Is there any cure for a stinky litter box?

Meowmee

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We live in a three floor home, with two female cats. We have one litterbox in the living room, we use clumping litter and when we are home we clean the litter box immediately when they use the toilet. But it smells SO BAD. It makes me want to gag. It's not that the smell has increased or gotten worse, I guess that before when we lived in a one bedroom condo I figured that was why it smelled so bad, but now I can literally smell it three floors up in the bedroom within minutes of them going. We have central air, I run ceiling fans in every room, I have tried diffusers, citrus sprays, pretty much everything I can think of and nothing works. The smell lingers too forever! We live in a climate where we will freeze now if we leave open the doors and in the summer it's too hot. Is there anything anyone can suggest? Thanks.
Is it the urine the smells bad or the poop or both? Poop could be digestive issues/ parasites etc. or diet as someone said and pee could be health reasons or other reasons but it can also be the litter and not having enough boxes.

You need at least 2 really 3 boxes for two cats. Having two cats use one regular box is going to cause more smell right away. Clay litter is the worst so I would switch to one that is not clay based but gluten free as they tend to smell less. You also need to clean the box out and sterilize it totally at least once per month. More often if there is only one box for 2 cats. A stainless steel pan is the best and plastic is the worst because it absorbs odor.

I have a cat genie which is essentially a toilet which washes the plastic litter each cycle, it is hooked up to drain through a sink pipe. No smell at all from the urine and although it can crush and drain poop I scoop the poop out myself and flush. As for diet I have both kitties on a home made all chicken no carb cooked diet and the smell is much better. I add some pumpkin for fiber. Merlin who is having runs and may have a parasite had very stinky poop but he seems to be getting better and his still smells a bit more, still more than Quinn’s so it can vary with cat. But I would not say there is no smell at all but nothing like what you describe. Merlin has a normal box for now with worlds best cat litter currently. His urine smells more than Quinn’s. I have to ask the dvm about that. He does not seem. To have any uti etc.
 

Anajana

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I like Lucy Pet cat litter nyself. It's expensive, but totally worth it.
 

blumarine916

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Try adding some pine pellets into the litter box. Maybe 2-3cups. I found it really help absorb the odour.
 

nunnc84

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We live in a three floor home, with two female cats. We have one litterbox in the living room, we use clumping litter and when we are home we clean the litter box immediately when they use the toilet. But it smells SO BAD. It makes me want to gag. It's not that the smell has increased or gotten worse, I guess that before when we lived in a one bedroom condo I figured that was why it smelled so bad, but now I can literally smell it three floors up in the bedroom within minutes of them going. We have central air, I run ceiling fans in every room, I have tried diffusers, citrus sprays, pretty much everything I can think of and nothing works. The smell lingers too forever! We live in a climate where we will freeze now if we leave open the doors and in the summer it's too hot. Is there anything anyone can suggest? Thanks.
Hi
I’ve tried raw diet. It’s difficult to make keep on demand. It does help the smell.
I moved to dry food.
I nowuse pine pellets with tidy breeze system. There’s no perfect solution. The solids smell a lot.
They wait till I get home to 💩, I clean it right away.
2 female cats.
 

RangersMom

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Get pine litter. It has NO smell, and it COMPLETELY eliminated the urine smell. You can scoop out poop and there will be no smell whatsoever. We love it. You can get "horse pine litter" at tractor supply or stores like that. Its like $5 for a 20lb bag and last forever. We love it and have used it for years. So much better than clay, which smells bad and gets everywhere. Also pine is healthier for cats if they lick their paws and accidentally ingest it.

Dont get scented litters. They dont work and will only make flowery smelling pee. :(
 

RangersMom

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What you're feeding them seems fine. My cats are super healthy and eat healthy and their poop is HORRENDOUS lol. Pine litter, I'm telling ya.
 

Johnv713

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Hate to tell you this but there’s probably nothing you can do. I know, I’ve tried evrything there is out there and my cats poop still smell. I’ve tried raw diet, switching to 10 diff type of cat food, deworming, etc.
 

ailish

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How deep is the litter in your box? I use FreshStep and clean the box once a day and I smell nothing ever. Every now and then a smelly poop, but that goes away in a couple minutes. Do your cats cover when they're done? Maybe that's it. Not that you can do anything about that.
 

Mavie

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We live in a three floor home, with two female cats. We have one litterbox in the living room, we use clumping litter and when we are home we clean the litter box immediately when they use the toilet. But it smells SO BAD. It makes me want to gag. It's not that the smell has increased or gotten worse, I guess that before when we lived in a one bedroom condo I figured that was why it smelled so bad, but now I can literally smell it three floors up in the bedroom within minutes of them going. We have central air, I run ceiling fans in every room, I have tried diffusers, citrus sprays, pretty much everything I can think of and nothing works. The smell lingers too forever! We live in a climate where we will freeze now if we leave open the doors and in the summer it's too hot. Is there anything anyone can suggest? Thanks.
I now have 5 cats in a 1100 square feet house. I have 3 litter boxes in my ranch style home and all my cats are indoor only. I started using Pretty Litter almost a year ago and it is wonderful. It is bought online and delivered to your home. Yes, when my cats first do their thing, their stool stinks but all creatures's stool smells. The pretty litter helps dehydrate the stool so smell is lessened. I scoop the litter boxes 2x per day and have 3 to do. The litter also can warn you if there is a urinary issue due to a color change of the litter.
 

lulu007

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We live in a three floor home, with two female cats. We have one litterbox in the living room, we use clumping litter and when we are home we clean the litter box immediately when they use the toilet. But it smells SO BAD. It makes me want to gag. It's not that the smell has increased or gotten worse, I guess that before when we lived in a one bedroom condo I figured that was why it smelled so bad, but now I can literally smell it three floors up in the bedroom within minutes of them going. We have central air, I run ceiling fans in every room, I have tried diffusers, citrus sprays, pretty much everything I can think of and nothing works. The smell lingers too forever! We live in a climate where we will freeze now if we leave open the doors and in the summer it's too hot. Is there anything anyone can suggest? Thanks.
Admittedly it is expensive but WORTH IT: I use the LItter Robot machine. I have two cats and I hate any smell from the litterbox (we still do use one when the cats are at our cabin though). It is excellent at keeping the odor almost non-existent. I use a scent free litter (Fresh 4 Life clumping) that has baking soda as I hate the artificial smell of scented litter and air fresheners. I used to use Arm and Hammer. The plus side is that I use far far less litter so that somewhat makes up for the cost of the robot.
Also, another tip: I used to use a diffuser a lot but have read up that some essential oils are harmful to cats as micro particles land on their fur and they groom and their liveTcent) is apparently one of the worst ones ;( . I use it in rooms where the cats aren't around. List of dangerous ones are on the ASPCA website I think.
 

Purr-fect

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I think its the diet.

We go thru alot of kitty litter with two very large cats. I buy the cheapest, least dusty clumping litter I can find. It doesnt matter which litter I use, the boys litter boxes very seldom smell and even thats only immediately after they use it. I open a window for a few minutes, and the odor is gone.

My guys get almost exclusively chicken. Mainly wet food with some kibble as my partner and I are gone for 12 hours a day.

I do think its the diet that is the issue.
 

tashacombs35

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I now have 5 cats in a 1100 square feet house. I have 3 litter boxes in my ranch style home and all my cats are indoor only. I started using Pretty Litter almost a year ago and it is wonderful. It is bought online and delivered to your home. Yes, when my cats first do their thing, their stool stinks but all creatures's stool smells. The pretty litter helps dehydrate the stool so smell is lessened. I scoop the litter boxes 2x per day and have 3 to do. The litter also can warn you if there is a urinary issue due to a color change of the litter.
I now have 5 cats in a 1100 square feet house. I have 3 litter boxes in my ranch style home and all my cats are indoor only. I started using Pretty Litter almost a year ago and it is wonderful. It is bought online and delivered to your home. Yes, when my cats first do their thing, their stool stinks but all creatures's stool smells. The pretty litter helps dehydrate the stool so smell is lessened. I scoop the litter boxes 2x per day and have 3 to do. The litter also can warn you if there is a urinary issue due to a color change of the litter.
I read on another site that when you have more than 1 cat your supposed to have a litter box for each plus one. But this lady posted she bought a tub that is for sliding under your bed for her 4 cats and it's worked perfectly without having litter boxes as furniture. I am trying it, it makes sense!! Just make sure to keep it clean but there's enough room for them to go and not on top of each other. Can't wait to see how it works!!
 

Azazel

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I read on another site that when you have more than 1 cat your supposed to have a litter box for each plus one. But this lady posted she bought a tub that is for sliding under your bed for her 4 cats and it's worked perfectly without having litter boxes as furniture. I am trying it, it makes sense!! Just make sure to keep it clean but there's enough room for them to go and not on top of each other. Can't wait to see how it works!!
That sounds like it would be a pain to clean.
 

Willow's Mom

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I think diet is a factor.

I've always had cats so there have been times when I didn't smell anything unusual until I spent the day away or took a short vacation, and then I could smell a litter box odor when I opened the door.

My previous cat was very consistent about training me to change the litter box twice a week, since I was using a grocery store non-clumping litter. He was actually my roommate's cat, and my roommate was not interested in upgrading his food. I did the best i could with the resources I had.

When I adopted Willow, I had some experience with raw feeding my dogs and was curious how a similar diet would affect litter box odor.

I don't smell a thing. I don't think company will either the next time I invite a human over.

If you don't want to go raw/homemade, maybe just giving yourself permission to upgrade your regular wet food or kibble would help.

I usually only have 1-3 indoor kitties.
 

kittenmittens84

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I have the same issue with my cat, but it’s very erratic - sometimes he’ll have a few awful smelling poops in a week and then other times he’ll go a month or two without any noticeably smelly poops. They’re always well formed and not too soft or bulky either, it’s only the smell. I’ve been on a mission trying to figure out what in his diet is causing it, trying different foods and different protein types and I can’t seem to figure it out. So frustrating!

Also imo pine litter smells like cat pee. You get used to it and can’t smell it but it’s there - the fact that it doesn’t clump means it’s harder to get all the used litter when you scoop it, so there are always a few pee-soaked bits left behind that get mixed into the rest of the litter. We had to use it for a while because my kitten was eating litter and it was so annoying!
 

cataholic07

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My kitties have sensitive stomachs, Jethro used to throw up a ton as a kitten and be so picky. When we switched to premade raw it really helped with their tummy issues and zero litter box smells! Ceriah had really stinky poo (she was a foster first) and got extremely gassy on dry food. The vet said she needed GI vet food for life.. on raw completely zero issues, and inhales it lol. I would try to get rid of the dry as much as possible and feed carageen free wet food.
 
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