Everyone wants their cat to be happy with their litter box situation, but sometimes odors can permeate throughout your home. Even the best cat litter can leave some odor, and depending on the type of litter you have and your home, that could lead to lingering odors.
While smelly cat litter is nothing new, foul odors coming from the litter can deter even your cat, leaving them to look for somewhere else to relieve themself. To get around this, many people turn to scented cat litter. But is scented cat litter bad for your cats? To get the best answer, you need to know how scented cat litter works.
What Is Scented Cat Litter? How It Works
Scented cat litter refers to any type of cat litter, scented or unscented, that comes with an intentional scent meant to mask odors. In most cases, these scents are subtle, but should work well enough to cover up any unwanted smells.
To give the litter a scent, cat litter producers add fragrances, perfumes, or other natural scents to mask odors.
While scented cat litter might be great for you, cats can react differently. Some cats may find the scented cat litter offputting, making them want to avoid their litter box. Other cats might enjoy that the litter box has a fresher scent.
So, while not outright bad for cats, scented cat litter might be bad for your cat.
What Is Unscented Cat Litter? How It Works
Unlike scented cat litter, unscented cat litter comes with no added scent. Of course, that doesn’t mean that unscented cat litter has no scent at all. For example, if you chose to use pine litter at home, the litter might smell like wood. Even clay litter can carry a scent.
What unscented cat litter doesn’t do is actively fight odors from a litter box. At best, the unscented litter can cover whatever is causing odors — however, the odors still remain under the litter.
That being said, many cat owners prefer to go with unscented litter as they find it to be the healthiest cat litter option. Unscented is also our pick for the best type of litter, though we do acknowledge that some cat owners find better success with scented litter.
Scented vs Unscented Cat Litter: Which Is Best?
If you’re stuck trying to decide between scented and unscented cat litter, the best thing to do is check with your cat! After all, your cat is the one who uses the litter box on a regular basis.
Cats can be incredibly picky, and that extends to their litter boxes. While some cats may prefer a scented litter, others may prefer unscented.
Anyone dealing with odors from a cat litter box at home doesn’t want to make the problem worse by switching to a litter their cat won’t use. When in doubt, stick with the litter that works best for your cat.
Final Thoughts: Is Scented Cat Litter Unhealthy
In the vast majority of cases, scented cat litter is perfectly healthy for your cat. While some cats might have an adverse health reaction to scented litter, most cats who don’t like the litter dislike it for the scent, not health reasons.
That being said, we believe that unscented litter is the best overall option. Of course, you always should pick what’s best for your cat.
If you’re interested in finding the healthiest cat litter option for your cat, it’s best to try multiple types of litter and see how your cat reacts to them. Any litter your cat doesn’t like could cause them to avoid their litter box, potentially leading to more odors and, in extreme cases, adverse health conditions for your cat. So, if you think you and your cat might prefer scented litter, give it a try!
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