The cat’s litter box: just those three words can make you cringe, right? All cat owners will admit they hate dealing with the litter box,whether it’s the maintenance or the odors. The good news is that there are more ways to help keep your home from smelling like the litter pan. The Refined Feline compiled the top five tips to help you avoid the stink of your cat’s litter box.
Table of Contents
Tip #1: Old Litter Needs To Go
Even if you purchase the best, most perfume based litter possible, it’s going to get old over time. Litter in the box will need to be regularly purged, providing cleanliness for your cat and an improved smell for yourself. In addition to regularly dumping the box, you can try a different brand of litter. The brand you’re currently using may not be the best at getting rid of odors. With multiple boxes at home, you can try different litters all at one time. Pay attention to what your cat prefers, and which ones seem to deter the added stink. Once you’ve figured out which one you and your cat like, transition their boxes to the new brand slowly. A cat’s sense of smell is much higher than ours, thus extra scented litter may be too strong for their noses. Your cat may have gravitated towards an unscented or less intensely scented litter during the testing phase. Unscented litter can be just as effective as the heavy perfume brands, too, so do your research. The level of litter in your cat’s box can be just as important as the brand. Ensuring the box is full everyday can better trap odors, even more than the scented qualities of the litter. With at least a few inches of litter in the box, it will deter the smells from traveling. The litter box won’t be able to keep up with all the daily waste if the litter is too low. Cats will want to bury their waste and not leave a smell behind either. This means they might continuously dig if they can still smell their business, and make an even bigger mess.
Tip #2: The Power of Scooping
Now that we’ve tackled the issue of old litter, the waste itself is another obvious problem. Allowing the waste to linger in the box everyday will let the odors have free rein in your home. If you can, frequent scooping will be your new best friend to a less stinky home. Whenever your cat goes number two, scooping right afterwards will help stop odors in their tracks. If scooping multiple times a day isn’t possible, consider upgrading to an automatic cycling litter box. These boxes utilize a mechanical arm to “sweep” through the litter in the box and collect solid waste. The waste is gathered into a separate compartment, either at one end of the box or the whole bottom. These boxes include programmable timers to keep the boxes fresh no matter how often your cat uses it. There are many designs to choose from, so do your research on what you want the most. The models usually focus on collecting the solids, but some are designed to collect liquid waste specifically. When doing your research, ensure you know what kind of litter works for each style. Buying the wrong type of litter for automatic litter boxes can cause mechanical issues down the road. It also goes without saying that scooping everyday or every other day will keep the box clean for your cat.
Tip #3: Where Is The Litter Box?
Sometimes just moving the box can make a huge difference in the collection of odors in your home. When the box is out in the open right in the middle of the house, the smells can travel much easier. And being in an open area may make your cat feel exposed when doing their business. Placing the litter box in an area where the cat can have a sense of security is best. Cat litter box furniture from The Refined Feline gives you and your cat the best of both worlds. This solid wood cabinet gives your felines a safe spot to do their business while eliminating odors. The litter box enclosure is available in large and x-large, and is capable of holding some automatic litter box brands. The Litter Box Enclosure Deluxe can hold big boxes for the largest sized cats. Featuring ventilation slots for charcoal filters, the cabinet will absorb litter odors. There’s also a liner inside to help decrease messes from your cat’s digging. And with multiple customizable features, this litter box enclosure will blend seamlessly into your home. You have four options of feet for the base, as well as door options like farmhouse, modern, cottage and shaker. With four color options available, this cabinet will disguise the box so well that visitors won’t know it’s for the cat!
Tip #4: New Box, Less Stink
Despite fresh litter in the box, you still notice a smell emanating from the box. Do you recall the last time you replaced the box itself? You’re doing a great job with frequent scooping, but small pieces will still remain. Along with scooping, you’ll need to dump out the litter every two weeks, and replace it with fresh litter. Even with very fastidious cats, the litter should be dumped out at least every month. After dumping out the old litter, wash the litter box with warm, soapy water, rinse thoroughly, and air dry. Periodic cleaning of the box can help cut down on odors, as leftover litter holds onto smells very easily. Over time, cat’s claws will tear and break away at the plastic, leading to it becoming harder to clean. With all that scraping, the box will be more exposed and odors will stick to the box more easily. Purchasing a completely new box every year will keep your box newer and more resistant to smells.
Tip #5: Purchase an Air Purifier
Air fresheners can become your new best friend when you have cats. Rather than scooping, we typically spray the air freshener and call it a day. If we stop to think about it, all we’re really doing is masking the odors rather than “cleaning” the air. If you ultimately want to have cleaner, fresher air, an air purifier may be right for you. Rather than masking smells, they actually clean the air in your home continuously. This helps eliminate smells and that stale feeling from the air itself and the air quality will improve dramatically. Air purifiers will battle the amount of pollen and allergens in the air, keeping the dander down in your home. Allergy sufferers, whether it’s from pets or pollen, will benefit greatly from air purifiers. People and pets alike will all be able to breathe a little easier.
These tips and tricks are typically the main ways to cut stinky pet odors. Keeping a tidy litter box and area will dramatically improve any smells you may already be experiencing in your home. By using one or all five of these tips, your home will be like a breath of fresh air!
