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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by CarolAnn on September 9, 2000, at 9:25:53
We love our new kitty, she's so sweet and very funny. Slight problem: the *only* place we can keep her litter box is the laundry room, which unfortunately, is just outside the dining room. I just changed the litter last night and it already smells bad! Please, please, any advice on food and/or litter tips for less unpleasant smells? She's such a tiny thing, if the smell is this bad now, what's going to happen when she gets bigger? Thank you! CarolAnn
Posted by Cam W. on September 9, 2000, at 10:16:12
In reply to Please help me, fellow cat owners..., posted by CarolAnn on September 9, 2000, at 9:25:53
CarolAnn - We use the generic Costco clumping brand of kitty litter and we have no problem. We...er, Patti cleans it with a scoop every morning. We keep it in the downstairs bathroom with a latch to keep the door slightly ajar (let the cat in, but keep the dog from her favorite "chocolate bar treat"). Also, there are odor-absorbing brands of litter. You may have a very sensitive nose.
Febreeze™, an odor masker, really works, too. I find it works for that horrid Kitty Chow™ smell (don't spray it into the food, though). Patti buys the economy size and leaves it open (we have enough for our cat to stay a kitten for about 5 years).
Also, used, but cleaned, litter also absorbs that oil that mysteriously appears under my '94 Tempo. Sweeps up very easily after leaving it for a day.
Hope this helps - Cam (fairly new cat owner).
Posted by stjames on September 9, 2000, at 12:06:03
In reply to Re: Please help me, fellow cat owners... » CarolAnn, posted by Cam W. on September 9, 2000, at 10:16:12
James here.....
A covered cat box helps. Little kitties do smell
more than adult cats in this respect. You can try
different kitten food to see which one is the best. make sure you are using kitten food and not
adult.james
Posted by Snowie on September 9, 2000, at 16:24:08
In reply to Please help me, fellow cat owners..., posted by CarolAnn on September 9, 2000, at 9:25:53
CarolAnn,
I solved that problem with a pet door. The kitties come and go as they please (along with the occasional snake, lizard, bird, mouse, etc. that they bring in). I have a fence around my yard, so the cats are safe from dogs as long as they stay inside the fence.
I do keep a covered Rubbermaid box (which makes an excellent litter pan) with fresh litter in the kitchen for rainy days when the cats can't or won't go outside. When it rains, I just take the lid off, and voila! The clumping kind that Cam mentioned doesn't have an odor, and the urine/feces is easily scooped up with a pooper scooper and thrown away. I clean the pan as needed with dish detergent and a little bleach and replace it with fresh litter.
Snowie
> We love our new kitty, she's so sweet and very funny. Slight problem: the *only* place we can keep her litter box is the laundry room, which unfortunately, is just outside the dining room. I just changed the litter last night and it already smells bad! Please, please, any advice on food and/or litter tips for less unpleasant smells? She's such a tiny thing, if the smell is this bad now, what's going to happen when she gets bigger? Thank you! CarolAnn
Posted by shar on September 10, 2000, at 14:40:39
In reply to Re: Please help me, fellow cat owners... » CarolAnn, posted by Snowie on September 9, 2000, at 16:24:08
CA:
There is a kind of litter called "Fresh Step" that supposedly has odor absorbing or scent releasing things in it. Do not know if it really works.Get a good covered litter box, clumping litter, and clean it with a scoop frequently (be a little obsessive about frequency). When I cat-sit, I put the scooped up stuff into a bag and put it in the outside garbage.
Finally, Ozium is supposed to be the quintessential air cleaner (what pot smoker's use to clear their car/house of the smell). It only takes a little to clear the air. I can get it at Target, car wash places (more expensive), or order it. There is no substitute for Ozium, you're better off with the name brand (it is a little pricey but it works). However, people will probably think you are a pot smoker....
Good luck!
S
> CarolAnn,
>
> I solved that problem with a pet door. The kitties come and go as they please (along with the occasional snake, lizard, bird, mouse, etc. that they bring in). I have a fence around my yard, so the cats are safe from dogs as long as they stay inside the fence.
>
> I do keep a covered Rubbermaid box (which makes an excellent litter pan) with fresh litter in the kitchen for rainy days when the cats can't or won't go outside. When it rains, I just take the lid off, and voila! The clumping kind that Cam mentioned doesn't have an odor, and the urine/feces is easily scooped up with a pooper scooper and thrown away. I clean the pan as needed with dish detergent and a little bleach and replace it with fresh litter.
>
> Snowie
>
>
> > We love our new kitty, she's so sweet and very funny. Slight problem: the *only* place we can keep her litter box is the laundry room, which unfortunately, is just outside the dining room. I just changed the litter last night and it already smells bad! Please, please, any advice on food and/or litter tips for less unpleasant smells? She's such a tiny thing, if the smell is this bad now, what's going to happen when she gets bigger? Thank you! CarolAnn
Posted by allisonm on September 10, 2000, at 17:13:04
In reply to Please help me, fellow cat owners..., posted by CarolAnn on September 9, 2000, at 9:25:53
Before they came out with clumping cat litter, we used to buy baking soda in the jumbo economy size and spread a layer of a quarter inch or so on the bottom before putting in the fresh litter. We did this weekly. That helped to keep the smell down.
Then clumping litter came along. I use the Arm and Hammer brand. They make it in scented and non-scented. I find the scented masks the ammonia smell best, if I don't get to the boxes right away. (I have 8 boxes and three cats.)
I've had covered and uncovered boxes. My cats always preferred the uncovered when there was a choice. I keep most all in the basement and find that the more open a space is and the more air circulating, the less concentrated the smell. I keep one box in a shower stall and that one's always the most pungent and in need of scooping.
You also can change the litter and wash the pan more frequently, or daily.There are liners you can buy that protect your pan so you don't have to wash it so often. I also recall that kitten poop was always more pungent than the adult variety.
Oops gotta go -- time for dinner... ;-)
Posted by Angie M on September 11, 2000, at 19:42:25
In reply to Please help me, fellow cat owners..., posted by CarolAnn on September 9, 2000, at 9:25:53
I used to work in a vet clinic, and although I own no cats, I can tell you that
the smell will go away once she grows up a little. It's sort of like babies as opposed
to adults. Same thing. If it doesn't improve by the time she gets to be
about 6 months old, there may be a bigger problem. I can't advise you on that, though!
My boyfriend uses clumping/scoopable, and I really like it. You can also get a hooded box
that has a filter thing at the top. That supposedly makes a difference as well.
Hope that helped a little.
Posted by Cam W. on September 12, 2000, at 7:01:49
In reply to Please help me, fellow cat owners..., posted by CarolAnn on September 9, 2000, at 9:25:53
CarolAnn - When scooping out the clumps, don't break them. You'll find out why (when you actually do break one). - Cam 8^)
Posted by CarolAnn on September 12, 2000, at 7:43:07
In reply to Re: Please help me, fellow cat owners...(a P.S.) » CarolAnn, posted by Cam W. on September 12, 2000, at 7:01:49
> > >
Posted by Racer on September 20, 2000, at 23:53:20
In reply to Please help me, fellow cat owners..., posted by CarolAnn on September 9, 2000, at 9:25:53
A couple more suggestions:
1. the silica gel cat litters, with names like LitterPearls, will mask the smell of urine really well, but they also make great 'bat-around-the-smooth-floor' cat toys...
2. Cut out any fish flavored cat foods: the fish oil makes the urine especially foul.
3. Just remember that she's so sweet otherwise, she has to be nasty somehow! (Hey, that's what I tell myself when my little girl-cat eats string, or makes stripes on the white rugs because her butt itches -- usually because she's eaten string...)
Cats, gotta love 'em. Otherwise we'd have to admit we were totally nuts to keep small predatory carnivores in the bed, right?
Posted by stjames on September 27, 2000, at 18:54:55
In reply to Re: Please help me, fellow cat owners...(a P.S.) » CarolAnn, posted by Cam W. on September 12, 2000, at 7:01:49
> CarolAnn - When scooping out the clumps, don't break them. You'll find out why (when you actually do break one). - Cam 8^)
James here.....
Cat urine is very toxic, I call the hasmat team
to deal with the box ! (I wish !) I tend to just
throw the litter away every few days instead of scopping. Toss a bag ovet the box, tip it over and I am done. Yes it is a pain, but this makes the kitty low mantaince as no one has to be there to let them out. I have been stuck in town and kitty is fine by herself, with 10 lbs of food and 3 cat boxes, not to mention the toilet seat up, water dripping at to faucets and the 5 gal water tray.james
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