Unbearable smell in friends house

[kcchiefette]

My friend had to go away for the day (a drive about 2 hours away) and asked me to check on hIs cats during the day.

I have been up a fair few times and the house is a bit messy as you can imagine a single man's house to be.

Anyhow, the last time I was up for a visit, the smell of amonia was dreadful from the litter trays. They were full, the cats had started flicking their poo out and playing with it on the floor. I had to leave after half an hour because I was getting a headache and the next day I felt really sick as well.

I called up today, and the smell is there again, only worse. The litter trays are full again and the smell was so intense, I had to put my jumper over my nose to mask the smell. I checked on the cats, left them food and left. Friend will be back 8pm.

For those that have cats, I am assuming this is not normal?

I have never owned cats so dont know much but anybody else's house who has owned them has never had this smell and I am assuming litter trays need to be cleared out at least once a day?

How do I approach this with my friend? I dont want to go up there again to visit if the house will be smelling so badly of amonia and making me feel unwell.

I used to clean a man’s house and it was exactly how you describe. The smell was so over powering and no matter how much I would clean and scrub, I’d go back the next week and it would be just as strong! I think at that point it was in the carpets and hard flooring etc :(

Poor cats sounds horrible condition for them

He's asked you to look in on the cats that means changing the litter FFS.

For goodness sake, show some initiate and clean/change the litter.

It really is not that complicated.

Do they have enough food and water as well?

Some people really should not be allowed to own animals...

It's distressing to read these things. I couldn't have left them like that.

He needs a serious kick up the arse or to rehome the cats to someone equipped to look after them.

Poo scooping should be done daily. Pee scooping and how often you empty the whole thing depends on the litter. I use wood pellets which claim to last a month, but I change it once a week. We have one large tray between two. I've tried having two trays but they both still just use one so it's pointless extra work.

Tom cat wee can really stink, my sister used to complain whenever she came round and my cats had lidded trays with filters, I also used liners and would scoop as soon as they used them unless I was out.

They were a million times better after I had them neutered.

If the tray is not clean the cat will go somewhere else - like on the floor near the tray - and that is hard to get out .. it smells vile ..

Poor cats, they'll hate that.
Poor wee paws too, having to step in the filthy litter.
I'm wondering if as they're indoor cats if they're up on counter tops and sofas etc.

Very sad situation. I empty poo/wee from my cats tray every day and disinfect it every 3-4 days.

I'd be having a serious chat with this friend. If he's not up to the job, he needs to find a new owner for the poor cats. Does he tend to neglect the cats in other ways too? If so, I'd definitely convince him to re-home the cats.

It's such a nasty smell, it can't be any good for your friend either.

I'm a cat owner and agree with all the pp - this isn't normal and the cats won't be happy having smelly, dirty litter trays. I removed poo as soon as I saw it and cleaned the litter tray out thoroughly every week, sooner if it was needed. you can tell!. You do need to pay it attention and it's a regular chore, but totally part of being a responsible cat owner.

I feed my friends' cats and some are much less diligent - but not the state you talk about.

Anyhow, the last time I was up for a visit, the smell of amonia was dreadful from the litter trays.
This suggests you’d been several times before the last time and they’d been okay? In which case, surely it was your responsibility to clean them?

I called up today, and the smell is there again, only worse. The litter trays are full again and the smell was so intense
well, yes. No one cleaned it, so of course it’s worse.

litter trays need to be cleared out at least once a day?
Again, yes, but is that not what you were expecting to do?

Theres loads of threads about messy homes is everyone living like pigs.

I wouldn't. I don't think it would harm the cats even if they didn't like it? I might have mentioned it but I wouldn't be going near cat shit.....it's disgusting and I want to shoot the ones that shit in my garden with a potato gun.

I used to catsit for a friend and she asked me to scoop daily and change the whole of the litter every four days. I do know someone else who does it much less; I've looked after her cats for a couple of days and the tray was unspeakable. My own cat gets the litter changed every time he uses his tray, which isn't often as he's outside a fair bit and doesn't actually like using the tray.

“Hi friend name. I popped by and fed the cats as agreed. I have to say I was a bit shocked at the state of their litter trays, they were both full to overflowing and unfortunately as a result the aroma of urine and feces in your house is incredibly strong. I know this is an awkward conversation to have and I do not wish to upset you, but I thought I should mention it as I thought perhaps living with them every day your nose may have become desensitised and you might not be aware quite how bad it is?”

Poor bloody cats. It takes seconds to pick the clumps out, and minutes to do a full clean. He’s a lazy arse.

I check the cat's litter tray every hour or so when I am at home and scoop. Every night I empty the tray completely, take it into the garden and scald it with boiling water with a milton tablet in it and refill.
If I am at home all day, I empty , scald and sterilise at least twice.
I also replace the litter tray monthly and shampoo the carpets monthly.

As a side note, the correct frequency for a complete clean out of a litter tray will depend on a variety of factors (litter type, quantity, number of cats etc) but picking the poo and wee should be done at least twice a day.

All of these points suggest you've overlooked the fact that the friend was away for the day...

Poor cats, why on earth didn’t you change the trays??

Why?

The state OP describes didn't just happen between the friend leaving his house in the morning and OP arriving in the afternoon. Why is cleaning his days or weeks of filth now OP's responsibility?

Not her cats?

I have found cat people dont realise smell of litter trays. Even changing litter 3 to 4 times a week a house that has a litter tray WREAKS ! Cat pee and poo is the worst smell and litter trays just stink.

OP has said already that she had her own plans, probably with timings based on thinking all she had to do was nip in and put out some food for the cats. She also said she asked the friend about litter and he said he's dealing with it in the evening.

You say 'hey X, fed your cats but the smell was awful! I think you need to change their trays more frequently'. That's it.

Can you use google?