Smelly Kittens

Let's face it, while adorable and fun kittens can be smelly. That stinky diarrhea they get when they have worms, yeah not so cute. So when I moved back into my tiny apartment at school (I started fostering while living in Indy for my externship at HSI and my apartment was a lot bigger) I was concerned. How could I possibly keep the smell of kittens from filling my apartment? Well just the other day I had a friend over. We had been in class all day so I had no idea what I would come home to with the kittens alone. The second we walked in she exclaimed "It smells so...GOOD in here!" So I figure I must be doing something right! So here are some of my tips for keeping the odor away. 

My favorite product is the Pet Odor Exterminator (Plus it makes me feel like a Dalek saying it-- Doctor Who Reference anyone?!). It's a pet specialty product that some vet offices sell but you can also find it online. I love it! It doesn't just cover the smell but it eliminates it! It comes in all kinds of awesome scents and they also make candles! 

Clothesline is the scent I like to get- it smells so clean and fresh!

I also have a ton of air fresheners! Renuz-it has some awesome gel air fresheners that I like to place near the kennel.  

So many scents!

I also use the plug-in Wallflowers from Bath and Body Works. The plug-ins come in lots of adorable designs and you can choose from lots of awesome scents. I have one in each room of my apartment. 

There's always good deals on them!

When I thoroughly clean my kitten's kennel (which I do at least weekly- more if they make lots of messes) this is what I use--

First I shake out the towel, blankets, and mat into the kennel tray and vacuum out all of  the litter and food left in there. Then I spray and wipe down the tray of the kennel, the litter box, and the litter box mat with Clorox Cleaner & Bleach. 

Speaking of litter, I find that the type of litter you use makes a huge difference with odor control. I love the Fresh Step Crystals. It's a little more expensive but I think its totally worth it. I used it for Sophie and I use it for Merlin. I tried using cheaper litter for my foster kittens but ended up going back to the crystals. It really hides the smell and it's also a lot easier to clean up than some other litters. 

Okay so I might be slightly obsessed with my vacuum. It has a febreze filter so it leaves the carpet smelling nice and fresh! Speaking of febreze I spray it everywhere. The carpet, rug, furniture, its wonderful. They have a pet odor one that really works well. 

Then there's the lovely carpet stains. There's always one foster that throws up on the carpet, or tracks around diarrhea, wet food, you name it. I rely on my resolve carpet cleaner for this! It really works. It's taken care of all the kitten messes (its even taken care of large amounts of dog pee and black nail polish).

So those are the cleaning and air freshening products I really like. I would love to hear other recommendations, I am always looking for ways to improve!