Tips For Controlling Litterbox Smell?

[breadstik]

i have always had trouble keeping the surrounding area of the litterbox from smelling like poop! it seems like even right after i clean it, it still stinks!

before my partner and i moved, we had a whole room for our cats and kept our litterboxes in there. we cleaned them as needed and the cats (we have two) were happy. however we recently downgraded in size for an upgrade in environment and the litterboxes are in our bedroom. i try to clean them regularly when i’m not too tired/lazy after work to do it but it seems like our bedroom always smells like cat regardless. i use a wood-based litter that smells like pine and cedar and always have air fresheners on hand, but what do *you guys* do to keep your house smelling fresh? i must be missing something!!

 

[duckpond]

Cleaning regularly is the first and most important thing to do.

Second thing is maybe try a different litter. Not sure where you are, but i have been using a litter i get from walmart. Litter maid walnut litter. it clumps well, and it deals with smells better than most any other bio degradable litter i have used. I like it quite a bit.

Another thing to think about is what you feed them? Some foods will cause a smelly litter box worse than others.

 

[Azazel]

What are you feeding your cat? I have found that cats eating mainly raw or even canned food have far less smelly poops. All those carbs in dry food that cats can't process just get pooped out into bulky smelly logs.

I agree with duckpond about regular cleaning. I clean litter boxes about 2-3 times a day.

 

[Tobermory]

I also scoop 2-3 times a day...three cats and three litter boxes. I use a grass clumping litter, Smart Cat, that does a great job at controlling odor, and I feed raw. Their poop is virtually odorless (and smaller), and even if it weren’t, the combo of frequent scooping and the litter makes a big difference. The litter does track quite a bit since it’s so lightweight.

 

[DreamerRose]

I guess I must be part of the loyal opposition. I scoop two to three times a week and use Fresh Step litter. It has Febreze in it and is very effective at controlling the odor. Fresh Step now has a Clean Paws variety, which cuts down on the tracking, but it only comes in 25-lb boxes, which are too heavy for me. I have one box in the kitchen eating area, and I can't smell it at all.

 

[duckpond]

If not feeding raw Dr. Elseys dry food is great, it does not give smelly poo. For wet most low carb wet foods work well. I use a lot of Tiki cat, against the grain, Almos nature complete foods. Weruva, and the fancy feast classics, and American journey, and Merrick back country are good too. Low carb, and lower fiber really helps with smaller poo, and less smell. You can feed raw, or dry, or canned, just watch the carb and fiber content.

I feed both dry, Dr. Elsey's, and a rotation of the wet foods i mentioned, daily.

 

[duckpond]

I guess I must be part of the loyal opposition. I scoop two to three times a week and use Fresh Step litter. It has Febreze in it and is very effective at controlling the odor. Fresh Step now has a Clean Paws variety, which cuts down on the tracking, but it only comes in 25-lb boxes, which are too heavy for me. I have one box in the kitchen eating area, and I can't smell it at all.

When i used clay i always loved Fresh Step the best. a bit dusty, but it does work very well, and does not get stinky like some other clay litters do. With my kitten and his asthma clay litter is not an option for us. The Litter maid walnut litter is maybe the best bio degradable, non clay litter i have found for Poo odor. I use grass as well, and like it a lot, but the walnut may have a slight advantage in poo smells i think. And with the natural litters scooping more often is a must, if left two or three days it can crumble badly.

 

[tuffsmom]

I scoop once a day . Just have 1 cat so just 1 litter box. I make sure my litter, Fresh step, is about 3 inches deep and whenever I scoop I add about a half cup of fresh litter for each clump I removed. Never any odor problems. His diet is wet , Fancy Feast, but I don't know if that makes any difference regarding odor. I completely change the litter about every 8 weeks.

 

[Azazel]

I guess I must be part of the loyal opposition. I scoop two to three times a week and use Fresh Step litter. It has Febreze in it and is very effective at controlling the odor. Fresh Step now has a Clean Paws variety, which cuts down on the tracking, but it only comes in 25-lb boxes, which are too heavy for me. I have one box in the kitchen eating area, and I can't smell it at all.

I have to say, I’m a bit surprised that a cat would use a dirty box that smells like febreeze.

 

[Summercats]

A lot of cats don’t like artificial scents, so some may not like to use scented litter.

 

[duckpond]

A lot of cats don’t like artificial scents, so some may not like to use scented litter.

I have to say, a few years ago when i used clay litter some are so heavily scented my cats didnt want to use them. And some brands smell so bad, even when they have only been in the box a day or two, and clean, that i would dump the whole thing because my house stank!

Fresh step was my favorite clay litter, as it did not seem to get stinky, like many other brands do after just a day or two in the box. Their fragrances are mild, and they do have some unscented ones as well. Fresh Step never bothered my cats, except for my Asthma cat that cannot have any clay litter. And Fresh step always kept my house smelling cleaner than any other brand i tried. If i were to recommend a clay litter, it would be Fresh Step My son uses their Aloha fragrance, its very lightly scented, and smells really nice

 

[LTS3]

Scooping at least once daily is a must even if you are dead tired from work. It doesn't take much effort or time to scoop. Set a daily reminder on your cell phone. Or scoop first thing in the morning instead of later in the day. If you really can't be bothered to scoop daily, look into an automatic litter box or litter robot that will take care of the task for you. You will still need to check the waste compartment at least daily and empty it or replace it when it is full.

A higher quality diet may help keep the poop smell to a minimum.

Place non-perfumed charcoal odor absorbers around the litter box and in your home. A lightly scented non-spray air freshener may help.

 

[Pucks104]

Raw feeding reduces the poo smell to virtually nil.

 

[LTS3]

Raw feeding reduces the poo smell to virtually nil.

For many raw fed cats, yes. But a few oddballs will always have odorous poop. Like one of my cats

Not everyone can or wants to feed raw. A high quality commercial cat food, preferably canned, can help with poop odor. The best way to keep odors down, though, is to scoop the litter box daily to remove the waste. The litter box itself should be washed out monthly or so and refilled with clean litter.

 

[sargon]

If the litter box is in your bedroom, you may want to look into a system. I like the liter breeze and it greatly reduces odor, though the main benefit is to the cat urine more than the poop, which you need to scoop.

years ago I had a litter box in my room, and used a liter maid automatic. It isn't perfect, and I don't recommend it these days (they reduced quality by all accounts, and newer systems are better, to boot.), but it did help. These days you might try the litter robot (I'd get one now if I (and my cat) weren't so satisfied with my current system.

 

[RaeHorne]

Put a bath and body work plug in scent nearest the litter box!! Tidy cats red top and dark blue top work best for me!! And, the arms nd hammer deodorant that you pour into the litter works wonders!!

 

[Gizmobius]

I also have one of the litter boxes in my bedroom. I have two cats and it seems to be their favorite litter box to use out of their two so I always want it as clean as possible. I also have a girl cat who doesn't exactly understand how to cover her poo so a clean box is essential to reduce odor.

Basically, my strategy is I never let #2 sit in the box for anymore than 30 minutes to an hour at the most. Pee I'm a little more forgiving but I'd say I definitely scoop the boxes at least three times a day. I also have two litter genies that I use strictly for poo! It helps lock away what limited odor there is since neither of my cats eat any dry. It's raw/canned only.

 

[RaeHorne]

My cat has a litter in my room too, (she has separation anxiety) trying to fix that problem and I took the lid off. Only because the smell was actually worse if that makes any sense? I deff would get the deodorizer. One of my cats used offbrand litter cause she didn’t know how to properly use the potty and it works wonders for her cause she never scoops her pee or poop at all. And it doesn’t stink as bad but I defff would recommend tidy cats without febreeze

 

[Etarre]

Arm and Hammer makes a litter deodorizer that you can sprinkle on when the litter gets smelly. It's pretty effective, and not too pricey. Neither of my cats seem to be bothered by the odor of it.

 

[MargoLane]

I'm paranoid about litter smell and we live in a small apartment, so here's a whole arsenal of what I do:

1. Scoop twice a day, always. Sometimes three. We split the work so it doesn't feel onerous. He does it in the morning, I do it at night.
2. Deep litter. I fill our letterbox with at least 3-5 inches of litter. Means my cat will properly cover, and trap the smell.
3. Litter deodorizer; I start using CatScents every other day once the litter has been in use for a while. Smells a little weird when you sprinkle it in, but really seems to help and the smell goes away in a few minutes.
4. I have a plug in air purifier right above the litter box. I use the Germ Guardian from Amazon. I think it makes a big enough difference that I ordered a larger one for the whole house.
5. Add a scoop of litter fairly often, to top up and keep it fresh.

Guests have said that they don't smell cat in our house, and I don't either!