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!

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!

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!

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!

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?

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!

Recently 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?

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 except much, much more practical!

Favorite Litter Box
For us, nothing beats a clear storage box. I’ve seen and tested lots of boxes this year and for us, a plain old clear storage box does the trick. The 28 Quart Clear Sterilite Storage Box is the perfect size for my boys but plenty of people like the larger sizes. At Amazon, $8.49

Favorite Litter
We’ve tried a lot of litters and will continue to test in order to offer our recommendations for options to try. We know that every cat and every situation is different so what works for some cats won’t work for others. There are lots of great litters on the market and we’ve tried a lot of them but nothing has made us want to switch from World’s Best Cat Litter . It’s lightweight, it scoops extremely well, it controls odor and….most important….my cats like it. Prices vary but you can get a 7-lb bag for less than $10. It lasts a long time so it’s definitely a good value.

Favorite Litter Scoops
I’m not afraid to talk about things that are exciting to me – like litter scoops. A crappy litter scoop can ruin your day. Oh, yes. You know what I’m talking about. You need to try the Litter-Lifter Kitty Litter Scoop. These scoops are super sturdy and have these smooth, triangular tines that litter litter-ally slides right through. They are fantastic for digging out the corners (why do all the cats like to pee in the same exact spot? In the corner of the box?) when they get gross. LOVE THESE. And everyone I know who has tried them loves them. And, they’re priced right at less than $7 a pop.

P.S. accept no substitutes! The original is the one that works. The others are just bad knock offs and you’ll be disappointed. For reals.

Favorite Litter Box Convenience
You may have seen my recent review of The Litter Genie  but suffice it to say, I love this thing. It’s easy to use, convenient and it works at keeping the smell of litter bags at bay. You scoop the litter box, open up the top of the Genie, drop the offending clumps into the receptacle, close the lid and pull the lever. The “stuff” is dropped into another odor controlling bag in the base of the Genie, where it stays until you collect it. That part is easy too – open up the Genie, pull out the bag, cut it off on the attached cutter, tie it and then out to the gar-bage. Check out the Litter Genie Plus Cat Litter Disposal System on Amazon for the best price, usually around $19.00.

Favorite Odor Control
There are lots of great odor control items on the market but my favorite is Nose Offense, which is truly a little miracle in a bottle. Seriously, you can spray pretty much any stinky room or area a couple of times and the cat urine or poop odor disappears. It’s also useful on fabrics. Best of all? It’s non-toxic and fragrance free so it’s safe to use around your precious furballs. You can purchase at Nose Offense, starting at $12.49 for a 12 oz bottle. AND free shipping! BOOYAH! Plus, use the code ROMEO15 at check out for a 15% discount your entire order through Friday, Jan. 11.

And, just like Oprah, the Happy Litter Box is giving away all of the items above to some lucky readers (I wish we could give one of everything to ALL readers but well ya know. There’s the small difference between Oprah and me).

Here’s the scoop: THREE lucky readers get a set of Litter Lifter scoops, ONE lucky winner gets a Litter Genie, ONE lucky winner gets a 32 oz bottle of Nose Offense, ONE lucky winner gets a bag of World’s Best Cat Litter and ONE lucky winner gets a clear Sterilite 28 qt storage box!

Just leave a comment below, telling me what product you currently use that you can’t live without in your house (not necessarily from the list above; I want to hear about YOUR fave products)

I’ll do a drawing on Wednesday, January 9th at Noon EST to pick the winners!

Happy 2013 friends! Let’s make it a year chock full of HAPPY LITTER BOXES!

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 probably also figured out that summer has long gone, and be more than willing to accommodate any changes that you make. Vicky Anscombe, who writes for Animed Direct, is a lifelong cat lover. Her feline friend, Tabbeh, will be staying inside most of the winter.

“Tabbeh is never hugely fond of going out from October onwards – he dashes into the garden, stays there for an hour, then comes in for the afternoon,” Vicky says. “I like to keep him indoors during winter as he’s warmer and safer, and he doesn’t seem to mind. All the mice and birds that he’d normally hunt are pretty scarce, so my partner and I provide Tabbeh’s entertainment.”

Vicky recommends that collar-wearing cats are fitted with new, reflective collars for winter, as this makes them more visible to cars, cyclists, and can help owners locate their cat when searching for them in darkness. “Make sure the collar is loose enough to slip off in case your cat is climbing, falls, and the collar hooks on a branch,” she says. “Don’t use elasticated collars, as these can stretch, and make sure there are no sharp parts or grooves that a cat could catch a claw on. A collar should be well-fitted, but you should be able to slip one or two fingers underneath.”

If your cat wanders in and out during the day, it may be best to limit their hours outside. Obviously you can’t control this if you’re out all day, but if you’re working from home, consider making the hours of 10am – 3pm playtime outdoors for your cat. “This way, you miss the busy roads of rush hour, your cat gets maximum daylight, and they’re home and dry before night falls,” Vicky explains. “Most owners will find that their cat is fine with this – many cats love their creature comforts, and will quickly become accustomed to coming home earlier.”

If there are going to be any fireworks in your area on New Year’s Eve, make sure that your pet is locked indoors, even if you reckon they’re normally fine with loud noises. A previously-confident cat may suddenly panic if faced with a gardenfull of fireworks, and get into trouble. “I always build Tabbeh a little nest under our bed, where he can hide away under a lot of blankets,” Vicky says. “I also turn up the TV and radio, just to try and drown out some of the bangs.” Some especially nervous cats may benefit from using Feliway, which helps to calm cats that are dealing with stressful situations.

However, if your cat is a die-hard outdoorsy type and will go mad if they’re kept indoors all day, it’s best to construct a waterproof, warm and easily-accessible shelter for them. Cats that don’t have this option will seek shelter elsewhere, and possibly put themselves in danger in the process. It’s always a good idea to leave a dish of fresh water and food in there for your cat, so if there’s a storm, they can wait it out without having to dash inside. Make sure that the shelter is off the ground, large enough for your cat to stretch out in, and away from noisy areas such as main roads. It should ideally be located in your back garden. “Tabbeh has a little box outside for use in the summer, when it’s a bit hot, or there are showers,” Vicky says. “It’s somewhere nice for him to slope off to when the weather’s not great, and avoid prying eyes. He loves it – we’ve even put his favourite toys in!”

Thanks for the great tips, Vicky! Readers, do you have any winter tips to share?

The beautiful kitty in the photo is Vicky’s own Tabbeh. Adorable!

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 the Diaper Genie by the same makers. So, I have to admit, I was pretty convinced of how well the Litter Genie would work going into the testing phase. I wasn’t disappointed.

We have two litter boxes in my office (lovely, I know) so I am scooping multiple times per day. Usually I bag it up and sit it by the stairs for the next time I head down for a coffee refill or to search for something to nosh.

With the Litter Genie, I just scoop the clumps into the top of the Genie and pull the lever/trap door gizmo that pushes the clumps down into the receptacle, which is lined with a plastic bag, and voila! It’s out of my life. For a while at least.

Periodically you have to open up the whole Litter Genie, pull the entire bag out, tie it up and take it out to the garbage. I do it once a week, but the length of time you can go is likely different for everyone. When you do this, it’s best you hold your breath or breathe through your nose because it STINKS.

But, until the moment you release that bag from the receptacle, you won’t smell anything. It contains the stink really, really well. So one big stink compared to little stinks multiple times a day – the one big stink wins out in my book.

I have a couple of different types of litter options here in my house so I used a few with the Genie. In general, the clay-ish clumping litters do better falling into the receptacle on their own because they’re heavier. Corn and Walnut or other lighter weight litters kind of sit there and you have to manually push it though with a paper towel or grocery bag or something.

The Litter Genie is reasonably priced, ranging from $14.99 on Amazon, up to $24.98 at other pet stores.

The plastic bag cartridge inside holds 14-feet of bags, which Litter Genie says should last a couple of months with one cat. That was about right. We ran out in about 6 weeks with two cats. The Litter Genie Refill Cartridges are readily available where the Litter Genie is sold – at Amazon, Petco, Petsmart or Target. They run anywhere from $7.50 – $12, depending on where you buy. Amazon is the cheapest I saw.

So, it’s absolutely worth trying if you’re interested in this type of solution. And, it would make a fantastic holiday gift for the cat people in your life. I know it’s not sexy but it’s something your cat poop scooping loved ones will appreciate. WARNING TO BOYFRIENDS AND HUSBANDS….this is not a good replacement gift for something awesome like jewelry. Get the jewelry AND a Litter Genie and you’re golden. Get just the Litter Genie and you’re toast. Trust me on this.

Readers, anyone have experience with the Litter Genie?