We adore our feline friends, but just because we live with cats doesn’t usually mean we want our homes to smell like cats. Cats are clean animals when it comes to grooming, but that doesn’t mean cats don’t smell.
The good news is that it’s entirely possible to live with cats, and your guests won’t turn their nose up at them when they walk into your home. If you’re looking for some tips on how to mask cat odor in your home, you’re in the right place.
To mask the smell of cats in your home, don’t slack off on your daily vacuuming routine.
Cat shedding is a fact of life unless you share a home with a hairless cat. (And you might be surprised, hairless cats need regular baths to get rid of the odors they can’t absorb because they don’t have fur.) That said, cat fur flying around your home can make your home smell like cats.
But regular vacuuming can easily reduce cat odor in your home. If your cat likes to lounge on your fabric couches and chairs, make sure you vacuum the fur from the furniture as well.
Also read: The 5 best pet hair vacuums
When you’re done vacuuming, empty the vacuum in a trash can outside, not in your home. This removes the odor. You can also clean the vacuum regularly if washing/cleaning is allowed.
Be sure to change the air filter regularly
As we mentioned with the vacuum cleaner, you need to make sure to change the air filter regularly. Even for cats that don’t shed, they still shed—those loose hairs that float in the air and get sucked into the air filter.
Avoid strong odors and work to neutralize them.
If you want to consciously mask the smell of cats in your home, you need to neutralize the smell with a scent.
Strong perfume smells not only irritate the cat’s sensitive sense of smell, but also do no good in masking the smell of cats in the home. These strong smells match the smell of cats and can make your home smell even worse. Instead, choose neutralizing scents, such as citrus scents.
Be sure to choose the right litter and litter box to mask the cat’s odor in your home.
You can do everything you can to keep your house smell-free, but if you’re not using the right litter and litter box, all that effort is basically for naught.
Some cats can be picky about the type of litter you use, but all cats like privacy when they relieve themselves. Choose low-traffic areas of your home and use good-quality lumpy litter to lock in odors, and always be sure to use a large litter box with a lid.
If you have more than one cat, you should consider an extra litter box. Ideally, one per cat. For more advice on litter boxes, check out this article here.
Purchase odor traps to lock in odors and place them strategically around your home.
You’ll definitely want to keep them near your cat’s litter box, as they will lock in litter box odors by neutralizing them. Plus, you can strategically place dryer sheets around your home to help keep your home smelling fresh. You can also use scent inserts to mask the cat’s smell in your home, but be aware of scents that might bother your cat.
Remember to clean your cat’s litter box every day.
You don’t want to use a dirty restroom, and neither does your cat. If the litter box is dirty, the cat is more likely to defecate outside the litter box. So take care to keep the litter clean for them, put the right amount of litter in their boxes, and mix in baking soda or other litter-smelling lockers to keep litter boxes fresh.
If you have safety screens, it’s always a good idea to ventilate your home — especially the room where the litter box is located.
Clean your cat’s blanket/bed regularly.
Just as you wash your bedding regularly, take care to clean your cat’s favorite blanket/bed regularly. Your cats are great at keeping themselves clean, but they shouldn’t be tasked with cleaning areas of your home.
This is the duty of their faithful cat mom/dad. Additionally, many cat owners will rely on cat wipes to help keep their cat’s coat smelling fresh. You can bathe your cat if you want, but wipes will suffice.
If you need to get rid of cat urine smell from carpet, try this.
As much as we love our feline friends, dealing with cat urine stains is never fun. The ammonia-like smell that cat urine gives off is by no means subtle, but a combination of water, white vinegar, and baking soda can help trap the smell, remove the stain, and hopefully get rid of the smell.
Now that you know the best tips and tricks for masking cat odor in your home, check out the next article, which contains life hacks for cat owners.
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.