Baking Soda & Kitty Litter - Is it Safe?
 

[B][FONT="Book Antiqua"][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][B]I wish to find ways to lessen the odors coming from the kitty litter box. I use a very large and deep thick plastic box to hold the litter, and although I keep it very clean, and as it is in a space where there is no window, I often find myself in a "gagging" mode. :cry: because of the odor. I have tried placing an open container of vinegar in the area in the hopes that it will help....but I don't find any huge difference. I was thinking of mixing in a small box of baking soda into the clumping litter (which is the only type I can afford).

I have been wondering about the effects of using additional baking soda mixed into the kitty litter. When our cats lick their paws, and thereby consume some of the baking soda - over time, could it cause any health problems? :shrug: I would appreciate the opinions of other cat owners:grouphug: who may have been wondering about this also? Thank you![/B][/COLOR][/FONT][/B]

Are you using clumping clay? Nothing helps that one I think. Try to stay away from scented ones too! Not sure about baking soda. Cost wise is it way too much to try other litters?

Clumping clay is bad enough for them if they swallow enough of it while they are cleaning their paws. Why add more junk?

How much do you spend on your clay litter? How often do you change it? I bet if you figured it out you would find you are probably spending more on the clay than you would on a good pine or wheat or corn based litter that lasts a lot longer. A 35 pound (I believe) bag of Feline Fresh pine litter costs $42 plus tax at Pet Valu. You fill up the litter box and just replace the pine as it gets used. A large bag would last one cat for two to three months. There are smaller bags available as well. Swheat Scoop (wheat based) is cheaper and works as well. I just can't get over the smell of the wheat.
Lots of options out there.

[QUOTE=VIOLET0019;1046758][B][FONT="Book Antiqua"][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][B]I wish to find ways to lessen the odors coming from the kitty litter box. I use a very large and deep thick plastic box to hold the litter, and although I keep it very clean, and as it is in a space where there is no window, I often find myself in a "gagging" mode. :cry: because of the odor. I have tried placing an open container of vinegar in the area in the hopes that it will help....but I don't find any huge difference. I was thinking of mixing in a small box of baking soda into the clumping litter (which is the only type I can afford).

I have been wondering about the effects of using additional baking soda mixed into the kitty litter. When our cats lick their paws, and thereby consume some of the baking soda - over time, could it cause any health problems? :shrug: I would appreciate the opinions of other cat owners:grouphug: who may have been wondering about this also? Thank you![/B][/COLOR][/FONT][/B][/QUOTE]
What smell the worst the poops or the urine? If is the poops it could be the food your cat(s) are eating. Does the poop look OK to you, is it runny ?

Baking Soda & Kitty Litter - Is it Safe?
 

[B][COLOR="MediumTurquoise"][FONT="Verdana"]I appreciate all of the replies. I am using non scented clumping clay litter as it is the only type that I can afford. ($5.99 for 15 kg.) If I ever will be able to afford it (miracles may happen?!:pray:) - I would definitely change over to better litters..... All my pets eat the top holistic foods and also from the Vet - Royal Canin/Medi Cal (as this is absolutely necessary for health reasons!) and I go without, in order to have my pet's needs taken care of! The odor is urine type (not poop type). I think I will try placing baking soda at the bottom of the litter box, and perhaps place an even larger container of vinegar in the area. And I will pray that the baking soda will not cause them any harm. Again - thank you fellow members, for your replies! [/FONT][/COLOR][/B]

If that's the one you can buy that's fine. There are better ones but we all do the best we can for them.There's always things to ease the smells.
Arm & Hammer sells a litter deodorant for about 3.50 dollars. Sprinkle a bit daily or every other day.
Having a covered litter box helps too and scooping daily as well.
I've tried other deodorants but so far the Arm & Hammer seems to be the most efficient.
I tried a wonderful pine litter once but Scully absolutely [U]r e f u s e s[/U] to use it. So we're stuck with the regular cheap one too.

P.S. BTW Royal Canin is totally over rated and VERY expensive there are other options of high quality (better than Royal Canin) and better prices like Go, Evo, Wellness, etc. They're more expensive than your grocery store food but not as expensive as Royal Canin.

Hi:

I used to mix baking soda in the clumping litter about 14 years ago, and it did help somewhat. But I did find I was using a fair amount of it at the time with two cats. I ended up buying the baking soda at the farmers feed store in a 50 pound bag it was the cheapest, because it was meant for cattle feed and not for human consumption. I know at the time a lot of people were using baking soda with the litter, to help kill the smell of urine and I don't recall any ill effects from it.

A few years ago, when Swheat Scoop was relatively new on the market I switched over to it because I thought it would be healthier for the cats, and it appeared to be a bit cheaper. I now have five cats and a 40 pound bag of Swheat Scoop will last me a little over a month by a few days. The price of a bag is about $35.01 including tax. And when you divide that between five cats it comes out about seven dollars a month per cat. I don't know how that would compare with today's price on clumping litter, but a 40 pound bag of Swheat Scoop should do you about five months. They do make it in smaller bags, but I haven't done the calculations to see what it would come to cost wise.

I haven't tried either the corn-based or the pine litters. So I can't give you any breakdown on them, but I do know they come highly recommended by those people who use them, and when using these litters the, oder is nonexistent. What I like about these litters is you can flush them or you can add them to the compost in the backyard. Unless you are on a septic system then I wouldn't advise flushing.

As mentioned by "14+ kitties" above, the clay litters pose quite a hazard. They will swell up to 20 times their size when wet, depending on the brands, so you can imagine what it would do inside a cat or dog if swallowed. It will really clog up the works, not to mention what the bentonite clay does to the landfill. Anyhow, check out your cost for clumping litter compared to mine and see what is the cheaper. You would have to go to the large bag of Swheat Scoop for a better price. I do know where you're coming from on the price, but I think you'd be a lot happier with some of the newer litters on the market. What would make it handy is if we had some feedback on the cost per month from other people and the type of litter used.

This will give you something to think about anyways. And if you do decide to change litter, make sure you read the instructions on the side of the bag on introducing your cat to the new letter.

Regards, your last post. I can't comment on the use of vinegar I haven't tried it. If the smell of the vinegar is too strong that could repel the cats from the litter area. Their noses are about 14 times more sensitive than ours to smell. Something that you should be aware of is air fresheners. Some of them carry essential oils and can be very detrimental to the cats health especially when used in a confined area. So if you're going to try and mask the smell make sure you've done some research into what you are using as a masking agent.

[QUOTE=VIOLET0019;1046795][B][COLOR="MediumTurquoise"][FONT="Verdana"]I appreciate all of the replies. I am using non scented clumping clay litter as it is the only type that I can afford. ($5.99 for 15 kg.) If I ever will be able to afford it (miracles may happen?!:pray:) - I would definitely change over to better litters..... All my pets eat the top holistic foods and also from the Vet - Royal Canin/Medi Cal (as this is absolutely necessary for health reasons!) and I go without, in order to have my pet's needs taken care of! The odor is urine type (not poop type). I think I will try placing baking soda at the bottom of the litter box, and perhaps place an even larger container of vinegar in the area. And I will pray that the baking soda will not cause them any harm. Again - thank you fellow members, for your replies! [/FONT][/COLOR][/B][/QUOTE]

Are you cats drinking enough water ? What kind of health issues does your cats have, could that be why their urine smell so strong??

Which Royal Canin food are your cats on? Why are they on it?