I'm a new proud owner of a cat, Jake! He's awesome except I can't figure out how to cut down on the awful smell from his litter box. It's kept down in the basement, but our basement is finished and that's where my computer is, the kids playroom and a family area. I scoop it out at least once a day and I'm now storing the "dirty" litter inside plastic grocery bags...tied and then I place that bag inside a small garbage can that has a scented trash bag in it and then closes tightly with a lid. The first week I was tossing the grocery bags filled with urine and fecal matter in the trash cans kept in our garage, but with the warm temps...the garage was disgusting!! It's better indoors but still very strong. I'm using a litter that clumps and has crystals in it, he's eating the Walmart brand of a "better" cat food (recommended by a vet) and drinks water. Does anyone have any advice on how to better manage the litter box routine, air fresheners etc.... that will help us out?? Ok..I'm getting some leads on how to cut down on the odor, now wondering if anyone actually flushes the poop down the toilet without plugging it. So far, I haven't done this b/c I'm using the clumping litter but willing to switch litter and the idea of flushing it immediately sounds great..if..it won't screw up my system. Thanks.
Thanks so much.
M. M.
sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of the cat box. and Put completely new fresh litter in 2x's a week.
You may want to wash down the walls and flooring around the box and put down a rather wide mat as sometimes cats do miss
Hi M.~
I used to have that problem. I was able to get some pure oils from a salon where I used to work. I would put a few drops daily in the litter, as well as around the box. It was pretty strong stuff, smelled like wintergreen and had a TON of uses. It was pricey, but worth it, the bottle lasted forever. If you find an Aveda salon you can still get it...I forget the exact name of it but if you tell them wintergreen, they will know. You may find a cheaper version if you look around. A drop in each bag might make it tolerable until you can get it to the road.
~L.
I like to add baking soda to our kitty litter box. I sprinkle some on the bottom of a clean box, add the litter then top it off with more baking soda. But, I have to “stir” it up a little so our cat didn’t notice it. For some reason he didn’t like it when I just sprinkled it on top of the clean litter.
When I scoop the litter, I just add a little more baking soda.
If your cat’s urine is very strong, I’d talk to my Vet.
Good luck
Hi M.,
We've had cats for about 20 years and so far Fresh Step kitty litter and half a box of baking soda works pretty well. I throw out the old litter every week on garbage day and when I refill halfway with the clean litter then I pour a liberal layer of baking soda then the rest of the litter, then a light layer of baking soda on top. That way when the cat rakes the litter he's mixing the baking soda in with the litter etc all the time.
If his box smells that badly all the time even when you're taking everything out... I would take a really really good look at the food you're feeding him. A Walmart brand of any pet food is usually at the bottom of the lists in pet foods for nutrients etc. Make sure he has more than enough Fresh water at his disposal. Cats need a lot of water and they're picky about it being fresh. That might help.
Good Luck
L.
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover Soul Food (made by Diamond) sold at Pet Supplies Plus or you can check their site for other stores.. I'm sorry to say this, but if you can buy it at a grocery store it isn't good food. YES, I'm including Eukanuba and IAMS in this lump. They not only have fillers, they also have herbicides and insecticides sprayed on their foods in the form of BHA BHT and Ethyoxoquin (Tire preservative). Any food with these in the ingredient label should be avaoided as they are proven cancer causers in animals. First ingredient is usually cornmeal or by product and that is nothing but a filler they have to poop out. The less fillers, the less poop because they utilize what they are eating. Nothing with COLORS should be fed- red is a horrible thing for smelly poop not to mention sugar beets which they don't need either. You could invest in one of the litter maid type self cleaning cat boxes, those clean right after the cat goes and gets out, I loved mine. But otherwise a hood is your best bet and maybe an outside place to store the baggies of feces until trash day.
Here is a link to that food:
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
California Natural and Innova are also really good foods that are not really stinky. Be aware- your vet is paid to refer you to Science Diet, Iams and Eukanuba. If not with cash-with perks and incentives.
Good luck!
C.
You could try mixing some Arm & Hammer baking soda in the litter box with the kitty litter. It may help absorb some of the icky odors. We use a combination of Tidy Cats clumping litter and Arm & Hammer clumping kitty litter. We mix them together in the litter boxes (we have more than one cat). It does help cut down on the odors. We also clean out our litter boxes every other day, but that is because we have more than one cat.
Hey M. and Jake. We have not had luck with the clumping litter. We use Fresh Step brand kitty litter (non clumping) and just scoop the poop out daily and flush it, and change the box about once a week (usually on garbage night). This brand of litter seems to do the best job for us compared to the other brands that we've tried. I've had cats for about 15 years now. Good luck:)
I no longer have a cat but when I did I had a litter box that had a dome lid on it. The cat had to walk in th opening to use it. I thought that helped keep the smell down and kept the kids out. I also put a stick up air freshener in side the lid.
M.,
We have 2 cats and a ferret so that give us 4 boxes (ferrets is in his cage) We switched all of them over to Feline Pine pellets. It is awesome!!! you have to scoop the poop and the urine turns the pellets to dust. I have to change all them totally every 2-3 weeks It is a little more expensive, but you use far less!!! One of the liter boxes is 4 ft from my desk in my office (not my office its my cats room she thinks lol) and I can never smell a thing... Give it a try, its great!!
Good Luck
T.
I'm the owner of two cats, and a very clean home, and knowone knows that I have any, because the key to it all is to have your cat neutered, it cuts completely down on the odor. Also, the Tidy Cat odor control clumping, cleaning the box regularly, having air freshner in the basement where the litter box is. Hopefully your cat is not urinating anywhere outside of the litter box, and it all will be solved. Your cat will be able to stay in any part of your home as long as he uses his litter box. I have been a cat owner for over 10 years. Most friends of mine are afraid of cats, so if they knew I had any they would not ever come over again, so it sh ows that my home is odorless.
Hi M.,
We have two cats too many, and the litter box has always been a sore subject between my husband and me (since they're "my" cats and he doesn't like them). We used to live in an apartment, and the only place we could keep the litter box was in the bathroom (gross, I know). After trying several different types of litter, my mother-in-law found something called "Premium Choice." It is the BEST litter ever. You can get it at Pet Supplies Plus or Chow Hound, but it is more expensive at Chow Hound. Before, we used to have a fine layer of cat litter dust all over everything. With Premium Choice there is no dust, and it really neutralizes the litter box. Give it a try!
A.
i dont have a cat so im a little short on the litter box but for the disposal those diaper genies for children ROCK i can never smell my daughters stinky diapers so maybe keeping one near by and continue the whole grocery bag deal might help? and the only other thing i know is baking soda helps with any kind of odor thats my best shot
M., as a fellow cat owner I know the troubles you are going through. First of all, I do not like any of the cat foods that Wal Mart sells. I don't even like Science Diet. All three of my cats are eating the new Purina Pro Plan Selects (the salmon flavor). This food has cut the smell in their litter box down and has kept their shedding down as well. I get this food at Pet Smart. It is a little more expensive but it works. Also, buy the Tidy Cats deordorizor for the litter pan it works great. Hope this information works!
