If you change the litter and the cat box still smells, is that because the catbox itself is stinky?
Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at
11:55 pm
I know it seems obvious, but I’ve tried cleaning both at times, and still had the urine smell, even after cleaning the carpet and walls of the closet that contains this wonderful item. I have a neurotic fat cat that has bathroom issues. Any thoughts?
Filed under: Cat Litter
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If it’s in a closet, there’s probably no ventilation. There’s no where for the odors to go.
And yes, if you’re not using any kind of liner in the box, odor and bacteria will eventually get into the plastic of the litterl pan. If you’re not using a liner, then you should be sanitizing the box each time you completely change the box. Every one or two weeks.
What did you clean it with? I know some cleaners don’t kill the urine smell. I use ODO Ban or just plain soap and water. Pine Sol makes it smell worse. What kind of box is it? I had one that always seemed to smell (cheap plastic).
Hi I hate when my litter box smells as well so I use an enzyme cleaner for the area around the box and when I clean the actual litter box I use Javex and rinse really well. I do this once a week some cats have a stronger odour than others but I just need it to smell right. When you clean the closet clean it first with a touch of bleach, rinse, wipe dry with a paper towel and then wipe the area down with the enzme rinse, you have to let the enzyme rinse dry naturally because thats how it works it actually eats the smell away. In between I give a few shots of the enzyme cleaner as well. You can buy it at a pet store it’s called urine gone or something along that line. It does really work, I’ve used it on many items just make sure when you ask for it, that it’s the ENZYME Cleaner. Good luck. And you sound like a great cat mom.
The 1st answer is right.
Pine Sol enhances the urine odor,.. vinegar/water will neutralize it.
Also the cheap plastic does absorb the odor,..the harder, shinier plastic doesn’t as much.
my 19 year old cat misses the box occasionally…er, frequently. I use febreze if she gets the carpet (there’s one for pet odor specifically). I use spray bleach around the box on the brick floor. I wash the throw rug regularly, using regular detergent and oxyclean. There are plastic bag liners that are great if you don’t use the scoopable litter — you just throw out the whole bag and the cat urine doesn’t touch the box. Maybe a plastic liner under the box if it’s in a carpeted area…
Are you sure it is not somewhere else in the room where kitty has decided would be a good bathroom spot ?? I had the same issue .. and found a spot where mine had gone outside of the box and on the carpet .. especially since you said that your cat has bathroom issues
It could be that your cat box is old and has absorbed some urine. Have you bleached it? Or used one of the products in the closet itself that eliminates odor and has an enzyme to remove future accidents from using the closet and not the litter box itself?
Also if you remove the debris on a daily basis; I use old coffee cans with a lid right next to the box to do it quickly when I am in a hurry. Then weekly, or when its 3/4 full I put in a plastic grocery bag and put it in the trash. You may need to put a reminder note with a string loop around the doorknob at first untill it becomes a habit… I’m very forgetful in my busy life
I believe your cat needs a better trainer to teach him/her as well as yourelf because this is your home as well and you dont want to have company come over and your home has a stink smell.You also should go to the pet store nand get some pet cleaner for the house,carpet,as well as some kitty litter with freshness(preferably with baking soda),and kitty shampoo to bathe him/her!You should throw the old item away and replace it with a new one and put the fresh scented kitty litter w/baking soda in this item.Things need to be replaced when it gets of this nature.
Check the floor around the box…. kitty might have missed.
I always clean my cat’s box with Mr Clean or Pine-sol and rinse very well until all the disinfectant smell is gone. Try using clumping litter, and put about 3 inches of litter in the box so the urine doesn’t reach to the bottom of the box. I don’t think that it’s the box itself that stinks. I use just a hard plastic one and it’s fine.
For eliminating the odor without fragrances and irritants, here’s an inexpensive and fragrance free product that is FANTASTIC that I use and know so many other people that use it for litter box too!! IBelieve it or not, it is a product originally made for fridge odors I think. It is a natural fragrance free carbon product called FRIDGE IT odor absorbers -little purple cube with an incredible activated carbon filter inside that is great and eliminates odors for a long time. It works so much better than all those sprays, gels and fragrances that just cover up smells and doesn’t get rid of them. Just hang one or two on litter box and forget about it. No spills or chemicals or powder to worry about. Each only costs a couple of dollars. I use this product everywhere including car(smoke and pet smells), storage, closets, my fridge and on cat litter box and also diaper pails – it’s that good and I really recommend it. You can buy it in kitchen gadget sections in stores like linens and things. I also think camping world sells it. I also know you can buy direct easily within just a few days which is what I do -customerservice@innofresh.com…
Definitely worth trying