Many types of litter are becoming available because of the world’s desire to be more environmentally friendly and our desire to provide a healthier environment for our pets. As you probably know because you are reading this, wood pellets are becoming one of the most popular new litters because it’s absorbent and biodegrades.
However, since it’s so new, it can be difficult to know if it is safe and what brand is the best for your pet. We’ve chosen three different brands to review for you so you can see how they work. We’ll give you the pros and cons of each one and tell you a little about our experience using them as well as if our cats liked it. Keep reading while we look at types of wood, absorbency, effectiveness, and more to help you make an informed purchase.
A Comparison of Our Favorites (2022 Update)
| Rating | Image | Product | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Best Overall
 |
 |
Feline Pine Original Cat Litter |
|
Check Latest Price |
Best Value
 |
 |
Kaytee Wood Pellets for Pets |
|
Check Latest Price |
Premium Choice
 |
 |
Simply Pine Natural Cat Litter |
|
Check Latest Price |
The 3 Best Wood Pellet Cat Litters
1. Feline Pine Litter for Cats
Feline Pine Original Cat Litter is our choice as the best overall wood pellet cat litter. It’s chemical-free and contains no harmful dyes. It produces very little dust, even as you dump it into your litter box, and it’s surprisingly absorbent. It quickly absorbs urine and locks in odors. It’s also extremely fragrant with a natural pine scent that helps mask bad odors and freshen your home. The natural pine wood used to make the pellets is sustainable sourced from tree farms.
We liked Feline Pine, and it was our favorite of the three. However, it’s only available in a large bag, so it’s quite expensive, especially if you’re not sure about using it.
All in all, we think this is the best wood pellet cat litter out there.
- Chemical-free
- Fresh scent
- Absorbent
- Low dust
- Expensive
- Limited size
2. Kaytee Wood Pellets for Pets
Kaytee Wood Pellets for Pets contains very little dust, and it’s available in multiple sizes, so it’s a good choice if you haven’t tried wood pellet litter before and aren’t sure if it’s right for your cat. The larger pellets won’t stick to your cat’s paws, so they won’t track into your home. It not only makes a great cat litter, but it’s safe for all animals and is a great choice for rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and more.
Kaytee Wood Pellets are great and are extremely absorbent, but sometimes they break down into sawdust which can create quite a mess. The sawdust will also track into your home, so you need to change the entire litter box when you notice it. It also didn’t control odor too well, and our litter box would smell if we didn’t replace the litter every few days.
- Less dust
- It won’t stick to paws
- Safe for all pets
- Multiple sizes
- Turns into sawdust
- It doesn’t control odor well
3. Simply Pine Natural Pine Pellet Litter
Simply Pine Natural Cat Litter is a biodegradable cat litter with a pleasant pine smell that naturally masks odor and freshens the air in your home. It’s extremely absorbent and can absorb three times the urine that clay can. These cat litter pellets are also naturally antibacterial, so they provide a safer environment for your cat. It contains no chemicals or artificial dies.
The downside we experienced while reviewing Simply Pine is that it doesn’t control odor very well, and the dark color of the pellets can camouflage the poop and make cleaning out the litter box a little more difficult.
- Pleasant smell
- Absorbent
- Naturally antibacterial
- It doesn’t control odor
- Dark colors
Buyer’s Guide: Selecting the Best Wood Pellet Cat Litter
Here are a few things you should consider before you purchase your next bag of wood pellet cat litter.
Why Should I Use Wood Pellet?
Wood pellets are biodegradable and sourced from renewable resources, so they are great for the environment. All wood is absorbent and can hold three times as much fluid as clay litters, so you won’t have urine sitting at the bottom of your litter pan, and it can help lock in odors.
What Type of Wood Is Used In Wood Pellet Cat Litters?
Most brands use softer woods like pine and cedar for their absorbent and naturally antibacterial properties, but virtually any kind of wood is fine. Softwood is also easy to form into pellets, grows quickly, and is usually inexpensive.
How Do I Clean A Wood Pellet Litter Box?
Wood pellets are not that much different than clay litter except it looks different. You will need to scoop out the solid waste as your cat leaves it, and after the pellets absorb their fill of urine, they usually break down into sawdust that you can scoop out. The downside to using wood is that you will need a special scooper to remove the sawdust and another scooper to remove the solid waste. Some sifting litter boxes may work too. The pellets are much larger than clay litter, so your regular scooper won’t work. You will need to use something with bigger holes.
Any Drawbacks of Using a Wood Pellet Cat Litter?
Sawdust
Unfortunately, there are some downsides to using a wood pellet cat litter that you should consider. First, it breaks down into sawdust when it absorbs too much urine and can be difficult to clean up. It tends to track more as sawdust, and it’s all completely soaked in urine, so it’s not something you want to find outside the litterbox.
Another problem with sawdust is that it can be dangerous to your pet’s health if they breathe in too much. Though the dust is very low as pellets, it increases as sawdust, so we only recommend using this type of litter in open containers and choosing another type for covered units.
Fragrance
Even though wood cat litters usually contain no artificial fragrances, they tend to be quite fragrant on their own and might give off an odor too strong for some people. Pined and cedar are both extremely fragrant and popular for use in cat litter, so we recommend trying both kinds if one bothers you to see if you can better tolerate the other.
Odor Control
Another problem common with wood cat litter is that they don’t control odor well and can become quite smelly if not changed frequently. If you have a busy schedule or tend to forget to clean the box after a long day, you might want to choose a different brand to keep the odor from spreading throughout the house.
Conclusion
When choosing our next wood pellet cat litter, we highly recommend our top pick. Feline Pine Original Cat Litter is chemical-free and contains very little dust. Its natural pine scent will help mask odors and make your home smell nice. It can be a little expensive at first, but the large package will last a long time and provide you with significant savings if you stick with it. If you are just getting started with wood pellet cat litter, we highly recommend Kaytee Wood Pellets for Pets. This brand comes in a much smaller package that will let you experiment with this kind of litter without making a big bag commitment. It works almost as well and won’t stick to your cat’s paws as it leaves the litter box.
We hope you have enjoyed reading over these reviews and have learned something new about this emerging cat litter. If we have convinced you to give one a try, please share this guide to the best wood pellet cat litters on Facebook and Twitter.
