odor control tips for apartment

Originally Posted by RicaLynn

I can tell you, from personal experience, that Cat's Pride will NOT help you in that arena, and it's incredibly dusty, which carries that "litterbox" odor everywhere in the house!

Keep it up, you've had some excellent suggestions thus far! Try to remain consistent with your brand of litter for at least two weeks while you experiment with the food - eliminate one variable at a time.

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I think it should be renamed Cat's Shame. Yuck. My friend told me to start with Tidy Cat Crystals litter. That's the brand and type her cats use.

I've gotten great help so far, and I was inspired to reattach the swinging door on the litterbox. That's an improvement already. The little plastic pieces on the swinging door that attach to the box are fragile. I've already broken one which made me reluctant to try again.

What brand of litter do you use?

I usually use flushable litter. It's easier and more convenient since I'm in an apartment. I usually use Nature's Miracle Flushable or Arm & Hammer Flushable. Right now I'm using Fresh Step (not flushable) because I ran out of litter and that was the only kind the store carried.

Ah, ok...just wanted to check. Sometimes it could just plain be the litter. For example, Johnny Cat is the WORSE!! Lol...hey, never know, right?

I don't know if you have already said this but what brand of food?

I usually use flushable litter. It's easier and more convenient since I'm in an apartment. I usually use Nature's Miracle Flushable or Arm & Hammer Flushable. Right now I'm using Fresh Step (not flushable) because I ran out of litter and that was the only kind the store carried.

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

I don't know if you have already said this but what brand of food?

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Good point! Could be the food...

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

I don't know if you have already said this but what brand of food?

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Usually Purina or Iams. I give them a variety of wet and dry. And I feed them a couple cat treats a day.

The cats are 14 months old so they get adult food.

Purina. This is one food that the cats & I detest very stongly.

I like Iams, however.

Perhaps try them on just the Iams for awhile, the Purina could be resulting in the smell.

I think a change in diet would help. Dori's litter waste does not stink, at all. I use Fresh Step litter w/ the Arm & Hammer litter powder added. But I feed her decent food, Innova Light dry and Merrick canned. She also gets Old Mother Hubbard Treats and Wildside Salmon treats (from Pat), and that's it. I would suggest taking the wet food completely out of her diet.... But so not to completely change the topic of this thread you can research some of the threads on diet and you will find all the info you need on food.

Originally Posted by squirtle

I think a change in diet would help. Dori's litter waste does not stink, at all. I use Fresh Step litter w/ the Arm & Hammer litter powder added. But I feed her decent food, Innova Light dry and Merrick canned. She also gets Old Mother Hubbard Treats and Wildside Salmon treats (from Pat), and that's it. I would suggest taking the wet food completely out of her diet.... But so not to completely change the topic of this thread you can research some of the threads on diet and you will find all the info you need on food.

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The only thing I would warn about is taking her off the wet food. I hear it's good for their digestion (in keeping things moving smoothly) for them to have wet food at least once a week. Am I wrong in this?

Originally Posted by maherwoman

The only thing I would warn about is taking her off the wet food. I hear it's good for their digestion (in keeping things moving smoothly) for them to have wet food at least once a week. Am I wrong in this?

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Most of my cats only feed on dry and they have no problems with digestion. I think that is probably a myth.

ACK, I meant do NOT take the wet food out. I would definately advise to keep wet food there.

I mentioned that I feed Dori wet food.

Originally Posted by squirtle

ACK, I meant do NOT take the wet food out.

I would definately advise to keep wet food there.

I mentioned that I feed Dori wet food.

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LOL!! I was a little confused by that one!! LOL!!

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

Purina. This is one food that the cats & I detest very stongly.

I like Iams, however.

Perhaps try them on just the Iams for awhile, the Purina could be resulting in the smell.

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Why do you detest Purina?

I feed Purina One - the cats like it and the vet raved about the coat and health on all 4 the last he saw of them.

We use Arm and Hammer clumping litter.

Originally Posted by Mom of two

Why do you detest Purina?

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It gives my beautiful Persians loose stool.

It is one of the cheapest pet foods available at the supermarket, and I just don't do supermarket pet food.

Your cats are beautiful. Thanks for the tip. I couldn't get through to the vet's office today, so I went ahead and ordered Iams dry food. Maybe I'll smell an improvement!

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

I just don't do supermarket pet food.

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But you advocate Iams?

Anyway, sounds like you are already trying so the two big parameters are the food and the cat litter.

Out of about a dozen premium brands, quite a few made Nano's litterbox deposits (hey, I like that phrase!) smell not-so-nice. I am not going to give foolhardy lectures or universally swear by certain brands, but sometimes just a bit of trial and error will produce some noticeable results. Depends on how much time you want to put into it.

As for litter, well...I haven't found a single brand that I can point to and say "this one does everything perfectly!" so you have to think of it in terms of trade-offs. The flushable stuff is convenient but not as good at covering smells. I found Arm & Hammer (clumping) to be good at masking odors until it comes time for me to scoop -- then barf! Tidy Cat (clumping) was not so wonderful at masking odors under regular conditions but was less troublesome when it came time for me to bend down to scoop.

Sorry to sound wishy-washy, but by picking a convenient flushable product you tend to sacrifice some daily odor protection. You might want to review the convenience versus the value of having a better smelling apartment. Failing that, the Glade Plugins automatically pump out a fresh scent so that could be an option if you really value convenience.