How to Get Rid of Cat Smell in the House

If you are the lucky owner of multiple cats, you know just how quickly the mess can build up.

How to get rid of cat smell in house - Tabby cat and black cat lying next to each other on a gray couch, looking toward foreground.

You can accommodate your furry residents without having cat smell lingering on your furniture.

Your home can quickly devolve into a mess of fur and become tinged with the smell of kitty litter. Nobody wants that in the house. So how do you get rid of that cat smell?

If you’re thinking of adopting a cat, or if you have cats already, there are plenty of ways that you can adapt your house to accommodate your furry residents without having that cat smell lingering on your furniture and in your carpet. Here are a few ways to get started on removing it from your house:

Provide Multiple Litter Boxes (and Clean Them Regularly!)

It might sound counterproductive on the surface, but having one litter box per cat plus one extra can actually help to reduce that cat smell. You’ll want to spread them across your house in different rooms to combat territorial issues between cats and prevent any unwelcome accidents outside of the litter box. It can be tempting to hide the smell inside of covered boxes or litter box furniture, but think about how it smells in there for your cats! Open, uncover boxes, scoop at least once a day and dump and scrub at least once a month is the best recipe for keeping your home cat odor-free.

If you’re concerned about cat urine smell, investing in a good enzymatic cleaner can make all the difference. Enzymatic cleaners contain chemicals that break down urine smell and restore your home back to its original freshness. Some people swear by a water and apple cider vinegar mixture when it comes to ridding your home of cat smell naturally.

Lose Your Carpets

If you’re looking for how to get rid of cat smell in carpet, the best way is to lose the carpet altogether. While it may seem like a drastic change, the sooner you can get rid of the many carpeted spaces in your home, the better. Wall-to-wall carpeting can be a pain with multiple cats, as the floor covering can trap pet dander and other materials very easily. Hardwood flooring or other solid flooring varieties are the best choices for a multi-cat home and will help you stay on top of the constant cleaning you'll need to do to keep your home fresh.

Wash Your Fabrics Frequently

How to get rid of cat smell in house - Cat in a wooden cat tree in modern house.

Cat trees provide your felines a space of their own, helping to  keep the smell and hair contained to one place.

Whether it's your curtains, pillows, comforters, or couches, you'd be surprised by how quickly they can trap odors and affect the atmosphere of your home. You should make an effort to ensure that all of these linens can be placed in your washing machine. Use washable furniture covers for your chairs and couches to keep that cat smell out of your furniture. This will allow you to throw everything in one load of laundry and help control any pet-related odors that may be lingering in your home. You may want to use a laundry detergent or additive that is specially designed to combat pet odor, and dryer sheets designed to trap pet hair.

Investing in cat trees and create small nooks and hiding places for your cats to enjoy can also make a huge difference in controlling the amount of pet hair that ends up on your furniture. This will give your cats an enjoyable spot to view their habitats and provides them with a space of their very own so that you can keep the smell and hair contained to one place.

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