how can I control the smell?

I live in a one-bedroom apartment with my two cats.

Whenever Kinah uses the litter box, the smell becomes unbearable. I clean the litterbox every day but it doesn't make much difference since the smell comes back as soon as she uses the litterbox again.

Is there anything I can do to control the smell? The litterbox is on of those covered one and I use the Walmart brand clumping litter.

any tips?

www.citypet.com I have used this little unit for a few years with great results.

Marie, what kind of food do you feed you cat? A higher quality food like Wellness or Innova will help to reduce litter box smell. You may want to experiment with different litters, too. If you do, though, make sure you put some of the old brand on top of the new brand so your cat doesn't get weirded out by it and do it's thing somewhere else, like your bed. Also, if you change food, do it over the course of a week or so to reduce the chance of stomach upset.

I have much better luck with brand name litter, I like Tidy Cat. Also the deodorizer powder sprinkled in the litter helps.

You can approach this a few ways.

1. The source: Adjust what kind of food you feed her. Some brands seemed to make Nano's poop smell worse than others.

2. The location: Where do you keep this litterbox? I don't know the layout of your house, but experiment to find a suitable location that is most agreeable to you.

3. The litterbox: You can try the enclosed litterbox that has the filter thing on top?

4. The litter: I had to experiment with a lot of different brands. I've used the Wal-Mart brand but it doesn't really have any ingredients to help manage the smell. You get what you pay for.

5. Smell coverups: Right now I have a Glade Plug-In thing located two feet from each litterbox. You can also try sprinkling Arm & Hammer baking soda into the litter to help control the smell. And if nothing else, pick your favorite deoderant spray (Lysol, etc.) and use it around the box whenever you clean it out.

I find clumping litter always smells. Since I started using Catsan I have no smell, though I also sprinkle it with deodorising powder.

i've just switched to World's Best Cat Litter. it's made from corn and has a very slight scent. the litter clumps the pee, and you flush it down the toilet. the clumps are pretty hard, and with 4" or so of depth, the pee never reaches the bottom of the pan, so there is no residual odor in the box after removing and flushing the waste.

cheers,
phil

I must agree with Nano's #4. I used Wal-mart scoopable ONCE. I nearly gagged on the dust and it did nothing to disguise odors. I didn't even finish the bucket.

I have had great success with Tidy Cat: I have five cats, and four litter boxes, and scooping once a day I never have odor problems.

It may very well be the food she's eating, esp if you feed her a lot of canned food. I've found wet food makes my furries much more *ahem* "fragrant" than a good QUALITY kibble.

thanks for the advice.

as far as food goes, she gets Nutro's Natural Choice Kitten formula (and the occasional adult formula she steals from Joshua)
I'm hesitant to switch food because Joshua has a sensitive stomach and Nutro seems to work well for him.
I will investigate Wellness and see how much it costs. If the price is reasonable, I might try it.

I already have a covered litter box with filter, and I don't think there's really anywhere else I can put the litter box.

I will try switching litter. Hopefully that will help.

I will also see about getting an air filter.

I think Nutro's actually pretty decent (I know some here would disagree) and fairly easy on the wallet. How old is she? She may be ready to switch to the adult formula altogether.

Just be aware any time you switch food you should do it gradually, blending old and new together, or the smell could get worse before it gets better.

Also, be sure you've got enough litter in the box. With scoopables, you should have at least 3 inches of litter on the bottom of the pan for proper clumping.

I feed my cat and my boyfriend's cat Nutro adult, and for some reason one's poop is always way stinkier and wetter than the other's. I also live in a 1-br apartment, and found that using the combination of crystal litter and a little tent over the litterpan make it much more bearable. I also have a few air purifiers and keep some scented candles around the apartment for right after one of them goes.
I can't want to move to a bigger place!