I have three cats and admittedly don't have the world's best sniffer
but the litter boxes are kept clean and the cats are neutered. There
is no smell. If you have intact cats, you're going to have smells for
sure.

One real important trick is feeding with quality cat food, not 9-lives
or Friskees from the supermarket. When the furballs eat that stuff, it
does noticeably smell and there is more waste.

Litter does keep the smells down, but I haven't noticed any difference
between the various options of "MultiCat", "Fast Odor Control", "Long
Acting Odor Control", etc. Well, don't buy the Long Acting since you
should clean out the litter box at least daily. I don't always manage
that but usually I do.

Folks into the automated litter boxes seem to find the LitterMaid type
unsatisfactory. There is a litter robot that gets better marks (I just
mentioned this one in another thread). Just google Litter Robot. There
are a few models from $300 to $400 or so.

And get two cats, not one, preferably from a shelter. The cats will
take care of each other with grooming and providing a playmate. While
they chase each other around and roll on the floor play-fighting, you
can do other stuff. With one cat you have to provide much more
attention and playing in order to keep them active and happy. A
shelter should be able to provide two cats that get along well. Most
cats will get along anyway but it's nice to know that in advance.

Good luck with your new masters.

Yes, it is possible to have a clean smelling house with cats.  Depending on
how many cats you decide to adopt, you should have at the very least, one
box per cat.  Keep the boxes clean and you shouldn't have a problem with
smells.  I clean my cat boxes out at least 2-3 times a day.  Also, I keep
one of those air freshner things in the room where the boxes are and that
helps.  An air filter machine could help, I suppose. I don't have any
experience with the automated boxes.  Also, feed your cats a good quality
food.

Congratulations on your decision to adopt.  I think 2 cats are better than
one....they can keep each other company.

S.

mikeerdas@yahoo.com wrote in news:5cc2046a-278f-40d5-8972-f9638e0b57a2
@b2g2000hsg.googlegroups.com:

There is no cat smell in my house at all because we use clumping litter
and scoop out the pee and poo twice a day.  I make sure it is quite deep
so that the pee never reaches the bottom of the box and doesn't seep
into the plastic.  Neighbours have been amazed that there is no cat
smell in my house, so I just tell them to use clumping litter and remove
the business every day.

Bobble

-----
Not everyone agrees with the covered litterboxes, but I think they work
well. More importantly, when I switched from a generic scoop litter to scoop
litter with *crystals* it was like the difference between day and night. The
crystals are great. But even with crystal-containing cat litter and covered
boxes, you still need to make sure you clean the litter box every day (for
the sake of the cats). With a covered litter box, it's easy to forget to
clean it because you can't see the mess. I also agree with whomever wrote
that the choice of food makes a difference. Give your cats high quality
food, preferably canned. The canned food is much closer to their natural
diet (they are obligate carnivores), and dry food does not prevent dental
problems (contrary to popular myth). Canned food also provides them with a
lot of water which their kidneys desperately need. If you do go with some
dry food, buy a quality brand. Do NOT feed them any supermarket dry foods.
Not only will the litter boxes reek, but you will end up spending just as
much money (if not more) than if you had bought the good stuff because the
supermarket dry food has a lot of fillers and garbage and the cats need to
consume very large quantities.
Good luck with your new kitties.
Best regards,
---Cindy S.

<mikeerdas@yahoo.com> wrote :

Just scoop a lot, and completely empty and wash and dry the boxes
regularly. How often depends on lots of factors.

Also, be sure you have enough boxes, and in the right places, to
encourage your cats to eliminate there, instead of on your rugs.

My house has never smelled catty.