Cat owners- how do you keep the smell and fur at bay?

[piddocktrumperiness]

Hi everyone
Just that really- My brother has two cats, a year old now. He lives in a 1930's semi, and keeps a litter tray in the back of the kitchen (close to the outside door, by the bin).
He's not able to keep onto of them and is getting frustrated with how they molt, and how to ensure the house is super clean. I try and help but I don't have pets so don't know.
We don't know where to put the litter tray for example- I said keep it outside but he won't fearing the cats may do something inside the house. I said hoover twice a day but I know in the interim things will get cat hair on it. They don't like to be groomed either, they just can't sit still.
I also said leave the tray of food and litter tray outside in a cat house/shed type of thing he could buy, and only let them in at night, but he thinks that's cruel.

Their cat food stinks too- He buys Whiskas pouches.

So for those that have cats, how do you ensure your house is clean from smell and hair?

Thank you

How do you train your cats to poo and pee outside?
I'm not really sure what kind of litter he uses, I know it's clay as it's grey in colour but will see if he could swap. Clumping ones are clay right?

I think it probably is a lack of general upkeep that seems to be a problem. Little and often, or there and then cleaning should minimise theses issues.

So I'll ask if he can change the wet food, then maybe inch towards more dry than wet.
Invest in hair scrapers for furniture,
wash blankets more frequently.
Maybe train the cats to sit in certain areas? They sit anywhere and everywhere so giving them a nice place to cosy up might limit some of the issues.
Deodorise litter

I like the idea of the air filter- our dad is allergic to cats and so does not visit him at home, so maybe this could do it.

Once mine started going outside I stopped having the litter tray altogether. They go in the garden now, and I clean it up from there.

Litter should say if it is clumping or not on the packet - it doesn't have to be clay to be clumping. For example Cat's Best is wood fibre and clumps.

How to train your cat to go outdoors - I think you are better off asking 'How do you train a cat?' To which the answer is you don't the cat trains you.

Over many cats I've had those that never go indoors, rarely go indoors and apparently always go indoors despite spending all their waking hours outdoors. The cat decides.

Equally the cats have decided where they sit. You can encourage by buying them towers, cat beds, hammocks and blankets. But everyone who has ever bought a cat bed has had the experience of seeing it ignored in preference to a sock. If the cat has real preferences you can help by putting a blanket there to save your carpet.

The house does not have a cat flap, so he opens the door in the morning and at random points in the day, so how could you ensure the cats don't leave accidents around the house?

How to get the going outside? Move the litter tray outside and then fill partly with soil, partly with litter. Then add more soil, then remove.

He’ll need a cat flap.

Yes, dried food stinks, get them onto a good quality dry one like Iams or James Wellbeloved. They are not too old to make the change.

*wet food stinks!

He need to get a cat flap. You can get one put in a door or a window etc.

We found that cheap cat litter was a false economy. We changed to catsan and it seems to absorb the smells better. I was scooping the poop and changing the litter trays at least once a day before but now can just scoop the poop and change every 2 to 3 days. My cats are siblings and we have 2 trays but they will share although one doesn't use the litter tray often, the other one will go straight in the tray as soon as they get let indoors!

If he is happy doing door open and close, you don't need a cat flap really. Mine have always had a schedule and know to turn up around 6pm for dinner after which they aren't allowed out - it's safer for cats to be in overnight plus cuts down how much wildlife they kill.

If he does get a cat flap he may face the new problem of dead/decapitated/not actually dead yet prey being brought in.

Personally I cope better with these on the patio instead of the house.

We kept our litter tray by the back door in the utility room. When we got a cat flap we took the litter tray away after a few weeks and haven't had one since.

She has dry food down (and water) all the time and wet food once a day at night. She eats it all straight away so smell is gone pretty quickly and then we wash the plate straight away.

She has a heat pad in her cat bed with a blanket over it and sleeps in there most of the time apart from summer months when she prefers to lie in the sun anyway! Ours loves fleecy blankets so I stick one of those on the beds and she'll generally sleep on those.

Our cat is short haired and keeps herself very clean, I honestly don't think she creates any smell at all.

the hair can't be helped.. Cats have fur. Things are going to get hairy.

The smell IME is mainly around food, and it's worth experimenting with different brands. We changed ours recently due to one cat vomiting a lot, and the pleasant benefit is that we've found a less stinky one. Dry food is less smelly generally, so I'm happy to leave a small amount of this out. Wet food however is offered AM and PM, and any leftovers are chucked after 20mins.

Luckily our cats only use the litter tray to wee - they poo in a flowerbed outside which I sort out every few days. The woodchip litter in the house is changed before it starts to smell - more than two wees in there = fresh litter. Solids need removing immediately. Clean the area around the tray fastidiously at the same time in case of any near misses.

Check their teeth as well - if they are grooming themselves with a grotty mouth, their fur will smell more.

Are they outdoors a lot? Can they come and go indoors / outdoors as they please? My old girl used to be mainly outdoors during the day and we'd shut her indoors at night and that's when the litter tray came out. It wasn't available during the day.

My cats are indoors only - I have 3 trays for 2 cats and use a good quality clumping litter - ever clean. I scoop twice a day and store it in a litter genie (like a diaper genie) until bin day.

If you want cats with poop that doesn't smell a balanced raw diet is the best. One of my girls is on this and her poop has no smell unless she's gotten into her sisters tinned food. They also go to the toilet less as they have less waste product to digest.

Better quality food will help. You can get covered litter trays with a cat flap and carbon filter which are a game changer for under 30 quid on Amazon. I use Amazon's clumping clay cat litter as well, it soaks everything up and I have no stinky tray problems now.

Bicarbonate of soda sprinkled in litter is very helpful at absorbing whiffs.

I don't try to keep anywhere super clean.

Tray(s): some types of litter reduce odour a lot more than others. Experiment.
Food: you get used to the smell
Fur: Mine tolerate being brushed outside as they walk around.

Why the need to be super clean?

My cat’s litter tray’s quite in the open so I’ve done a lot of trial and error testing into low odour cat poos over the years 😂

So I'll ask if he can change the wet food, then maybe inch towards more dry than wet.
Scrumbles are the best dry food for low odour poos in my experience. They add probiotic for good digestion (and good poos!)

But the least offensive poos of all have come from when I swapped my cat to Luna&Me which is raw.