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Litter Box in Small Place-Control Odors?

post #1 of 13
10/25/09 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
We have two cats in our apartment, which is big enough for my boyfriend and I, but feels a little small with two cats living in it. We have two litter boxes and scoop each of them twice a day. It still smells though.... Is there anything we can do to decrease or eliminate odors? Should we buy litter box sprays? We have the hooded litter boxes.
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post #2 of 13
10/25/09 at 4:44pm
I use baking sodium bicarbonate a.k.a baking soda sprinkled in the litter box. First on the bottom before I put litter in and then through out and then on top, but just putting it in without order works too.

The littler box (also covered) has a charcoal filter thing too.
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post #3 of 13
10/25/09 at 4:46pm
You could try sprinkling some baking soda in the litter. Sprays will only mix with the smell and make it worse - instead of poo smell you'll have something like poo and flowers. Hooded boxes will trap the smell a little, but only at first since air moves around.

What sort of litter are you using? What at you feeding your cats? Are both kitties healthy - nothing wrong that could make them stinkier than they should be (such as an intolerance to an ingredient in their food) ?
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post #4 of 13
10/25/09 at 6:37pm
I too had a covered litter box at first. However, I soon realized that the litter smelled worse with the lid on. I took the lid off which helped tremendously with the odor. (Not to mention Kiki quit throwing her poo out of the box ) I was using Tidy Cats small spaces, but the perfume is really strong. I switched to SWheat Scoop, but it doesn't control the odor as well after the first week. I think I'll go back to Tidy Cats myself, but maybe the 24/7 or the breathe easy one.

You can also try changing the food if taking the lid off doesn't work. Having the lid on sometimes traps the ammonia smells which make it worse for you and your cat.
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post #5 of 13
10/25/09 at 6:40pm
A few things could change the smell - with a higher quality food they poop less/it smells less, so you could consider changing foods (and some foods of any quality don't agree with certain kitties as well as others do).

You could consider looking into & slowly changing over to a different litter that offers better odor control.

You could try a different box - sometimes litterboxes absorb the smell - I honestly replace mine every 6 months due to the volume of cats using them/picky kitties.
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post #6 of 13
10/25/09 at 6:47pm
I'm another who believes covers cause odors in litter boxes. Cats hate perfumes, so cover sprays might cause problems. I also recommend plain baking soda.

However a litter with some "odor control" is desirable. I use a blend of special kitty (walmart brand) clay litter, fragrance free, and Cats Pride odor control, also clay.

I had trouble finding the Cat's Pride for a while once, and I noticed a difference in lingering odors.

In addition to scooping twice a day, are you scrubbing the boxes out every week? Boxes need to be dumped and scrubbed weekly.
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post #7 of 13
10/25/09 at 7:27pm
IMHO the BEST litter for odor control is Dr. Elseys - it is Fragrance Free, but it does an excellent job controlling the odor. I have 3 cats, 3 litter boxes, in a small 1 br. apartment, so I know well what you are talking about... Nobody would guess I have cat in here... I do not need baking soda, and my boxes are open... In my experience close boxes trap odor much more... Now, one thing that does help, is, I have as much as I can my windows open circulating the air - that does make a difference. I also clean and wipe them once a day -

Here is Dr. Elsey's info:
http://www.preciouscat.com/precious-ultra-p-2.html

They give you a rebate too for a free bag - I posted a thread about it...
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=206606
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post #8 of 13
10/25/09 at 9:46pm
what are you feeding?

IMHO take off the cover ...
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post #9 of 13
10/26/09 at 12:42am
Food Info: I agree about checking out what you're feeding them - it could make a big difference - and, especially the urine could get stronger if they're not getting enough water, and/or they're on dry food that produces more urine odor.

Covered litter boxes: I'm just against them in general - thinking that any dust - kicked up by the cat - is trapped inside and they are forced to breathe the litter dust.

I clean the litter pan out several times a day - but then, I'm home all day to tend to it. I'm using the corn litter - and, it probably isn't that good for absorbing the odors.

Since bacteria is probably another odor producer, between washings, I put a small amount of alcohol on a paper towel (or two) and scrub around the sides and as much as the bottom of the pan that I can. The alcohol dries quickly, and the pan is ready to use almost immediately.
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post #10 of 13
10/28/09 at 10:56am
I have a 1 bedroom apartment, basically 2 rooms plus bathroom and galley kitchen. Small. Our litterbox is in the bedroom, it's got a hood, and we use Tidy Cats, usually the Small Spaces formula but sometimes I'll get another formula if it's on sale. Tidy Cats either works really well for us, or... hehe, Genever's sh** just doesn't stink!

However, that said, before we figured out she might have giardia and then confirmed it with a fecal test at the vet, she could really clear the room. I had to move to the couch to sleep some nights cos it stank so bad. But since we got that cleared up with antibiotics, all I smell is the litter scent when she's scratching around in there. I know, I know, scented litter is supposed to be bad, but Genever doesn't seem to mind, and I can deal with it.
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post #11 of 13
10/31/09 at 1:45am
I have 11 cats. I use Tidy Cat clumping litter. You would never know there is a cat in my home. Even when I am cleaning the box, there is no smell. The secret is to use good litter, with good odor control. No clay. And to clean, clean, clean the box. I do not like covered boxes. Cats do not like to step into a dirty area. Covered boxes limit the area where a cat can enter the box. Thumbs way down on these. Good luck to you.
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post #12 of 13
11/1/09 at 8:18am
Yep. Get rid of the litter box hood and go to a higher quality food (no kibble).

I, too, live in an apartment (albeit a fairly large one). I have five cats and two litter boxes and even when you're in a room with a litter box, you can't tell. I use Fresh Step and my cats are on a diet of fresh, raw foods.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

While I recommend the Fresh Step and strongly recommend a better diet (especially raw), I do NOT recommend such a limited number of litter boxes, as it often doesn't work. Both of my boxes are the tupperware kind; one is 66 quarts and the other 120. This set-up likely only works for me because I have two sets of siblings between the five cats. My normal litter box recommendation is one box per cat, plus one.
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post #13 of 13
11/1/09 at 3:09pm
I agree that while covered boxes would seem to work better, in real life they don't seem to - I had a booda box, which my tiny girl liked - but it wasn't so great with the boy, and the hood seemed to just hold the odors in, which the boy didn't care for at all . I've had good luck with the Dr. Elsey's litters (Precious Cat - there's a couple of varieties to choose from). Scooping twice a day seems to help a lot, and the food can be an issue as well. Sharky can offer advice on different foods to try at various price points.

Also, just for odor relief in general, I've had great luck with Zero Odor - even works great in the car and garage for general household odors.
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