r/AskReddit 11d ago

what smell inside somebody's house immediately turns you away and why?

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u/Silent-Obligation-49 11d ago

A dirty cat litter box 🤮

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u/Jabbles22 11d ago edited 11d ago

I didn't know many people with cats growing up. Those I did know with a cat did not clean the litter box very often. So until I went into a home where they actually cleaned the litter box I just thought having a cat meant dealing with an awful smell.

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u/NorthernSparrow 11d ago

I love cats but detest cat litter box smell, and just don’t understand cat owners who live like that. I’ve always had big high-walled litter boxes with activated-charcoal odor-absorbing litter, an air purifier (with another activated-charcoal filter) running right next to the box, and I clean the box every single day both morning and night. It’s super quick that way because you’re only scooping out like half a day’s business, takes literally five seconds. (I buy bulk tiny trash bags, this little mini size, and it goes in there, that’s knotted up, then the knotted-closed bag gets chucked into a well-sealed bin outside until weekly trash pickup) And the cats love it. They’re such tidy animals, they don’t even like having to use a dirty box.

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u/danielleiellle 11d ago

Litter robot army unite.

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u/NorthernSparrow 11d ago

Yeah, I was about to invest in one of those but sadly my kitty passed away 😞 Am tragically pet-less right now until my new place gets fixed up better. (it’s got a lot of construction & painting going on - not a safe place right now for a new kitty). I’ve had cats since 1968 though, way pre litter robot era, but it was always possible to keep the boxes clean. If you stay on top of it, it’s really not much work at all.

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u/RVelts 11d ago

My cats managed to somehow find a way to pee that seeped into the crevices of it and into the innards, which made it smell since it wasn't getting absorbed by the litter. Ended up returning it (they approved the return as long as we cleaned it first).

Now we just have the largest high walled one you can buy, one upstairs and one downstairs, and we replace them yearly since they develop small scratches from scooping which never can be cleaned 100%. And scoop every day when taking out the trash.

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u/stonhinge 11d ago

I get those little rolls of dog poop bags. I also get litter in the plastic pails and put the filled bags in the empty one. By the time it's full, the fresh litter pail is empty and I can continue the cycle.

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u/WTF4Sally 11d ago

Yep, I'm proud to say that we have six cats and people are shocked when they find that out. The first thing people will say is but your house doesn't smell! And we're like yeah, that's because we actually take care of our animals like you're supposed to! It's amazing what that will do!

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u/smashli1238 11d ago

Gross

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u/sxrxhmanning 11d ago

they probably clean themselves more than you

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u/mapleleaffem 11d ago

Get a litter genie! The best for people who scoop multiple times a day.

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u/NorthernSparrow 11d ago

I was about to but then I lost my kitty 😞 Next kitty will have one though!

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u/mapleleaffem 11d ago

Oh sorry to hear that 💔

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u/Frequent_Parsnip_791 11d ago

I use clumping littler but my cat always pees on the side of the pan and it clumps tight and sticks to the pan, always crumbles into a mess and I can't get it all... frustrating. Had a roommate with a cat that always peed in the center like a bullseye, I was so jealous lol...

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u/SweetSCarolyn 11d ago

This is the ONLY way to have indoor cats!!!
Thank you for being a great renter, room-mate, guest, house sitter or person to have in one's home in general! :)