DO INDOOR CATS MAKE YOUR HOUSE SMELL? 5 TOP REMEDIES

Do indoor cats make your house smell? Cats tend to keep themselves relatively clean, but what about the rest of the house? You may have noticed that when you enter some homes where there are cats, unpleasant odors are present. But you may have also seen that not everyone with cats has a smelly house. So what is the difference?

Indoor cats can make your house smell if there is an overall lack of cleaning and if the cat has the tendency to pee or poop outside the litter box. But even if that happens, there are remedies for cats owners to get rid of the smell. In general, cats are clean animals and do not smell.

So let’s see how to keep the house fresh and free of foul odors, even with multiple cats. In today’s article, we’ll take a closer look at ‘smelly cats’ and what you need to know to get your house smelling less like your kitty and more like your home.

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR HOUSE SMELLS LIKE CATS?

When you are inside your home, you will often get used to the smell and the odors emanating from your cats or particular house areas. But, unfortunately, it means that you will not realize your house smell like cats and can develop a sort of nose blindness.

In my experience, going out of the house for a while and then coming back can be helpful to realize whether your house is smelling like cats or not. You can also invite a friend or a family member to your home and ask them if they smell anything nasty.

It can be an excellent way to figure out if your house is smelling like a cat; those who are not living with you will be able to sense foul odors immediately. The smell can come from cat urine. Even a tiny amount out of the litter box can impregnate the house with a strong and pungent odor.

In summary:

• Have other people come in your house to verify if there is a cat smell
• Go out of the hosue for a while and come back. Verify if there is any smell
• Do daily and routine deep cleaning to prevent any bad smell

DO INDOOR CATS MAKE YOUR HOUSE SMELL?

Cats can undoubtedly contribute to a smelly house, but there are some strategies that you can employ to help minimize this if your cat is a little on the destructive side.

Also, certain smells may actually be red flags about your cat’s health, and these are something that you need to know about so that you know when it’s time to visit the vet. For example, when someone says ‘the house smells like a cat!’, they really mean most of the time that the house smells like cat litter.

Many scented litters are available, but frequently what you get with those is that the house ends up smelling like cat poos and… well, strongly scented litter. The best way to combat this is to make a few changes where the kitty litter is concerned.

Be sure to get the clumping kind so that you can scoop up messes as they appear, and for extra insurance against the smell, whenever you go to fill up the litter box, then you’ll want to sprinkle some baking soda powder at the bottom of the box.

This will help absorb more odor. Between this, regular scooping, and changing out the litter box frequently, you can really make a dent in that kitty-cat scent.

DO CATS GIVE OFF AN ODOR?

So, what about the cats themselves? Cats actually can give off odors, though it’s usually something that only occurs when a cat is startled, and the scent dies down rather quickly. This is because cats have several scent glands, but in particular, they have two anal glands which produce a rather fishy smell when your cat experiences a surprise or a fright.

If this fishy scent seems constant, then this could be a sign that the anal glands are impacted or infected, and a vet visit is a good idea at this time. Your vet can express the anal glands in cases such as these so that your cat will get back to smelling like normal.

Some cats also suffer from bad breath, but if it doesn’t smell like the fishy cat food they have eaten recently, this is another potential red flag that might indicate that your cat has one or more damaged teeth that might be infected.

A quick trip to the vet should help you to get this quickly sorted out so that your cat is feeling – and smelling – a whole lot better.

Finally, sometimes cats like to mark their territory, and the best thing you can do is clean this quickly with some enzymatic cleaner. And if your cat is not spayed or neutered, this is something that you should consider. Spaying and neutering dramatically reduces and sometimes even eliminates that nasty urge to mark the walls or other spots. Just a little food for thought!

HOW TO KEEP YOUR HOUSE FROM SMELLING LIKE CATS

As adorable as they are, cats can seem like furry little whirlwinds in your house sometimes. Sometimes they track litter or shed fur, and on occasion, they’ve been known to cough up a furball or two for you to clean.

Yuck!

With the furballs, all you can do is clean them before they raise a stink or someone steps in one, but with the litter and shedding, there are a couple of strategies that you can use to help to reduce the impact on the overall cleanliness of your house.

Here are some tips to keep the house clean:

1. COVERED LITTER BOX

Uncleaned litter boxes or cat’s beds not washed on a weekly basis can emanate foul odors and make the house smell like cats or minimally smell bad. Those who have cats have to vacuum clean often, keep the cat’s beds cleaned and washed, and take care of litter boxes, making sure to wash the box at least every week and scoop it daily.

For kitty litter leaving the box, a covered litter box is the first step. This keeps kitty from flicking little pieces out of the box while they are ‘doing their business. Next, consider an auto-changing litter box as well. These take the maintenance work down a bit, which helps a lot, as cats tend to fling their litter or avoid the box altogether if it is dirty.

Here are some examples of covered litter boxes:

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2. CATS LITTER MESH MATS

Finally, a mesh mat just outside of the box encourages your cat to wipe their feet (cats like to be clean, too) and can minimize litter particles around the house. In this way, dirt particles are not propagating to the rest of the house.

Here are some examples of good cat litter mesh mats:

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3. BRUSH YOUR CAT ROUTINELY

As far as shedding fur problems, find a soft brush and some gloves and brush your cat from time to time so that you can get at most of the shedding fur. Cats lose a lot of hair in their beds or where they sleep; routine cleaning is imperative.

4. VACUUM CLEAN

You have to vacuum clean often to remove cats’ hairs, litter, and other dirt particles if you have cats. Vacuum cleaning is necessary to maintain high hygiene when dealing with pets and remove fleas and other small animals.

Here are some of the best vacuum cleaners for cat’s hairs:

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5.WASH YOUR FLOORS AND COMMON SURFACES EVERY OTHER DAY

In my experience, I wash the floor every day or every other day, especially near the litter box. I open the windows every day to have new hair coming in and get out the old one. I use products like bleach and various disinfectants.

So, do indoor cats make your house smell? Ultimately the answer is ‘not so much as long as you use the tips that we’ve shared today to help get your kitty’s dirty habits under control. Remember, if your cat is exhibiting odors, this could be a health problem – be sure to schedule a vet visit as soon as possible.

Beyond this, minimize litter with a covered box and mats, and a little brushing and vacuuming can help you keep the fur and dander under control. If you do all these things, then you can rest assured that if the house is stinky…

It’s probably the DOG!

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