Okay, how is the best way to put this question... I told you that I adopted a cat 2 weeks ago. He is really cool, and I am very happy with the decision. What I am NOT happy with is the funky odor around the litter box. I am cleaning out the hidden treasures twice a day, and bought a good brand of litter (or it looked good... Arm 'n Hammer stuff). But as I walk upstairs in my house (his box is in the guest bedroom upstairs) I can definitely smell some funk... and it is creeping me out. I have friends who have cats and I NEVER smell their litter boxes. Am I missing some secret? Help! Thanks, Steph
Hidden treasures, LOL! I don't know what to tell you though, I use the Arm & Hammer kind myself, is it the clumping kind?? You might try sprinkeling some plain 'ol baking soda in there too.
Could it be what your feeding him? Higher quality foods don't seem to produce such the "funky" litter box odors that the cheaper foods do, atleast that is what I have noticed. If I only had one cat.. he'd be eating that Royal Canin, that's supposed to be really good pet food. I'm trying out a new food for the kittys this week, Authority Lite. With 8 cats, its better than Cat Chow, but not quite as expensive as Hills or Eukanuba. They seem to like it so far, maybe it will have a positive effect on the litter boxes as well :mrgreen: As for your current problem of the funky odor... a litter box with the carbon filter maybe, or sprinkle some extra baking powder in the box. The litter pearls are supposed to work really good to absorb not only the liquid, but the odor.
Well, he's getting a good dry food, so I think his "hidden treasures" are no more stinky than they should be. It may just be that I am not used to having a poop box in my house :shock: Any reviews of litter you all may like are appreciated! I'll try adding some baking soda, too
Here are some ideas: http://www.stretcher.com/stories/01/011008a.cfm Also, my neice has a couple of cats and has one of those automatic litter boxes and I never smell cats at her house.
We have 2 cats, and aside from the hair they leave all over the place, you would never know there is a litter box in our home. I think we use Tidy Cats, but I'll check when I get home. Get a COVERED litter box! It makes all the difference, and scoop daily!
Jen, I just read an article that said NOT to cover the box! So many issues... who knew? Do most cat folks have covered boxes?? My last cat was an outside/country cat so this was not an issue. Sheesh. This little fella is too cute, so keeping him locked in the bathroom is just not an option. (J/K... I would never do that. So don't go calling animal social services.)
A covered box definitely helps with the smell. I use the litter with carbon in it, can't remember the brand. Might be Tidy Cats. Tried a litter maid once (automatic box) but they were scared of it. Too noisy. If you're cleaning it twice a day and you only have 1 cat, it shouldn't smell at all, unless he's not covering it up. Agree with Jen, my house doesn't smell like cat either!
Covered boxes are generally ok, IF you keep changing that filter. If you don't you can make your cat sick, and likely you along with it. I don't use covered boxes myself. I buy Arm and Hammer High Performance clumping litter. Its a natural product - sort of looks like saw dust. It weighs very little - a 10 lb bag will do the job of a 21 lb. regular bag of litter. I actually use a large lucite bin that is made by Rubbermaid got it in Lowes for about 8.00 - it's a 50 quart and stands almost a foot high. My kitty is part Maine Coon and is tall, so regular boxes didn't cut the mus-My Friend. Even with a cover, the cover got nasty and it was just gross, so I went with the option so many of my clients used with success and it works for me too. I also got one of the carpet protector rolls of the plastic with the nobbie things under it and set the box upon it, so when kittie jumps out, he tracks the little bit on the plastic, and not on my carpet. Just to be safe, each month I put an open box of store brand baking soda between the box and the wall to catch any odors that might arise. This litter is a bit pricey if you compare it to the others, but I pour the entire bag into the 50 quart lucite container and replace it with about 10 oz of fresh litter I keep in a bin to keep convenient every two or three days. It is relatively inexpensive to use.
I had the automatic liter box cleaner, and my cat was also afraid of it. Of the several cats we've had, some liked covered boxes, others did not. What I found with the covered is that you also have to make sure that you are also cleaning the inside of the cover. With all that said, we ended up using a non-covered box on a piece of carpet so that anything litter that may come up would be on that carpet, and not on the floor. I don't recall if you mentioned the sex of your cat, but here's a story to keep in mind. We adopted a kitten from our vet...someone dropped off a pregnant mommy, and I got one of the kittens. I did not get him until he was about 2 months old. I was told he was neutered. But, once we got him home he soon thereafter began to 'mark' my house, which drove me nuts. He was totally an indoor kitty. I kept taking him back to that same vet. We put him on kitty downers, tried various training techniques, etc. As a last resort, I tried a different vet, and she took one look at him and said 'well, you need to neuter him'. I lifted up his tail to show her he had been neutered, and she said we needed to do a blood test. Sure enough, he was functioning at 50%...one of this testicles had not dropped, so when he was neutered they never looked. I then had him completely fixed, and he was a different cat. Very sweet, mellow and loving.
I think I know the problem... Mr. Kitty is not very good at covering up his deposits. I'm planning on trying the baking soda beside the box, as well as getting something under the box to protect the carpet. I talked with him this morning and told him I needed him to be more careful and cover better. Let's hope he agrees. Thanks, everyone, for all the suggestions!!
The cat litter we always used is called dirt ...and there was always plenty of it outside. And no, it wasn't an "outdoor cat". But I didn't want to start anything... :lol:
Cats are really easy to train to "go" outside. After all, that's how they were made. Just put the box closer to the door, then outside for a few days. After he's used to going to the door to be let out to use it, you can throw it out! The question is whether getting rid of the box is worth the risks to him out there in the big world with cars, dogs and snakes. The best cat in the world, who used to live at my house, has been gone since May, so I'm a litter box fan again. :-(
Not letting him venture outside. I live in a townhouse neighborhood and I don't like how many out there let their cats wander... on cars, in flowers, etc. If I were in the country again this would not be an issue. And he's a shelter cat, so he's content lounging on the sofa. I'll deal with a smelly box now and again.
Got it. We live on 3 acres in the country and I still don't want my cats outside anymore, even though they DIE to be out there. I grew up on a farm and that was just normal, you know? They were mousers for the barn, not really pets. Now I have a couple of fussy, rotten cats.
Have you had your cat to the vet yet? Coccidia is a common intestinal parasite that can produce foul smelling stools. Ordinarily the symptom is diarrhea or loose stools. But recently, one of my foster cats was diagnosed with coccidia and she had no symptoms at all. Another problem I've had in the past, I have a male who would urinate over the top of the box - cat urine was getting on the floor. And it has a pungent and noticeable odor. So I washed the floor around the litter boxes with X-O Plus (great product!) and installed high-sided litter boxes. I have 4 cats and (right now) 7 fosters with a total 7 litter boxes. And I have no odor problems. I use Arm & Hammer fragrance free (one cat has asthma) and I scoop litter boxes 3-4 times daily or more as necessary.
Thanks for all the advice, folks. Smokey Joe seems to be getting a little more responsible with his covering of deposits... and that has helped a lot. I really do appreciate all the imput from 4042-ers!! ssmm
