How to reduce pet odor

[Anonymous]

We have 2 cats. They're sweet and nice (they don't claw anything but scratching posts and occasionally carpet - standard carpet, nothing fancy), but they stink up the place (in my opinion).

Most of the house have hardwood floors, so those rooms are fine, but the basement, which is carpeted, stinks!

How do you reduce the pet odor (which I assume comes from pet hair? litterbox is in the utility room next to basement, which cats use a pet door to access.). Shampoo and steam clean frequently? Rip out the carpet and replace with tile/wood/etc.?

Any odor eliminating products to recommend?

[Anonymous]

is it possible you are not smelling the cats but the combination of musty, humid air and the litter boxes?

if so a dehumidifier may help

[Anonymous]

I don't think so, and dehumidifier is so loud though. Is there one that only turns on when it's above a certain threshold?

We keep ours off unless we're expecting rain (it's usually 40-60% humidity in our basement).

[Anonymous]

I don't think cat hair smells. Agree with PP re: dehumidifier. You can also buy a black light and look to see if there are any areas that the cats have soiled outside their box. Treat those with Nature's Miracle. I think a steam cleaner will set pet odors.

[Anonymous]

I personally would not put cat litter boxes ona carpeted floor. If you can rip oiut the carpet and replace it with a cleanable floor (like tile or linoleum or something like that) that is what I'd put my litter box on. Litter gets out and tracked about, etc. I just like to be able to clean the floor around our litter boxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I personally would not put cat litter boxes ona carpeted floor. If you can rip oiut the carpet and replace it with a cleanable floor (like tile or linoleum or something like that) that is what I'd put my litter box on. Litter gets out and tracked about, etc. I just like to be able to clean the floor around our litter boxes.

OP here, litter boxes are in the utility room next to the basement. They use a cat door, and the utility room's floor is concrete, which we vacuum every week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally would not put cat litter boxes ona carpeted floor. If you can rip oiut the carpet and replace it with a cleanable floor (like tile or linoleum or something like that) that is what I'd put my litter box on. Litter gets out and tracked about, etc. I just like to be able to clean the floor around our litter boxes.

OP here, litter boxes are in the utility room next to the basement. They use a cat door, and the utility room's floor is concrete, which we vacuum every week.

OH! That's good....

[Anonymous]

Don't have a pet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't have a pet.

Heh, they came with the marriage. So...

[Anonymous]

Is it cat urine you are smelling? That is what I associate with a house 'smelling like cats.' If that is it then more frequent scooping and cleaning might help some. I do think a dehumidifier would help too. Odors always seem to intensify when it is humid. There are quiet dehumidifiers (we got one on amazon years ago) and if you put it in the utility room it shouldn't be too obnoxious.

[Anonymous]

Great comments above. We have 2 cats in a small space. Consider steam cleaning furniture and damp cloth cleaning other furniture, base boards, etc.-the spring (deep) cleaning rituals. Also, concrete is porous so it may collect scent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it cat urine you are smelling? That is what I associate with a house 'smelling like cats.' If that is it then more frequent scooping and cleaning might help some. I do think a dehumidifier would help too. Odors always seem to intensify when it is humid. There are quiet dehumidifiers (we got one on amazon years ago) and if you put it in the utility room it shouldn't be too obnoxious.

Can you post the brand/model of the dehumidifier?

[Anonymous]

Your cats are peeing on the carpet. And probably spraying pee on the walls. Get a UV light-- http://www.naturessecretweapon.com/products/stain-detectors/ and you will be able to see it everywhere that you are smelling anything stinky. You should change your litterbox MUCH more often or switch to a different type of litter and litterbox--maybe a covered one. Cats don't really smell much at all--but their pee is deadly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it cat urine you are smelling? That is what I associate with a house 'smelling like cats.' If that is it then more frequent scooping and cleaning might help some. I do think a dehumidifier would help too. Odors always seem to intensify when it is humid. There are quiet dehumidifiers (we got one on amazon years ago) and if you put it in the utility room it shouldn't be too obnoxious.

I agree, especially if it's warm in the house -- smells travel more and stink more. In the winter I change our two cats' boxes once a week and scoop once a week, and use liberal amounts of Arm & Hammer litter deoderizer. But in the summer I have to change their boxes twice a week. We go through double the litter, but it smells SO much better. And the cats seem happier, too.

I also notice the house smells more on warm days when they don't finish their food, because then the food sits around smelling up the house all day. But that goes away once I dump it and give them fresh food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it cat urine you are smelling? That is what I associate with a house 'smelling like cats.' If that is it then more frequent scooping and cleaning might help some. I do think a dehumidifier would help too. Odors always seem to intensify when it is humid. There are quiet dehumidifiers (we got one on amazon years ago) and if you put it in the utility room it shouldn't be too obnoxious.

Can you post the brand/model of the dehumidifier?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002PCT0C/ref=wms_ohs_product

It's not available anymore, but the company might have another model that is similar.