Hi folks.

Over the weekend we brought home our amazing little boy, a 2 year old ex-stud who, due to us being warned he used to spray, is currently set up in our bathroom as a safe area for both us and him! Although I could smell pee when I went in there this morning, this appeared to ONLY be in the tray (this was after using our little black light torch to check around and finding nothing too).

However, after taking out the dirty litter, there is still a aroma of cat pee in the room something which I think could be attributed to the fact that a. he was only neutered a week ago so it may still be rather pungent when he goes and b. our ridiculously designed bathroom has no window, only an extractor fan.

Feeling happy that he hasn't peed outside of his tray, I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for helping reduce what I believe is 'airborne' smell as it can't be pleasant for him and also makes me paranoid the moment I go in there xD Obviously I don't want to be spraying lots of chemicals in there, but is it worth sitting a neutralising air freshener or something in there?

Any thoughts would be hugely appreciated. I'm definitely happy he hasn't peed elsewhere as the blacklight picked up NOTHING and the only 'stains' I actually found were residual from my cleaning frenzy the other day :P But if it's not outside the box and the box is clean, where is the smell coming from?!

This stuff works nicely:
http://www.armandhammer.com/solutions/s ... -Odor.aspx?

What I also do is make sure that I put a litterbox on something that protects the carpet. Like a large piece of cardboard, or an extra layer of (disposable) carpet.

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The little monsters 3

If you are using a hooded litterbox, it might be on the plastic. Nature's Miracle makes a litter spray that you put directly into the box. I used to spray down the inside of the hood and mist the sidewalls of the box once a week. It really helped. I've also been know to use Neutrair unscented or spray the NM into the air to help out. Fresh air in there will be a must. And if anyone runs a shower or bath, the moisture could kick up the litter smell.

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Thanks folks, that's really helped.

Noodle, he DOES have a hooded box so I do suspect it's on the plastic (I usually rinse them off with clean water a few times a week but don't want to disturb it for a few days until he knows it's HIS place to pee).

Since putting on the extractor, the smell has definitely diminished in there which again makes me more convinced it's a ventilation issue and not 'argh he's peed somewhere!!'.

He won't be staying in there permanently and the place the tray will actually be set up (when we're happy he's not spraying) is much more open and airy but I'm going to take a look at the stuff that has been linked and consider picking some up to have a go with.

The bathroom is tiled so luckily I can give the whole place a hosing down if I need to!

Entire male cat urine is designed to attract females and to mark territory. It won't do that if it is not intense and long acting. Even a small drop of urine can smell atrocious.
I would guess he is peeing/spraying up the side of your litter tray, so whilst a lot ends up inthe litter itself some may stick on the sides of the hooded tray.

I would not use any "fragrances" or any other "neutralising" chemicals in the confined space of your bathroom.
"natural" fragrances and neutralisers are chemicals too and are not really designed to be used in a small place with a live animal.
Also he may find a strange smell, an excuse for him to spray to get rid of it. :)
So use your fan a lot, would be my advice.

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Elaine

Hi Elaine.

He's no longer intact, he was neutered a week ago. However this is my first time with an adult neuter (all my previous cats being done around 5-6 months before spraying started) but is it possible it still has quite a strong smell whilst the hormones settle down?

I've kept the extractor on for now.

Yeah I agree, I wouldn't use any" cover up" smells until he has fully settled. When we first got our boy he was recently neutered as well and the smell was UNREAL I could smell it throughout our entire house from him spraying one time. I did use nature's miracle but it can have a strong odor on its own. I would just leave it as is and try to ventilate the bathroom more for now. I know how you feel and that smell can get into your head and it seems to be everywhere, in a few weeks his urine shouldn't be as strong. I also noticed that Jasper doesn't have such a high arch pee anymore, he squats now like a female instead of standing tall and letting it flow!

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Brandi BB & Mochi

Ha... apparently, Aza never got that memo. He was altered at four months and is still a high shooter! So much so that I use a high sided storage crate for his litterbox (no lid).

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Joan ~ Managed by Aza Boy, Silly Sylvie, Elijah Blue, & El Cee

Yes I was aware of that, but it will take a while as bkilgore has said for the really pungent entire cat smell of his urine to settle down into the more "acceptable" neutered cat smell.

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Elaine

Phew glad I hadn't come across as confusing! Your comment about intact cats had me all worried for a moment that I'd come across as misleading. To be honest, I'm just relieved that so far, he seems to be keeping all peeing inside his box! I can live with stinky pee if he's doing it where he's meant to be :D

Haha I tried that with Jasper but he never used it!

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Brandi BB & Mochi

I remember cat litter 15 years ago when I had an indoor cat. The urine odor was still there. The litter I use for Raiden's open litter tray absorbs the odor immediately and there is no smell at all. Believe me, my husband has a nose on him and he can smell it a mile away -- and there is simply no odor. So it may be the type of litter you're using.

Old topic, but in case someone else happens on this I inadvertently found something fantastic; a charcoal-type filter that helped remove urine odor from my closet. (Ahri got pee-happy on piles of my clothes, prompting a clean-up of the apartment.) It was supposed to just remove moisture; but within 20 minutes the highly concentrated smell had dissipated to almost nothing--and trust me, it had been there a while. DampRid Odor Genie = Well spent $5, and it lasted for a while. I may get a few other anti-moisture type things and see how they work long term near the litter boxes. Plus it was well sealed so I didn't worry about the cat tearing it apart (as she did with my AirWick automated air freshener.)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/DampRid-Odor ... lsrc=aw.ds

Thanks Dixie Girl! I ordered one to try out. It is pretty warm and humid in South Florida and combined with pet smells it can be downright nasty in the summer. I have a large wool carpet that has been professionally cleaned twice and when the temperature is up I can still smell a faint cigarette smell from the previous owner. It drives me crazy in the summer. This may help that situation as well.

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