Cat Training

Although kitty is a very clean animal, he can still produce a very distinctive odor, especially in a small apartment. The cat odor emanating from your apartment can lead to complaints from your neighbors, not to mention your significant other if he or she is not a cat lover. In addition, if you move out, you may be required to get rid of the cat odor.

Much of the distinctive cat odor comes from cat urine, cat spray and cat poop. Cat spraying (watch their distinctive posture: they stand straight up and lift their bottoms high in the air to spray a mixture of urine and pheromones) is both the easiest and hardest cat problem to fix. Easiest because neutering kitty will largely prevent the problem. Hardest because trying to discover why your neutered cat decides to suddenly start spraying is an exercise in frustration that can have you pulling your hair out.

The stink from cat poop is pretty easy to deal with. The first thing to do is ask your vet to recommend the best cat food for kitty. Different breeds have different needs, and not all brands of cat food are available where you stay. Feed kitty right, and he will poop less, and what comes out will also be less smelly and easier to clean up.

Litter training your cat will help to cut down on the stink from both cat urine and cat poop. Use the best cat litter and it will absorb the smell when kitty does his business in the litter box. Based on reviews from Amazon customers, Odor Lockers Fresh Scent Clumping Cat Litter and Fresh Step Premium Scoopable Clumping Cat Litter are the best at controling cat urine odor. While some cats don’t like them, using a covered litter box can further reduce the odors from your cat.

Of course, you need to scoop both the poop and pee daily, as well as replace the litter weekly. For some cat owners, this work can quickly turn into a chore. If you feel this way, try an automatic cat litter box. Most cats do not like automatic litter boxes, but if kitty takes a shine to it, your life will become much simpler. These litter boxes will detect when he has done his business, and rake or scoop up the poop and pee into a separate compartment for easier disposal. Many of them claim to be able to last up to one month without the need to replace the litter. Downside is that the litter comes in its own cartridge and is more expensive.

You may also find it helpful to put some kind of odor remover near the cat litter box. Use something based on carbon or activated charcoal. Some cat owners find that the stuff made to get rid of fridge odors also work well for cat odor.

Even when kitty is litter trained, accidents can still happen. In such cases, you need an enzymatic cleaner to really get rid of the cat urine odor. A regular cleaner just isn’t enough. While it will remove the stain, an odor that will attract your cat to pee in the same spot will still remain. An enzymatic cleaner which is often recommended is Nature’s Miracle, although any other enzyme cleaner formulated for cat urine will do as well.

These enzyme cleaners are not as cheap as regular cleaners, so you may not want to use it everywhere. If you turn on a blacklight (or ultra violet lamp) in the dark, it will illuminate all the spots stained by cat urine. This will help you do a more effective spot cleaning.

If you have carpets, remember to clean not only the carpet, but both the backing and the floor underneath the carpet. Don’t forget the air vents either. Even though kitty does not pee or spray there, the smell from the rest of the apartment can still soak in there.

Removing or preventing cat odor can be a chore, but is not rocket science. Follow the tips above to prevent trouble from the other members of your family or neighbors.

Do you want to learn how to stop kitty from making a mess at home? Click here to buy Cat Secrets Revealed.

Nothing smells worse than cat spray. Together with cat pee outside the litter box, cat spraying is one of the leading causes of cats being given away, abandoned or put down. Marriages have come under enormous strain, when one spouse puts down their foot to stop the cat’s spraying problem or give up the cat. Tenants have been forced by landlords to either move out or get rid of the spraying cat.

This is very sad, because cat spraying problems can be solved or greatly reduced in many cases. First, though, we need to tell the difference between cat spray and cat urine. Spray is actually a bit of urine mixed with pheromones secreted by glands in your cat. The positions your cat takes for spraying is also different from peeing – they stand straight up and lift their bottoms high up in the air to spray instead of squatting to urinate.

Both male and female cats spray. Unneutered males are the most likely to have this problem, neutered female the least likely. Although spraying is considered a problem by people, it is a perfectly natural behavior for cats.

Do be aware that your cat may suddenly start spraying when he is sick. For example, inflammations of the bladder are known to cause cats to spray. If your cat is neutered and he suddenly develops this behavior, you should take him for a check-up at the vet before doing anything else.

On major reason for cats spraying is to attract mates. Female cats in heat spray to advertise that they are ready. Male cats spray to mark their territory – they are saying “Keep out! Females here are mine!”. This is one reason why you should always neuter your cats. Unneutered tomcats are very likely to spray. Once he develops this behavior, it is very difficult to stop even after you neuter him. Many vets are willing to neuter your male cat as long as he is at least 6 months old. Some prefer to wait until he is 9 months old while others are willing to do it even earlier. You should also spay female cats when they reach 6 months of age, before their first heat.

When you bring a new pet or new family member home, this can also cause your cat to spray. Whether you explain it as stress and insecurity or territoriality or dominance behavior, it does not really matter. The point is to make kitty feel safe and secure again. Once you successfully make him feel that he is still Numero Uno, he will stop spraying. While your vet can help you to investigate why your cat is spraying, you know kitty best. You are the best person to figure out why he is spraying. Asking your vet to play private investigator can take quite a long time – he will take a step-by-step methodical approach to the problem. Cases have been published in journals for veterinarians where it took years to resolve the problem. If you really love your cat, you are still the best person to make him stop spraying.

Once your cat has sprayed a particular location, he is likely to go back and spray it again. One way to stop this is to thoroughly clean the area he sprayed. Normal soap and water will not do the job. Just because you cannot smell anything does not mean your cat cannot smell anything. The best solution is to use a blacklight (UV lamp) in the dark to find the spots and clean it with an enzymatic cleaner like Nature’s Miracle.

Cat spray is a very smelly problem which has caused many cats to be abandoned by their owners. However, this is a problem which can be solved. If you love your cat, you have an obligation to him and to yourself to stop him from spraying.

Do you want to learn how to tame your naughty cat? Click here to buy Cat Secrets Revealed.