Hey Pet Parents and Pet Lovers,
I got the opportunity to try out a litter deodorizer for the first time called NonScents Odor Control Cat Litter Deodorizer, and the experience was quite an interesting one.
As you may know, I have always been on the hunt for a better litter and have written a number of reviews about litters such as World’s Best Cat Litter (Multi-Cat), World’s Best Cat Litter (Single Cat), and BLUE Naturally Fresh Multi-Cat Natural Cat Litter (Alpine Meadow) but never had I considered using a litter deodorizer.
NonScents itself is meant to be gentle, leave litter pans scent-free, and not include harmful chemicals. Let’s get started.
Packaging
NonScents is very, very easy to use. We had three containers of them, which include a resealable lid. You’re going to want to make sure you don’t use too much of it, and sprinkle a thin layer right at the top, so having that control is extremely helpful.
The Initial Smell
I will admit, I’m not keen on the smell of the deodorizer. It smells a lot like bleach and can be unpleasant when you’re first putting the deodorizer into the litter box. Of course, this is going to feel different for everyone, and the good news is you don’t smell it from afar… so once it’s in… it’s in and scentless!
It’s a Bit Dusty
I will also admit that I’m not a huge fan of the dust that the deodorizer produces, especially because I spent so much time looking for a better litter that doesn’t dust. I haven’t heard any complaints from Beau so far (with coughing or anything), so that’s a good sign and it just may be my sensitivity.
Good news! It’s flushable!
This was one of my biggest questions when offered to review this product. I had to make sure it was still flushable as we don’t have a way to dispose of cat litter “organically” and have been using dissolvable litter for the past 3 years. When contacting the makers, they said that it should not be a problem at all to flush the product! Remember, you’re not using a whole lot of the product, so it shouldn’t affect the clumping of your litter.
It DOES hide the smell of poop!
I will say, I’m surprised with how well it hides the smell of poop, but I will also say when Beau poops the first smell that comes out is a weirdish bleachy smelling… well smell! This disappears fairly quickly, so if you come home from being out and your cat has pooped, it’s great! However, since I work from home it can be a bit alarming, but overall I think it does a great job!
Beau wouldn’t use it at first
Unfortunately, the first day we had the deodorizer Beau refused to pee or poop, not using the litter box for 15-hours, which is extremely concerning for us since he has a history of Urinary Problems. Because of this we actually set up another litter box that didn’t have the deodorizer and he immediately began using the litter. Shocked, I contacted the seller to ask what I could do to help my little one get used to the deodorizer and some of the advice they gave me was:
Thanks for the feedback. We have heard similar issues from other cat owners and the best way to introduce NonScents is to introduce it slowly. Start with a light application and gradually add more overtime so Beau can get used to it. We definitely don’t want to introduce something entirely different than what they are used to so drastically.
It took Beau quite a while to get used to the deodorizer and I made sure to still have one litter box that doesn’t have it (which he seems to prefer, although it’s unclear if it’s due to the location at this point or the deodorizer) just to make sure he always has a place to go. It took him about two weeks to start using the litter box semi-regularly and on the third week he used it fairly constantly (3-5 times a week). Although he was using it consistently, my partner and I didn’t know how much we liked the product.
It made my litter clump a bit weird
The final concern I had is that it made my world’s best cat litter clump a bit weird. Usually, world’s best makes perfect clumps that leave no mess, although now there are pieces of it that kind of fall apart. I think it’s because the material is so different than World’s Best, but I would assume it works better with regular clay litter.
Conclusion
All in all, I think NonScents is worth a shot. It does mask the smell of poops fairly well, I’m just not a huge fan of the bleach smell when you put it in the litter box and take out the poop. I know that that’s not going to bother some people, so if you’re one of them I say go for it! The smell it lets out when cats urinate is fairly odd too, but similar to the poops it goes away quite quickly! I’d rate it a 3.5/5 based solely on my experiences, but don’t let that deter you from getting it, because I can definitely see a use for it. If you are using World’s Best, maybe stay away though.
So pet parents, have you ever used this product and if so, what litter did you use it with? I’m curious to know if it’s just the litter I used that made me have a lukewarm experience!