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They are referring to the litter box you can’t smell anymore due to smell blindness. I love a nice cat, but it’s really frustrating how many people insist the litter box in their house doesn’t smell.
It's entirely possible to have a cat without your house smelling but so many cat owners get lazy with the litter cleaning. We have one cat, use corn based litter (can't stand the clay smell of the cheaper litters) and scoop it once a day at least. I've had guests multiple times confirm with me that I had a cat when they came over because they couldn't smell anything and are used to that smell you're describing. One friend demanded to see where the litter box was because they didn't believe me lol. As long as you keep on the litter it only takes like thirty seconds to scoop it so there's no hassle doing it once or twice a day. Also using the correct litter makes a big difference too.
Yup, if I'm home I clean the tray 2-4 times a day, it's a 1min job and my place doesn't smell like piss. If I hear him going I'll clean up directly after.
We switched from corn ("world's best" brand) because it started just turning to dust. There would be so much unfouled litter that was basically useless at the bottom of the pan that we were going thru a ridiculous amount of it for 3 cats.
We switched to the Arm & Hammer zero dust and holy shit it's so much better. Like I'm kicking myself for not switching sooner.
I scoop every day, usually more than once. On the weekend I completely dump them and refill with new litter. Monthly I pull everything out and wash it down outside.
We bought two huge plastic totes and cut cat sized holes in one end. One jumbo litter tray goes inside each, and it goes on this neat pad I found online that traps the litter from their paws really well. I keep both in the closet in my office (not used for anything else) which has sliding barn doors so we just leave each end cracked open.
I don't think my house smells bad. I hope.
I don’t think my house smells bad. I hope.
Best way is to ask guests imo, since we're nose blind to it. That's how I know my house doesn't smell, guests who don't own cats tell me so. We use world's best though and have great results from it, we also only have the one cat so that might explain the lack of dust compared to what you were dealing with. There's definitely some dust but not enough to cause an issue or get anywhere outside the box.
Yeah I think it's a matter of three cats, one of whom is an excessive scratcher/cover-upper-er. The corn was getting pulverized into nothing. It just seemed like at some point the formula or productionprocess changed because at first we thought Worlds Best actually lived up to the name after using fresh step for years (worlds worst!)
I vaguely remember a while back talking to my partner about the same thing when changing the litter, I think you're right in that they did change formulas at some point.
Yeah nah fresh litter is completely and overwhelmingly fragrant, and im not about to spring for litter that's 3x as expensive to avoid that.
Unclean and fresh litter are both pungent. One is worse, for sure, but this is just finding an excuse to claim you're better than others lol
The litter we use is unscented, you can only smell it if you stick your head directly in the open bag. It's only like $5-8 more than the other bags too, well within reason for a home that doesn't smell. If you're interested this is what we use. Can't recommend it enough, it completely eliminates the smell as long as you keep up with cleaning. But go off on how much better I think I am than others I guess.
I have yet to find an 'unscented' litter that actually works as litter, and manages to actually be unscented. Perhaps, and this is a crazy thought, different people have different senses of smell and life experiences.
Yes, you literally believe you are better than others, your entire post was ranting about how other cat owners don't clean their litter boxes as well as you do.
I didn't know a single sentence at the beginning of my comment qualified as a rant. I'm sorry you feel so attacked by pointing out that a cat owners house doesn't need to smell and that it was confirmed by others in the comments.
different people have different senses of smell and life experiences.
Maybe you should listen to your own words and realize that our homes don't have to smell just because yours does. Have a nice day.
And there you go acting superior and not listening still, incredible. My problem is specifically the smell of the sand itself. Sounds like your nose isn't sensitive to it and that's great for you.
And there you go accusing somebody else of acting superior with that tone. While the projection is palpable it's tiring, please, go away.
I don’t smell it but I know it stinks.
It’s the first thing I think about when I’m about to have company.
“So, ummm, do you have a cat?”
If the answer is no I replace the litter.
If the answer is yes I freshen it up.
It's only a problem if you leave the litter box out. Ours are all in the master bathroom, so that the living room doesn't smell. The bathroom certainly smells, I'm extremely sensitive to smell so I straight-up go in with my nose covered, but the rest of the place is fine.
I also recommend wax melters. Wal-Mart sells this "Orange Buttercream" wax that smells exactly like Froot Loops, it's amazing.
Does that not sound crazy to you? You cover your nose in a room in your house?
If you have a toilet that doesn't flush, then it's not too far-fetched.
I mean, I'm used to holding my nose going into (or near/past) the bathroom anyway, since I have the misfortune of living with other people... people who are smelly savages... with horrible diets...who don't clean up after themselves properly... Blech. At least kitties are cute and fun. It'd be worth it to me.
Imagine having someone else live in your house and they shit in your toilet, god humans stink, does that not sound crazy to you? From your posts here, I think you have some issues. Did you grow up in a stank ass house with a million cats or something?
Nope, but did work as an EMT for many years. Walked into a lot of houses, poor, rich, clean, filthy. You could tell the cat home from the first second.
My "issue" is cat owners not realizing their place smells like urine and often shit too. I just find it crazy that people dedicate a whole room to a creature shuttin shitting in it and just think that's normal.
A human using the bathroom doesn't leave waste in the room, it's removed when you flush. You do flush right, or do your guests use a litterbox too lol
It doesn't make the whole house smell. Just the room it is in.
Just get your cats to do their business outside. We haven't had a litterbox for a decade. The cats go to the bushes behind our garden. Never seen or smelled a single thing anywhere in our home or garden. Only the occasional dead mouse.
Obviously doesn't apply if you live in an appartment.
The effect that has on the animal population around your house is pretty devastating
That depends on where you live. Every ecosystem is different.
Australia or USA? Yes thats bad.
Central Europe? Not so much.
Source?
The source is NABU = "Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union" (the largest non-profit nature conservation organization in Germany)
Translated from german:
But you have to look at the overall picture: only in human settlement areas are cats a serious factor that can partially lead to a decline in bird populations. But in fact, bird populations are increasing there, while they are decreasing especially in agricultural landscapes, but also in forests. Blaming these declines on cats would be far too simplistic. The greatest threat to biodiversity is and remains the progressive degradation of habitats by humans.
https://www.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/voegel/gefaehrdungen/katzen/15537.html
They recommend castration to limit the cross-breeding of house cats with wild cats, but see no general problem in free-roaming house cats.
Thanks! Appreciate that.
Why? Because of the 3 mice they kill a year?
I don't live in the US.
Ah yes, the non US cat, way different, doesn't kill animals in droves for fun, sorry, my bad. Justify it however you want doesn't change the fact that loose domesticated cats are detrimental to the wildlife in the area.
As I mentioned, our cats kill about 3 mice a year. I live in the middle of town. Not much prey to speak of. How harmful cats are to the environment depends on the environment. In many cases, it's absolutely fine to let them go outside.
It is not about how many animals a cat kills. The question is "how many kills are sustainable for the local animal population?". And that number will always be different depending on where you are. In North Africa cats are literally native animals and in Europe they have been held as free-roaming pets for thousands of years.