Question for people with cats?

DH and I are thinking about getting a cat. We live in a small apartment, and I am not sure where to put the litter box. I want the cat to be an inside only cat. I am so worried about the litter box smelling. I have been to peoples houses who have the litter box in the bathroom, and it smelled so bad. Is there a special litter box, or litter that I can get? How often should I clean it, to keep it odor free. Thanks!

Re: Question for people with cats?

The litter box will smell only if it is not cleaned regularly. It should really be cleaned everyday. If you get the clumping litter, its easy, you just scoop the stuff out.
In a small apt, I think the most logical place to keep it is in the bathroom.

There are self cleaning litter boxes but those are $$ and I have no experience with them, I have no idea how they work.

Re: Question for people with cats?

Re: Question for people with cats?

I use World's Best cat litter - it is a natural clumping litter that is made of corn. Nature's Miracle also has an ezyme powder that you can put in the box that cuts the smell of urine. I have 4 cats and our house never has that litter smell. I hate the smell of the clay litters.

Also - I have to give a shameless post about the kittens that I rescued that are lookig for homes. They are 4 weks old now and I am looking for homes for them. Let me know if you are interested.

Re: Question for people with cats?

We have two cats and clean the litter box daily. It takes maybe 2 minutes at most, and it's worth the effort!

Friends and family have all said they never smell the cats or their litter when they come over, which I am very happy to hear.

Re: Question for people with cats?

I have 4 cats and I clean the litter box twice a day. I use Arm and Hammer clumping litter and it works great. Honestly, it only smells as they're going, but there's nothing you can really do about that.

I used to keep the litter box in the bathroom, but my cats are real pains in the arse...they love to whack their litter all over creation so every time I got out of the shower I would get litter all over the bottom of my feet. I hated that. So I bought one of these and its right in my hallway and its beautiful and no one is the wiser!

Hidy Tidy

Re: Question for people with cats?

Re: Question for people with cats?

we live in a typical NY 1 bedroom apartment- with 2 cats

the litter box is in the living room- b/c the living room is 20 feet long- so we have alot of space in there we don't use- the bathroom has no space- and like Lauren says- it gets on your feet (yuck)

it doesn't smell- in additon to scooping it all the time- I also have a fabreeze thing next to it

Re: Question for people with cats?

Re: Question for people with cats?

I have two cats and the litter box doesnt smell. You just have to clean it everyday and change it (I also wash the litter box with soap and water and dry it) every 10 days or so. I had the automatic litter box and thought it was a total waste of money. I ended up throwing it out.

Re: Question for people with cats?

Re: Question for people with cats?

Thanks for the info! I have a pretty small Bathroom, so I am thinking of putting the litter box somewhere else. I didn't even think about litter being all over the floor.

Re: Question for people with cats?

Put it in the bathroom near the toilet, use Fresh Step litter and scoop it every day (get the flushable litter). It won't smell!

Re: Question for people with cats?

Re: Question for people with cats?

New question??

What type of litter box do you have. A open or closed one.

Re: Question for people with cats?

we have our box in our second bedroom. we use Fresh Step plus Dual action crystals scoopable clumping litter.
and our litter box has a cover.

Here's a pix of ours

Image Attachment(s):

Message edited 8/13/2007 6:51:38 PM.

Re: Question for people with cats?

Re: Question for people with cats?

We use a closed litter box (Booda Box) and clean it every two days. Once a month I dump all the litter and wash the box and replace with new litter.
Our box never smells and it's easy to clean.

Re: Question for people with cats?

We use fresh step with odor eliminating carbon and we cannot smell anything. I would definitely recommend it!

Re: Question for people with cats?

I use the crystal litter. It really makes a difference in smell. The crystals absorb urine so there isnt a smell. I scoop it out every day or every other day and change the litter every 2 weeks. The package says you only need to change the litter once a month, but I dont think so. I have two cats and two litter boxes.

ETA: I have a somewhat big apartment with two floors. I keep the litter box in the laundry room downstairs next to the kitchen. I didnt want the litter box upstairs in the bedrooms.

Message edited 8/14/2007 6:08:18 AM.

Re: Question for people with cats?

When we lived in an apartment, DH and I keep the litter box in a hall closet. It was out of sight and we never smelled it. Now that we live in a house we keep it in the basement and we bought the Littermaid.

ETA: The best litter in my opinion is the clumping kind. We used to use the crystals but I still prefer the hard clumping kind.

Message edited 8/15/2007 11:26:36 AM.

Re: Question for people with cats?

We have two cats and two litter boxes. One is in a bathroom and the other in our mudroom. I clean both every day and empty the boxes, scrub them and put in fresh litter every week or so. I use the Fresh Step litter that does not clump - I think it stays fresher.

When we lived in our one bedroom co-op, one box was in our large bedroom and the other was in the dining area.

Everyone says that you would never know we have cats (especially as they hide when someone else is in the house)

Message edited 8/15/2007 12:10:42 PM.

Re: Question for people with cats?

We recetnly got a kitten and also live in an apartment...

We weren't thrilled with the idea of a litterbox but we have it in the bathroom and because I'm neurotic with smelling any cat poop or urine we clean the litter box 2x's a day and I change the litter every other day...I rather spend money on cat litter every week than smell ANYTHING...

We use the clumping formula - which makes it MUCH easier to scoop and I also use scented kitty box liners and top the litter with arm & hammer deodrizer baking soda...

Re: Question for people with cats?

in our apt we had it in our bedroom but our bedroom was huge and it was in a corner.

i clean it all the time. stay ontop of it and it is fine

i also use arm and hammer litter deoderizer powder and i have clumpin litter which is easier

ideally it is going to be in the basement of our house when we fix the basement. right now it is in our back room

Re: Question for people with cats?

Im not in apt. but I have one cat and we keep his litter box in our "office".
We scoop it daily and change the litter once a week.