How To Mask The Cat Smell In Your Home

We adore our feline friends, but just because we cohabitate with cats doesn’t usually mean that we want our homes to smell like cat odors. Cats are clean animals regarding their grooming regimen, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t smells associated with cats.

The good thing is, it is perfectly possible to live with cats and not have your guests turn up their noses when they walk into your home. If you’re in search of some tips and tricks to mask the cat smell in your home, you’ve landed in the right place.

To Mask The Cat Smell In Your Home, Don’t Slack On Your Vacuuming Routine.

Cat shedding is a fact of life unless you share your home with a hairless cat. (And you might find it surprising that hairless cats require regular baths to eliminate their smell which is not absorbed since they lack fur.) That said, cat hair floating all over your home can make your home smell like cats.

But vacuuming regularly can easily work to reduce the smell of cat odors in your home. If your cats love to lounge on your cloth sofas and chairs, ensure that you are sucking up the hair on your furniture, too.

Also Read: The 5 Best Vacuum Cleaners For Pet Hair

And when you are finished vacuuming, dump out the sucked-up contents outside in your trash and not in your home. This works to remove the smell. You can also clean your vacuum regularly if it allows washing/cleaning.

Be Sure To Change Out Your Air Filters Regularly

Just as we mentioned with the vacuuming, you’ll want to be sure that you keep up with changing out your air filters on a routine basis. Even for cats that don’t shed much, they still shed—and those loose hairs will float in the air and get sucked right into your air filters.

Avoid Heavily Performed Scents And Work To Neutralize The Odors.

When you want to make a conscious effort to mask the cat smell in your home, you’ll need to neutralize the odor with scents.

Overpowering perfume smells can not only irritate your cat’s delicate sense of smell, but it won’t do any good about masking the cat smell in your home. These heavy scents matched with cat odors will make your home smell worse. Instead, choose neutralizing smells, such as citrus scents.

Be Sure To Choose The Right Litter And Litter Box To Mask The Cat Smell In Your Home.

You can make all the effort in the world to make your house not smell like cats, but if you aren’t using the right litter and litter box, all that work is basically for nothing.

Some cats can be finicky about the type of litter that you use, but all cats want privacy when they’re relieving themselves. Choose a low-traffic area of your home and use a quality clumping litter that works 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 having an additional litter box. Ideally, one for each cat. For more advice on litterboxes, check out this article here.

Purchase Odor Traps To Lock In Smells And Strategically Place Them In Your Home.

You’ll definitely want to put these near your cat’s litterbox, as they will work to lock in the litterbox odors by neutralizing the smell. Additionally, you can strategically place dryer sheets in your home to help keep it smelling fresh. You can also use scented plug-ins to mask the cat smell in your home, but be mindful of the smells which might bother your cat.

Remember To Clean Your Cat’s Litter Box Daily.

You wouldn’t want to use a dirty restroom, nor does your cat. Cats are more likely to relieve themselves outside the litterbox if it is dirty. So, be mindful of keeping their litter clean for them, having the right amount of litter in their box, and mix baking soda or other litter odor lockers in to keep the litter box fresh.

If you have secure window screens, airing out your home—especially the room where the cat’s litterbox is placed—is always a good idea.

Keep Your Cat’s Blankets/beds Cleaned Regularly.

Just as you wash your bedding regularly, be mindful of keeping your cat’s favorite blankets/beds cleaned regularly. Your cat is great at keeping themselves clean, but they cannot be made responsible for cleaning their areas in their homes.

That’s your duty as their devoted cat mom/dad. Additionally, many cat owners will rely on cat wipes to help keep their cat’s coat smelling fresh. You can resort to bathing your cat should you wish, but the wipes should suffice.

If You Need To Remove Cat Pee Odor From Carpets, Try This.

As much as we adore our feline friends, dealing with cat urine stains is never fun. The ammonia-like odor that cat urine emits is not subtle by any means, but with water, white vinegar, and baking soda mixed together, this can help to trap the odor, remove the stain, and hopefully eliminate that smell.

Now that you’ve learned the best tips and tricks to mask the cat smell in your home, check out this next article full of life hacks for cat owners.