Kitty litter can acquire a pungent ammonia smell. Ammonia is a weak base and can be protonated. As the cation (providently named) ammonium is much less volatile and odoriferous.
I propose that conventional clay cat litter be acidulated with a cheap acid like HCl. This will tend to protonate ammonia generated from the waste, preventing odor.
I suspect this might not work for fancier litter made of celluosic waste, as I think over storage time the celulose will hydrolyze and so consume the acid.-- bungston, May 04 2014 Cat pee pH http://jn.nutrition...S/T1.expansion.html6-7. [bungston, May 04 2014] HCl is very volatile - not only does it smell nasty itself, but I imagine it would soon evaporate.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 04 2014 Re HCl: Fine then. We can use citric acid. Everone likes the smell of citric acid.
Re pH: found a link stating pH was 6-7 of fresh urine. But I think the ammonia is a product of bacterial metabolism and shows up later.
If there were only some way to rig the litterboxes to produce potassium nitrate, which could then be used for homemade black powder fireworks. Maybe inoculate the litter with the correct culture?-- bungston, May 04 2014 //Everyone likes the smell of citric acid// except cats.-- FlyingToaster, May 04 2014 [bungston], if you could do that would the firearms be referred to as catapults?-- normzone, May 05 2014 So: "Grind cats to make a better mousetrap"?-- pashute, May 07 2014 //its mildly acidic //
Indeed - it turns forget-me-nots pink, just like litmus paper. I expect [nineteenthly] already knew that.-- pertinax, May 08 2014 I already like litmus paper.
Keeping the litter well aerated would favour nitrate over ammonia.-- spidermother, May 09 2014 /nitrate over ammonia/ I have noticed that the ammonia forms largely in the unstirred depths of the catbox. But it is the job of the cats to aerate the box, by flinging litter about with abandon.-- bungston, May 10 2014 The fundamental problem, surely, is allowing an animal to shit inside your house?-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 10 2014 Do you allow animals to shit inside your house, [Max]?
(If not, where do you go?)-- Wrongfellow, May 10 2014 The fundamental problem, surely, is the continuing existence of cats.-- bs0u0155, May 11 2014 Baked this up; citric acid version. It works great. Citric acid powder alone the bottom edge and then litter on top. No smell.
Catty folks: let me know how it works for you! Citric acid is cheap on line.-- bungston, Sep 19 2016 Not entirely sure I want to be known as a "catty folks" person. Not sure at all...-- blissmiss, Sep 19 2016 //Baked this up; citric acid version. It works great. Citric acid powder alone the bottom edge and then litter on top. No smell. // [bungston], I would award you the Maxwell S. Buchanan Award for Experimental Contributions to Halfbakery, if only such an award existed.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 19 2016 The problem: I might be prejudiced. Just as I want the curry I cooked up to be delicious and thus might perceive it so, I might want this scheme to work and will myself to smell less cat stink. How to prove quantitatively that there are fewer volatiles with the addition of acid?
I have a method in mind which involves hanging copper strips from the catbox interior. I think that copper will react with ammonia to produce a blue copper salt. The amount of blue on the strip should correspond with NH3 volatiles.
An interesting question, if this copper thing works, is whether the addition of a base increases smell. Base as sodium bicarbonate is routinely added to cat litter with the thought that it "binds odors". Could it be counterproductive?-- bungston, Sep 20 2016 Have you experimented with any formulae that release toxic vapours on contact with cat urine ? If not, we will sponsor you.
An enclosed cat lavatory with minimal ventilation and provided with a layer of kitty litter that releases hydrogen cyanide, or arsine, or formaldehyde, could make the problem self-solving.
<later>
Lithium cyanide. It's a stable crystalline solid at STP, and doesn't readily hydrolyse; but mix it with a weak acid solution, et violà ! Hydrogen cyanide is released !
Where shall we ship the first consignment of drums to ?-- 8th of 7, Sep 20 2016 One very nice thing about cats is they are moved to give love in proportion to detected hate. Thus when a cat hater is in proximity to cats, the cats are compelled to come and love.
8th, you invoked the Ludovico treatment recently. I can imagine a similar therapeutic endeavor for individuals with an aversion to cats (not naming names) in which the one being treated is somehow arranged such that he can do no harm. Cats then enter the room and instinctively proceed to love away all anticat badness that might be present. Carole King songs would play.
Rinse. Repeat. Different Carole King song each time, I think.-- bungston, Sep 20 2016 // One very nice thing about cats //
Tautology. There are no nice things about cats.
// the cats are compelled to come and love //
Interesting definition of "love". So, love consists of distributing large amounts of loose hair, numerous parasitic insects, disgusting odours and fragments of decaying vegetation over the object of affection ? Who knew ?-- 8th of 7, Sep 20 2016 Don't forget the delivery of freshly killed rodents. That's REAL love...-- scad mientist, Sep 20 2016 random, halfbakery