The warning pertains to "wood dust." Along with beach sand, wood dust was added to a list of more than 900 substances ruled harmful when overexposure occurs in the workplace, or even by a consumer. According to the law, all wood- and silica-based cat litters should state the Prop 65 warning to be compliant, though many do not.

There are several innocuous substances on the California list that with typical use, do not risk human or pet health (e.g. traditional clay cat litters are also required to carry the warning for silica or "sand"). However, it's our responsibility to label our products as required by law. Being a small company and to keep retail costs down, we chose to print only one packaging version, rather than incurring the cost of a "California only " version.

Where are your products made?

All of the okocat litters are produced at our facility in Jesup, GA. 

Can I compost natural cat litter?

Our wood litter itself is completely biodegradable. However, we do not recommend putting used litter feces clumps in your compost bin. If you choose to compost, do not use in vegetable gardens, or be sure to let it set for six months so as to follow the USDA protocol in order to make the compost safe for use in vegetable gardens. Please check with compositing experts on how to most safely compost pet litters and before using according to USDA guidelines.

Is ökocat litter flushable?

okocat is 100% biodegradable like other flushable litters, however, we decided to remove “flushable" from okocat packaging due to ongoing concerns about the environmental impact, especially on water quality by introducing harmful pathogens. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that pet waste can harm fish, wildlife, native vegetation and water quality. Cat feces can also contain toxoplasma, an illness-causing parasite that can be passed to humans. A growing number of marine mammals have been diagnosed with toxoplasmosis, which is believed to have survived the sewage treatment process, allowing cat litter flushed down the toilet to sweep the parasite out to sea.  In fact, some state governments, including Rhode Island, prohibit pet owners from flushing pet waste.

If you do choose to flush it, we do not recommend flushing if you are on a septic system or in water-saving low volume toilets. California Residents - According to CA law AB 2485, encouraging your cat to use an indoor litter box, or properly disposing of outdoor cat feces, is beneficial to overall water quality. California asks that you do not flush cat litter in toilets or dispose of it in gutters or storm drains. Healthy Pet will not be responsible for damages resulting from misuse of its products. 

Are any animals used in the testing of your products?

We do not use animals in the testing of any of our products. All our products do go through rigorous quality assurance procedures and third party laboratory testing and adhere to established safety guidelines mandated by regulatory and animal welfare agencies. Our products are made from substances that have a long history of safety for both the humans and animals, and are found in everyday products from both the food and cosmetics industries.