Help! Stinky litter box house

[Garga]

We got 2 cats over the winter. All was well.

 

I clean the litter boxes (2 of them) two to three times a day. Every day. Always twice without fail, sometimes three times. Again, all was well.

 

Until the air got humid. And now, yowza! Stinky cat litter smell in the house. I remember this from when I had cats before. Something about humidity (even with the a/c running) lets that litter box smell hang in the air.

 

I completely replace the litter every 3 weeks.

 

Does anyone have tips to help with the stink? Are there odor neutralizer air freshener sprays I can use? A better kind of cat litter? I was using Aldi's litter.

 

Help!

[Pawz4me]

A different litter can make a huge difference.  I'm a big fan of Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat.  IME it's by far the best litter on the market -- low dust and very good odor control.  But even with the best of litter you're going to be fighting odor when the humidity is high.  I keep a container of activated charcoal beside the litter boxes.  I can't remember the name, but I get it at WalMart in the section where they have laundry baskets and ironing supplies.  It looks similar to this. I think it helps with the litter box odor.  I also keep a can of Lysol in the cat room and give the room a good spray now and then.

[Acorn]

Our litter box can't last three weeks. It definitely smells more on humid days.

[Garga]

Our litter box can't last three weeks. It definitely smells more on humid days.

 

I'm starting to agree with you. It was ok in the winter, but it's been less than 1 week since I last changed it out, and it's already really stinky. I line the box with plastic, so when I change out the litter, it's not like the smell has seeped into the plastic of the box.

[Pawz4me]

The better the litter clumps the longer it will last w/o becoming stinky (because small bits aren't being left behind).  Also, sometimes what stinks is the stuff that inevitably sticks to the sides of the box.  That can be wiped off with a paper towel sprayed with diluted bleach.  And using enough litter is key -- many people put just a teeny amount in the box thinking they're saving money.  Most litter manufacturers recommend filling the box at least three inches deep.  It will clump much better, and much less will stick to the sides and bottom.

[OneStepAtATime]

Options:

 

1.  Get a Cat Genie or equivalent.  http://www.catgenie.com/

 

2.  Switch to litter crystals and replace completely once a week, possibly every week and a half.

 

3.  Use Pawz4me's great suggestions.

 

Good luck.

[Lara in Colo]

I put a cat door on the garage door and leave the litter box in the garage. 

I do this mainly because the cats always seem to have a run-from-the-room poop at 2am. 

[Garga]

A different litter can make a huge difference. I'm a big fan of Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat. IME it's by far the best litter on the market -- low dust and very good odor control. But even with the best of litter you're going to be fighting odor when the humidity is high. I keep a container of activated charcoal beside the litter boxes. I can't remember the name, but I get it at WalMart in the section where they have laundry baskets and ironing supplies. It looks similar to this. I think it helps with the litter box odor. I also keep a can of Lysol in the cat room and give the room a good spray now and then.

 

Thank you for the tips! I would sort of deal with the smell it if was always just us, but it's embarrassing when people come to visit. They'll think I don't clean the boxes, when I do, quite often.

[Tanaqui]

I like our pine cat litter, I find I have to practically shove my nose in the box (unless I've been bad about changing it) to smell it.

 

But I'm assuming your litter smells like pee. If it smells like stinky poop, it may be that a dietary change is what is required.

[stephanier.1765]

A different litter can make a huge difference.  I'm a big fan of Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat.  IME it's by far the best litter on the market -- low dust and very good odor control.  But even with the best of litter you're going to be fighting odor when the humidity is high.  I keep a container of activated charcoal beside the litter boxes.  I can't remember the name, but I get it at WalMart in the section where they have laundry baskets and ironing supplies.  It looks similar to this. I think it helps with the litter box odor.  I also keep a can of Lysol in the cat room and give the room a good spray now and then.

 

This is the litter we use too. We have had cats for more years than I can remember and this is the best litter we've ever used. If the cat has just used the box for a BM, we notice that smell but it soon fades away as the litter gets to work. Change out the box more often. We do it every 2 weeks but if you are still having problems then once a week would be reasonable.

 

Hope you find your solution soon. A stinky house from a stinky box is definitely no fun.

[zoobie]

Dr. Elsey's forever! I order it from Amazon.

 

We use a litter genie with diaper genie refills when they go on sale.

 

When's the last time you changed the box itself? The funk gets in the plastic. We change ours at least every year.

[stephanier.1765]

When's the last time you changed the box itself? The funk gets in the plastic. We change ours at least every year.

 

That reminds me that I need to do this. They reach a point when all the scratches and odor absorption can no longer be cleaned away and replacing is an absolute necessity.  

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

 

Two cats?

 

You'll need to swap out the litter more often.

 

We use Arm and Hammer litter, but really any litter is going to be bad after three weeks with two cats. Even fancy crystal litter will be bad after 3 weeks with two cats.

 

 

Also the suggested number of litter boxes is the number of cats + 1, that might help too.

 

I've been eyeing DIY enclosed litter boxes with vent fans. You can use a computer fan, which is cheap and quiet as the fan.

[DragonFaerie]

We have three cats, and the best litter I've found is Fresh Step multi-cat.  I have tried other brands, and it definitely does make a difference.  I keep going back to Fresh Step.

[hornblower]

I'd say increase litter boxes by 1 (most sites recommend # of cats +1)

if your cats will accept a covered box, that does help.   But not all cats like covered boxes....

During each litter change, wash pans with bleach water solution, dry thoroughly.

consider swapping brands of litter (I won't comment because we have different brands here in canada)

I was changing the whole litter weekly (so I was balancing price of the really expensive litters & the fact that I was dumping it all very frequently. For me it was better to buy a cheaper brand & dump it all weekly)

Once a year, I find it helps to throw the pan out altogether & start with a new pan. Once the plastic is scratched, I think the residue & bacteria just lodge in the little grooves & it doesn't come out.

The air deodorizer bags might help. It's zeolite in a sack. http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=10175&cat=2Home Depot sells them too.... Recharge in sunshine every 6 months.

[Ellie]

It's a never-ending story for cat owners. :laugh:

 

We used several different brands over the years with our multiple cats. The final winner was Sweatscoop, which is actually..wheat. Even here in humid Texas, all I could smell was...wheat.

[katilac]

  I line the box with plastic, so when I change out the litter, it's not like the smell has seeped into the plastic of the box.

 

That will help, but a lot of cats tend to 'spritz' it around a bit, so that it is getting on the litterbox anyway. So it may not be seeping into the bottom of the box, but the sides instead. I'm not talking about noticeable 'errors' but minute amounts that go unobserved until the area is stinky. 

 

Wipe the litter box down completely every week, particularly in any ledges, crevices, etc. If it fits together, take it completely apart at least once a month for thorough washing. It's good to put it in the sunshine, too. 

 

Put the litterbox in the middle of a big, absorbent towel that can be changed and washed every week. 

 

If the litterbox is against a wall, don't forget to wash the wall periodically. 

 

In short, always assume that the entire surrounding area of a litter box is in dire need of cleaning. 

[katilac]

Oh, and make sure that the pee smell isn't coming from somewhere else. As in, remove the litter box completely and then walk around doing the sniff test. If the smallest bit of cat pee got onto a rag or something, and then the rag got pushed under the sofa or into the corner of a closet, you will have a disgusting but hard to trace smell. 

 

I live in a super humid area, and I really can't imagine just the humidity causing so much of a difference, unless you only run the a/c sporadically. It's so hot here that it runs everyday in summer (and most of the rest of the year, lol).