A cat litter box question

1. 52

   Makarraposted 11 years ago

   To set the scene here: I moved in with my boyfriend. He has 2 big dogs, one has bad history with cats.
   
   The house is 2 stories and we just adopted a kitten. So far, we've been keeping the kitten inside our bedroom while blocking off the stairs.
   
   However... the 'barricade' that we have isn't very good and the dogs do occasionally make their way up stairs if we don't make sure it's blocked off well. since we keep the bedroom door closed they never come into contact but my issue:
   
   I have to keep the litter box in the bedroom for this reason. Can anyone help me come up with a way that I could keep the dogs and the cat separated but be able to have the litter box in a different room so that the smell isn't overwhelming?
   -OR-
   Recommend a really good litter box/ cat litter brand that helps eliminate the odor very well? We are currently using a Arm and Hammer "double duty" odor control brand right now, and it does decent. But the smell is pretty overwhelming for about 10 -20 mins after he does his buisness. So, what can I do?

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   1. 95

      peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Seems training the dogs would be easier. Or just let the cat roam free while you're home to give the room time to air out with the door open. Training a dog (most anyway) to be good with a cat takes less than a week.

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      1. 52

         Makarraposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not sure how well that would work out with training the dogs just because of their personalities.
         
         However... do you have any specific tips or hints? I'm not good with dogs lol.

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         1. 95

            peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            It's simple really. Put the dogs on a leash and let him get to know the cat and let the kitten get to know the dogs. Do this several times a day and when they get ready to do something they shouldn't do just tug the leash. You can also get a clicker and do the same thing. When you tug the leash make them sit. Never yell or anything but be firm like you would if you were teaching a child something new. Doing this once an hour or so then weaning to taking them off the leash and letting them become friends while supervised should do it. A hyper overactive, chase everything, pick everything up and shake it dog can become a cats best friend very easily. My 10 year old dog was horrible with cats when she was little but we trained her. Since then she has actually nursed 2 kittens who had lost their mother and she still prefers to sleep with the cat instead of the other dog we have.

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            1. 52

               Makarraposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Awesome. I'll be trying these tips as well as using the litter recommendations of the posters below in the meantime.

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   2. 62

      tlmcgaa70posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      first, not all dogs are willing to accept cats. the saying, it takes two to tango applies here. even if you get the dog to tolerate the cat, you must get the cat to accept the dog. the first time the cat swipes its claws across the dogs sensitve nose...the truce will be off. as paradigm implied...the dog that has an issue about cats needs to be desensitized where they are concerned. you can do this yourself, but it takes comittment. and remember to never let your guard down. your big dog can kill that little kitten in the blink of an eye. i would suggest watching videos on youtube and/or getting some dog training books that deal with adjusting behaviour in a positive manner. truly study the subject before you tackle it. as for litter, be very careful about using scented litters and crystals...some cats, especially kittens are highly sensitive to them and can die from them. the best litter is simple clay litter. it is the safest, as well as the safest on the environment. it controls odors very well. NOTHING will stop the stink when a cat first poops. that is something in the cats diet. perhaps you might consider getting one of those little room freshensers that you plug in that keeps the room smelling nice.

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2. 61

   paradigmsearchposted 11 years ago

   Take the one dog to cat sensitivity training. I originally meant this as a joke, but it wouldn't surprise me if such a service actually existed.

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3. 0

   Motown2Chitownposted 11 years ago

   Purina Tidy Cat has a scoopable litter for Multiple Cats and Small Spaces.  It works beautifully.  We only have the one cat, but we lived in a teeny tiny apartment for a while and we had to find something that worked and that was the one.  You may also want to try keeping it somewhere the dogs can't get to it as they tend to treat a litter box like a buffet.  BLECH!!
   
   Good luck!
   
   
   
   P.S.  If you can't find small spaces, the 24/7 works well also. Arm & Hammer also makes a powdered 'cat litter deodorizer that helps a LOT!

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   1. 52

      Makarraposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, I'll look into this brand.

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4. 89

   Theophanesposted 11 years ago

   Try Fresh Step® Crystals. It's expensive but it works amazing with odors for a single cat. The "crystals" are made of silica gel and they absorb the urine and dry out the poop pretty fast which makes it not smell anymore or at least a LOT less. You're not going to get anything better than that. If that fails you could consider building a cat walk where the cat could go over the dogs, through a hallway to another room. Of course you'd have to enclose it so they couldn't jump off and that might be more than you want to do.

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   1. 52

      Makarraposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The catwalk thing might be a little bit hard for me to pull off. But I'll try the Fresh step crystals too. Thanks

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5. 71

   bestcattreeposted 10 years ago

   The brand of litter you are using I feel is great. We have been using it for a little over a year now. We use it in combination with the Arm and hammer cat litter deodorizer that removes any litter smell at all. Also have you thought of getting a cat door that is too small for your dogs to fit through but allows the cat to use the litter box with the dogs intruding! They help as well.

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