cat box stink

Paul Wheaton · #1 09/27/06, 03:39 PM

I know somebody that wants me to come to their home and see all of their cool projects, but ... I really cannot bear the smell of the cat box. She changes it twice a day and it just isn't enough. Apparently, one of the cats has diabetes and she must therefore feed it just the canned cat food, and that is a big, contributing factor. On top of that, these cats cannot go outside.

And, this is with the windows open.

I'm hoping that there might be a little something I could buy as a gift that would solve this issue. Some sort of kitty treat with clorophyll in it? A 50 pound sack of baking soda?

Any suggestions?

triana1326 · #2 09/27/06, 03:45 PM

Vicks Vapor Rub smeared under your nose. Coroners do it all the time so they can't smell the decaying bodies. If she smells it, just say you have a cold.

donsgal · #3 09/27/06, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Wheaton

I know somebody that wants me to come to their home and see all of their cool projects, but ... I really cannot bear the smell of the cat box. She changes it twice a day and it just isn't enough. Apparently, one of the cats has diabetes and she must therefore feed it just the canned cat food, and that is a big, contributing factor. On top of that, these cats cannot go outside.

And, this is with the windows open.

I'm hoping that there might be a little something I could buy as a gift that would solve this issue. Some sort of kitty treat with clorophyll in it? A 50 pound sack of baking soda?

Any suggestions?

I have two cats both are exclusively indoor cats and both are fed canned food. You can't smell the litter box at all. Maybe the cat's illness makes it's urine particularly stinky, I'm not sure. I clean the box once a day and never have had any trouble with smell.

Maybe she is using the wrong kind of litter. Have her try Tidy Cat clumping litter which is what I use. It works great.

donsgal

Cyngbaeld · #4 09/27/06, 03:51 PM

How about some activated charcoal? You can buy a large canister from ChinaMart that is labled to use in fish filters. Look in the pet dept. She can sprinkle it in the box.

robin19 · #5 09/27/06, 04:45 PM

I would wonder if the cats are going outside of the box somewhere. My cats were peeing over the side of the box and it was running under my washer and dryer, yuck! I ended up switching to high sided rubbermaid storage containers as litter boxes.

Robin in PA

jassytoo · #6 09/27/06, 05:07 PM

Maybe a drop or two of an odor neutralizer in the box might help. I know they make something thats supposed to neutralize skunk odor, would think that will work for cats. My DIL has one of those litter boxes that rakes the stuff into a little container with a plastic bag in it. Its electric and its pricey, but it works.

RLStewart · #7 09/27/06, 05:17 PM

That is odd that it smells so bad. I certainly don't clean mine twice a day and it doesn't smell most of the time. Are you sure you don't just have a very sensitive nose? My DH is like that. He won't go near the litter box! He had to change it once when we were selling our house and he was traumatized! I just use sawdust in my litter box and dump it every couple days.

Jenn · #8 09/27/06, 05:43 PM

We change our two (for two cats) boxes only twice weekly and TO US (dunno about naive noses) it smells bad only when our poorly trained cats don't bury the poo.

Ed Norman · #9 09/27/06, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donsgal

I have two cats both are exclusively indoor cats and both are fed canned food. You can't smell the litter box at all.
donsgal

Wanna bet? I'm not picking on you, but with my coyote nose, I smell every cat box in every house I get around. I also smell every place a bobcat or lion goes Number One when I am outdoors. Cat odor really announces itself to me. Every time I go in a house with a cat, I know it instantly.

woodsmokeinherhair · #10 09/27/06, 06:00 PM

lol, I have a highly sensitive nose. And I used to have cats and will again, once the dog population goes down around here, lol. I really do like their independent nature, lol. As long as the cats and their litter boxes are taken care of, there really is no problem. But cats will be cats, lol, I had one who decided to go on top of some of my newly finished tax forms, instead of her cat box (I think she was mad at the dogs) ...... that was her last day here ......

I also have these neighbors, and the whole family smells like a cat litter box. The thing is, the son, who is in grade school, likes to sleep with the cats in his bedroom, and he is messy. And so, the cats *go* on his clothing. And nobody seems to care enough to make sure that he doesn't throw his clothing on the floor to give the cats an extra place to go. I also know that these parents have been called in by the school as well as told by myself that they have a problem, but they just won't take care of it.

So, lol, in conclusion ....... I suggest the Vicks VapoRub myself ...... just to get you through the ordeal, lol. Because people really don't like being told they stink! lol

Woodsmokeinherhair!(who has already made her feelings known and now just doesn't go inside that particular house

and restricts visitation when the stench is more then she can take, lol)

Pink_Carnation · #11 09/27/06, 06:28 PM

In some cases it isn't the cats...it is the litter. Some litter just stinks before the cats ever see it.

frogmammy · #12 09/27/06, 06:41 PM

Actually, if you let some vinegar water soak for a bit in the box, then scrub with a toilet brush and rinse, that takes care of a LOT of the odor...just do it about once or so a week.

Mon

wvpeach1963 · #13 09/27/06, 07:06 PM

yea something is up with that, if the cat box is kept clean and is a covered one with the flap type door , the litter box should not smell.

The cats may be useing the potty elsewhere in the house and you are not seeing it.

Selena · #14 09/27/06, 09:41 PM

It might be time for the boxes to be replaced. The plastic ones eventually retain odors regardless of how often they are scooped, dumped, and washed. Some cats like to "dig to China" and urine sits on the bottom of the box. Some type of deoderizing that is not too strong is a help but you don't want to deter the cats from the boxes. Possibly some powdered vanilla mixed with baking soda might help.

debd0712 · #15 09/27/06, 11:16 PM

Years ago we had several indoor cats and used a product called "Litter Green". I don't know if it is still available, but it was basically small, non dusty alfalfa pellets. No one ever knew we had indoor cats unless they saw one, and I sure wasn't changing or cleaning it twice a day. I suspect that the cat(s) at your friends are not always using the box or are missing. Even with diabetes there should not be a strong odor when the box is cleaned twice a day. I would think the alfalfa pellets you can buy for animal feed would work fine if the dust was screened out, and would be much less expensive than Litter Green if it is even still available. It needs to be gradually mixed in increasing portions with the current litter to get the cats used to it, until you have pure alfalfa pellets. The self-clumping litter is easier to deal with, especially in combo with the expensive self cleaning litter boxes.

Debbie

RollrXGirl · #16 09/27/06, 11:31 PM

Someone else mentioned the probable culprit and I am inclined to agree with them - a sick cat has a definite stronger smelling urine than a healthy cat. You can clean a sick cat's litterbox 5 times a day and it will still smell ungodly. Unfortunately before my cat passed away, I was dealing with that same situation. If there's something up with how the cat is processing sugars or how it's kidneys are functioning there will be a horrific odor that cannot be tamed. I have nothing really to offer as a suggestion to clear the air other than air fresheners because there's very little that can be done to remedy the situation.

ttryin · #17 09/28/06, 06:17 AM

Sprinkle baking soda (from an old spice bottle) on top of the litter. Do not mix it in.

Sher · #18 09/28/06, 08:46 AM

I have four cats here. And to my knowledge they do not stink up the house. I have a Mom who would be very honest about that...lol.

We too use the saw dust litter. It also made a huge difference in the health of the cats..oh..and we do have an air cleaner!

65284 · #19 09/28/06, 08:48 AM

.

I too can detect cats in a home, as soon as I enter ugggghbarf. Indoor cats are a constant source of conflict at our house. My lovely bride insists on keep 2 of the filthy creatures in the utility room. One is an young intact tom. She is very judicious about changing the litter box twice daily and has tried about every litter on the market. They still stink to high heaven; I can't walk through there without gagging!! She grumbles because I come in by the front door and at times track mud and into the entry way. She swears she "can't smell a thing". I think cat lovers 1. Become conditioned to the stench, 2. Enjoy the stink, 3. Are in deep, deep denial. I don't hate cats; I have a couple at the barn that I'm quite fond of. I just hate cats in the house. With the exception of termites there is nothing more destructive inside a house than cats, what they don't pee or crap on they cover with hair. Or claw to shreds, but that's a whole 'nother subject.

visionary · #20 09/28/06, 09:20 AM

Sometimes it's just the litter. I had a problem until I picked up a big bag of Western Family litter, the clumpable kind. It's sold in independent food stores. It clumps into cement, which seems to include anything that smells, and I can breathe again.

I live in under 400 sq. ft., so this was a big problem with my old cat, and I had tried all the expensive litter before this find.