Stop the Stink!

varsettie

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As I'm sure a few of you know I have two cats; one orange tabby and one mix coloured tabby. Both are rescues and I love them dearly. Atari is almost 5 years old now ad Fawkes is just a little over 2.

My most recent issue with them has been the smell coming form the litter boxes. We have switched the cats food brands to better quality cat foods (Fancy Feast, Max Cat, and Blue Wilderness). We have to keep a variety in the house or our picky cat Fawkes will sometimes refuse to eat her food, usually when she's been fed the same brand more than three times in a row. Thanks to the change in cat foods their poop stinks to high hell and I've tried just about everything to get the stink down to a level where I can breath after they go to the bathroom. The litters are cleaned every two days, we're using a clumping cat litter we get from Costco called Quali-Cat. I've tried putting baking soda in with their litter, I've tried special pet made deodorizers that slot in the top of their litter box, I've changed cat litters I don't know how many times, so far nothings worked. My biggest issue with my cats is that they don't 'cover' their poop with the litter like normal cats do, they just scratch the walls of the litter box and run off leaving the poop to air dry and stink up the entire house.

Has anyone here had any luck with odor control? Anything you'd recommend I try? Cat litter brands you found work well? I'd like my house to not smell like cat poop anymore.
 

shadowsrescue

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First off, cleaning the litter box daily or twice daily will certainly help.  Having 2 cats and only cleaning every 2 days is not enough. 

I have tried quite a few litters.  My favorites are Dr. Elsey's Precious Multi Cat.  It's a clumping litter, but it does well with odor control.  Yet if your cats don't cover their poo, it is still going to stink.  You need to clean it immediately. 

Another favorite is World's Best Cat Litter.  It is corn based and has a corn scent.  Some cats don't like it.  It's very light weight.  It is also flushable.  I loved it, but one of my cats did not like it at all. 

If you change litters, do so gradually.  Some cats will boycot the litter box altogether if something is different.
 

Columbine

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I absolutely agree with shadowsrescue shadowsrescue Cleaning the box every two days just isn't enough. Once a day is just about bearable, twice a day is much better. The absolute ideal is to scoop every time you notice the box has been used, but I appreciate that that isn't always viable.

I have 2 cats - one of them doesn't bury her poop at all and the other is a bit hit and miss. The only way to deal with it is to scoop after they've pooped. Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear.
 

tabbicat2010

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I also use Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat litter and highly recommend! Scooping daily will also help with the smell. I've noticed that my cats are less likely to cover their poop if the box is starting to get full. If the box is relatively clean, they are much better with covering up. Makes sense, since I'm sure they don't want to accidentally touch anything that is sitting in there.

I also have a plug in air purifier that I keep by the litter box. Seems to help a little bit, but I'm not completely sold on it. And I usually keep an air freshener near by. Nothing too overpowering. For some reason these coconut scented gel beads I found at Big Lots seem to really help cover up the smell.
 
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varsettie

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All of the litter brands that have been named aren't available for sale in Ontario :C

As a side note, we also have four litter boxes all over house.
 
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varsettie

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Been cleaning the cat litters more often, on average once a day when I'm not working 13 hours. It hasn't really managed the stink from their poop. Unless I clean directly after they poop, which I'm usually not home for, my house still smells like cat poop when I get home. 
 
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varsettie

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There is, but when I went to check for those litter brands they didn't have them. 
 

pisces7386

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Here is a different approach- stop the stink rather than cover it
Our cats had really stinky bowel movements...I'm talking hold-your-nose-because-you-can't-stand-it-and-scoop-it-immediately bad. It turns out they couldn't eat chicken. As long as we don't feed them poultry their poop is a lot better.... but it is hard to find commercial food that has no chicken and isn't very expensive. the smell got even better when we started feeding them homemade raw food. Now you can barely smell it. Two of my three don't cover their poop and even then it only smells a little bad until it dries. I know you can buy commercially made raw food too if you are interested, but aren't into making it yourself.
 

2bcat

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The litter I swear by is already mentioned, Dr Elsey's Precious Cat Ultra, unscented.  Comes in a 40lb bag with a blue label.

I played with the store locator a little at http://www.preciouscat.com/store-locator/   I just typed "Ottawa" in the locator and it gave a number of stores I believe all called Pet Valu, if that means anything.

I've used this litter for several years, currently have two cats mainly sharing a box and it generally doesn't smell even if I miss a day.  (I try not to, but it's nice to know it'll be ok for them if I forget.)  Back when I switched I had been using Tidy Cats "Small Spaces" (not sure if they still even sell that variety) and the Precious Cat Ultra was a HUGE improvement.  Huge.
 
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varsettie

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Pet Valu would explain why I haven't seen any at Petsmart. I'll have to go check the Pet Valu stores. 
 
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