[builder]

I don’t know if it’s just me, but the litter box smell is getting to me. Right now I’m sitting about 30 to 40 ft away and I’m holding my breath about to run outside. :dis

Nobody else seems to be bothered by it. I just can’t take it anymore and I think it’s making me ill. It gets cleaned everyday and I’m starting to think it’s something in the litter it’s self. We’ve been using ScoopAway for years and I don’t know why it’s getting to me now.

The litter box has a charcoal filter on top but it’s not working, although we don’t have a flap on the box. I can’t remember the reasoning for removing the flap, but it been off for at least 5 or 6 years.

I’m desperate to get it outside and even have been thinking of building something outside the window except I’m afraid it may attract rodents and I don’t know how to deal with the winter cold coming in through the window.

 

[kty78]

I hated the smell of clay litter, so I completely changed the litter ever 3 days and I scoop poop ASAP. Even if they poop right after I scoop, which they usually do, I scoop again. I have 2 cats and 2 litter boxes. I just recently moved one litter box to the basement and left one in its usual spot by the back door. They have been using the one in the basement almost exclusively. Actually the other one has gone untouched for 2 days now. Yay!

I also switched to pelleted horse bedding for litter back in May, and really like it. Itcontrols odors so much better than clay. I know it gets mixed reviews as far as whether or not your cats will use it. I first put a scoop of pine litter on the bottom of the litter box and filled as usual with the tidy cats I was using. I gradually added more pellets when I scooped, until after a week or two it was all pellets. My cats never had an issue. It doesn't clump though, it's actually kind of the opposite of clumping litter. You have to pick out the poo with the corner of the scoop so you don't get the pellets. When they pee it turns the pellets into sawdust, which I sift out into a grocery bag with the scoop and dispose of. Works great for me. It does take a little longer to scoop the box than regular litter but it still is only like 2 minutes tops.

 

[catloverami]

It's important for the health of your cat to know how much urine is deposited and this is difficult with some types of litter such as pine pellets, crystals, wheat pellets,newspaper pellets or regular clay litter. With clumping clay litter you have a very good indicator of how much and how often your cat pees....important to know if cat develops a urinary track infection or has a declining kidney function. I find very little odor with a clumping clay litter with baking soda included, or you can sprinkle it on yourself. If you scoop 2x/day or more often if you prefer, and change the litter completely every 3 weeks (more often if you have more than 1 cat) and wash the box with dish detergent, you should have very little odor.

 

[builder]

Thanks for your replies. I just picked up the bag to read the label to see if it were clay, because I’ve never really paid attention to what was in it and I was hit with the smell that makes me sick. I don’t know if I’m relating that smell to ammonia or if it’s the scent that I can’t stand. I remember a detergent we were using that made me sick to smell, but everyone else loved the smell and it took a long time to convince everybody to stop using it.

We completely change the litter every 2 to 3 weeks, but it’s hard to scoop it out more than a few times a day with a full time job. I have two litter boxes one on each side of the house and I would love it if they would go to a basement if I had one. I have an attached garage, but I can’t let them out there because of all my tools. Years ago I had a cat knock a hammer off a hook and fracture his paw. Now I have so many tools that I wouldn’t dare let them out there.

I think for now I’m going to try sprinkling Baking soda in with the liter and maybe even try another brand of litter, but I think I may have to build a better litter box with an electric air purifier built in.

 

[kty78]

I think those charcoal filters on top of the litter box are just a gimmick, they don't seem to really do anything. An electonic air purifier near the litter box would probably help quite a bit.

 

[Jacq]

I buy activated carbon.... things, that come in a little thing that looks like a margarine container;

(On the right, the green puck-looking thing is what's inside).

I stick it underneath the garbage bin. They last about 3-4 months if you flip them over half-way through, and are $4 each. When it's time to change the filter/pick that's when it's time to change out the litter completely and give the box and the room a big scrub-down.

Granted, even though we're only in a 1-bdrm apartment, the box is quite far away from our 'living' areas. We can smell a fresh poo (well, not "fresh" but you know what I mean) for a few minutes in the house sometimes, but never that really acrid ammonia smell that I smelt at the cat house or in my sister's laundry room.

Is it true that male's urine smells way worse than female's urine?

 

[builder]

I think those charcoal filters on top of the litter box are just a gimmick, they don't seem to really do anything. An electonic air purifier near the litter box would probably help quite a bit.

Thanks I’m going to look for an air purifier. I used to have one years ago when my mother in law smoked in our house, but haven’t even seen them anymore. I’m not even sure if they are still available. It didn’t really work that well for the cigarette smoke, but I’m hoping it will work for this.

I buy activated carbon.... things, that come in a little thing that looks like a margarine container;

(On the right, the green puck-looking thing is what's inside).

I stick it underneath the garbage bin. They last about 3-4 months if you flip them over half-way through, and are $4 each. When it's time to change the filter/pick that's when it's time to change out the litter completely and give the box and the room a big scrub-down.

Granted, even though we're only in a 1-bdrm apartment, the box is quite far away from our 'living' areas. We can smell a fresh poo (well, not "fresh" but you know what I mean) for a few minutes in the house sometimes, but never that really acrid ammonia smell that I smelt at the cat house or in my sister's laundry room.

Is it true that male's urine smells way worse than female's urine?

Oh thanks, I’ve never seen those bio absorbent things before. I think the the next time I’m out I’m going to look for those too.

 

[scottd]

Maybe it's time to switch litters.

We had odor problems when we used clay litter but since switching to World's Best Multi Cat a year ago, we haven't had any at all. What litter works best varies by kitties though. There are mixed results for every type on here.

 

[builder]

Maybe it's time to switch litters.

We had odor problems when we used clay litter but since switching to World's Best Multi Cat a year ago, we haven't had any at all. What litter works best varies by kitties though. There are mixed results for every type on here.

Well that’s the next step. We started using the ScoopAway because it came in a 5 gal rectangle plastic bucket from Costco and it was cheap. I had a 100 uses for the bucket storing things from hardware to fertilizer, and even water that I collected during the rainy season to water my plants in the dry season. Now they don’t come in the buckets anymore and except for the price there doesn’t seam to be a reason to buy it anymore. I need to do some research for a new litter before I change.

I was busy working around the house all day and have not made it out to the store and as soon as I do I’m going to try the baking soda 1st. I’m also going to look for those bio absorbent things.

I have checked in to the air purifiers and from all the reviews, I’m not sure if that going to help me with smells. It will help with dander and dust, but I don’t think it works for smells or at least I can’t find any concrete evidence that it does.

 

[scottd]

I have checked in to the air purifiers and from all the reviews, I’m not sure if that going to help me with smells. It will help with dander and dust, but I don’t think it works for smells or at least I can’t find any concrete evidence that it does.

They help but it's not enough to be worth buying one unless you just want purified air anyways. We use them at the shelter in every room but it's not for odor.

 

[builder]

Honestly, I would look into the diet. I have 4 litterboxes and no smell at all. People always comment on this. I feed raw. Before I switched, the boxes did smell more--the poop had a nasty smell that never entirely went away unless I scooped incessantly. Now that all the cats are eating raw, their poops are small, dry, and practically without smell--I can put my nose right down there and barely smell them. I scoop the 4 boxes (for 4 cats--only 3 of the boxes are usually used as they don't seem to care about #4) once a day.

Thanks, but I don’t think any of us here could do that. I’ve read some of the threads in the raw food forum and I know that I can’t do that. Canned and bagged food is all I can do.