Litterbox and Room Placement

miao_kitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
351
Purraise
10
Location
Boulder,CO
I live in a townhouse w/ 3 levels. I have two roommates that live upstairs and a common room on the main level (wth the kitchen and stuff). I have my room in the finished basement w/ my own bath. Out of respect for my roommates I keep Luna's Litterbox in a linen-type closet in the basement. I have a Scoop-Free automatic litterbox (W/ the crystals). The basement's pretty big, but sometimes when Luna uses the litterbox you can smell her feces. Should I dust and vaccuum often? I do open the windows when the weather's nice and I have a bathroom fan.

But I'm wondering if it is unhealthy to have a litterbox so close to the place that I spend a lot of my time. I mean will it affect my breathing or anything? Any advice would be great. Thanks!

(If this is the wrong forum, I apologize).
 

miss mew

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 3, 2005
Messages
13,668
Purraise
36
Location
Canada
When you live with roomates it's sometimes hard to find a good place to put the litterbox.

I don't think it will cause you issues as long as you ventilate often and keep the area clean, and it sounds like you are doing a great job of it so far
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

miao_kitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
351
Purraise
10
Location
Boulder,CO
Thanks for the input. I think the most annoying thing about the roommate issue is you tell a person "I have a cat. Therefore I have a littlebox. I clean it often, but it's going to smell sometimes. If you have a problem with that, then you should find somewhere else to live."

And they say, "Yeah it's ok. I've lived with cats before." But once they live with you a while and keep complaining you say, "you did agree to live w/ a cat and all that entailed."

and they reply, "well i agreed to live w/ a cat based on the kind of cat my sister/mother/friend had. i didn't know your cat was different..."
grrr...
 

sphynxmommy

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
35
Purraise
1
Originally Posted by miao_kitty

Thanks for the input. I think the most annoying thing about the roommate issue is you tell a person "I have a cat. Therefore I have a littlebox. I clean it often, but it's going to smell sometimes. If you have a problem with that, then you should find somewhere else to live."

And they say, "Yeah it's ok. I've lived with cats before." But once they live with you a while and keep complaining you say, "you did agree to live w/ a cat and all that entailed."

and they reply, "well i agreed to live w/ a cat based on the kind of cat my sister/mother/friend had. i didn't know your cat was different..."
grrr...
When animals poop it smells, its natural, just like when humans go, it stinks...

You sound like your very aware of your roommates and very considerate. I am sure you are fine
 

nellers

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
516
Purraise
3
Location
At Penelope and Maverick's Every Whim
There are some litter boxes with a dome that come with a carbon filter that helps to mask the smell of fresh kitty litter. Another item worth buying is a litter box freshener spray which you can find at the pet store.

Also, I have experimented with different types of litter - and the one which smells the best after a baby has messed (IMHO) is Arm N' Hammer.

Hope that helps!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

miao_kitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
351
Purraise
10
Location
Boulder,CO
Originally Posted by icklemiss21

We keep a plug in close to the litter boxes, it helps with the smell.

That may help you
Yeah, but sometimes i get a scent that's really awful! I love your avatar by the way


and, as for the domed litterbox, my cat won't use it if it's got a cover. I guess they have the same sensibilities as people! I hate using port-o-potties too.
 

semiferal

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 15, 2005
Messages
1,890
Purraise
9
Location
in my apartment
I have 10 cats in a small apartment and technically I'm not supposed to have any pets! (Not a no-pets building but I haven't paid a pet deposit, so...)

I have 4 litterboxes with clumping litter in the main room, with two plug-ins. Some of the scents are really vile but I like the vanilla, apple cinnamon (great for Christmastime), and Hawaiian Breeze scents. I have a 5th litterbox in the bathroom with crystal litter because it's easier to deal with in a room that's as damp as bathrooms tend to be.

The main way to deal with the smell is to scoop as soon as someone poops. I know this sounds obvious but a poop-free and basically clean box doesn't smell.

Unless you have asthma or respiratory issues, I wouldn't worry about having the box there. One thing that does work to help with the dust is to fill the box with litter outdoors and let it settle for about 5 minutes before bringing it inside, if this is an option for you.
 

littleraven7726

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 1, 2002
Messages
3,339
Purraise
12
Location
Next to the World's Largest 6-pack
Originally Posted by miao_kitty

The basement's pretty big, but sometimes when Luna uses the litterbox you can smell her feces. Should I dust and vaccuum often? I do open the windows when the weather's nice and I have a bathroom fan.

But I'm wondering if it is unhealthy to have a litter box so close to the place that I spend a lot of my time. I mean will it affect my breathing or anything? Any advice would be great. Thanks!
when i had a roommate, i had one litter box in the bathroom and one in my bedroom. we had a good sized 2-bedroom apartment. that seemed to work out well. for a while we tried the litter box in a closet off the kitchen, but it didn't work out. you shouldn't have any breathing problems from it, but you will have to vacuum more often. litter can track.


my cats are pretty funny. at the time i just had raven and nabu, and one of the litter boxes next to my computer desk. they would use the one next to the desk EVERY TIME when i was home doing homework.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

miao_kitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
351
Purraise
10
Location
Boulder,CO
thanks for all the advice! I'm glad that what I'm doing now is recommended. I will keep it clean and (coincidently) I like vaccuuming so I do it often anyways.
 

wwgirlie1999

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jun 6, 2006
Messages
15
Purraise
0
hi all, i found something cool @ walmart that i use for odor. i hope i don't get in trouble for sharing this site. http://www.gonzocorp.com/odor.htm
i got the pet oder eliminator @ walmart for a little over 3.00. i put it next to my razzy's cat box. i love it. i'm going to buy one for our basement next. hope this helps all of u too.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12

miao_kitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
351
Purraise
10
Location
Boulder,CO
Originally Posted by wwgirlie1999

hi all, i found something cool @ walmart that i use for odor. i hope i don't get in trouble for sharing this site. http://www.gonzocorp.com/odor.htm
i got the pet oder eliminator @ walmart for a little over 3.00. i put it next to my razzy's cat box. i love it. i'm going to buy one for our basement next. hope this helps all of u too.
Thanks! Actually I do have one of those already. And it seems to work. At least for me =)
 
Top