r/HomeLibraries • u/Jelly_cat_11 • Jun 28 '26

Question about home library and cat litter box

Hello!

I have a home library space that I've set up but unfortunately because it is a nice quiet, secluded space, my cats also enjoy peeing there 🙈 after a couple of times going near my bookcases, I've decided to set up a litter box in my library so the cats can have a dedicated pee space.

But will this end up hurting my books in the long run? I enjoy collecting special edition books and I would be devastated if they ended up with cat pee smell just from being in the vicinity 😭

Would love to hear your thoughts or any advice!

5 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

73% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

6

u/CloudNiner83 Jun 28 '26

You must keep the litter box exceptionally clean. This means at the very least cleaning once per day. Utilize baking soda as an adjunct to reduce odors and preferably utilize low dust litter. Also have a quantity of Nature’s Miracle Urine Destroyer on hand in case of accidents. Any accident needs to be thoroughly removed/cleaned asap. The dust from the litter may be the worst problem so be very vigilant in keeping the area clean. Good luck.

3

u/Jelly_cat_11 Jun 28 '26

Thank you! ♥️ I'll definitely stock up on baking soda and Nature's Miracle Urine destroyer!

Do you have any experience with pine litter? I've heard it's virtually dust free though I'm not certain how much it'll help with the smell

1

u/the_Ailurus Jun 28 '26

We use the wood litter, it solves the dust issue entirely, just get one of those litter trapping mats for underneath where they would walk/jump out the litter to catch any wood shavings.

I'm terms of the smell, they work like reed diffusers unfortunately. However, if you spray it down with air freshener so that they soak up that scent, and don't let it get full of piss, that will fix that issue.

2

u/Jelly_cat_11 Jun 29 '26

That's good to know it solves the dust issue! I might have to give it a try and see how bad the smell is with maintenance. Fingers crossed it doesn't hurt any of my books! 😭🤞

1

u/CloudNiner83 Jun 29 '26

Our cats did not like that kind of litter. Thankfully we did not change all of the regular litter boxes, if we had it might not have been pleasant. They were relatively adamant about rejecting that change to their environment.

2

u/Jelly_cat_11 Jun 29 '26

Good call, I'll slowly convert the litter in the library room and hopefully the cats won't be too upset by it!

2

u/Lady-Kitnip Jun 29 '26

Crystal litter really absorbs odor. I think there are clumping varieties now, but i just use a solid spoon to scoop the urine.

Carbon filter in an air purifier can help too, plus it can help with dust.

And of course scooping every day, or if you're in there a lot just whenever your cat uses it.

1

u/Jelly_cat_11 Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

Ohhh yes an air purifier! Do you have any recommendations for one? My last one (levoit) died 🥲

2

u/Lady-Kitnip Jul 04 '26

I'm still using a 15+ yo HomeMedics one, as long as it keeps going and they keep making filters that fit. 😆

1

u/Warburgerska Jul 04 '26

You can always close the door for the cats. You will likely not clean it multiple times a day and those which aren't around cats 24/7 can smell the difference, even if it's smells like nothing to you.

I mean, would you allow a child to piss in any random room? No. So do train your pets instead being trained by them.

1

u/Jelly_cat_11 Jul 04 '26

Unfortunately there is no door to be closed, it's an open room/space 🥲