Recommendations Needed – Living In A Small Apartment With 2 Cats That Poo Like Horses And It Stinks

[Gattara101]

RECOMMENDATIONS NEEDED:

AKA when you live in a small apartment with 2 cats that poo like horses and it STINKS.

I can’t put their litter tray outside because of at least 101 reasons, and the only suitable place inside is a small intersection between the bedroom, the bathroom and the living room, which means that the smell reaches every single room

To make things worse, my boyfriend isn’t used to cat smells and isn’t crazy about it, whereas I am used to it – although that’s not to say I love it.

Before I lose myself in 100 hours of online research and get my credit card blocked in a cat litter shopping spry (wow, that sounds lame ), does anyone have any recommendations as How To Solve Your Cat Poo Stink Problems? Any special type of litter, maybe?

Thank you!

 

[GoldyCat]

What are you feeding them? Sometimes a change in diet can change the odor of the poop.

 

[Gattara101]

Thanks for your reply, GoldyCat!

So far, I’ve had to fee them Whiskas stuff because the lady won’t eat anything else. He, on the other end, eats anything, but of course it’s easier if I only buy one brand...

 

[Etarre]

If you can get your cat to use a covered litter box, that can really help. I got one with a top, a little swinging door, and an odor filter. My first cat was fine with the lid, but not the door, so we compromised, and I think it still helped.

My current cat was having nothing to do with the lid, though, so we're back to the open air litter box. I do use the arm and hammer litter deodorizer and scoop a lot, which helps.

 

[LTS3]

There's a recent thread discussing litter ox odors: Tips For Controlling Litterbox Smell?

Plenty of other TCS threads with suggestions: Search Results for Query: litter box odor | TheCatSite

Scooping daily is a must. At least twice a day is best. What litter are you using? Some may not be very good at odor control. But I wouldn't use a perfumed litter. That may turn the cats off on using the box and they will just go on the floor. Cat noses are sensitive to smells. You can place non-scented odor absorbers around the litter box and home.

Do the cats cover their poop? Some cats don't and there really isn't anything you can to do teach them how to cover

A better quality diet can help. Is the Whiskas the dry food or canned food? What brands of food have you tried before that your cat won't eat?

 

[Purr-fect]

Put a towel under the litter boxes to collect kitty litter, poop and drops of urine......wash it frequently

Scoop boxes minimum once a day

Try a different litter

Most useful suggestion is to improve the quality of the cat food. This made a big difference for our cats.

 

[duckpond]

Not sure if i missed it, but have they had a vet visit recently? Been treated for parasites, possibly giardia? Sometimes litter box smells are because of a health issue.

Food can also make a big difference with some cats. maybe try some other foods, will they eat fancy feast? Or Friskies? sometimes cats will move to one of those easier than trying to get them to move to a totally new "holistic" food right off the bat.

And some litter smells much worse than others, some even smells bad when clean When i used clay litter i found that Fresh step was the best litter for my nose. My son uses the aloha breezes and it smells very light. they also have unscented.

 

[KarenKat]

We have one cat that doesn’t bury his poop, so I found if I (or Gohan, who is a neat freak) do it for him it smells much better.

 

[maggiedemi]

Are you using clumping litter? It shouldn't stink for at least a month if you are keeping it deep enough and scooping every day. Also, make sure they get some canned food every day. An all dry food diet would definitely make the poop stink more.

 

[DreamerRose]

Try First Step litter. It is very effective at eliminating odor.

 

[sargon]

Automatic litter boxes help a lot. They automatically scoop the cat elimination into a sealed container a few minutes after use. sprinkle a bit of baking soda in the bin for a touch of extra odor reduction.

The litter robot is generally well regarded, if expensive. The scoop free has a decent reputation as well, and is abti cheaper, but has a higher maintainance cost. Finally, the cat genie probably will do what you want, though it is fairly pricy and has a reputation for being a little fiddly at times

Normally I suggest the litter breeze system for cat box odor(cheap and effective), but it mostly helps with liquid waste odor, not solid.


You might also try the American Journey brand food from chewy.com. it is their house brand and you get the first bag or flat of cans at half price. It isn't a super premium food, but it is a lot better than most store brands like whiskas, seems well tolerated by most cats (flavor and digestion), and not very expensive. Plus, if it doesn't work, Chewy will refund your purchase.

 

[ailish]

When I adopted Ailish her poo was pretty strong. As soon as I switched her from all dry to wet Fancy Feast it barely smelled at all and there was less of it. When I switched from Arm & Hammer to Fresh Step unscented there was no smell at all. We have since been eating boutique brand foods, but really it was the near elimination of dry food that did the trick.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

I agree with Dreamer Rose. Fresh Step is THE best I have found for odor control - and I have tried every brand, clumping and non-clumping. Fresh Step NON clumping is the best.

I can't use it any longer because one of my cats has asthma so I switched to Dr. Elsey R&R which doesn't do squat for odor control.

Unless you have an asthmatic cat, try Fresh Step non-clumping. If you prefer clumping, their Hawaiin Aloha is pretty good.