how to rid of cat pee?

Hi we have 2, 10 year old cats that share the same litter box. both cats are good and always use the box, but whoowe what a smell? is there any way to rid ourselves of the urine smell? I know there are products at the pet store, but are there any tried and true methods.
also one cat is a long hair, about 20lb and needs a bath real bad, i do not cherish the thought of bathing him. he's declawed, has all his matts combed out and is ready. how to proceed?

thanks for any help. snuffs

 

On the urine smell, I would 1st ask what type litter do you use? I use and recommend scoopable. It's the best thing since sliced bread. I keep the box in the basement and installed one of those grocery bag holders near it and every other day I just scoop it clean and with 2 cats we never have an odor. I buy the whatever's on sale brand of scoopable and a jug of it will usually last at least 2 weeks.

On the bathing I put them in the utility sink and us a hose turned on warm and low pressure. They will whine like they are dieing and mine will sometimes claw me if I don't hold them just right, but with yours declawed you've got it made. Make sure and don't get shampoo in their eyes and just buy a mild cat shampoo, nothing crazy and definitely don't use human shampoo, it will remove essential oils. When you are done and have all the shampoo rinsed out have a couple big towels ready. Use one to get the majority of water off and the second to wrap'm up to try and soak out as much more as possible. Then just let it go and your cat will do the rest.

 

Second vote on the scoopable litter.

Bathing a cat. I would check to see when the next appointment is open at the groomer's.

 

Male cats in particular will smell stronger than females. The best way to minimize the odour is to clean your litterbox very frequently - daily if possible. You can also periodically empty the box out completely, and wash it and the floor around it with a pet odour neutralizer like Nature's Miracle. Keeping a window cracked open may also help.

There are dry bath products available for cats, if you think that scrubbing him in the sink is likely to be an epic struggle.

 

With the long haired cat and bathing, use baby products and use a conditioner - be sure to rinse well so no conditioner is left on the skin, but the fur is conditioned. I doubt that you will be able to get the knots out of the fur if they are really bad, but you can cut INTO them and pick them out that way. If you cut the knots out parallel to the cat, then it leaves gaps. Cutting into them will help detangle, without leaving that gap in the fur.

With furball, the long haired male, I had to change to a urinary tract care type food as his urine smell became VERY strong as he got older. Cleaning the cat litter two or three times a day was a must, and I also had to scrub and disinfect that box itself at least once a week. As mentioned above, using a clumping litter will help a lot. They seem more expensive, but in reality they're not. Since it clumps, there is less litter affected than using regular cat litters.

Kay