If you have more than one cat...

[luvflorida]

how do you keep their litter box odor-free?

With one cat, I don't find it an issue at all. However, with two cats... Our younger daughter is home from college for the summer, along with a kitty she acquired at the beginning of the school year. The kitty is cute as can be, and gets along great with our older cat, but the litter box issue is driving me crazy.

Their box is a covered one and it's located in the laundry room. I clean it at least once every day, but it still has an odor. I've tried putting scented candles (not burning) on top of the box cover, using deodorizing sprays and stick-ups, but nothng seems to help.

Is there some product out there that I'm not aware of that might help? Are some litter brands better than others? If you have more than one cat, how do you deal with this issue?

 

[PollyannaMom]

I use Tidy-Cats, which is actualy made especially for multiple cats, and I think it works well. My two furry princesses seem happy with it, and I don't have to go out of my way to get it - they carry it right at the grocery store. Look for a plastic container with a yellow label and a red cap.

 

[MulanUSAF]

Have you tried putting baking soda directly to the bottom of the pan? You can also try some different brands of cat litter and see if that helps. The local animal shelter now use the pine pellets rather than clumping clay based ones and the cat room doesn't smell bad at all compared to what it used to be like. Or maybe just get two litter boxes?

 

[Tina]

What kind of litter are you using? I have 2 boxes, both filled with Tidy Scoop. I scoop out the clumps at least once per day. I have no cat box odor at all. Also, I've always avoided any of those perfumed litters. Most cats don't like them (remember their sense of smell is WAY more sensitive than ours) and they just smell like perfumey litter to me. Stinky!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I use Fresh Step clumping litter, and with two cats, I have three litter boxes. They say you should have one litterbox per cat plus one. I don't have odor problems with having multiple litter boxes and using a clumping litter. I use an old Fresh Step bucket for used litter so that it doesn't sit there and air out.

 

[rszdtrvl]

Careful about baking soda if you have a male cat. They are more prone to UTI's and baking soda can cause them.

I have a super picky male cat. He is almost (or possibly) 11 years old. If his box even remotely stinks, he will not use it. If he does not like the litter, he will not use it. If he is in a mood, he will not use it.

He is an only cat, and will be the last cat we have.

We have tried a bunch of different cat litters.

Since he does not cover his waste, we needed a super clumping litter. He tends to walk into his pee splotches in the box, and if it does not super clump it breaks apart and makes a huge mess.

We finally found gold! Tidy Cats "Power Blend" with crystals.

To be honest, I read the litter containers, and chose one of the most expensive ones. It was $10 for a 20 pound plastic jug.

It clumps quickly, controls odors, and honestly should last us at least a month - probably 2.

And most importantly, the cat is going into his litter box again, by choice (it was getting to the point when I took the dogs pee, I would find the cat and put him in the litter box too, to encourage him to use it).

I highly recommend it. The price scared me at first - especially since I am supposed to be budgeting - but it works great!

 

[Robindianne]

I use the "one box per cat plus 1" rule of thumb and spread them around to hideaways around the house (like on the floor of the linen closet, w/a tack in the door frame to prevent it from latching so kitties can open it, under a futon in a guest room - then move it when guests stay, etc) plus the usual one a a bathroom and one in the spare room. That seems to do it, unless someone leaves it uncovered! Oh, and scooping daily. Good luck!

 

[Joyciemc]

I use the "one box per cat plus 1" rule of thumb and spread them around to hideaways around the house (like on the floor of the linen closet, w/a tack in the door frame to prevent it from latching so kitties can open it, under a futon in a guest room - then move it when guests stay, etc) plus the usual one a a bathroom and one in the spare room. That seems to do it, unless someone leaves it uncovered! Oh, and scooping daily. Good luck!

I follow that rule, too. Though now that we have a third cat (what was I thinking), I am behind on a litter box and need to figure out where a new one can go!

I like Arm N'Hammer scoopable for multiple cats. It clumps the best for my cats and doesn't have an ubnoxious scent to it.

I also find that different cats smell worse than others. My 8 year old neutered male is almost odor free. My 3 year old spayed female can clear the house when she needs to... um.. 'go'

 

[Planogirl]

I always used Johnny Cat litter and cleaned the box with ammonia. I never had a problem with odor.

 

[luvflorida]

I also find that different cats smell worse than others. My 8 year old neutered male is almost odor free. My 3 year old spayed female can clear the house when she needs to... um.. 'go'

I think that's exactly the issue! Henry, our 8 year old neutered male has never been an odor issue. Tiger Lily, daughter's cat, is a year old spayed female. I can't believe the smell this sweet, petite kitty can leave behind! She also comes running every time she hears me scooping out the litter box. She jumps in and proceeds to pee WHILE I'm trying to scoop. At least Henry has the courtesy to wait until I'm done scooping!

At the beginning of the summer, my daughter put Tiger Lily's litter box next to Henry's, but she always prefered to use Henry's box. Right now I'm using Arm and Hammer Super Scoop and I've used Fresh Step in the past. I think I'll try some of the other brands mentioned here.

 

[SpecialK]

When I switched to America's Best cat litter our odor problems disappeared. The litter box never retained an odor either after I made the switch.

 

[shellybaxter]

Do you allow your cats to go outside? If so you can train them to go outside just like dogs. We live in the country - so our outside cats don't bother others and we have trained them to use the cat door, go outside, and then do their business. No more cat odor at all.

 

[Kath2003]

Do you allow your cats to go outside? If so you can train them to go outside just like dogs. We live in the country - so our outside cats don't bother others and we have trained them to use the cat door, go outside, and then do their business. No more cat odor at all.

We let ours go outside - well, one of them, the other is a kitten so too small. He will go outside when he has been neutered at 6-7 months old. That way they never use the litter tray. You don't have to "train" them to go outside - cats love pooping in the outdoors

If you want to quickly reduce the stink, switch to a good quality complete dried food. It makes a surprising amount of difference

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I use Tidy-Cats, which is actualy made especially for multiple cats, and I think it works well. My two furry princesses seem happy with it, and I don't have to go out of my way to get it - they carry it right at the grocery store. Look for a plastic container with a yellow label and a red cap.

This is what we use too. I have 3 cats in my house and a total of 6 litter boxes. One is covered, and the other 5 are uncovered. Since the litter boxes are down in the large basement, I guess I don't notice any odors. Maybe I would if they were on the main floors.

 

[bicker]

I use the "one box per cat plus 1" rule of thumb and spread them around to hideaways around the houses

This.

 

[shellybaxter]

We let ours go outside - well, one of them, the other is a kitten so too small. He will go outside when he has been neutered at 6-7 months old. That way they never use the litter tray. You don't have to "train" them to go outside - cats love pooping in the outdoors

If you want to quickly reduce the stink, switch to a good quality complete dried food. It makes a surprising amount of difference

What I meant by "train" was that our cats used to use a litter box inside so we kept moving it closer to the cat door and then finally right outside the cat door. Pretty soon they only went outside and didn't look for an indoor cat box any longer

 

[Katieinwonderland]

Another vote for Tidy Cats - works great on our three kitties!

 

[Sparx]

Empty the litter box
pour baking soda on the bottom of the box
cover with litter
pour baking soda on the top of the litter.

completely odor free. it doesn't matter if your litter is 2.00 or 200.00 a tub, baking soda.

 

[MichelleVW]

We have 4 cats and 3 litter boxes and no odor. Two of the boxes are right next to each other in the laundry room. We use Cheap Walmart Special Kitty Brand Clumping litter and I scoop it every day.

 

[sunnyday123]

I use Scoop-away. Three cats, three litters boxes. Guess what? They all use the same one. I scoop when I wake up and before I go to bed, and they are always waiting outside the door for me to get done. If the little one gets there first, she'll use it WHILE I'm scooping. If my male cat gets there first, he doesn't use it, but lays down in it so the girls can't use it. The middle one sneaks around at night to avoid the other two. Can't say that I blame her.

Aside from their issues, I've never had a problem with odors, and I am constantly checking and asking people to make sure.