How to Reduce Cat Litter Box Odor?

Owning pets, of any sort, is a responsibility that people need to be aware of. Owning a pet covers a lot more of life than simply admiring the appearance of your new animal or playing with it whenever you want to. Taking care of a pet includes all of the more unpleasant aspects of ownership as well, including health, maintenance, and making sure that your pet is doing everything that it should. While at times this can mean that you get to play with your pet to ensure that it is thoroughly entertained and that its energy is up, it also means that you are going to have to clean up after your pet. Some people argue that cleaning up after an animal is one reason why they won’t get a dog, as people are typically obligated to take care of dog droppings outside. However, the same applies to cats. Cats may use a litter box that can easily be hidden out of view, but you will still need to clean out the box daily. On a weekly basis, you will need to empty out the litter completely to add fresh litter for the sake of your cat’s nose.

Speaking of noses, depending on the situation with your cats, you may come to find that your cat’s litter box may be out of sight, but it certainly won’t be out of your line of smell. In some situations, a cat’s litter box won’t smell too bad to people, considering that a person’s sense of smell is several times weaker than that of cats. Other times, a cat’s litter box can smell so bad that it makes the entire room hard to be in. In these cases, you may need to reevaluate how you are taking care of your cat’s litter box. There are several things that can cause a smelly litter box, some aspects which are easier to fix than others. There are plenty of solutions you can try as well, but you will first need to determine what is causing the smell from the litter box, as the litter box should not smell particularly bad.

Think About Health Problems

The smell of your cat’s droppings reflects its digestive health. If you are cleaning out the litter box regularly and you begin to notice a routine where your cat uses the litter box and suddenly a wretched stench wafts out from the room, then you may want to consider the idea that your cat’s droppings could be the problem rather than the amount of cleaning that needs to be done or the type of litter being used. Feces should not have an overwhelmingly bad smell, and if it does, it is a sign that your cat’s digestive system is struggling. It could be that your cat isn’t getting enough of a particular nutrient, or it could be that your cat is eating something that it has an intolerance to. It could be another stomach-related problem entirely. If you believe that this is the case, you will need to take your cat to the vet to be evaluated. It is important to rule out health problems before anything else, because even if you are doing everything perfectly, your cat’s health problems can stand in the way between an odorless litter box and you.

Clean the Litter Box

On the idea of keeping a litter box odorless, you will need to make sure that you are cleaning it effectively and regularly. The rule of thumb is that you should be scooping the droppings out of the litter on a daily basis (it can be done either during the day or at night, but it should be done at the same time for the sake of a routine), and that you should completely get rid of the litter on a weekly basis so that you can replace it with fresh litter. If you have more cats that are using the litter box due to unfavorable conditions, you may need to clean the litter box more, although it is preferred that each cat has its own litter box.

Consider Another Litter

The type of litter that your cat uses will play a role in this as well. There may come a time when you wonder why people buy specific and special litter for litter boxes, rather than just using dirt as wild cats would do. The answer is twofold. Most litter types that you can buy are designed to be “clumping,” allowing you to scoop up urine as well to further reduce the smell that can build up in the litter box. Additionally, litter for cats is formulated in a way to trap smells so that your litter box doesn’t smell as bad as it could. Different litter types, obviously, are going to be better at this than others. On top of that, depending on what your cat drops, some litter properties may be more efficient at trapping the smell than others. If your cat’s litter box regularly smells bad, you may want to consider the idea of trying out a different type of litter and seeing if that will obscure the smell a little bit more.

Making Changes to the Environment

Another thing that you can do to try and help alleviate the smell of a cat’s litter box is to make some changes to the environment it is in. You will want to keep litter boxes in a well-ventilated area of the house so that the smell doesn’t build up and get trapped in a room. You will also want to make sure that the room isn’t too humid, as this can have an effect on the smell of the litter box. You can also choose to invest in odor neutralizing products. There are specialized products that are designed specifically with litter boxes in mind that you can purchase. You can also choose to grab something from your pantry, as baking soda can absorb the smell of your cat’s litter quite well, even in small amounts. There are also activated charcoal products that you can purchase as general odor neutralizers. Using all three of these solutions should drastically change how bad a litter box smells, allowing you to make use of that part of your house without worry about feeling sick from the smell.