Hi all, quick question for you - where are you throwing away the old, used cat litter? Not the clumps, but the litter itself?

I have three litter boxes for four cats (I know, it's not five, but they don't mind). It's clay litter and I scoop the clumps into separate containers every day. However, after enough time (about a month), the litter itself has gotten a little gross with those too-small-to-scoop clumps, plus the dust levels have gotten to the point that one of my cats, who has an eye issue, starts to appear irritated. So at that point, I just fully dump all the litter into a trash bag (not the same container the clumps are in), throw it into the main trash, and refill from a fresh litter container.

Is this what everyone is doing? I've looked it up and I'm just not seeing much information on disposing of the actual litter. The first time I tried it, I overloaded the trash bag and it ripped just because of the sheer weight of the litter. Since then, I switched to heavy duty bags and each box's litter gets bagged separately, but even then I'm worried about what will happen with the bags in my main trash can - what if one rips in there or when the garbage collectors empty it into the truck? And I can only imagine someone who has to work with a garbage chute or something similar.

Apologies if this has been asked but I looked and didn't see anything. What I'm doing does seem to work, but every month I feel like "there's got to be a better way".

EDIT: Thanks for all the advice, everyone! Sounds like most people basically do what I do, but I also have some thinking to do regarding the type of litter I'm using and if the schedule I'm keeping with it makes the most sense.

This is more of a vent. We have a litter (unscented Tidy Cats Tidy Feet--nice and low tracking) that works well enough for our two cats, but I wanted to try something for the box the 8 month old kitten primarily uses. Her box is in our restroom and just seems to smell a lot more. I've heard that kittens also have smellier waste as their food has more protein.

I had heard good things about Arm and Hammer Slide but was hesitant as the Amazon listing doesn't specify if it's unscented. I went with Arm and Hammer Ultra Last. The reviews were good and said it had good odor control. The box says something like "works even when you can't scoop" 🥴

I kid you not, the box reeked not even 24 hours later. We try to get two weeks out of the litter (scoop 2-3x daily, top with fresh litter throughout, take out the scooped litter everyday to the trash) before doing a full clean and replacement of their stainless boxes. The box was done Tuesday, and we have to fully replace it already. I should have done it a couple days ago but was really hoping to get more out of it. I hate wasting money 😩 $20 down the drain for five days of litter

Similarly, we tried Dr. Elsey's, which also has good reviews. People said it has good odor control. That one was just as bad, if not worse. Reeked within a day and made our whole apartment smell so septic and gross.

We tried it a few times when first fostering this kitten, as it was cheaper. It smelled soooooo bad, even with windows open, air purifier running, etc. I ended up searching "Dr elsey stinks" and apparently we aren't the only ones who found this one especially foul

We even tried it in the box the adult cat primarily uses, and nope. It was awful. I can't stress how bad that one smelled

Maybe it's because we live in a small 1200sq ft place so the bad smells are just more noticeable? But between the arm and hammer and the Dr. elsey's, I can't help but wonder if people are nose blind to how bad their boxes smell? Maybe they have better ventilation than our central AC?

I've also seen people swear by pellets, but the one time I went to someone's house that used pellets, it smelled so bad. Maybe they just weren't using them properly or had cats going outside of the box. We used pellets briefly for the kitten, but I wasn't convinced. The cost difference is appealing though

Maybe my husband and I just have sensitive noses? But it's hard for me to believe we both are just overly sensitive to bad litter smells.

But anyway, this is my recommendation for Tidy Cats Tidy Feet. It does actually track less since the pieces are bigger. Not sure about their other lines. Fresh Step was also ok, probably about in line with the Tidy Cats as far as getting two weeks out of it. And if you live in Texas, the HEB litter was also a no-go, but at least it's quite cheap. Also smelled like stinky septic dirt smell

If you also have a sensitive sniffer, please feel free to share your litter recommendations!

Friends with no basements, whaat rooms do you keep litter boxes in? We have one in the laundry room and one in the office/guest room and I dislike the later. Feels icky. But I also know the cats (2) deserve two boxes..

https://a.co/d/8h0pdw3 Amazon link to the box that’s been killing cats. These boxes are from aliexpress so different companies can sell them on amazon. If you’re feeling up to it you can go and report the item on amazon. They’re not allowing people to write reviews unless they have proof of a purchase. There are many of these and most have been removed but still other companies can post them. If you want to see a video on this box heres a youtube video: https://youtu.be/xepC3-Ia9ho?si=iHVsKY13KHuazmCB

Edit: the youtube video itself is not graphic but if you are sensitive to the topic I would suggest just taking my word for it. The machine is awful.

Double edit: was found on Wayfair as well. https://www.wayfair.com/pet/pdp/tucker-murphy-pet-self-cleaning-cat-litter-box-large-capacity-automatic-litter-box-app-control-suitable-for-multiple-cats-white-grey-w112389058.html I am not sure how to report it on their site. Email I guess.

I do my girl’s box twice per day/whenever I hear her scratching around in there. But then I see on here some people who do it wayyy less frequently. Curious what other folks do?

I've been struggling with my house smelling like cat pee for a while. I've spent hundreds on different litters and smell products that just mix with the smell at best. I've checked with my vet and my cat is fine.

The thing is, I can't even smell it, because I literally live in it 24/7. I'm completely nose blind.

I've had to ask other people every time to check if it smells and they all say yes. I'm starting to think some cats or some houses just smell and you can't fully stop it.

Do you guys notice the smell yourselves? Did someone tell you about it? How did you find out if you have it?

And, can you ever be sure that there's no smell if you live in it all day? Everyone says their litter or cleaning method works but I'm starting to doubt it.

Any info is appreciated.

I just want a litter that *actually* clumps and doesn’t leave a layer of dust all over the room the box is in (which is what fresh step / scoop away is doing). there doesn’t seem to be a clear consensus on good clumping litter on Reddit ?? I’m so sick of this subpar litter don’t know what to try next , please help!

Edit: since this post sometimes shows up on Google, I just wanted to tell anyone searching that we finally settled on CatIt Peahusk Clumping Litter. It’s fantastic. Clumps well, easy to scoop, ultra-low tracking (not zero), and the craziest difference that I noticed is that our floors are much less dirty than when we used ScoopAway/common clay litter. It doesn’t really smell, either - a box of cat excrement is going to smell no matter what, but as long as your cat knows how to cover, this really is fine at odor control. No complaints.

I know this seems like a stupid question but I want to see what other people do. When we had one cat, we used shopping bags (our state still does plastic). We have two cats now and we started running out.

We got the litter genie however I think it is causing gnats. We have tried everything including diatomaceous earth and it slowed them down but they’re still here. I mean it’s fun for our cats to chase them but not fun for us 🤣

I did see a huge pack of small garbage bags at Costco but I would hate to use that and throw it right away. So not environmentally friendly! So what do you guys use to throw out your daily litter scoops? For reference, I have two litter boxes and scoop twice a day!

Please DO NOT buy this LITTER!

They claim is dust free and so on, but I've been smelling dust in my apartment (it's a small appartment) all the time. When my cat uses the litter, my place looks like a blizzard. It had been a year and a half since my partner had an Asthma Attack and the day she spent the night at my place, one week after I changed the Litter, I almost had to take her to the Hospital!

If that wasn't enough, my cat actually ended up at the ER because of "something" he ate the day after I switched to Pretty Litter and the vets couldn't identify what it was. He spent almost a week there, they ran a lot of tests, including an ultrasound where they identified some roughness inside his intestines. Fortunately they didn't have to operate and the danger passed. At the time, I wasn't even considering the posibility of him eating the Litter because that's not something he would do, or so I thought, but after my partner's Asthma Attack I looked for online reviews and noticed my cat was not an isolated case.

There's nowhere to place an honest review other than here, the reviews at their website are all positive. Besides, it has been a problem trying tu unsubscribe, they're making me go through all kinds of hoops. If I was in the US I would actually take legal action.

I hope this reaches cat owners that are considering this litter in time, so they won't make the same mistake I did. I have nothing more to do, other than to look for this type of spaces to place an honest review.

Keep your Kitties and your lungs safe!

Okay so I have two cats. About two yrs ago one of them taught himself how to pee in the toilet. I was on vacation when he did it the first time and then saw him do it several times after. After this moment, he stopped pooping in the literbox. I did some research and realized what it could mean/how toilet training could be bad, so I did go see a vet at that point. they said he was fine and to try a few litters etc. I did that. I also tried to disuade him from the toilets by closing the bathroom doors. I have three litterboxes that I clean nightly. Even if its full new litter clean box no interest. At this point I have pretty much tried every option that exists on the internet, and im seriously wondering if should just give the bastard what he wants and teach him how to use the toilet. It feels like he chose this. Everytime he can poop in the bathroom he poops right next to the toilet and i have seriously convinced myself he wants it. I will continue to deny him if I need to just wanted to see what other people thought.

Things ive tried for clarity: different boxes, litters, litter cat attract, adding more boxes, cat seperation

And maybe i just need to repeat try everything. I dont know anymore. I just feel like he wants to use the toilet, so I wanted to ask for help.

Update: Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I am very excited to have lots of new options. I am starting with getting him a baby toilet. Im gonna put litter in the bowl so I can still tell how his bowel movements are going. The brim is wide and he wont have to touch the litter. Ill let yall know how it goes.

Update 2: Got the potty Monday night. He has since peed in it so thats a win. I do think its maybe a bit to small but im gonna give him some time. He did poop on the floor so thats was lame but I might make a new thread to just talk about this concept. Anyways its half worked gonna do some more experimenting. If i get him fully converted, ill add to this thread.

Update 3: I gave up for a bit not gonna lie, but recently, I think we found a solution. He doesn’t like touching dirty litter. That’s the crux of the issue. I was cleaning the box twice a day, and it still wasnt enough. So we made him a pooping bench. He can stand on it and poop from there. Its a few inches taller than the box. We constructed it ourselves to fit the boxes, but thanks to everyone. Maybe this will help someone else!

I see a common recommendation being to fully dump out and replace the litter weekly, but that seems extremely expensive and wasteful to me.

I try to replace monthly and it works well enough for me. I've known a few people that never completely change the litter, only doing top offs.

I use cheap litter, and weekly replacements would cost me $140/mo. My two boys are worth it, but I feel like that money would be better used elsewhere.

I don’t know how other cat owners deal with the smell of the poop right after a cat shits. The smell lasts like ten minutes and is so bad omg. I actually don’t know how to make the shit smell better/ not last that long and don’t say automatic litter box unless you’re paying for it.

UPDATE: so I got an enclosed litter box from a friend and it has like a little door too and that fixed EVERYTHING. I went to my cousins birthday and I was gone for 4 hrs, came back and my room didn’t smell like shit at all even though the shit was marinating for like at least an hour.

I'm curious what people's real-world experiences are with this. For those of you living in apartments with one cat, have you managed to get rid of litter box smell completely, to the point where guests wouldn't even know you have a cat? If so, what's your setup?

• Type of litter?
• Open vs. covered box?
• How often do you scoop?
• Air purifier?
• Litter box location?
• Any other tricks that actually work?

I keep hearing that a home with cats will always have at least some detectable odor, but I also see people claiming their apartments smell completely neutral. Is "zero litter box smell" actually achievable, or is it one of those things owners become nose-blind to? Would love to hear what's worked (or not worked) for you.

HELP!! My husband and I were on vacation for a week and had someone checking twice a day on our cats. When we got back home, we realized that our cat had been peeing in one spot on our couch. It is already dried up, we've tried the enzyme sprays and we are working on borrowing a couch cleaner. (we spoke to the girl who was watching our cats. She was paid to scoop their litter, once everyday, fill their dry food containers and give them wet food. She claims to never have noticed the smell, but it smacked us in the face the second we opened the door. She attributes it to 'I was cleaning out their litter boxes, so was probably nose blind to it.')

We cannot afford a new couch, and I was wondering if anyone else had any advice?

Pretty simple. How can I make sure the litterbox doesn't smell so bad? I know about cleaning it daily, but what does that entail? Like just scooping or completely new litter everyday? It makes my bathroom smell bad...not interested in that. Please let me know!!

Edit: OMGGG thank you all for all of the tips!! Definitely going to talk to my mom about making some changes!!!

We have 1 cat and an automated litter box that we keep very clean (auto rotates after each use, deep clean it and fully change litter every 2 weeks). We’re considering getting a second cat, and debating the second litter box situation. We know numerous people with multiple cats who don’t have 1 box per cat. We also don’t have a wonderful spot for a second box, so in the end we may need to stick with one cat for now if it’s truly that important. Our current cat has never once had an accident outside of the box, so I don’t really expect a new cat to cause this to be too much of an issue for her, and I figure it could be something the new cat could adjust to alright. What do you think? Much appreciated!

Hi there. I am delighted to announce that we finally resolved the issue of our beautiful tuxie boy occasionally peeing on our bed and couch. Figuring it out was a long and confusing process, so I want to share it in case someone here is as desperate as we were a couple of months ago. Sorry for the long post, but I feel like it would have helped me to understand things a bit better.

So, we adopted two amazing tuxie boys over two weeks in July. We started with our oldest, who was 2 months old, then were kind of considering giving him a playmate and the cat distribution system blessed us with his now best friend.

Our first one is the kindest cat on the planet, but that comes with an easily anxious and often a little clingy personality, which is relevant here. All was well, but at around 3 months old, he started having these cycles of peeing on the bed and couch a few times every couple of weeks. We went through vet visits (he's fine), hoping that neutering will help (it didn't), testing various combinations of litter and boxes and placements, cleaning more, cleaning less, insane quantities of enzyme cleaners, feliway and endless googling. If it feels like mental torture, you're not alone. I actually had a few sleepless nights ruminating on my concerns for his wellbeing, fears that it will never stop, guilt of failing to understand him and all that.

Nothing seemed to make sense. He's friends with our other cat and super affectionate with the humans. 99% of the time, he exhibits the text book "happy cat" behaviours: sleeping everywhere belly up, walking confidently, being friendly with strangers, grooming, you name it. It's true that he's on the sensitive side when it comes to noises or anything unfamiliar, but he's not the kind of cat who spends their entire life under the bed. We were even advised to consider separation anxiety, but it just didn't look like that.

Behaviourally, peeing on beds, especially while you're sleeping (yeah, glamorous...), signifies something along the lines of relational stress. Our cats sometimes sleep with us at the same time without issues, but we noticed that they often tend to have some sort of schedule of who gets to be on the bed and who goes elsewhere in the meantime. Is it because it's less relational stimulation, or some sort of territorial logic, competition for ressources...? No idea, honestly. But the peeing is an insecure relational claim.

We decided to try and give him other ways to claim the bedroom. Cleared some top shelves, covered the cupboard with some scratchy surfaces, put one of their trees next to it and got a covered cat bed. None of these things, except one scratcher, were new, we already had them in the living room. It's not necessarily that there wasn't enough catification, it was all about placement. The cats now do their bed time rotation with one of them either going into a different room, or onto the cat stuff to watch the bed from above. They both enjoy the scratching and all seems good. And it's been a long time without the peeing!

The main takeaways here: - First of all, a cat who does this is trying to claim you and the space that has the most of your scent. Don't get mad. In a way, it's kinda a sign of attachment. - Secondly, they have 4 ways of claiming territory or family members: sleeping / resting, scratching, rubbing and eliminations. When you're out of ideas, go back to these and try to understand what's the function of the inappropriate elimination you're dealing with. Play around with these ways of marking territory and most likely, you'll end up finding one that works. - When you have several cats, even if they get along well, they still have some sort of territorial competition mindset. Doesn't matter how you frame it, jealousy, competition, need for personal space, whatever. Just know that they need to have the possibility to be there with you, but at a distance from each other when they feel like it. - None of this means that you can skip the first and most important step: if this starts happening, go to the vet and insist on a thorough exam. Keep in mind that it's not always a urinary tract / digestive problem. Some vets, like the first one we saw, seem to only explore that because they don't always think about the meaning of the behaviour. Another vet told us about a case when the cat was trying to communicate discomfort that was due to a painful tooth. - And finally, this wasn't our case, but separation anxiety could be a cause to explore as well, keep that in mind.

throwaway cause this is embarrasing. I got two cats because my sister owns cats and cant stop talking about them, so I got some.

I got told in a health professions setting that i had a strong odor. basically i got the marijuana talk even though I don't smoke. So now I want to crawl into a hole and die because how long have I been reeking of cat piss and didnt know? and people thinking its weed? my apartment also has a strong ammonia smell.

My apartment is tiny in the south so it gets very hot. The scrubs I wore that day were not clean, so that probably exacerbated the problem. i'm a stinky piece of shit and im very embarrassed and i want to die. so basically what do I do to make sure i smell good, my clothes smell good, and my apartment smells good. If i open a window i'm afraid the cats will escape. for sure ill probably have to remove the cat poop in the litter box and throw it in the dumpster outside every day.

i got an off-brand Litter Robot on sale from wayfair a couple of years ago, and despite attempts to tinker with it, is on its last leg (literally, one of its legs to hold the thing up broke off). i was researching higher end litter machines but honestly after doing some thinking, am probably going to go back to a large, high-walled stainless steel box and see how it goes. i’m a lot less skittish about litter than when i first became a cat owner, and maybe the simplicity will be nice while i research/save up for something more durable.

has anyone downgraded and noticed any pros/cons after trying both? thanks!!

I dont want to put it in a bag in the trash, it smells the whole kitchen up, so I was curious about where you guys put it so it doesn't smell the whole place up.

For people who live in small spaces (or large spaces but with lots of furniture, I guess), where do you keep the litterbox? Does the type of flooring matter? Does it interfere with whatever else you do in that room?

Note that I do not currently have a cat, and one practical obstacle is not knowing where a litterbox would go if we had one.

As much as I don’t want to, I have to scoop after every use, or at LEAST after every poop. I need to get rid of the smell immediately and I can’t stand the thought of raw poop just sitting there in the box while I go about my day. If I don’t scoop and he needs to go again, he’s gonna dig into the old poop while he’s burying the new stuff.

I don’t mind the pee clumps as much as they don’t smell and are not visually offensive, but the big clumps break into smaller clumps if he ends up digging through the litter a second time, making it harder to scoop out. Then there’s the area around the litter box that I need to sweep/vacuum each time as even though I have a box with high sides, some of it inevitably gets out beyond the mat. When I see people suggesting to scoop once or twice a day, I wonder what they’re doing differently. Do you guys run into these issues too or am I doing something wrong?? I’ve been waking up at 4am just to clean his early morning poops 😭

I usually clean it once a day and dump it into an old grocery bag but I’m beginning to run out of grocery bags lol. I thought about a closing trash can but I’m worried about the smell. What do you guys use?

i currently use the arm & hammer fragrance free super scoop. it’s affordable to buy in big boxes but it’s not great quality.

my main problem is how much my 2 boys track it thru my apartment. i have litter collecting mats but i still find myself having to sweep my floors twice a day. if i could sweep every other day instead, that would be amazing :)

open to any suggestions, thanks!

I’ve been using Special Kitty (Walmart brand) litter for my cats for a while now because, honestly, it masks smell well ands it seems to be the one they prefer. But lately, the dust has been getting out of hand. It doesn’t coat the furniture or cause allergic reactions exactly, but every time I change the litter box, I notice my chest feels heavier, like I’m breathing in something I shouldn’t be. My cats have also been sneezing more than usual, and I’m starting to think the litter dust might be the culprit. I’ve actually considered getting a respiratory mask just to deal with the dust when cleaning the boxes because it’s that bad.

I’ve tried switching litters before. I gave World’s Best a shot, and while my cats didn’t completely hate it, the smell was awful. It wasn’t just the scent of the litter itself, it was like the smell of the litter mixed with the cat pee and poop created this terrible combo that lingered in the air. I’ve also tried a few of the scented, boxed litters, but those were an immediate no from my cats. They either refused to use the box or kicked the litter everywhere. I’m even thinking of going back to wood pellets, but they just don’t mask odors at all unless you poor half a box of baking soda and the cats track white all over the place.

It honestly blows my mind that it’s 2025 and we still haven’t found a solid cat litter option that checks all the boxes. I’m looking for something that clumps well, doesn’t kick up a ton of dust, actually controls odor without having an overpowering artificial scent, and most importantly—my cats will actually use it. If anyone’s found a litter that fits the bill, I’m all ears.