Am utterly sick of my house smelling of cat poo, feel like we compromise too much of our lives due to the cats, just having a moan really

[sweetkitty]

I have 3 cats, 2 boys and a girl, had them for 12 years and 9 years.

This is a typcial day for me, come down in the morning and before I get into the living room I can smell cat poo, the entire downstairs stinks, the trays are located in a quite deep cupboard in the kitchen btw, so before I even get myself or the DDs breakfast I have to clean the litter tray as the smell is so bad I am almost throwing up. So I clean the trays out, make breakfast and shout the other DDs, meanwhile one of the cats has jumped on the table and is licking milk out one of the cereal bowls so I have to make new breakfasts. hvae to vacuum the kitchen floor immediately after breakfast as there is spat out food and cat litter all over it, oh and most mornings before I even do the litter trays I have to clean up sick and spat out food in case DD3 eats it.

Every time I go out or upstairs I come back down to the stench of cat poo as everytime one goes it stinks so I have to go and clean it or if they eat I have to pick up the spat bits of food up.

I don't want to invite friends down as if one of the cats goes to the toilet the whole house will stink of shit again and it is so embarrassing. I have a plug in air freshener in the cupboard, as well as a solid air freshener and a spray when they have gone but it still doesn't cover up the smell, I have the door open as much as possible too.

I am just utterly sick of it, I also cannto shit any doors as they stratch up the carpet and my hall carpet is ruined, have to have throws on the arms of the sofas as they scratch them.

Nightime once the DDs are in bed, DP and I spend the night either clearing up sick or scopping cat shit out the litter tray and I feel the house just stinks constantly. Oh and one of them shit on the living room floor last week, I thought I had cleared it all up but oh no crawling DD3 found some and ate it

Only one of the cats goes outdoors oh and he poos in the middle of the garden so I have to clean that up before I can let the DDs out to play.

I feel I get no enjoyment from the cats whatsoever now, sometimes I feel guilty as I know it's not their fault, they are too old to be rehomed or be outside cats now. I feel like I am just waiting for them to die now but they could be around for another 6 years meanwhile I have to put up with a house contantly stinking of shit

Thanks if you have read this far bit of a whinge and moan, any ideas would be appreciated.

[NeedOpinions]

You need one of these! {grin]

[flashharriet]

Do you have a cat flap? If you do, when you get up I would put the cats outside and set it to closed. Then you can clean the litter tray and give the DDs breakfast without interference from the cats. If you haven't got a cat flap, I would just shut them outside.

It's hard to give more advice without knowing the layout of your house - can you describe the layout?

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Some litters are loads better for absorbing smells than others. Our 3 cats don't smell at all. We use catsan clumping along with a good sprinkle of bicarb mixed in. Different litters seem to work for different cats. They are probably a bit old for changing diet but diets do have an effect too.

[Joolsiam]

I have two that, although outside cats, use an indoor litter tray - one of them is practically odour free and the other one stinks to high heaven for 5 mins, then the smell goes.

If the stink is really that bad, I wonder if a vet check is in order ? They're not on Whiskas are they ? That made my old boy very stinky and loose.

Whilst on that subject - what is the consistency of what you are scooping ? If it is a little loose - again, the vets may be able to advise. My old boy ended up with an overactive thyroid, which was causing smelly poos as his digestive system was working too quickly. A very cheap daily tablet fixed that

I have a large covered tray downstairs - it has carbon filters in the top (which I change regularly) and that seems to do well at absorbing smells.

I have a problem with one of mine not always weeing in the tray, so am using more expensive litter called Cat Attract - will help if one of the cats is going in inappropriate places as it really works to attract them back to the litter box and retrain their behaviour. I was at the end of my tether and on the verge of very reluctantly rehoming, but this fixed the problem www.rlpetproducts.co.uk/products_03.php?m=1&s=4

If the tray was really stinky and the cat couldn't wait, that could be a reason for "going" elsewhere - they are quite fastidious animals

[sweetkitty]

Thanks for the replies I know it was a bit longwinded

needopinions - I have actually started looking at that catgenie and thinking where could I put it?

flashharriet - no cat flap, doubt they would use it, two of them hardly ever go outside, I have tried shutting them out if we are painting etc or they have been out accidentally, one of them hides and won't come back, seriously! Last time he was gone 4 days in the snow, finally found him between two fences within calling distances of the house, he could have easily got out, cue DP having to scale the fences and through this little gap to "rescue" him he ended up getting stung by nettles, scrapped all his arm.

house is a small modern build, open plan living/dining room, through to kitchen which is small with one walk in cupboard in which the litter trays are located, door to cupboard is left about an inch open to allow them in and out.

Ohyoubadkitten - have tried Catsan in the past, currently use Sainbury's own label which isn't that great but cheap if you go through 3 bags a week as I always clean it everyday.

The thing is the litter trays are covered as well with hoods as the girl cat is a nightmare and actually pees out the tray, about once a week she will pee out the opening and there will be a puddle of pee to clean up too. Oh and another thing they don't actually cover their poos.

Honestly cat poo is the bane of my live, we are hoping to build an extension next year and top of my wishlist would be a utility room just so I can put the litter trays in there.

[sweetkitty]

Just an update: things are getting even worse, last week was horrific ran out of cat food and had to buy some Whiskas, cue loads of diarrhoea including one pile in the DDs room and one in mine and some on the living room floor luckily DD3 was still in her high chair and didn't eat it this time.

I have been putting them outside in the morning so they don't eat the girls' breakfasts and I know have 10 piles of cat shit on the grass (DP can clean it up)

My SIL came up yesterday and went into our kitchen just after one of them had been in the litter tray I was so embarrassed it stank, I had to fish it out and spray, this is from a covered litter tray not facing the cupboard door, loads of clean fresh litter in it with 2 air fresheners in the cupboard too. I woke up this morning and could smell cat shit from downstairs

I feel my carpets stink, the whole house stinks and I don't want people to come over to my house and visit now.

I honestly bloody hate the cats now, when you have had to throw out your DDs dolls blanket because some cat has shit on it, it drives you insane.

Whoever asked about consistency, fine and normal after the Whiskas incident, don't ever cover it up either though.

[peggotty]

Maybe you should think about rehoming them then? Try Cats Protection. If you are willing to keep them with you until they are found new homes that would be better obviously.

[pickyvic]

sorry this is gonna sound unsympathetic and its not really meant to - but why do you have 3 cats if you suddenly now find you hate them? why do people just not think through the implications of owning pets before they get them? youve had them 12 years...! pets get old, they smell, why does this come as such a shock for some people?
i do sympathise because i have 2 cats and though they do go out one of mine refuses to use a litter tray and it gets on my bleeding nerves but i laminated and tiled downstairs - thats slightly better for cleaning.

id use the best litter you can afford - Tesco do an orangy coloured one that never seems to smell, slightly dearer to buy but lasts ages. have you phoned your vet for any advice? perhaps they have sensitive stomachs, or do they need worming or anything? i think id be asking the vet for advice.

[mj4ever]

i have found a wonderful cat litter from asda not the really cheap one, but the next one up purple/yellow bag it is white stone and you cant smell it at all,
and also cat little freshner and bags that you put in the trays.
i find they work wonders for me and my cats it's really clean.

[annoyingdevil]

You are not alone, except our problem is cat pee, rather than poo (although that has become more of a problem recently) The entire house stinks and every single door mat I buy ends up drenched with cat pee.

We have a cat flap, but my cat is too nervous to go outside.

She also throws up 3-4 times a week - oh joy.

The other one leaves mouse guts all over the floor.

[PitysSake]

if may cat was incontinent I would have it put down tbh

[sweetkitty]

pickyvic - I can totally understand where you are coming from, I hate people who get pets then get fed up with them, they never used to be like this even when we lived in a flat with them, I don't know what it is, but the minute one of them goes in the litter tray it stinks to high heaven. I am really sad my feelings have changed towards them maybe it's having 3 young DC now but when you have to clean cat shit out your 12mo DDs mouth it pisses me off.

I'm actually really anxious when we have visitors when one of the cats is downstairs.