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Tenebrae
Guest
Is there a particular brand of kitty litter which does a good job of neutralizing odor? Or is there always some odor when you have a litter box?
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Anglewannabe
Guest
I found the only way to keep the litter not stinking too much was to clean it regularly and once a week dump the whole thing out and clean the litter with Mr clean solution. I always used the clumping litter since my cats seem to like it better and the urine did not stay around.
There are some powders you can add to the litter but I found that just added another smell and never got rid of the stink
As for different brands, considering what the cats do on the litter, I always got the cheapest stuff
There are some powders you can add to the litter but I found that just added another smell and never got rid of the stink
As for different brands, considering what the cats do on the litter, I always got the cheapest stuff
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Bookcat
Guest
Bookcat uses Tidy cat (for the cats!)…and there is both a long lasting one and an immediate control…
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oldgraymare2
Guest
Hi Tenebrae,
Yes, we have an indoor kitty.
My husband usually gets the cat litter for our cat.
He picks up the really large bags that either weigh 20 lbs. or 40 lbs. He buys the Tidy Cat brand. Our local farm store usually has a really good price on it. They put it on sale pretty often.
I think that he gets the “odor control” formula. I think that it helps with the odor from the box.
He scoops out her box daily, but he cleans the whole box once a week, where he empties out the litter and washes the box with mild dish soap and water, and puts new litter in it. Our kitty likes a clean box.
Yes, we have an indoor kitty.
My husband usually gets the cat litter for our cat.
He picks up the really large bags that either weigh 20 lbs. or 40 lbs. He buys the Tidy Cat brand. Our local farm store usually has a really good price on it. They put it on sale pretty often.
I think that he gets the “odor control” formula. I think that it helps with the odor from the box.
He scoops out her box daily, but he cleans the whole box once a week, where he empties out the litter and washes the box with mild dish soap and water, and puts new litter in it. Our kitty likes a clean box.
P
pianistclare
Guest
We have 3 cats. Change the box often. Can’t stress that enough. We use Scoop Away since it’s a clumping litter and masks the urine odor very well. It’s near our toilet, so the rule is, if you’re in there at all, you scoop before you wash your hands. Keeps on top of things. By the way, it’s a BIG littler box. Made out of one of those under the bed storage boxes. Scoop every time you see something, and change it out entirely twice a week.
The cats hated that sprinkle stuff, felt icky and sticky on their paws. Kind of like what it does to your carpets. Not good.
Good luck with your kitties!
The cats hated that sprinkle stuff, felt icky and sticky on their paws. Kind of like what it does to your carpets. Not good.
Good luck with your kitties!
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anonymous_in_fl
Guest
I have 3 indoor cats, and no litterbox odor. I use Ultrapet Micro Crystals. It is not a clumping litter. It is silica crystals----- you scoop out the solid poo, and the crystals absorb the urine. Love this stuff! One cat=one bag once a month. Costs around $9 per bag. Check your grocery store or pet store, or their website.
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Modern_Revert
Guest
We have three cats and three litter boxes, one on each floor.
Arm & Hammer clumping litter seems to work pretty well.
We scoop once a day and change the litters once a week.
Arm & Hammer clumping litter seems to work pretty well.
We scoop once a day and change the litters once a week.
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ClearWater
Guest
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Cricket2
Guest
I don’t know if you will have this where you live but we use “Natural Instincts.” It is fairly dust free, clumps well and is the easiest to clean up we have ever used. Next up is “Fresh Step” if you can’t find the other one. We have two cats, and the boy is a huge one. He weighs 25 pounds, while his mama is around 10 pounds. He is not fat either, just huge and so as you might suspect can really make use of his box.
I hope this helps. I also plant kitty grass in the house in a planter for them. It makes them happy and I am sure you can find it in almost any pet store. It is basically wheat, oat grass and lemon grass. It is easy to keep and they eat it like mad, so I plant more than one bunch over different periods of time.
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Stella_Matutina
Guest
You can flush the scoops? I always thought you couldn’t flush that kind of litter only “natural” litters like Feline Pine.
We use Tidy Cats and scoop EVERYDAY!
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pianistclare
Guest
NOOOOOOOOOOO! I didn’t mean you can flush them!
NO, I meant after you use the toilet, and before you naturally wash your hands, we always scoop the nearby box and THEN wash our hands.
Sorry for the confusion! No, never flush! You’ll cement your pipes!
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Saint_Castulus
Guest
I have the litter box in the garage:thumbsup: with a kitty door installed on the service porch door leading to the garage.Do you have that option?
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Cariethra
Guest
We use the corn based World’s Best. It is expensive, but we don’t have to buy it as often as the sand litter. That stuff is amazing.
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Stella_Matutina
Guest
Ohhh ok. I get it, before you wash your hands, might as well scoop. Makes sense. What do you scoop it into? I would be concerned that if we scooped it into a trash bag or can, then it would just start smelling. We scoop once a day when we know we can then take it outside.NOOOOOOOOOOO! I didn’t mean you can flush them!
NO, I meant after you use the toilet, and before you naturally wash your hands, we always scoop the nearby box and THEN wash our hands.
Sorry for the confusion! No, never flush! You’ll cement your pipes!
I heard they have made a litter genie just like the diaper genie! littergenie.com/
I’m too cheap and too afraid it wouldn’t work. I also hate buying refill specialty bags.
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pianistclare
Guest
I keep the small plastic grocery bags in there in a tissue holder (so they sort of pop up when you grab one) then tie a knot and put it in the regular trash can which has a lid.
Is ok until you can dump the entire can. Yeah, I won’t buy a litter genie. Just another appliance for the next white elephant sale at church, LOL.
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George_Stegmeir
Guest
I do not have a cat at present, having lost my friend of 12 years not too long ago. But living in a New York City apartment and having had several cats over the past 30 plus years, I think I am qualified to comment.
The only type of cat litter you want to use are the brands that guarentee they are non tracking. Even so, you would be well advised to put several sheets of old newspaper under your cat box. Then, pour a whole box of Arm & Hammer baking soda evenly on the bottom of the washed clean and dried cat box. Then pour in your cat litter until the box is half full. The reason for so much litter is that cats instinctivly need to dig and dig deeply after they relieve themselves. If you only have a little litter in the box, the cat will strew it all over the place! If you value your nose, you will empty your cat box at least once a week and wash it with any good detergent. Washing the cat box will get rid of any residual odor. If you neglect to do this, your cat will let you know by forgetting they are house broken and leave you little presents in odd places - like on your bed! These creatures really know how to get even with you for inconveniencing them!
The only type of cat litter you want to use are the brands that guarentee they are non tracking. Even so, you would be well advised to put several sheets of old newspaper under your cat box. Then, pour a whole box of Arm & Hammer baking soda evenly on the bottom of the washed clean and dried cat box. Then pour in your cat litter until the box is half full. The reason for so much litter is that cats instinctivly need to dig and dig deeply after they relieve themselves. If you only have a little litter in the box, the cat will strew it all over the place! If you value your nose, you will empty your cat box at least once a week and wash it with any good detergent. Washing the cat box will get rid of any residual odor. If you neglect to do this, your cat will let you know by forgetting they are house broken and leave you little presents in odd places - like on your bed! These creatures really know how to get even with you for inconveniencing them!
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NeedsMercy
Guest
As a mommy of 8 kitties, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. First, the rule of thumb is that you need at least one more litter box than the number of cats. With 8 cats, we have 10 boxes: 2 on the main floor, 4 on the 2nd floor and 4 in the basement. Everybody gets to go where they want without some other cat bugging them.
All our kitties like Fresh Step clumping. We’ve found that the Extreme Unscented has a little bit less dust and controls odor better. (FS is on sale a lot in stores and they have a nice Paw Points program where you can get free coupons. Tip: make a habit of checking circulars from pet stores. Also, check Facebook pages and websites of the people that make litter. You’d be surprised how many deals are out there!) You have to put at least 3 or 4 inches of litter in each box (the bigger, the better). My kitties don’t like “deodorizers” or other stuff put in their boxes.
**Cats hate dirty boxes! ** You’ve got to clean every day. Every day, no excuses. Like someone else mentioned, I don’t use litter gizmos where you are condemned to buy special bags forever after. Keep all your old plastic shopping bags. I scoop and double bag all the clumps. That way, even if I can’t put it outside that day, it won’t smell the house up. I have found that when there is a urine odor in our house, it’s usually because somebody has not used the litter box for some reason. We keep a black light around, to check when that happens.
Because we have so many boxes, we don’t dump all the litter every week. That would be super expensive! When we scoop, we’ll also wipe down the sides of the boxes in case someone’s aim is off. Just a wipe with some soapy water; a rinse and a dry. When I tried using disinfecting wipes to clean the boxes, one of my kitties had an allergic reaction, so I stopped using them altogether.
One more tip: cleaning the litter boxes every day also lets you know if one of your kitties is having a problem urinating or defecating. My Peaches has kidney disease, so I keep track of how much she’s peeing by checking her box each day.
HTH
All our kitties like Fresh Step clumping. We’ve found that the Extreme Unscented has a little bit less dust and controls odor better. (FS is on sale a lot in stores and they have a nice Paw Points program where you can get free coupons. Tip: make a habit of checking circulars from pet stores. Also, check Facebook pages and websites of the people that make litter. You’d be surprised how many deals are out there!) You have to put at least 3 or 4 inches of litter in each box (the bigger, the better). My kitties don’t like “deodorizers” or other stuff put in their boxes.
**Cats hate dirty boxes! ** You’ve got to clean every day. Every day, no excuses. Like someone else mentioned, I don’t use litter gizmos where you are condemned to buy special bags forever after. Keep all your old plastic shopping bags. I scoop and double bag all the clumps. That way, even if I can’t put it outside that day, it won’t smell the house up. I have found that when there is a urine odor in our house, it’s usually because somebody has not used the litter box for some reason. We keep a black light around, to check when that happens.
Because we have so many boxes, we don’t dump all the litter every week. That would be super expensive! When we scoop, we’ll also wipe down the sides of the boxes in case someone’s aim is off. Just a wipe with some soapy water; a rinse and a dry. When I tried using disinfecting wipes to clean the boxes, one of my kitties had an allergic reaction, so I stopped using them altogether.
One more tip: cleaning the litter boxes every day also lets you know if one of your kitties is having a problem urinating or defecating. My Peaches has kidney disease, so I keep track of how much she’s peeing by checking her box each day.
HTH
C
Cat
Guest
Cat has had as many as five cats at one time indoors. At the moment, we just have one.
I think that no matter what is done, there will still be some odor–not much–with cats because they are animals. Each cat is different, and the urine smells just a little different with each cat, and some have stronger odor than others. When you are a cat owner, you just get used to cat smells and don’t notice the daily odor. If you can’t face this, perhaps having cats isn’t a good idea.
We are able to keep our litter box down in the basement, and that is what “neutralizes” the odor–keeping them far away from our living area. We use two litter boxes per one cat and that helps, too, as the cat uses one for pee and one for poo.
I agree with those who say not to use any of the sprinkle stuff–sticky and for some cats, it can cause an allergic reaction. I’ve never used baking soda, but I’m a skeptic. If it works for you, great, but I’ve never noticed that baking soda neutralizes ANY odors, including fridge odors.
We use clay Tidy Cat litter, and it works fine. IMO, the clumping litter is absolutely gross–if you don’t clean it after every urination every day several times a day, you will find that within 24-48 hours, your litter box is one big hard heavy concrete block and you’ll have to throw the whole thing away and start over with a new box and litter. Too expensive for us, and it doesn’t fit into our lifestyle to clean the box constantly. .
We have never had trouble with our cats rejecting a dirty litter box and we have owned a LOT of cats over the years! Sometimes days will go by and we don’t clean out the poos, and they don’t mind.
We find it impractical to totally empty the box and clean the pan every week. The only way to do this dirty task indoors is to use a basement sink that isn’t used for any other human purpose other than dirty clean up jobs (washing out paint brushes, cleaning greasy machinery parts, etc.). I wouldn’t wash a litter pan out upstairs in a sink that is used for dishes, human washing, vege washing, etc. Eugh.
I prefer to take litter pans outside and clean them with a hose.
But in the winter, it is impossible to take the pans outside and wash them because there is no hose (it’s safely in the garage), and there is several feet of snow on the ground.
In the warmer months, I’ll take the pans out and wash them once a month or so. I use a hose on “jet spray,” and I stand back, as I don’t want dirty litter touching me. Then I allow the pans to dry in the sun.
IMO, when the pans get dirty enough to require weekly washing, it’s time to buy new pans. They aren’t that expensive, and I tend to buy them at least twice a year, or as needed.
I hope you and your cat enjoy each other’s company. They’re great companions.
I think that no matter what is done, there will still be some odor–not much–with cats because they are animals. Each cat is different, and the urine smells just a little different with each cat, and some have stronger odor than others. When you are a cat owner, you just get used to cat smells and don’t notice the daily odor. If you can’t face this, perhaps having cats isn’t a good idea.
We are able to keep our litter box down in the basement, and that is what “neutralizes” the odor–keeping them far away from our living area. We use two litter boxes per one cat and that helps, too, as the cat uses one for pee and one for poo.
I agree with those who say not to use any of the sprinkle stuff–sticky and for some cats, it can cause an allergic reaction. I’ve never used baking soda, but I’m a skeptic. If it works for you, great, but I’ve never noticed that baking soda neutralizes ANY odors, including fridge odors.
We use clay Tidy Cat litter, and it works fine. IMO, the clumping litter is absolutely gross–if you don’t clean it after every urination every day several times a day, you will find that within 24-48 hours, your litter box is one big hard heavy concrete block and you’ll have to throw the whole thing away and start over with a new box and litter. Too expensive for us, and it doesn’t fit into our lifestyle to clean the box constantly. .
We have never had trouble with our cats rejecting a dirty litter box and we have owned a LOT of cats over the years! Sometimes days will go by and we don’t clean out the poos, and they don’t mind.
We find it impractical to totally empty the box and clean the pan every week. The only way to do this dirty task indoors is to use a basement sink that isn’t used for any other human purpose other than dirty clean up jobs (washing out paint brushes, cleaning greasy machinery parts, etc.). I wouldn’t wash a litter pan out upstairs in a sink that is used for dishes, human washing, vege washing, etc. Eugh.
I prefer to take litter pans outside and clean them with a hose.
But in the winter, it is impossible to take the pans outside and wash them because there is no hose (it’s safely in the garage), and there is several feet of snow on the ground.
In the warmer months, I’ll take the pans out and wash them once a month or so. I use a hose on “jet spray,” and I stand back, as I don’t want dirty litter touching me. Then I allow the pans to dry in the sun.
IMO, when the pans get dirty enough to require weekly washing, it’s time to buy new pans. They aren’t that expensive, and I tend to buy them at least twice a year, or as needed.
I hope you and your cat enjoy each other’s company. They’re great companions.
M
Miriam1947
Guest
I use Feline pine litter. It is awesome and I just scoop up the poop without any littler and dump it in the toilet.
It breaks down from urine and is safely disposed outside. It is made of pine with no additives and is like little pellets.
It breaks down from urine and is safely disposed outside. It is made of pine with no additives and is like little pellets.
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lutheran_farmer
Guest
Lots of good advice. I just wanted to add that for that once per week stripping of the litter, swish around a little white vinegar in the litter box, pour it on the old kitty litter and wipe it down with paper towels. The vinegar loosens anything left behind and gets rid of the smell.
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