Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I buy a LOT of stuff from Amazon, but I write hardly any reviews. I had to regarding this product. I have 5 cats that are all rescue cats, but one. With six litter boxes, we were really looking for a more natural litter that wasn't dusty and didn't track. Odor control and clumping was a plus too. I saw this product, loved the idea and most of the reviews and gave it a try........unfortunately. I put this product in the two main litter boxes that are used the most, as a trial. After using the 75 pounds I bought, I have determined that this may be the worst cat litter we have ever tried. First, it tracks like crazy. It is made of wheat, so imagine clumps and crumbs of urine soaked "cookie dough" everywhere. We have large litter mats in front of all the pans and we STILL have cat litter on the carpets, the kitchen floor, the beds, the window sills, you name it. We vacuum constantly. This stuff is VERY sticky when wet and the cats always have it stuck to their feet. The stickiness is an issue when cleaning the pans too. It never clumps hard, but remains moist and like glue on the sides and bottom of the cat pans, requiring a good deal of effort to scrap the pan clean. (BTW - I would NEVER flush this stuff down a toilet with a septic system! That would simply be asking for an expensive repair.) It is heavy, wet, and is not cost effective at all. The next big problem is the smell. Admittedly, it does a good job of masking the urine smell.........with it's own sickening urine/wheat combination smell. We've had cats for most of the last 40 years. We used to place rescued litters at our family business. We are very used to cleaning cat pans. The smell from this stuff almost makes me gag and my wife just can't stand it. I don't like perfumed cat litter, but this odor is worse. Lastly, and more importantly (and the push I needed to write this review), two of my cats have developed pretty severe skin allergies, resulting in constant licking and hair pulling......creating large hairless areas. We have never experienced this before. Our vet thought it was a food allergy but was skeptical. We tried hypo-allergenic foods to no avail. I had to dose each one with anti-histamines each day, and even that did not completely stop the itching. Removing this litter from the equation has dramatically improved the condition. Their hair is starting to grow back (in a different color! LOL) We never thought that cat litter could be the issue, until the vet asked about any litter changes. All in all, I would not recommend this litter. When I changed litter, I had to scrub the pans with soap and water and a rough sponge. Some of the dried on spots required scraping with a cedar shingle. I'm using a non-tracking, non-stick kind now. I like it much better. I know I sound like a real complainer, but I'm really not. This is just a bad product. At least it is for us, and our cats, and I thought other cat lovers should know of our experience before buying this. It is really too bad as this seems like such a good, healthy idea.