Last updated Oct 6, 2023
Kate Barrington / Cats.com
Everyone wants to be healthy, and we want the same thing for our pets. The biggest thing you can do for your own health is to eat a nutritious diet – that means plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins. Maybe even a little tofu from time to time.
While tofu has its place on your dinner table, however, you probably wouldn’t expect to find it in your cat’s litter box. That’s where ViviPet comes in.
ViviPet offers 100% natural cat litter made with bean curd. It’s soft and gentle on your cat’s paws, flushable for convenience, and lightweight but highly absorbent. We’ve tested it ourselves to bring you this honest and unbiased review.
Ratings
- Variety of Products – 3.5/5
- Price Per Pound – 3/5
- Multi-Cat Formulas – 3.5/5
- Clumping Ability – 4.5/5
- Long-Lasting Odor Control – 4.5/5
- Natural/Alternative Options – 5/5
Overall Score: 4/5
Brand Overview
The story of ViviPet started with the tragic loss of a beloved family pet, Tax. Founder Vivi lost Tax to Feline Infectious Peritonitis, a viral disease caused by certain strains of feline coronavirus.
What makes this disease so horrible is that infected cats typically don’t show symptoms during the initial viral infection and most recover spontaneously. In about 10% of cats, however, the virus can mutate and spread throughout the body as a progressive, almost always fatal disease.
After losing Tax, Vivi created ViviPet to help support other pet owners and to gather funds to donate to organizations like ZenByCat that support FIP research. Today, Vivi is the loving owner of three adopted cats and a dog. She continues to work toward her goal of finding a cure for FIP.
| Products Available | ||||
| Name | Materials | Clumping? | Life Stage | Additional Features |
| ViviPet Tofu Cat Litter | 100% Natural Bean Curd | Yes | All | Biodegradable, flushable, lightweight, soft texture |
What Products Does the Brand Offer?
ViviPet is an online retailer that sells popular pet products, but they also have their own formula of tofu cat litter. This is the only product ViviPet currently makes and sells at the time of this review.
Here are some of the details about ViviPet Snowball Tofu Cat Litter:
- Made from 100% natural soybeans, safe and nontoxic
- Ultra-soft texture, gentle on even sensitive cat paws
- Dust-free, helps protect your cat’s respiratory tract
- Highly absorbent and lightweight, flushable and biodegradable
- Fast clumping in 3 seconds or less, easy to scoop
- Environmentally friendly formula dissolves easily in water
Because ViviPet only offers one formula at this time, we’ve reviewed it in detail below.
Kate Barrington / Cats.com
ViviPet Snowball Tofu Cat Litter Reviewed
Cat litter is a necessary evil for cat owners – it’s something you need but you want to avoid dealing with it as much as possible. When we shop for cat litter, we look for something that absorbs liquid quickly, clumps well, and controls odor. ViviPet’s Snowball Tofu Cat Litter performed well in all three areas.
When picking up the bag of ViviPet tofu cat litter, we were surprised how lightweight it was. A 6-pound bag was similar in size to a 12- or 15-pound bag from other brands, and the website claims it does the work of a 20-pound bag. We certainly weren’t disappointed when it came to the other promises made. ViviPet tofu cat litter does indeed absorb liquid very quickly and it clumps well. As is true for many alternative litters we’ve tried, the clumps weren’t quite as hard as clay, but were easy enough to scoop.
In terms of odor control, this is an area of struggle in our multi-cat household. ViviPet performed well, particularly for urine odor. We scoop daily, so odor from solid waste was less of an issue but the litter seemed to do a pretty good job in that area as well.
The biggest concern with many cat owners when it comes to cat litter is the dust it produces. Not only is ViviPet tofu litter low in dust, but the litter is made from 100% natural bean curd. Even if your cat does breathe in a little dust, you don’t have to worry about toxic chemicals.
The other problems we have with ViviPet’s tofu litter are the price and the degree to which it tracks. This litter costs over $2.00 per pound which is pretty pricey, though the website suggests that a single bag can last one cat for up to 6 weeks. We didn’t even come close to that in our multi-cat household and don’t imagine most households would. It would be hard to justify paying so much for this litter.
Finally, while ViviPet Snowball Tofu Cat Litter is lightweight and gentle on your cat’s paws, the granules are so light and fine that they tend to track… a lot. The mess is easy to sweep up, but if your cats tend to fling litter around, this may not be the best option for you.
| Category | Rating |
| Price | 6/10 |
| Clumping Action | 9/10 |
| Odor Control | 9/10 |
| Dust/Mess | 8/10 |
| Scent | 10/10 |
| Easy to Scoop | 9/10 |
| Overall Rating | 8.5/10 |
Pros
- Natural and non-toxic, 100% biodegradable
- Soft texture, gentle on sensitive cat paws
- Highly absorbent, neutralizes urine odor
- Flushable for easy disposal, biodegradable
Cons
- Fairly expensive compared to other options
- Lightweight grains may track more than some litters
This litter comes in a 6-pound bag with 4 bags per order. Though the litter is very lightweight, it is highly absorbent. Each 6-pound bag does the work of a 20-pound bag from other brands.
What Do Customers Think of ViviPet Cat Litter?
Because ViviPet is only sold on the brand’s website, it’s a little difficult to gather unbiased reviews. Based on the reviews posted on the website, however, this cat litter has a 9.9/10-star rating. ViviPet has received over 1,000 5-star reviews and over 50 4-star reviews. Though there are a few ratings under 3 stars, we weren’t able to read the reviews.
Here are a few snippets from some of the positive customer reviews:
“I got this litter because my kitten was eating her other litter and I was scared she would get sick. She has eaten a little of this and I feel better since it’s tofu. Meow!” – Amanda K.
“Worth the price!! I’ve spent enough money on litter to buy a car. So, I’m glad I’ve found one that is worth the price. This litter lasts a lot longer than other brands I’ve tried and keeps my house from smelling like a litter box.” – Gina Y.
“My fiancé has bad cat allergies which means my 14-year-old cat makes him sneeze and his eyes turn red. I read online that the enzyme he’s allergic to is in cat urine which can get stirred up from dust when scooping the box. So, I wanted to try tofu litter since it’s the most dust free. We’ve been using it for a week and so far, so good! I think the dust and not letting the clumps sit around has helped a ton. I will definitely keep using this!” – Abigail W.
Though most of the reviews on the ViviPet website seem to be positive, we were able to find a few negative reviews on Chewy. Though Chewy doesn’t appear to have the product in stock very often, a few customers managed to find it and made the comments in the reviews:
“Last year I bought this in high hopes of ending my problem with clay litter dust. And it actually was worse using this product? I use sifting liners in my cat’s litter box. And every time I cleaned his litter box and sifted a liner I had to wear safety glasses because the dust was so bad.” – Tigger
“Overall, this litter is good and I like that it’s envirofriendly, but for me and my cats the pros do not justify the large price increase over clay litter.” – Jayz
“It DOES track, quick a lot actually, because the clumps are big, so my litter mat doesn’t cat it easily like the clay sand. But the tracking is easy to clean up, because again, they’re big pieces. The litter scoops nicely as well, which was what I was worried the most about.” – EnslavedCatMom
How Much Does ViviPet Cat Litter Cost?
To purchase ViviPet tofu cat litter, you’ll need to create a subscription. Each order comes with 4 bags of litter for $59.99. If you average it out, that means each 6-pound bag costs about $14.99. You’ll get a free bag with your first order, however, and you only pay shipping on your first order.
If you want to know how much ViviPet tofu litter costs per pound, you’ll need to do some more math. Using the price of $14.99 per bag, the average per-pound price is about $2.50.
Kate Barrington / Cats.com
Overall, is ViviPet Cat Litter A Good Choice?
We’re impressed with ViviPet Snowball Tofu Cat Litter as a whole because it is extremely lightweight and highly absorbent. Of the natural cat litters we’ve tried, this one performed very well against urine. Feces odors are notoriously more difficult to cover, however, especially with multiple cats. We liked that it’s all natural and, of course, that it is flushable.
The thing you need to consider with this brand is whether the cost justifies the performance. If you have a single cat and you’re looking for a natural alternative, it could be the perfect choice. ViviPet’s tofu litter is lightweight, highly absorbent, and controls odor well – it’s also flushable. In a multi-cat household, however, you may end up going through litter more quickly than you can afford.
Though ViviPet only offers one type of cat litter at this time, they seem to have put a lot of thought into it. The product is good but we wouldn’t say it’s the ideal option for every cat owner.
Where is ViviPet Cat Litter Sold?
The best place to purchase ViviPet cat litter is online through the ViviPet website. You’ll need to start a subscription, but you’ll receive a free bag with your first order. Each order consists of 4 bags of litter and will renew every 4 weeks. You can cancel or change your subscription at any time by logging in.
You may also be able to find ViviPet tofu litter from online retailers, but not as consistently. Chewy sometimes carries it but they were out of stock at the time of this review.
They’re out of business. I’ve been on a hunt for their bowls as the elevated stand they sold has very specific shaped bowls that fit (and one of them broke). A store that still had some remaining products (but not bowls) said they were bought by Chewy. I find that odd since Chewy doesn’t offer any of the old Vivipet products, so why buy out the brand? It wasn’t like Vivipet was a competitor.
FYI, their website finally shut down. For a while it was a zombie site that was still up and running but almost every product was out of stock. People on Vivipet’s Facebook page commented that when they did place an order, nothing had been shipped and attempts to contact them were unsuccessful.
Thank you for letting us know—we’ll make this clear in the article.