Cat litter/pee/smell

**gottadance** · 09-30-2010, 11:08 PM

1.5 years ago I adopted Snuggles, a 2.5 year old cat, from the Humane Society. The first week or two he was here, he peed on the couch and on a rug - yes, I was not happy. I covered the couch, treated the rug with enzyme stuff and washed it. While he does use the litter box, one by one he has peed on and ruined every rug I had in the kitchen. I kept trying to figure out why he was doing it. He'd do it even when the litter was clean. It was always in the kitchen.

Well, one time I saw that he seemed nervous about going into the utility room, where the litter was. The furnace is in there, and so is the dryer, and he seemed skittish about it, so I put two and two together - he didn't like all the noise in the utility room. So I moved the litter up to the bathroom off the kitchen. Of course I had to move the rug out of there. But that didn't help. Yes, sometimes he would use the litter, but other times, even when the litter was cleaned within an hour - brand new litter, he would pee outside the box. Of course by now I'm sure the pee smell is totally into the grout - you can use all sorts of enzyme products, but once pee gets into something, animals can smell it.

Then I read an article with some suggestions - one of which was to have a litter that was 1.5 size the length of the cat. Even though I had an extra large litter, Snuggles is a very long cat, so I decided to get one of those bins for mixing cement, which are shaped like a kitty litter, but bigger. That seems to have helped (although the minute the litter was slightly dirty, he peed outside the box).

Now after all of this, my bathroom just sort of smells like cat pee/poop. I've cleaned with a bunch of stuff - bleach seems to work the best, but on a day to day basis, it smells like, well, a litterbox in there. I hate having it smell like that - especially since it's off the kitchen. I bought this bag of charcoal like stuff that was supposed to help with the smell - it didn't. I had a litterbox cover on my other litter, but Snuggles didn't like that, so I took it off. This cat is the most finicky I've ever had when it comes to litter, and the most problematic I've ever had when it comes to peeing. I'm in a cold area, with a tile kitchen floor and I've had to get rid of all of my rugs because of him. The only other time my previous cats peed outside the box was when they were sick.

Does anyone have anything that really helped with the smell of litter on a day to day basis, between cleanings?

Oh also - I'm using a newspaper-pellet litter - trying to be green. When I used Tidy Cat, that was great for smells. I do sometimes sprinkle some baking soda-based pet odor control - it sort of helps, but not really. When it was in the utility room I really couldn't smell it. I don't have anywhere else it can go that would work. Help!

**aprilrain1024** · 10-01-2010, 02:30 AM

I have a little boy kitty that I rescued from the humane society one year ago. We have had some peeing on things issues too. He loves to pee on towels if they are not hung up, anything that is wet(ie, swimsuits), and plastic. He will also pee on my clothing if I have been gone from home on vacation or working long hours. I have tried everything to get him to stop and he won't, unless I make sure not to leave out any of those things for him to get at. I keep his litter immaculate. It has been a long time since he peed on anything because I know what his triggers are. Don't use bleach because it smells like urine to animals, so they will keep using the spots. Learned that the hard way.

But I can tell you from experience that none of the many kitties that I have had, ever liked litter that wasn't clay. I tried the newspaper stuff and the walnut hulls. They would potty right next to it. A lot of litter just doesn't control the smell. I love, love, love, Scoop Away for multiple cats. Even though I only have my one kitty right now. There is no smell.

It is relatively cheap and scoopable which is always a plus.

Hope this helps. Good luck to ya.

**2ndGenGranola** · 10-01-2010, 08:42 AM

I agree - forget the "green" litter.

I'd take the cat to the vet too to rule out any issues. Boy cats have many medical pee problems. If it stinks that bad that soon, I'd serious question medical issues. I have 4 cats, 2 boxes that are changed 2x a week and when the cats are healthy I never smell the pee.

**gmarie** · 10-01-2010, 09:35 AM

I use the Arm & Hammer clumping cat litter and it used to work very well - until we moved to a house with a damp basement. Now, the litter doesn't clump properly, and my house smells!

I am running a dehumidifier down there, but it's not helping yet.

**Momto5RN** · 10-01-2010, 07:13 PM

i have a litter trained indoor rabbit his urine was very strong smelling - i found a natural product that decreases the odor of his urine - we add a few drops to his water bottle when we fill it . i wonder if they have a smiliar thing for cats

**bumplett** · 10-01-2010, 08:05 PM

I clean with vinegar. Helps kick the smell.

I also use Scoop Away or Tidy Cat scoopable litters.

**gottadance** · 10-01-2010, 11:56 PM

Thanks for the suggestions - keep 'em coming.

He's been to the vet - no medical problems. Tried cleaning with vinegar, that didn't help. Actually it's Ammonia that smells like cat urine, not bleach. When I use bleach, that is the only thing that really seems to help. I think that perhaps with the pee getting into the grout, there's a bacterial/smell build up that's happening. I'm going to do a good cleaning tomorrow with bleach/detergent. I'm also going to clean the baseboards with a wood cleaner and the lower walls. I haven't done a REALLY good cleaning in a while, so I'll see if that helps.

Tried a green "bleach" substitute and it just didn't work on all on the smell.

I'm using the green newspaper litter not only because it's green, but because that's what they were using at the humane society. I think part of the bad smell is just that you've got poop/urine sitting there, the newspaper litter doesn't cover well and doesn't hide the smell well and because the cats can't turn on the fan themselves (how dare they!) the smell just sits in the bathroom. Well, I'll try one thing at a time. I just got the bigger litter last week and it is helping. Now I'll give the bathroom a good cleaning.

I hated scoopable litter - I felt like I was always scooping, morning noon and night and it didn't do a lot to help the peeing outside the box issue. Plus he sometimes pees outside the box even when it's clean - so I don't think it's a litter issue because sometimes he does use it.

So frustrating when you can't figure it out.

**Nana2two** · 10-02-2010, 12:11 AM

Try odoban It made to treat and clean animal urine. Cat urine is one of the worse smells and is hard to get it under control. Maybe that is the reason the humaine society had him , maybe he did this with his last owners. Could be a nervousness if the cat was abbused by last owners. But the above stuff really does work. You can get it at farm and fleet, menards,lowes. Gallon jug which you mix i think 3 parts water. Its non toxic. Runs around $9.00 hope you get it under control soon.

**2ndGenGranola** · 10-02-2010, 11:33 AM

I gotta say I must disagree with the Odo Ban suggestion. I've been in homes/places that have used that stuff to get rid of animal odors...and it didn't. It like like Lysol in a dirty public restroom. You get both the chemical and the stink. The chemical smell may fry your nose if you are around it enough so you cannot smell but it's still there.

**streamsidegirl** · 10-02-2010, 01:39 PM

We have a male cat who sometimes pees over the side of the box - he's 18 years old and I think he just can't tell if he's all the way in the box or not. We started using the disposable puppy pads around the box and they have been a big help, don't have to worry about wiping up the stuff if he misses.

**savvy_sniper** · 10-02-2010, 05:12 PM

Did you tell the vet you were having a problem with the cat going outside the litter box? If not, you need to take the cat back and tell him/her. Both times my cat started going outside the box, there was a problem. I can't remember what. Something like bladder/kidney infection.

**Nana2two** · 10-02-2010, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by 2ndGenGranola

I gotta say I must disagree with the Odo Ban suggestion. I've been in homes/places that have used that stuff to get rid of animal odors...and it didn't. It like like Lysol in a dirty public restroom. You get both the chemical and the stink. The chemical smell may fry your nose if you are around it enough so you cannot smell but it's still there.

really? the vets and local farmers recommend odoban around here. Vets also sell it but it cost more.I would say it might not work if you have many male cats marking stuff up..

**2ndGenGranola** · 10-02-2010, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by Nana2two

really? the vets and local farmers recommend odoban around here. Vets also sell it but it cost more.I would say it might not work if you have many male cats marking stuff up..

Oh yes. I remember this one family who bragged up and down about how it worked. (They had missers not markers) We walked into their house and it soooooooooooo stunk. To this day I cannot hear "odo ban" without thinking cat smell and the flip flop. Somewhere later I read an article about how the product has chemicals in it that does something to the body so that your sense of smell is lessened. Who knows?! I do know that when I use it on my garage floor my nose burns for a few days.

**gottadance** · 10-03-2010, 01:49 AM

I am chemical sensitive so thanks for letting me know.

Cleaned the litter this morning - someone used it once or twice today. I'm downstairs and I go up to use the bathroom, he's peed all over the floor again. I don't know why. Maybe he was pissed off because I had the gate closed to the rec room since the bunnies were out? Ugh - so over this - hate trying to figure it out and not knowing why. The thing is - it may not always be for the same reason.

He's been using the litter the last few days. He was acting aggravated earlier tonight because normally he can jump over the gate, but since I've turned the heat on, I've got some heavy-duty door curtains I put up to keep the heat downstairs and with them in the doorway, he can't jump over the gate. ARGH!