Best litter for odor control with multiple cats?

nekochan

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I am trying to find the best litter for odor control. I have noticed lately that as my male cats are getting older the litterboxes odors are getting stronger... I have one male who is 2 1/2 years old and three who are 1 1/2 years old (all neutered). I have also found that they tend to prefer some boxes over others so some get dirty really fast while others are hardly used.
I am trying to keep the odor down and was hoping for some suggestions on what litter is best for that? I currently use Tidy Cats "power blend" which is the one with some crystals mixed in.
It's not a poor diet issue, they all eat Orijen.
 

sharky

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Overly rich diet can also cause it ... the smell from pee is normally amonnia .. When I moved from strait grain free ( actually what you are feeding) to mostly grain free wet and a dry with rice and oats my smell dropped by half... In my experience too rich and poor quality often yeild a smelly result

I have three males and I found chicken feed with benonite clay or a clumping newspaper seems to work well and clump great
 

carolina

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I use Dr Elsey's Precious Cat here, and there is absolutely NO pee smell whatsoever - 3 cats in a tiny apartment....
 

otto

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If you are having ammonia odor, it means the boxes are not being kept clean enough. Boxes should be scooped at least twice a day, and dumped completely and scrubbed out, and let air dry, once a week.

I use plain clay litter, and have no odor problems. Three cats, four boxes. I scoop a minimum of four times a day. My apartment also is tiny. (580 sq feet)

I have two sets of boxes, so when I pick them up to dump and scrub I have a clean set to put down right away. I think this may also help with odor as the boxes get a week to "air out" between uses.
 
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nekochan

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Maybe it's not ammonia... It's that smell that people think of when they think of cats. I don't know how to describe it but when I think about it, it's really not an ammonia smell so much as a "catty" smell.
 

otto

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Really, if the boxes are kept clean, there should be no odor problem.

What do you do with the waste after you scoop? Do you take it out to the trash right away? If not, perhaps that is what you are smelling.

I scoop into doubled plastic grocery bags, and keep the waste bag in a lidded stainless steel container (actually an old stock pot). I put the waste bag into the trash every night, and start a new one the next morning with the first scooping.
 

GoldyCat

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I use the Walmart Special Kitty in the green box. It's a sand texture which the kitties like and they seem to cover better with it. The odor control works very quickly. Even when it's really stinky I never smell it for more than about 5 minutes. I used to use Tidy Cats, tried several different varieties. Some of them work okay, but none as well as Special Kitty. I also tried Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat because several people recommended it for low dust. The odor control was non-existent. I know other people say it works well for them. Maybe I just got a bad bag, but I'm not about to spend more money to find out.
 

Willowy

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Originally Posted by GoldyCat

I use the Walmart Special Kitty in the green box. .... Some of them work okay, but none as well as Special Kitty.
+1....except I like the orange scented one (I thought cats aren't supposed to like citrus scents, but the cats don't mind---I've done side-by-side comparisions just to make sure). It's the same as the green box except for the scent. I've tried just about every brand and that's the one I like best.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by otto

Really, if the boxes are kept clean, there should be no odor problem.

What do you do with the waste after you scoop? Do you take it out to the trash right away? If not, perhaps that is what you are smelling.

I scoop into doubled plastic grocery bags, and keep the waste bag in a lidded stainless steel container (actually an old stock pot). I put the waste bag into the trash every night, and start a new one the next morning with the first scooping.
My PH boys do have some odur but I agree regular healthy males should not have much smell in the box if well kept

Silly ? to OP
How big are your boxes?
 
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nekochan

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The box sizes vary depending on what size fit in the location. One box is on the small side because the only place it would fit in that room is inside a cabinet so I had to get a box to fit the cabinet. Unfortunately that is one of the boxes the cats like the best (maybe because of the privacy?) so it tends to get smellier-- even if I scoop it 3-5 times a day they use it more than I can scoop!
I think part of the problem is with the litter I am using, the urine clumps fall apart a lot so I can't scoop them out completely. The Tidy Cat Breeze boxes I have which use special litter never really smell bad. I also have two Littermaids, one of which no longer works but I use the box like a regular litter box because it's big.

When I scoop/clean the boxes I usually take the bag outside right away.
 

missymotus

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I won't use clumping litter, we use wood pellets with a sieve tray.

Lasts far longer than other litters and no odour.
 

animalhouse

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I use Sweat Scoop..and have for the past kittys.. But this one really is stinky. LOL So I may change. We have the Big Booda Litter pan. And I scoop Daily.. Once. Should I do it more? We have 2 boxes.. but 3 Kittys.. *2 are used to using one* And they all use each others. LOL He is the only male.. the other 2 are females.
So I am interested in seeing what people suggest as we are trying something new next shopping trip!
 

otto

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Originally Posted by Nekochan

The box sizes vary depending on what size fit in the location. One box is on the small side because the only place it would fit in that room is inside a cabinet so I had to get a box to fit the cabinet. Unfortunately that is one of the boxes the cats like the best (maybe because of the privacy?) so it tends to get smellier-- even if I scoop it 3-5 times a day they use it more than I can scoop!
I think part of the problem is with the litter I am using, the urine clumps fall apart a lot so I can't scoop them out completely. The Tidy Cat Breeze boxes I have which use special litter never really smell bad. I also have two Littermaids, one of which no longer works but I use the box like a regular litter box because it's big.

When I scoop/clean the boxes I usually take the bag outside right away.
I have found that enclosed litter boxes hold in odor. This may be why that particular box smells. If you are keeping it clean (and don't forget, plastic holds odor, so the boxes should be dumped and scrubbed, or changed out like I described earlier, weekly) perhaps the odor is just lingering in the cabinet as it has no way to dissipate.

You could try keeping a box of baking soda in there, but change it frequently.
 

lovemahkitties

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i use the dye & perfume free fresh step scoopable litter, and can NEVER smell the litterboxes, even though they are in our basement family room where we spend most of our leisure time. i have two big boxes for 3 cats, and scoop them 1x day.

i know many don't like clumping litters because of their possible dangers (which i was unaware of when i started using this litter years ago). since then, i've tried to switch them to brands like yesterday's news and others, but each attempted change invariably led to 'accidents'


if you're not averse to clumping litter, fresh step has always worked for us.
 

shashagirl

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My cats like Precious cat. I've tried almost all the earth friendly cat litter and we always go back to Precious cat. It seems to work the best. I stopped searching for fear of accidents. Precious cat works well for odor control. We have 3 cats and there is no catty smell. I scoop 2x per day and do a complete litter change with a clean box once a month. I think the enclosed area would trap odor. I use a plain, open box. I thought about getting a hooded box but read somewhere that most cats like easy access and an open box is the best option.
 

fifi1puss

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Originally Posted by lovemahkitties

i use the dye & perfume free fresh step scoopable litter, and can NEVER smell the litterboxes, even though they are in our basement family room where we spend most of our leisure time. i have two big boxes for 3 cats, and scoop them 1x day.

i know many don't like clumping litters because of their possible dangers (which i was unaware of when i started using this litter years ago). since then, i've tried to switch them to brands like yesterday's news and others, but each attempted change invariably led to 'accidents'


if you're not averse to clumping litter, fresh step has always worked for us.
I use this also with 3 cats/one box (covered) I scoop up to 3 times a day and buy a new litter box twice a year. Change out the litter completely once a month. Never smell anything. Are they getting stuff on the sides of the boxes? Just a thought. They have litter box wipes or just use a cloth, that might help.
 

venusgirltrap

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I use a little from costco in a green bottle (not a tub) and it's cheap and works pretty good. I used to use natures miracle additive and it really works great, but I only have one cat now and she's not very stinky. I only change my litter out twice a week, but again, only one cat, but I do scrub down the litter mat and the lip of the box every few days. Also, I use fresh wave in my house and I swear by it, but it's kind of expensive. http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Wave-Odo...5068982&sr=8-8 That is the regular jar, but I bought a jar and a big jug and the jug lasted about 6 months. Greatest home refresher imo.
 

GoldyCat

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Originally Posted by carolinalima

I use Dr Elsey's Precious Cat here, and there is absolutely NO pee smell whatsoever - 3 cats in a tiny apartment....
Originally Posted by Shashagirl

My cats like Precious cat. I've tried almost all the earth friendly cat litter and we always go back to Precious cat. It seems to work the best. I stopped searching for fear of accidents. Precious cat works well for odor control. We have 3 cats and there is no catty smell. I scoop 2x per day and do a complete litter change with a clean box once a month.
Originally Posted by AudioCat

I also use Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat Litter. We've tried a lot of different litters but this is the best for us.

Petsmart has it by us. Here's a link:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2754842

Three cats and no smell (except if Zachary forgets to cover his poo). Scooping is done twice a day.
I'm still trying to figure out why the Precious Cat litter I got seems to work differently for me than for everybody else. When I tried it I found that there was NO odor control. Even when the cats completely covered their poop it stunk up the whole house for 20 minutes, which was as long as I could stand it before I scooped it and hauled it out to the dumpster.
 
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