How to Neutralize Ammonia in Cat Litter
Cat litter is an essential part of taking care of a cat. Not only does it help keep your home clean, but it also helps to control the ammonia levels in your cat’s urine. When the level of ammonia becomes too high, it can cause health problems for both you and your cat.
If you’re a cat owner, you know the importance of keeping your litter box clean. Unfortunately, one of the main ingredients in most litters is ammonia, which can be unpleasant for both you and your cat. We’ll show you how to neutralize ammonia in cat litter using common household items in this post. Keep reading to learn more!
10 Ways on How to Neutralize Ammonia in Cat Litter
1. Baking Soda
Baking soda is one of the easiest and most effective ways to neutralize the ammonia in cat litter. Sprinkle a little baking soda over the top of the litter before adding fresh litter. This will help to absorb any excess ammonia and keep your cat’s litter box smelling fresh. In addition to using baking soda, you can also try adding a few drops of essential oil to the litter. Some good options include lavender or eucalyptus oil. These oils will help to mask the ammonia smell and make your cat’s litter box more pleasant.
2. Vinegar
Vinegar is another excellent way to neutralize ammonia in cat litter. Just add a few tablespoons of vinegar to the litter box and let it soak in for a few minutes. The vinegar will help break down the ammonia and keep your cat’s litter box smelling fresh. You can also add a few drops of vinegar to your cat’s water bowl to help keep their water fresh and free of ammonia. Just be sure to use a glass or ceramic bowl, as vinegar can damage plastic.
3. Use Lemons
The acidity of the lemon juice will help neutralize any ammonia present in your cat’s litter box. Cut a few lemons into thin slices and put them into the litter box for a couple of hours or until they have dried up. You can then toss them out, add fresh litter to the box, and replace them with a few more lemon slices. If you have a particularly stinky litter box, the lemon slices may need to be replaced every few days until the smells go away. You can also put a few drops of lemon essential oil into the litter box along with the fresh litter.
4. Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds are another great way to neutralize any ammonia in your cat’s litter box and leave behind a delicious aroma. Simply add some used coffee grounds to the litter box every time you clean it out and let them sit for a couple of hours or until they have dried up. 5. Baking Soda Baking soda is a natural deodorizer that can be used to absorb the odors from your cat’s litter box and leave behind a pleasant, clean scent.
5. Use newspaper
Newspaper is a great way to absorb excess ammonia in your cat’s litter box. Crumple up a few pieces of newspaper and place them in the litter box. The newspaper will help soak up any moisture and ammonia and keep your cat’s litter box smelling fresh. One of the things that you must not do is to give your cat any table scraps. This will make them beg all the time and also will make them not want to eat their food as much.
6. Use Fresh Fruit
Fresh fruit, such as apples or pears, have a sweet scent that will help to neutralize any ammonia in your cat’s litter box. Put the fresh fruit into the litter box and let it sit for a couple of hours or until it has dried up. You can then scoop out the fruit and replace it with fresh fruit every time you clean the litter box.
7. Use Catnip
Catnip is a natural herb with a strong scent that will help to neutralize the ammonia in your cat’s litter box. Sprinkle a small amount of Catnip over the top of the litter before adding fresh litter. This will help to keep your cat’s litter box smelling fresh and inviting.
8. Use Natural Pine Scented Disinfectant
A natural pine-scented disinfectant is a great way to neutralize the ammonia in your cat’s litter box and leave behind a fresh scent. Add a few drops of the disinfectant to the litter box and let it sit for a couple of minutes. The disinfectant will help break down the ammonia and leave your cat’s litter box smelling fresh.
9. Use Commercial Ammonia Neutralizer
If you have trouble neutralizing the ammonia in your cat’s litter box with any of the methods listed above, you can try using a commercial ammonia neutralizer. These products are designed to break down the ammonia and leave your cat’s litter box smelling fresh.
10. Keep the Litter Box Clean
The easiest way to keep your cat’s litter box smelling fresh is to keep it clean. Scoop out the waste and dirty litter every day and replace it with fresh litter. This will help to keep the ammonia levels down and your cat’s litter box smelling fresh.
Some Tips and Suggestions
1. Use a high-quality clay non-scented cat litter.
2. Scoop solids out of the box every day and monthly remove clumps from the bottom.
3. Rinse the box with water once a week, removing any urine-scented crystals from the bottom of the box as you rinse.
4. If using an automatic litter box, check the owner’s manual to see if it recommends non-clay litter.
5. If you use clay cat litter, get rid of the ammonia smell by sprinkling baking soda on top of the litter once a month before adding new litter. Once a week, scoop out solids and wipe down the box with a vinegar-dampened rag to remove any urine-scented crystals.
6. If you have more than one cat, have at least one litter box for each cat plus one extra box.
7. Place the boxes in different areas of your house where your cats spend time so they will have easy access to them.
Why Should You Neutralize Ammonia in Cat Litter?
Ammonia is not only the reason behind the smelly cat litter box; it is also hazardous for your feline friend. Ammonia is known to cause respiratory problems, eye infections, and even certain types of cancer. Thankfully, there are a few ways to neutralize the ammonia in cat litter. One way is to add baking soda to the litter box. This will help to absorb the ammonia and neutralize its smell.
Another way is to add white vinegar to the litter box. This will also help to absorb the ammonia and neutralize its smell. If you are using clumping cat litter, you can also try sprinkling a little bit of baking soda on top of the litter.
This will help to keep the ammonia smell at bay. If your cat is having trouble with litter box usage, you may want to try one of these methods to neutralize ammonia. Your cat will be a lot happier and a lot healthier, too!
Conclusion
You can neutralize the ammonia in cat litter with baking soda. It’s also essential to keep the litter box clean and dry, which is why it’s best if you don’t use clumping litter because they tend to get wet from urine more often than unscented litters do. Make sure your cat has plenty of freshwaters too!
In addition, monitor how many times your cat uses the box per day so that you know when they may need a change or additional cleaning. We hope this post helps you out on how to neutralize ammonia in cat litter and keep your cats happy and healthy!
If you want help figuring out what else might be causing an unpleasant smell around their litterbox, contact for professional advice today.
