getting rid of cat smell

Hello,

I could use some assistance here as my wife and I are at our wits end. We moved into a brand new hour almost a year ago and we have our two cats litter boxes in the basement, which is unfinished. We tend to work long ours and occasionally forget to chagne the litter for a few days. Our cats are very picky and like the litter changed almost daily. Our last dwelling was a small basement appartment and we changed the litter daily. Due to the size we were forced to put the litter box in our washroom.

Anyways, the cats have found that when the litter boxes are too dirty for them the concrete makes a good washroom. As I said, it may be a few days before we check the litter box or notice the cat mess on the concete. When we do notice the mess has already set into the concrete. So now the basement, especially near the litter boxes, have a cat type amonia smell.

I have purchased natures miracle and another product(cant remember the name) to appy to the stains. I used a blacklight to find the main sports and dumped the product directly on the stain. We have yet to actually move the litter boxes and appy natures miracle to the conrete under the litter boxes. before we do, I was wondering if anyone had any recomendations? Id rather not have my basement smelling like a cats washroom. Thanks in advance!

Treat all areas with the Nature's Miracle, and then start scooping your boxes at least daily, and twice a day is better.

You can buy all the products in the world but nothing is ever going to make up for not scooping the litter boxes. Your cats presumably provide you with some companionship and enjoyment, so what's two minutes in the morning and again in the evening?

A clean litter box shouldn't be too much to ask.

And welcome to The Cat Site

I know that my response seems a harsh welcome, but you cannot neglect hygiene and expect things not to smell. Cats are very clean creatures- it's the humans that are dropping the ball in this situation.

I'm afraid I have to agree that nothing replaces scooping. Clean the areas with a good enzyme cleaner and start scooping.

It takes less than 1 minute to scoop out the litter at least once per day and the benefits/payoff is worth more than that 1 little minute.

How would you feel if you weren't allowed to flush your toilet for 3-4 days? Ewwwww.

Hi and welcome to TCS!

I have to agree - your kitties were accustomed to having a nice clean box, and now you clean it almost as an afterthought. If I were your kitties, I'd be trying to get your attention, too: please clean my litter box!!!

If it is a matter of out of sight, out of mind, I would suggest that you move the boxes from the basement up into the living areas, thereby forcing you to pay daily attention to it, and giving you a pair of very happy kitties as a result!

I work long hours and still manage to scoop the cat's box twice a day. This is because it is in the bathroom where I cannot ignore it. If you put your catboxes in a conspicuous location, use a scooping litter and keep it clean, it will solve your problem. I'm afraid nothing else will; this is clearly not your cat's fault.

Originally Posted by GingersMom

Hi and welcome to TCS!

If it is a matter of out of sight, out of mind, I would suggest that you move the boxes from the basement up into the living areas, thereby forcing you to pay daily attention to it, and giving you a pair of very happy kitties as a result!

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Actually I agree strongly with this statement. When I was pregnant my husband was given litter duty. Our litter was also in the basement and sometimes went days without being scooped. Our poor kitty started messing other places and it was our own fault. My husband admitted great guilt years later for having subjected our poor cat to this. And yes, our basement reeked and needed deep cleaning.

Now our kitty litter is in our bedroom (yes - near the bottom of our bed) so there is no danger of it not getting scooped a minimum of once per day. If I'm around and the cat uses the litter, I scoop immediately.

I fold my grocery bags and stuff them into an empty tissue box which is kept beside the litter container so it's a quick and easy process.

To eliminate the smell in the concrete, you need most likely need to saturate the spot repeatedly to get rid of the smell. Pour it on and leave the puddle to dry on its own. Repeat as many times as needed to get rid of the smell. Since basements are usually damp and humidity adds to the smell, using a de-humidifier will help more than you realize.

I just sold a house and had a strong urine smell under the litter box that had saturated the wood floors. I probably treated that area more than a dozen times before the smell came out. It won't show up with a black light. You have to get on your hands and knees and sniff out the bad spaces. We literally got to a point where the smell was in a one inch space in a crevace between 2 boards. We hit that spot a few more times to get it all out.