Seriously, is there nothing worse than a house that smells like cat pee? Even the cleanest, most fastidious cat parents sometimes have to deal with the pungent, ammonia-y stink of a cat who is spraying or peeing where he shouldn’t.

When I heard Dr. Jessica Vogelsang, a veterinary writer in San Diego, was struggling with this and found a solution, I asked her if I could share her success with you guys. “Absolutely,” she said.

Dr. V. was at her wit’s end. Her cat Apollo was spraying around the front door and she could not figure out why. She’s still working on that issue, but in the meantime the smell was overwhelming. She tried everything to remove the odor but nothing worked. “I mopped three times, scrubbed the door by hand with a grout brush, anti-icky poo, bleach, everything.”

The stress level was rising in their house, which happens when you begin to get frustrated with living with the pee smell and feeling helpless to put a stop to it.

Anyway, Dr. V. said the only thing that worked was Zero Odor, a product that has gotten major accolades the last couple of years for being super effective and non-toxic. (My sis-in-law uses it on dog pee on her carpet and swears by it….even uses it when her husband forgets to take the towels and put them in the dryer! DOH!)

Dr. V. sprayed the walls with Zero Odor and soon after, the smell was gone. “My husband, who has the nose of a bloodhound, proclaimed the entryway odor free, which is as good an endorsement as it gets!”

I am super happy to share this story with you because I know it’s one of the biggest issues we cat parents face. Dr. V. also used on the litter after Apollo used the box for a stinky poop and she said it worked great there too.

“I never go out of my way to endorse products,” Dr. V. told me. “I see so many and it gets overwhelming. This one, for me, is a game changer. It’s amazing stuff.”

You can check out Zero Odor on Amazon or at Zero Odor’s web site. I also saw it for sale in my vet’s office!

Let me know how it works for you!

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I teased you guys a few weeks ago (sorry ’bout that!) about a new scented litter World’s Best was launching. It’s here! And it smells like……sniff, sniff…..the forest!

Yes, World’s Best Cat Litter has combined the fresh smell of the forest with the super clumping, odor control and absorbency of corn into one litter: Forest Scented Clumping Litter.

Those of you who love pine litters MUST try this. Until now, there were no choices between pine pellets and the super lightweight all-pine litter. Now you have a heavier litter that will track less and clump better but has the nice scent and odor control that pine offers.

The new formula is the same whole-kernel corn with 100% natural wood fibers blended in to give it the lovely forest-y smell. And, true to World’s Best’s planet friendly focus, the wood comes from kiln-dried wood (so no worries about allergens) made from re-purposed tree shavings that might have otherwise gone to waste.

So, let’s get down to it. How did it perform?

Like any other litter, it’s important to introduce slowly. I mixed in with regular World’s Best over the course of about a week. This also helped control the amount of scent so we could all get used to it.

It clumped well and odor control was terrific. If you don’t like pine/wood smell, then this isn’t for you. But if you do like a little forest-y smell, by all means ABSOLUTELY try it out.

If you are super scent sensitive (say that three times fast!) like me, then you might want to try a permanent mix of regular World’s Best with a few scoops of the Forest Scented to give it a nice, subtle aroma.

And, because you are lovely Happy Litter Box readers, you have a chance to try this new formula…for free! We’re offering FIVE readers two free bags of the new Forest Scent (US only, sorry!)

All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me that you’d like to try it. For TWO entries, tell me what the smell of the forest reminds you of….a childhood camping trip? Your backyard? A favorite candle?

I’ll randomly draw five names on Monday, April 8 at Noon EST.

Good luck!

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If there’s one thing I’ve learned in writing this blog is that there is almost always a solution to a litter box issue if you just research and ask questions!

Happy Litter Box reader, Lynne P., wrote me recently to see if I had any ideas for her cat, Bailey, who was having trouble squatting and keeping his pee in the box. The result? Urine covered walls for Lynne to clean up!

But, guess what? There’s a litter box made just for that problem: The NVR Miss Litter Box, a box with 11-inch-high sides and an easy-to-access entry on one side.

You might recall a post I wrote about this box last year. My pal, Ingrid, over at the Conscious Cat first introduced me to the NVR Miss.

Lynne agreed to test a NVR Miss box to see if it might be a good solution and I’m so happy to report that it was. Here’s what Lynne reported:

“I can’t begin to thank you enough for introducing me to this wonderful litter box! As you know, my male kitty is now 13 years old and obviously has arthritis. He was such a jumper/daredevil when younger, that he may have sustained injuries which precipitated this condition. Because squatting to urinate had become painful, he would enter the litter box, try to crouch down at first, then would begin to rise up to keep his balance and avoid pain. The result was urine soaked walls, baseboards and floors. Poor guy wasn’t spraying, just trying to accomplish a bodily function.

You suggested a taller litter box even though I was using one that was 6 inches tall. The litter box you sent was a full 11 inches tall with a wonderful cut-out entrance for easy access. It is miraculous! Bailey can accomplish his “business” with ease, without pain and I have no walls to wash, sanitize and deodorize on a daily basis.

I am just so happy! We are both happy. Thank you for changing our lives for the better.”

You are welcome, Lynne! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with Happy Litter Box readers!

And, for those of you who are Do-it-Yourselfers, you can make your own version of the NVR Miss Litter Box. Simply take a large plastic tote and saw an opening in one side of it. Make sure to sand the opening really, really well so the jagged edges are super smooth and safe for your kitty!

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Oooooh, boy. You World’s Best Cat Litter lovers and even those of you who have yet to try it are going to be very excited to know that World’s Best is coming out with a new scent. I think you’re going to like it!

Because you, my dear readers, are passionate, discerning cat parents, World’s Best has chosen us to review the new scent and give you guys the opportunity to win some to try for yourself.

What’s the scent? Hmmmm…..can’t share it just yet. But it’s going to be fab! Stay tuned friends….

Mwah!

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Reduce LItter Scatter Ugh, nothing is worse than having litter bits stuck to your feet. Well, maybe finding them in your bed is worse. That’s when you whistle a little tune and say to yourself, “Don’t think about where that’s been. Whistle, whistle, whistle. Don’t think about where that’s been.” Sigh.

Some cats drag more litter out of the boxes than others but regardless, all cats track some. Here are some things to consider if you want to reduce the tracking mess:

Cleaning Diligence – I know it’s a pain in the butt but keeping the immediate area swept keeps litter bits from migrating to all corners of the house. I love my Bissell PowerEdge Pet or just a regular broom and dustpan for litter scatter.

Type of Litter – Some litters track more than others. In my experience, lightweight litters are the worst offenders while heavier, coarser litters tend to stay in the box better.

Litter Box – Try different kinds of litter boxes. Some people put their boxes in the tub in the spare bathroom. Others have shared that a large plastic kiddie pool works great. Some people swear by their top entry litter boxes. For top entry, you can also go the DIY route and use a large storage tub with a hole in the top. Check out this one for an example of a DIY top entry box.

High-sided litter boxes like NVR Miss help with litter scatter for those kitties who like to kick litter, not to mention kitties who love to pee over the side of regular boxes.

Litter Catchy Things – There are plenty of trays, mats and rugs made specifically to catch the litter. These probably work fine but there are lots of things that you probably have around your house that work great too. I have used a washing machine tray . Other readers say a big shaggy bathroom mat works wonders. Carpet remnants, rubber boot mats, etc. also do wonders catching those little bits.

Do you have litter scatter issues? What’s the weirdest place you’ve found bits of litter? What solutions have you found to work?

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I’m super excited to tell you that today I’ll be co-hosting a live Twitter Chat with World’s Best Cat Litter, Pet 360 and Dr. V. from Pawcurious….all about our favorite topic….LITTER BOX ISSUES!

Come and join us for a bit. It’s today at 12 Noon – 1 p.m. EST.

How do you join? Hop onto twitter and search/follow the hashtag #litterbox to follow the discussion, ask questions and get answers.

Make sure you are following us! @happylitterbox, @bestcatlitter, @pet360 and @pawcurious.

AND World’s Best will be giving away FREE bags of cat litter throughout the hour so if you’ve wanted to try it or love it so much and could always use a free bag, get yourselves onto Twitter today.

If you have questions, let me know! You can email me at caroline(at)highpaw(dot)com and I will do my best to answer.

See you at Noon!

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green tea leaves keep litter freshRecently on Catster, Julia Szabo shared terrific tips for “winterizing” the litter box. I actually think they are fantastic tips to use year round! Julia points out that humidity can wreak havoc on how long your litter box stays fresh and clean. Depending on where you live and how dry or humid your home is, you may have varying degrees of problems. Here are three of Julia’s tips for ways to prolong changing the kitty litter:

1. If you need to “top it off” and are out of litter, try mixing in some corn meal with the litter. Apparently it clumps great and controls odor!

2. Keep a dehumidifier in the room with your cat box. This makes great sense to me as a year-round solution! Damp litter boxes breed bacteria, which is what causes the litter box to smell.

3. Recycle your green tea leaves by tossing them into the litter box for awesome odor control.  This makes sense. There is even a Green Tea Leaves Cat Litteron the market but I have not tried it. Has anyone out there tried it? Perhaps I’ll get some to test for you guys!

Hop on over and read the rest of the article for more tips and ideas.

Lovely readers, do you have suggestions and tips that work for you?

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Litter Box Products That Will Change Your Life in 2013

January 4, 2013

The number of litter box related products on the market is mind boggling at times. Here at the Happy Litter Box, we try to make some sense of it for you so we decided to put together a list of our favorite products….products that will change your life in 2013. Kinda like Oprah’s favorite things [...]

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Kitties in the Wintertime

December 10, 2012

by Vicky Anscombe The days are drawing in, the evenings are getting chillier, and there’s fewer and fewer hours of day light to enjoy. That’s right – winter is upon us, and it’s time to take a look at how your cat care should change over the winter months. The good news is your cat’s [...]

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Litter Genie Makes Wishes Come True

November 8, 2012

By now you’ve probably seen the Litter Genie commercials – part funny, part goofy, part bizarro, which is what I think they were going for. But, how does this Genie really work? We put it to the test to give you the scoop. As a mom of two little humans, I am VERY familiar with [...]

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