Litter Box Smell

[nunnc84]

So I have a robot litter box. You think that would mean no smell. Wrong!
It’s plugged up in a corner, low traffic area, for Sassy Princess .
There is a bathroom fan, that doesn’t help all the way.
Every 8 hours when the tray is dumped, I open the window which helps a lot!
Is there something else I’m missing? I’m asking for help to save on utilities.

 

[bonepicker]

My girls litter box has no smell, I use ultra fresh step unscrnted, clumps taken out daily. She is fed canned food only.

 

[nunnc84]

How close is the litter box to the place you sleep?

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
nunnc84 - I have eleven cats in roughly 5,000 square feet of space. There are twelve old-fashioned, open litter boxes. I use plain old clay litter, formulated for multiple cat households. I'm home 95% of the time, so boxes are scooped as needed, and the trays are changed twice-weekly. Other than running a couple of Negative Ion Generators (one upstairs and one downstairs) and four Ozone Generators proximate to the litter boxes, I don't do anything "special." If you walked in and were unaware there were cats in the house, you'd never notice a thing.

"Automatic" litter boxes are conveniences, but they don't dispose of the waste into airtight containers; it simply remains there, generating odours.
.

 

[Furballsmom]

I really believe that the food being fed has an impact on the odor, or not, of the "output".
My Big Guy's poo only smells for the first couple of minutes just after he's done his biz, then usually, (depending on certain treats or a larger than usual amount of certain foods) there's no odor.
Would you consider a food brand change?

 

[nunnc84]

She is on royal canines Appitte control purple one.
I plan to put her on Persian flavor because she has long hair.
I’m waiting on the bag to run out.
I want to know more about that ion and ozone generator. Can I put that in my exhaust fan in my bathroom?

 

[Willowy]

I thought ozone generators were bad for the lungs and are only supposed to be used in uninhabited areas?

Anyway, what kind of litter do you use? Because an automatic box scoops right away and the container is emptied 2-3 times a day, there shouldn't be any odor. When was the last time the box itself was scrubbed? When was the last time the litter was dumped and replaced?

 

[Azazel]

She is on royal canines Appitte control purple one.
I plan to put her on Persian flavor because she has long hair.
I’m waiting on the bag to run out.
I want to know more about that ion and ozone generator. Can I put that in my exhaust fan in my bathroom?

I think it’s the food causing the smell. Royal Canin is poor quality food and the dry version is very high in carbs. Cats can’t process carbs properly and this causes them to have bulky soft and smelly poop. No litter or box is going to fix the smell issue if your cat isn’t eating a good diet (plus, I’m sure you want your cat to be as healthy as possible). If you really want to get rid of the smell I recommend switching to canned food because canned food typically has less carbs. Feed all canned if you can, if not, then switch to a dry food with less carbs (usually grain free foods are lower in carbs) and also feed some high protein canned food.

“Persian flavor” is a marketing gimmick. Long hair cats don’t need a special diet. All cats need high animal protein, moderate fat, low carbs, and high moisture.

 

[Daisy6]

I agree with everyone who suggested blaming the food instead of the litterbox for stnky poop. If you have changed all of the bathroom stuff wth no improvement or started cleaning the litterbox more often with the same results, the problem must be in the kitchen. Do you have any cat food cans with the words "grain-free" on the label?

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I also have found that diet plays a part in litter box odors. Sometimes it's not even high quality vs low quality. It's what each cat will tolerate. For example; I know when Noodles has gotten into Mooch's food and I've given her something with fish. Feeding a grain free wet food or only occasionally containing grain has helped keep odors down here and I don't feed the highest quality food. (I feed the best I can that my girls will eat. That's my nutrition philosophy in a nutshell. )

 

[Pucks104]

We have a Litter-Robot for George and Louie. There is no smell with either their urine or poo. There is no smell when I change the waste bin. They are raw fed - Answers Detail, Stella & Chewy’s and occasionally Radcat. They also get Answers raw goats milk, an Immune Balanceer and Plaque Off. Some days they get Proviable DC, a probiotic. The first couple of weeks when they came to us from AARF, they were eating Friskies Dry and Friskies canned and the smell if their pee and poo was so bad I briefly considered returning them! Diet makes s big difference in the smell of their waste.

 

[10009891]

Pucks104, I also have a Litter Robot Open Air and there is still odor. I was feeding my cats Raw Freeze Dry Primal. The odor still permeates, and when the bottom draw is opened to toss the stuff, there is terrible odor. I also supplement them with probiotics. Do Ozone Generator work for litter box odors? Are they noisy?

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I have concerns about ozone generators. I'm no expert but I've heard it repeated over the years now. My FIL is a now-retired physician's assistant but extraordinarily health conscious and has had sensitive lungs from childhood. (He will send his grilled chicken back if it has charred marks. While informing the restaurant manager of the dangers of eating blackened foods. ) He was the first one I heard say that these can be dangerous. I believe the dangers are when ozone concentrations are too high; but he convinced the fitness center he uses that they are not good and they did remove them. So putting something like that near an enclosed litter box doesn't seem like it would be safe for our much smaller furbabies lungs either. Again; I'm not an expert. But please do research and consider your sources when you make your decisions.

 

[Pucks104]

Pucks104, I also have a Litter Robot Open Air and there is still odor. I was feeding my cats Raw Freeze Dry Primal. The odor still permeates, and when the bottom draw is opened to toss the stuff, there is terrible odor. I also supplement them with probiotics. Do Ozone Generator work for litter box odors? Are they noisy?

So I use to feed my Havanese Primal Freezed Raw and their poop had more odor than it does now eating The Farmer’s Dog which is a fresh cooked food. I haven’t tried freeze dried with the cats b cause they are doing so well on the products they are being fed. It might do to experiment a bit with diet for a few months to see if a different diet helps with the smell. Do they get a probiotic daily? That might help some too.

 

[10009891]

I think I will need to change the litter brand I have. It's called Slide. It appears not to mask the odor as well as Dr. Elsey's litter brand. I like Slide cause it does not stick to the surface of the litter box but it does not perform well. Anyone here has used Slide as their brand of litter? What do you think of it? Which litter brand works best for odors?

 

[Pucks104]

I use Everclean litter. When the kitties first came home we set up 4 boxes with different litters and Everclean is the one they used most do that’s what we went with. It seems to work well.

 

[nunnc84]

I agree with everyone who suggested blaming the food instead of the litterbox for stnky poop. If you have changed all of the bathroom stuff wth no improvement or started cleaning the litterbox more often with the same results, the problem must be in the kitchen. Do you have any cat food cans with the words "grain-free" on the label?

Your question makes me laugh. And then I looked up my cat food ingredients, and it's NOT gluten free. Wow! What do I do now?

 

[nunnc84]

I thought ozone generators were bad for the lungs and are only supposed to be used in uninhabited areas?

Anyway, what kind of litter do you use? Because an automatic box scoops right away and the container is emptied 2-3 times a day, there shouldn't be any odor. When was the last time the box itself was scrubbed? When was the last time the litter was dumped and replaced?

Update:
I use the recommended litter for the litter robot sold at the same site, "Litter Box" is the brand name. I've cleaned the inside recently, this month; including dumping the litter. I've noticed she hasn't been drinking enough. SO I put a plain bowl of water next to the water fountain. SHE THANKED ME.
I"ve been trying to get away with not emptying the drawer for a couple days without smelling anything. I see that is NOT possible.
Now that she is drinking more, she is more playful; and moans around the house less. I won't use an ion thing, thank you for saying so.
I'm still going to get her a "Man Cat" to play with.
As for everyone's comments. I believe a food change is in order. Do you have any suggestions?
She is 6 years old, long hair American cat, curious, bashful until she gets to know you.

 

[nunnc84]

I

We have a Litter-Robot for George and Louie. There is no smell with either their urine or poo. There is no smell when I change the waste bin. They are raw fed - Answers Detail, Stella & Chewy’s and occasionally Radcat. They also get Answers raw goats milk, an Immune Balanceer and Plaque Off. Some days they get Proviable DC, a probiotic. The first couple of weeks when they came to us from AARF, they were eating Friskies Dry and Friskies canned and the smell if their pee and poo was so bad I briefly considered returning them! Diet makes s big difference in the smell of their waste.

I found this website, after googling grain free cat food; Best Gluten Free Cat Food : Expert Buying Guide

And the top choices are:
Food Price Nutrition Rating

Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain-Free
Read Reviews Where To Buy $3.45/lb

Halo Grain-Free Cat Food
Read Reviews Where To Buy $1.63/5.5 oz can

Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain-Free
Read Reviews Where To Buy $2.91/lb

Nutro Grain-Free Cat Food
Read Reviews Where To Buy $.95/3 oz can

https://www.kittycatter.com/high-protein/
Dry food is the only option! I'm considering Natures Variety Instinct!

 

[nunnc84]

I think I will need to change the litter brand I have. It's called Slide. It appears not to mask the odor as well as Dr. Elsey's litter brand. I like Slide cause it does not stick to the surface of the litter box but it does not perform well. Anyone here has used Slide as their brand of litter? What do you think of it? Which litter brand works best for odors?

Did DR. Elsey's cause your cat's fur to change colors? The dust stayed on their little legs and caused the black fur to change to brown. That is why I stopped using Dr. Elsey.