How to Keep House Smelling Fresh When You Have Four Cats

Cats are fairly clean animals, but living with multiple cats requires a pet owner to use a little more effort to keep a house smelling fresh. Performing simple cleaning chores vigilantly should keep any feline odor at bay and lead to an odor-free home and a happy, healthy environment for the cats and owner.

Things You'll Need

  • 4 litter boxes
  • Cat litter
  • Litter scoop
  • Plastic bags
  • Disinfectant
  • Vacuum cleaner
  • Carpet deodorizer (optional)
  • Duster
  • Damp cloth or cat cleaning cloths (optional)
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Instructions

  1. Instructions

    • 1

      Keep the litter boxes clean. Litter is the main odor offender in a household with multiple cats. To keep litter clean, have at least one litter box for each cat in the house. That might seem excessive, but it helps prevent the litter box from getting full, causing cats to step in feces or urine and perhaps refuse to use the litter box at all. Scoop the litter at least once a day. For best results, scoop once in the morning and once at night. Use a litter scoop to remove waste and put it in a bag to dispose of it. Change all the litter in all four boxes once every week or two, depending on how often it is used. Use a disinfectant on the litter boxes when cleaning them to kill odor bacteria.

    • 2

      Keep floors clean. Keeping the carpets clean of cat hair and dander will help eliminate odors. With multiple cats, use a vacuum cleaner that is specifically made to handle pet hair. Cat hair is small and fine and will clog some vacuum cleaners, especially when you are cleaning up after four cats. If desired, use a carpet deodorizer when vacuuming. Use the vacuum to remove hair from cloth furniture as well. If there are no carpets in the house, keep floors free of hair and dander with a broom and mop or other hard floor cleaner.

    • 3

      Clean and dust surfaces. Most cats aren't confined to the floor. They like to jump on tables, chairs, beds and shelves. In a multiple cat household, each cat may even have its own favorite area. Clean hair, dander and even saliva from other household surfaces by dusting and cleaning routinely.

    • 4

      Clean the cats. Not all cats need help cleaning themselves; in fact, most don't. But if some of the cats are very old or very young or simply don't clean well, they may need a helping hand. Use either a damp cloth or cat cleaning wipes to give kitty a quick once-over. Chances are, it will prompt the cat to clean itself if it can. Also, cats that go outdoors tend to get more dirty and odorous than strictly indoor cats and might need a little extra cleaning.