CatBlogger, Author at MyThreeCats.com CatBlog

5 Tips for Keeping Your Cat-Occupied Home Smelling Fresh

5 ways for keeping your cat-occupied home smelling fresh

Sharing your home with cats has many benefits but one of the downsides is that owning cats also means owning the odors that come along with them.

The irony of course is that cats themselves don’t smell! In fact, they are fastidious about cleanliness. The “smell” people associate with cats is usually because the humans aren’t doing their part to keep things clean.

Bacteria are usually the source of smells, so focus on areas where these bacteria breed and grow and you can catch odor early before it gets bad.

Here are 5 ways to keep your home fresh, whether you have one cat or a whole gang of them.

1. Start With The Litter Box

Not surprisingly, litter box smell can be overpowering and permeate your entire home if left unattended. Make sure you are scooping litter boxes at least once a day and more often if you can. Then, get that waste out of the house quickly!

Consider sprinkling a bit of baking soda in the bags you use to collect the litter box contents. This might help keep the odors in check in your outdoor garbage until garbage day. Another great use for baking soda is to sprinkle some at the bottom of the litter box to help absorb odors.

Even if you’re scooping regularly, make sure to change the litter completely a couple of times a month because bacteria remain in the box even after you scoop.

Wash out the box with unscented soap and water each time you change the litter and remember to replace the entire box once or twice a year. Also, be sure to check out the litter boxes and accessories at MyThreeCats.com!

2. Investigate the Entire House For Smells

If you can’t easily determine the source of an odor in your home, do some detective work to find out if your cat’s doing his business outside the box. Check corners, behind furniture and in closets to find out if your cat’s been peeing or pooping where he shouldn’t.

Also check along walls and the walls themselves to determine if you have a spraying cat. If your cat has been using a spot in your home as his alternative potty spot, use an enzymatic cleaner to clean the area or items or, ideally, throw them away.

Also, it’s important to remember that if your cat is peeing or pooping in strange places, please schedule a vet visit. Sometimes this type of behavior is a symptom of a medical issue.

3. Get the Vacuum Out

If you have cats or any type of pet, be diligent about vacuuming. And don’t stop with the carpet. Make sure you regularly vacuum rugs, couches, chairs and even draperies to capture fur, dander and, yes, odors. Again, sprinkling baking soda on carpets or furniture and then vacuuming it up can help keep things fresh.

4. Wash Cat Beds and Blankets

Don’t forget to wash your cat’s favorite blankets or cat bed on a regular basis. Remember, your cat’s paws dig in the litter box several times a day. There’s bound to be some transfer of germs and odor-causing bacteria. Keep those snuggle spots clean!

5. Keep Food and Water Area Clean

Your cat’s food and water areas are another prime breeding ground for bacteria. Sitting water, like the water in your cat’s bowl, can quickly grow bacteria, eventually leading to an unpleasant smell. And, you certainly don’t want your cat drinking out of it! Wash the water bowls and replace with clean water at least once a day.

Food that sits out can also lead to a smelly mess. Make sure to clean up spilled kibble and especially chunks of uneaten canned food that your cat may have missed.

Just because you have cats in your home doesn’t mean it has to smell like you have cats in your home! Keep on top of regular cleaning and be aware of stinky trouble zones, and you’ll have a fresh clean house for everyone in your family to enjoy!

Do you have a tip to share us with us? How do you keep your cat-occupied home smelling fresh? Let’s chat about it in comments below!

Bottoms Up! 9 Ways to Get Your Cat To Drink More Water

We can all benefit from drinking more water and your cat is no exception.

A cat’s good urinary health is associated with drinking plenty of water. Making sure your cat gets enough fluids can help avoid urinary tract issues like infections, urinary stones or, with some male cats, a blocked urethra. In addition, good hydration contributes to good digestive health, healthy skin and coat and more.

The challenge is most cats don’t drink enough water. They’re just not that thirsty.

We all know you can’t make a cat do anything he doesn’t want to do, but here are some strategies to keep your favorite feline hydrated and healthy:

Ice it down! Place a couple of ice cubes to your cat’s food to add some moisture. Some cats think it’s a little treat. The ice ends up tasting like the food and while your cat licks the yummy tasting cube, he’s getting some additional water.
Speaking of ice cubes… throw some in your cat’s water to make it more interesting. Some cats prefer icy cold water, too.
Make sure you have fresh water in bowls and cups on every floor in the house, or in the rooms where your cat hangs out the most. Take note of what kind of container your cat seems to prefer and use plenty of those.
Change the water and wash out the bowls and cups often. Have you ever had a drink out of a glass of water that’s been sitting around for a few days? Yuck. It doesn’t taste good to your cat, either.
A little flavor might spice up the drinking experience. Add a bit of chicken broth or tuna juice to the water and see if your cat likes it.
Try a cat fountain! Fountains provide fresh, constantly moving water, which may capture your cat’s interest. And, while it might take a couple of days for cats to get comfortable with the fountains, most of them take to it and plenty of them prefer it. Visit MyThreeCats.com to choose from many different fountains for your cat!
Feed your cat a mostly canned food diet. There’s a reason canned food is also called “wet” food; has more moisture in it! This is the easiest way to get more moisture in your cat’s diet and most cats love it.
If an all-canned food isn’t in your budget or your cat doesn’t like it, try adding a bit of water or low sodium chicken broth to his dry food to see if he likes that. I’ll bet he does!
If you can, feed your cat more frequent, but smaller, meals. Eating usually encourages thirst so this may get him to drink a little more and more often.

Water intake is one of the most important elements to good feline health. Make sure to keep an eye on your kitty to make sure he has plenty of opportunities to chug-a-lug!

Have you had success with other strategies to get your cat to drink more water? Share them with us in a comment below!

Make a Difference for Hungry Pets in May

Did you know that in the month of May, many animal welfare organizations are even more focused than usual on providing food for animals in need? Of course, this is a year-round problem, but this month we’re looking at ways to really step up our efforts to make a difference for homeless and needy pets, and we’d love to offer a few simple ways that you too can get involved. Here are just a few ideas:

If your house is anything like mine, you probably have some unopened food that perhaps your own pets won’t eat. I can promise you that your local animal shelter or pet rescue would be grateful for the donation;
How about organizing a pet food drive? This is a great activity for your child’s school, your church, the company where you work, even your neighborhood to take part in because it can make such a difference for hungry animals.
Similar to a food drive, consider setting up donation stations at local businesses, churches, grocery stores, and other places where your friends and neighbors are sure to visit.
Do you have a local pet food pantry? Consider making a donation this month. Click here to see a listing of a few pantries through the United States. If you don’t see your state there, try Googling to find one in your area. If there’s no local pet food pantry, reach out to people food pantries; they often distribute pet food, too.
If you own your own business, how about giving discounts or small gifts to customers who bring in pet food donations throughout the month?

It’s so easy to make a difference for hungry pets, and often it doesn’t cost that much – if anything at all. But it does take all of us getting involved and giving a little bit of ourselves to help those who aren’t as blessed as we are.

What will you do to support homeless and needy pets this month? We’d love for you to leave a comment below, or feel free to connect with us on our Facebook page!

May the 4th Be With You

Because today is Intergalactic Star Wars Day, we thought it might be fun to take a look at the top 5 Star Wars cat names. What do you think of these?

We talked about popular cat names last week, but I don’t recall any of the above being on that list!

What’s your cat’s name, and how did you come up with it? Did it originate from a movie, like the names above? We’d love to hear the story!

What’s In a (Cat’s) Name?

How did you come up with your cat’s name? Is it a name you first heard in a movie? Or maybe a television character? Or maybe it’s simply one of the long-time tried and true pet names like Tiger or Boots?

We love this infographic because not only does it tell us the most popular male and female cat names, but it also gives us a little insight into the ways that we humans come up with these names. Take a peek, and then we’ll chat some more below.

Is your cat’s name on this list? Leave a comment and tell us the name of your cat, as well as how you decided upon that name! This’ll be fun!