27 Pet Products To Deal With Smells And Messes

Oct 19, 2024

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.

Things can get a bit messy when you own a pet, but these products will help you deal with fur, stains, and other ~surprises~ yours leaves behind.

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Promising review: "Where has this been all my cat-loving life? Sticky rollers work fine for clothes, but this is the only product that has ever COMPLETELY removed all the cat hair from my bed. I have a long-haired 20-pound tabby and if you run your hands up his back a few times and fling the hair everywhere, it looks like it's snowing — he never stops shedding no matter what I do. After using the ChomChom, I can put on a black dress and roll around on my bed and not get a single hair on me. It's absolutely amazing. Everyone is getting one for Christmas, even if they don't have a pet. I don't care, it's THAT good." —DH

Get it from Amazon for $21.99+ (available in two colors).

Promising review: "I bought this broom based on the tons of great reviews and I am not disappointed. I love this broom! It is lightweight but sturdy. I have used it on tile floors and carpet and it does a great job of getting the pet hair, lint, and dirt. I like this so much better than our traditional push broom. It is very easy to clean after use just using my hand, unlike our old broom. It also has a telescoping handle so that you can adjust it to whatever height you need. There is also a squeegee for doing the house windows and the car windows. I highly recommend it." —Joyce V

Get it from Amazon for $12.98.

Check out BuzzFeed Shopping Editor Emma Lord's full FURemover Broom review for more.

Promising review: "This this is like magic. Our van was nasty and covered with hair from a German and Australian Shepherd. Looked brand new after. Don’t think about just buy it. It will blow your mind." —Dan

Get it from Amazon for $12.69.

Rocco & Roxie is a family-owned small business named after the Magleby family's pets Rocco, a Labradoodle, and Roxie, a former shelter tabby cat. They make a variety of pet supplies, including cleaners, treats, grooming tools, accessories, and toys.

Promising review: "I have six elderly cats, and a few of them oftentimes leave smelly pee puddles to register their disdain at whatever cats get 'peed off' about. It's not a litter box problem and, although I've caught one or two of them doing it, I can't blame them all. This product works great on fresh messes as well as dried ones. After blotting up fresh pee pods, I saturate the area with Rocco & Rossi's odor remover and let dry. For dried stinky stuff, I just saturate the area and let it dry. It has a pleasant odor and completely eliminates the ammonia odor. Believe me, I've tried all kinds of products, and this one works the best. I buy gallons now just to have on hand. It's better than smelling that awful pee!" —mona mia

Get it from Amazon for $15.98+ (available in two sizes).

Check out our in-depth Rocco & Roxie Professional Strength Stain & Odor Eliminator review for more!

Promising review: "I have four dogs in NYC. I have to wash their feet after every walk because the streets are so filthy. It would take me about fifteen minutes to clean their paws with a spray bottle and towel. Now, it takes about five minutes. And the towel doesn’t end up filthy. The dirt gets caught in the cup, plus the dogs seem to like it. The silicone bristles must feel good. A huge thumbs-up!" —Sandra

Get it from Amazon for $14.05+ (available in three sizes, nine colors, and with or without a lid).

Promising review: "OK, so it might be a bit much to say that I’m ‘obsessed’ with dog wipes, right? Wrong, they are just that good. I’ve tried so many dog wipes but none compare to these. The wipes are extra damp (and stay that way even after opening) which means one wipe goes a long way. They also smell great, have a thick feel, and are hypoallergenic. I have a dog who has sensitive skin and we use these wipes after walks to get rid of allergies. Game changer. Try them out. You won’t be disappointed!" —I Only Shop Online

Get it from Amazon for $9.48+ (available in 100- or 400-count and lavender, wild oat, or unscented).

See what BuzzFeed editor, Jenae Sitzes has to say:

"When my mom first told me about this $500 automatic litter box she'd read about somewhere, my eyes just about popped out of my head thinking about spending that much on a thing that my cats poop in. But after thinking about it some more, I realized it's actually a pretty reasonable investment since I plan on owning cats forever but shamefully hate cleaning out their litter boxes as often as they really should be. I've been using the Litter Robot myself for three months now, and I'm pretty sure both me and my two cats are way happier for it. After a cat is done using it, the Litter Robot waits a set amount of time until the cat's presence is no longer detected, then begins to rotate, collecting the waste into a bag at the bottom while retaining the clean litter in the barrel. I usually don't detect a smell from it afterward, though once the bag starts to get really full, you might get a subtle reminder that you need to take it out. I only have to take out that bag about once a week, and a flashing light will let you know when it's full.

Initially, the cats were a little spooked by the sound of the Litter Robot during a cycle, and for the first few weeks, they would just sit and stare at it, as if it would get up and run at them if they took their eyes off it. At this point, though, they've completely adjusted and accepted it as their way of life, making my life a heck of a lot easier while ensuring they always have a clean bed of litter. It's a pricey purchase, to be sure, but if cleaning out the litter box daily or even every other day is hard for you and you'd rather not think about it much at all, I say the Litter Robot is worth it. One thing to note: It's quite large, so make sure you have a dedicated space for it."

Get it from Litter Robot for $549 (available in white or gray).

Reviewers say it works for both small and bigger cats alike! One reviewer's tip: Make sure the side without the grooved lid is facing a wall so that cats can't jump out that way (the grooved side is what prevents litter tracking).

Promising review: "I love this litter box for far more than the purpose I bought it for. It has an elegant design and looks so much nicer in my house than a normal ugly litter box. The box is deep enough and the cover is high enough that urine cannot possibly leak out. The cover to this litter box works so much better at getting the litter off my cat’s paws than a rug or mat, and my floors are so much cleaner because of that. I absolutely love this litter box." —Richard

Get it from Amazon for $39.99+ (available in five colors and two styles).

Promising review: "I adopted a conure recently, and the cage she came with was filthy! The white bars of the cage was covered in feces and food. The bars were so caked that it looked yellow. I took the cage into the bathtub and sprayed it down with Poop-Off and let sit for 10 minutes. Next, rinsed the cage with hot water, and it immediately looked brand new. I also tried this product on my conures sand perches, which were covered in waste. I sprayed Poop-Off and let it sit for five minutes, rinsed it with hot water, and gave it a little rub with my fingers, and it looked so clean! If I had used a brush, it would have made the perch look brand new." —Danny

Get it from Amazon for $18.99.

Promising review: "Absolutely perfect for Nugget, my 9 month old pug, it seems like he loves the feel of the brush since he happily sits for brushes. I can get about a baseball size collection of hair off of him and honestly still can keep going. It leaves his fur nice and soft and the brush is super easy to keep clean. I highly recommend!" —Tiffany Sparto

Get one for short/medium hair from Amazon for $13.99+ (available in two versions and eight colors).

Promising reviews: "I should have had this years ago. It is a flashlight, so it does not clean. I did not even know that the male dog had done a sprinkle in the living room. This flashlight lit it right up! You will be able to see the pet stains immediately. Absolute must have! My daughter got one after I told her about it. Same thing! Surprise areas that the dogs had stained." —Boomer

"OMG, this is disgusting!!! I hope this isn't all just cat pee that shows up cause there is a lot! I bought this because I thought my cat was peeing in one room and couldn't find the exact spot so I bought this. Found the spot and more. Would recommend." —Momof3boys

Get it from Amazon for $12.99.

Promising review: "Knocks out litter box odor like a champ. Let me begin by saying that I did not believe in air purifiers until I tried this product. After I added another Maine Coon cat to my condo, something had to be done to combat the litter box smell that was overtaking my upstairs hallway. I purchased the two-pack and have no regrets. You will notice immediate results in your home's air quality. One unit is enough to handle an open hallway with two litter boxes! I use the other in my living room to control the pet dander that sometimes floats in the air. Bottom line: Buy this product for crisp clean air that you will notice immediately." —Robert Robinson

Get it from Amazon for $69.94+ (available in two colors).

Promising review: "Does a fantastic job cleaning the algae — even old stubborn build-up growth — off the inside of my glass aquarium. Works even better than I expected, and the felt pad on the bit that's in contact with the outside of the glass does a decent job cleaning off any water spots and finger/hand-prints. Also, I have degenerative osteoarthritis, peripheral and small-fiber neuropathy, and hEDS (among other issues), all of which make it very difficult for me to do much of anything with my hands. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to use this thingy, but it was a lot less difficult than I thought it would be." —Frankie

Get it from Amazon for $7.58+ (available in two sizes).

Promising review: "I like the decoration style and simplicity this dog toy basket provides. I find it durable and spacious enough for several toys and bones. My dog likes the drag it into the living room and dump the whole thing out. She likes that she can easily move it around. I like that I can have it be in an easily accessible place that doesn’t distract from the rest of the room. I would purchase again." —Eileen Daniels

Get it from Amazon for $17.99.

Promising reviews: "Easy to use. Can't believe I've survived all these years without this. Highly recommend." —pangochic

"So I have one of those cats who chews on electrical cords. I can't begin to tell you how many cords she has chewed through — alarm clocks, lamps, and all of the charging cords for our phones. I was pretty sure I'd find her fried one day. I was hoping for ANY kind of help to get her to stop chewing, and then I came across these sleeves. They're easy to install and can usually wrap around more than one cord at a time, which is helpful for the TV equipment (cable box and DVD player). Just open the sleeve and slide the cords inside. So far, my cat hasn't chewed any cords since I encased everything in these sleeves! Be sure to have scissors available for install, since you can cut these to any length you want. I've purchased this same item twice, to outfit all of the exposed cords I could find!" —impossible girl

Get it from Amazon for $8.99+ (available in 15 sizes and three colors).

I Just Make Scents is a small biz owned by a husband and wife team. They sell hand-poured soy candles.

Promising review: "The item came QUICK and was AMAZING. Definitely exceeded my expectations. I LOVED the scent; everything about it was just perfect. I needed a candle to get rid of a pet smell in my home, and when I tell you, within ONE HOUR the smell was almost completely unrecognizable. I could not smell any dog back there!!! The dog smell was VERY bad and strong in my house, so I KNOW this candle is strong with taking out a bad smell in the house. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I really love it, and I’m about to buy five more candles and will continue to do so!!! Only thing I wish they had was a bigger candle 'cause their candles are quite small. … But I love them, and they do the job!!!" —Elicia

Get it from I Just Make Scents on Etsy for $11.99.

Promising review: "Buy this NOW! My husband and I absolutely love this little thing. We have used it to clean our cars, mattresses, upholstered chairs, area rugs, and our couch. It works great and is so convenient for almost everything. Easy to clean, easy to move. I did use this on our carpet to compare to my larger carpet cleaner and it did NOT clean as well as my larger cleaner did. It is excellent for spot cleaning, though." —Marianne R. Fezza

Get it from Amazon for $123.59+ (available on its own or with different cleaners).

Promising review: "This product is amazing!!!! We have a Rottweiler pup and a bichon pup and our house was feeling the PAIN! I tried everything and use to tell my wife, 'with all the science and technology in the world we still can’t come up with something that gets rid of the dog mark smell!' This product does everything and more. Just ordered another round. We were about to throw away some furniture due to the smell and now after use we can keep it. Saved me hundreds. Well worth the money." —clayton s tonkin

Get it from Amazon for $17.96.

Promising review: "I have cats who like to hang on my screens, and this stuff has held up now for almost two months without even one spot that has ripped. It is a little darker than my old screen, but once it was in window, you can hardly tell difference. Regret not getting this years ago." —jen k

Get it from Amazon for $16.78+ (available in four sizes).

Promising review: "Best advice I got when I brought my cat home was to get one of these. I bought this the day before bringing my kitten home as it was recommended to me by a friend. I didn’t think I would use it but got it anyway. … That was back in March; it’s now October. I use this thing every day! It hides the smell and makes cleaning the litter box a breeze. I really don’t mind it at all. I don’t smell cats in my house; it holds a lot of used litter. I only have one cat, and I change the bag once a month maybe. I hate the smell of cat litter, which is why I didn’t get a cat for a long time, but this thing makes me think to myself, I could have done this years ago! If you are thinking about getting it, get it. You’ll be so glad that ya did. It’s super easy to use, too." —Theresa

Get it from Amazon for $21.99. Refills available for $20.46.

Sunny & Honey is a family-run small biz that sells home cleaning products.

This can be used in pretty much all machines — Hoover, Bissell, Rug Doctor, Kenmore, Carpet Express. The solution works on all water-safe surfaces like carpets, rugs, furniture, and automobiles. Plus, it's biodegradable and nontoxic.

Promising review: "This works like a dream. I have light beige carpets, and this gets all the dirt and stains right out." —Karen M.

Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in two sizes and three scents).

This attachment fits most Dyson models. You can see the full list it works with on the listing page.

Get it from Dyson for $69.99.

Promising review: "We haven’t tried it on multiple sizes, but on standard cans, it works great! Fits right over our wet dog food and some canned pumpkin! It’s so simple yet so efficient! Only partial con is, the food can be hard to clean out if washing by hand." —Rosemary

Get a set of two from Amazon for $4.99 (also available in packs of three and five).

Promising review: "Owning two older dogs, and frequently fostering dogs, I have particular life experience cleaning up after dog accidents in the home. Bless their hearts, dogs are still animals, and animals have to potty sometimes outside the confines of generally accepted locations (i.e., outside). One of the most difficult urine messes is when there are hardwood floors they tinkle on. A dog peed in a corner of my living room, which of course has parquet wooden floor tiles, and which of course, I did not notice until a day or two later when the pee had already soaked into the wood parquet tiles, causing swelling and deep odor. Thankfully, I found Nature's Miracle specifically designed for hardwood floors. I was skeptical that it would work as well as the reviews noted, but it truly worked better than any other brand of urine cleaner that I have tried. It managed to effectively clean the stain, and eliminate the odor, even though the mess wasn't discovered right away." —HelloReese

Get it from Amazon for $13.23+ (available in two formulas).

Rare 3D Shop is a small business that sells unique 3D-printed products.

Promising review: "This is the only cover that has been able to deter my two cats from shredding our toilet paper! It is worth its weight in gold if you have toilet paper obsessed cats! It also goes perfectly with my bathroom decor! It's both functional and good looking! What more could you want??" —Erin Klodt

Get it from Rare 3D Shop on Etsy for $26.24+ (originally $34.99; available in three sizes and various colors).

Promising review: "I’ve tried a few different products for my dog. This one is the best for her. The smell is nice, and her coat feels softer, not sticky or rough. She gets a bath once a month, and my groomer can still smell it on her. (NO, I DON’T DROWN HER WITH IT.) I just giver her a light coat all over and brush her." —Danni Marie

Get it from Amazon for $11.80+ (available in three scents).

This robo vac can easily move between hard floors and low-pile carpets/rugs and can pick up all the accumulated dust, dirt, and hair while you go about your day.

Promising review: "First of all, I LOVE this vacuum. We have a smaller, single-level house with mainly tile floors and low pile carpet... and three indoor/outdoor cats. I hate vacuuming. The cats hated me vacuuming. The Eufy has solved both our issues. I hit the button in the morning or evening, and the little guy trundles around bouncing off of corners and chair legs and the occasional cat butt, and by the time it's done the floor is debris-free. I will say, it's far better at picking up hay bits and sand and cat fur than I expected. It does occasionally catch a stray cord, and it has gotten stuck on the rug with fringed edges a time or two, but for the most part it's really low maintenance and MUCH quieter than I was expecting. The cats, after an initial period of stalking it around the house, mainly ignore it entirely. It's only (slight) flaw is that longer strands of hair (mostly mine) and other strings/threads it pulls from throw rugs tend to wind themselves up around the brush. That said, it's super easy to remove and clean the brush once a week or so. The dust bin gets emptied every other use and hasn't been completely full yet." —SunnySD

Get it from Amazon for $199.99 (available in two colors).

The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.