Cats don’t usually stink up the house if they are properly cared for. Urinating outside of the box or spraying urine to mark territory are the two main ways cats cause odors in your home. Unneutered males are most likely to have these issues, but any cat can spray or urinate outside of the box.
This tends to happen due to medical problems, stress, poor training, or lack of care.
In this article, I’ll talk about whether cats stink up the house and how you can stop a newly adopted cat from marking in your home.
Not if They’re Happy and Healthy—Usually
Most cats won’t mark with urine if they’re happy, healthy, and well-cared for. This includes veterinary care, keeping your cat indoors, and keeping their environment clean.
Most times, urine marking happens when a male cat is unneutered. The next common reason is stress or illness, followed by an unclean litterbox.
Cats who are allowed outdoors will naturally mark trees and other objects, and will also be more likely to spray indoors.
However, cats living healthy, happy lives in a clean environment can also spray.
And in some cases, you can actually be the reason your cat sprays. If you don’t provide at least two clean, suitable litterboxes, make training mistakes, or neglect your cat’s physical and emotional needs, this can all cause them to spray.
I’ll dig into these causes below and also teach you what not to do. Spraying is difficult to stop once it begins, so it’s best to do everything you can to not let it start at all.
Cats Are Naturally Clean Animals
A great thing about having cats as pets is that they’re naturally very clean. They learn to use the litterbox intuitively, bathe themselves, and don’t tend to make big messes—especially when they’re kept indoors.
As I discussed above, there are cats who this isn’t true for. Each cat is an individual with their own personality and traits.
However, most cats need very little clean-up: just brush them to lessen shed, keep the litterbox clean, and vacuum or sweep up litter and fur from your floors once weekly.
How to Stop Cats From Stinking up Your Home
1. Keep Them Indoors
Keeping your cat indoors is best for them and your home.
Outdoor cats live short, unhealthy, and stressful lives. They face many risks, including traffic, predators, disease, and cruel neighbors.
They also pose a risk to native wildlife, and many species have gone extinct due to outdoor cats!
Cats who go outdoors are also more likely to spray, as it’s natural behavior for them to mark their territory on trees and other objects.
Remember, there are no litterboxes outdoors—this can also be confusing to your cat during litterbox training!
2. Spay or Neuter Your Cat to Reduce Spraying
Intact males are most likely to spray, as well as exhibit other territorial behavior. Neutering your male cat will make him behave more calmly and increase his chance of living a healthy life.
When my cats weren’t yet neutered, they were also super destructive! They wanted outside to mate so badly that they broke through window screens to get outside.
This was super stressful on me as well, since my cats were new to the area and didn’t know it like they had their old, outdoor home.
Female cats should also be spayed due to the health and behavioral benefits it brings. Though females are less likely to spray, they can still do so. They will also be loud and potentially destructive while in heat and searching for a male to mate with.
3. Take Them to the Veterinarian
Cats should see a veterinarian once yearly for an annual check-up, and receive a rabies vaccine every 1-3 years, depending on which dose you purchase.
If your cat begins to spray, pee, or poop outside of the litterbox, you should bring them to the veterinarian right away. This is a symptom of several health problems, and only your veterinarian can tell you why your cat is behaving differently.
When you adopt a new cat, you should always bring them to the veterinarian as soon as possible. If you have other cats in your home, keep them completely separated until the new cat has been vetted and tested for common contagious illnesses such as FIV and FeLV.
4. Scoop the Litterbox Daily So They Use It
Cats won’t use dirty litterboxes. Some of them will put up with it for a while, stepping over their own mess to find a clean patch of litter. Others will avoid a box with a single poop inside.
If you aren’t scooping your cat’s litterboxes every single day, they’re eventually going to go outside of the box—creating a much bigger and more difficult mess to clean!
For particularly picky cats, I recommend scooping twice daily.
5. Scrub the Litterbox Weekly
Empty each of your cat’s litterboxes completely once a week. Scrub each box with soap and water (never harsh cleaners!), dry it, and refill it with fresh, clean litter.
In a household with one cat, you may be able to wait longer between deep cleaning the box. With more cats or if your cat is fussy, you may need to clean the litterbox more often.
If you ever notice a smell that doesn’t go away after scooping, that’s your sign that a deep clean is needed!
6. Provide at Least Two Litterboxes
A common mistake people make is only having one litterbox in their home. Even if you have one cat, the minimum number of litterboxes required is two.
Some cats will diligently use a single box, but it increases your chance of encountering problems.
For two cats, you should have three litterboxes, three cats need four litterboxes, and so on.
7. Place the Litterbox Where Your Cat Hangs Out Most
Litterboxes should always be placed where your cat hangs out frequently. Many people don’t like this, as our cats tend to spend time around us.
So, this means the living room might be the best place for the litterbox—but it’s better than your cat peeing on your couch instead!
A litterbox tucked out of the way is harder for your cat to get to. Some cats will go out of their way to use the litterbox, while others won’t—so it just increases your chance of encountering problems.
8. Litterbox That’s Big Enough & Easy to Get Into
The next thing to consider is litterbox type. Covered litterboxes are bad for cats and can also trap odors, making them less likely to use the box.
Your cat’s litterbox should be easy for them to climb into. Kittens or elderly cats might need shallow boxes so that they don’t have to jump to get inside.
Lastly, make sure the litterbox is big enough for your cat. It should be long enough for your cat to stand inside with all four feet.
Otherwise, they might have accidents by standing in the box with their back end hanging out!
9. Give Them Other Ways to Mark Their Territory
Marking territory with scent is how cats communicate, and it can’t be conditioned out of them entirely. Luckily, there are plenty of scent markers that our cats can smell, but we can’t.
For instance, a cat rubbing their cheeks against your hand is scent marking you! So is a cat winding their tail around your leg or scratching their favorite scratching post.
We can’t smell any of this, so it’s a great thing to encourage instead of spraying! Be sure to provide a few scratching posts and pads around the house to give your cat something to claw on and mark as their own!
These don’t have to be expensive, either—I’m a big fan of breaking down shipping boxes and letting my cats scratch them up!
10. Play With Your Cat Daily
A bored cat will have many more behavioral problems than a cat who gets plenty of attention and play time. This includes stinking up your home!
Play stimulates hunting for cats, keeps their minds and bodies occupied, and keeps them fit and happy. An average cat needs 30-45 minutes of play daily.
This should be broken into short 10-15 minute play sessions throughout the day. Before feeding times is best, but before bedtime or work are other great times to play with your cat.
11. Introduce New Cats Properly
Because spraying is a territorial behavior, it’s important to always introduce new cats into your home properly. It’s a slow process introducing two cats, but entirely worth it for them to have a healthy relationship going forward.
Start by keeping the cats separate and scent swapping. This might mean bringing the new cat a blanket your old cat always sleeps on so they can smell them.
Swapping environments can let your new cat explore the house with all of your old cat’s smells, and your old cat to smell your new cat in the room you’re keeping them in!
Once your cats get used to each other’s scents, you can begin introducing them by sight and eventually allowing the two to have supervised time together.
12. Implement Proper Litterbox Training
I’ll admit—I made a huge mistake when I adopted my oldest cats. I was a child at the time and didn’t realize they weren’t potty trained like dogs.
I would push them into the litterbox and try to keep them there until they peed, and it made them resent the box!
This is not how you litter train a cat. It can cause litterbox avoidance, which is when your cat refuses to use the litterbox due to bad experiences.
Instead, keep your cat in a small, easy-to-clean area when you first bring them home. Stick a litterbox inside, and your cat will likely bury waste in it naturally.
If they have accidents, clean them immediately and thoroughly. Any scent left behind will tell your cat to pee or poop there again.
Once they are using the litterbox reliably, you can widen their range throughout your home. Make sure you keep at least two clean litterboxes available to them at all times.
13. Protect Your Belongings
Sometimes, the best you can do is protect your things from becoming stinky. For instance, one of my cats used to think chairs and blankets were the comfiest spots to pee.
I purchased pet-proof chair covers for my chairs and kept blankets off the floor. This took away one of her favorite spots, and I could easily toss the chair covers into the washer as needed.
14. Clean Accidents Properly
Lastly and importantly, always clean potty accidents properly. If you don’t remove the smell, especially with urine, your cat will continue going in the area again and again.
Below, I’ll talk about how to clean up messes that your cat makes!
How to Clean Up After Cats to Avoid Stink
Cleaning Cat Poop
Cat poop is easier to clean than urine, but still no fun! Here’s how to do it:
- Use a paper towel to pick up the solid waste.
- If your cat has diarrhea outside the box, pick up as much of it as you can with paper towels.
- Saturate any stains with pet enzyme spray or hydrogen peroxide. Follow the instructions on your cleaner or wait a few minutes before dabbing the area clean with dry paper towels.
- Alternatively, use a carpet cleaner to soak up the stain and cleaner.
Cleaning Cat Urine
Cat urine can be cleaned entirely from some surfaces, while others are more difficult to get clean.
Here’s how to clean cat urine from carpeting and fabric:
- Use paper towels or a carpet cleaner to soak up as much urine as possible.
- Saturate the leftover stain with a pet enzyme cleaner or hydrogen peroxide. Follow your cleaner’s instructions or allow the hydrogen peroxide to work for a few minutes. Then, use paper towels to dab the area clean or soak up the cleaner and stain with a carpet cleaner.
- Repeat the above step as needed until the smell is gone from the area.
- Wash any fabrics that are machine washable in your washer.
Always test new cleaners on a small, discrete area to ensure they don’t stain or bleach your material.
To clean urine from hard surfaces:
- Use paper towels to soak up as much urine as possible.
- If possible, wash the item in a sink, tub, or with a hose outside using hot, soapy water.
- Otherwise, use a damp cloth and pet enzyme cleaner or hydrogen peroxide to wipe down the area thoroughly.
Porous materials, like wood, are more difficult—and sometimes impossible—to clean. It’s best to keep a cat who sprays or pees outside the box away from these items if possible so that they aren’t destroyed.
You can also consider coating furniture in clear, waterproof paint to protect it from damage.
Cleaning the Litterbox
- Scoop the litterbox once to twice daily.
- Empty and rinse the litterbox with soap and water once a week.
- Use vinegar to remove urine stains from the box if needed.
- Sweep or vacuum around the litterbox to pick up tracked litter.
Grooming Your Cat
Cats do not need baths—they actually cause more harm than good! If your cat is healthy, they won’t become stinky very often, if ever.
If your cat has trouble grooming themselves or gets into a big mess, you might need to help by using pet wipes to clean them up.
In rare cases, a cat is so messy that they need a bath. In this case, keep it as brief as possible and keep them warm afterward as they dry off.
Otherwise, the only grooming your cat needs is regular brushing, nail trims, and teeth brushing.
I am a freelance writer who specializes in the pet industry. My full bio