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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Litter tray odour control?

36 replies

THwife · 02/10/2021 14:15

I have a sphynx cat, nearing 1 year old. And quite frankly, she stinks!! 😩 I live in a small 2 bed terraced house and the only viable place I can place her little tray is in my small hallway. I am seriously on the verge of revoking, purely because she smells so so so much. I’m embarrassed to even answer my door, as the smell hits you. I’m cleaning the tray daily, scooping daily, using catsan litter.
I don’t know how to control this odour? Any tips would be sooo appreciated. I don’t want to have to rehome my precious girl, but I also love my home and I’m sick of the smell.

OP posts:
Original poster
THwife · 02/10/2021 14:16

Rehoming…not revoking

OP posts:
Inthemane · 02/10/2021 14:19

How are you cleaning the tray? If you use bleach it reacts with cat urine and the smell is awful!

dementedpixie · 02/10/2021 14:22

I'd ditch the catsan and use a clumping litter so you can remove pee and poo easily. I found catsan went smelly quickly. Also look at the food you are giving as it can cause smells too

Magissa · 02/10/2021 14:31

We have indoor cats in a flat. No smell however we have a strict regime with litter. We have the trays in the bathroom. Worlds best cat litter (it's clumping and can be flushed down the loo). Scoop it first thing in the morning then about 6pm. Full change every ten days though it is supposed to last longer as you only have one cat you would possibly get longer.
Also what kind of food are you feeding? We use a combo of grain free dry and an indoor cat wet food. Honestly no smell.

Ekofisk · 02/10/2021 15:06

You could try running an air purifier / carbon filter to remove odours as well?

Theunamedcat · 02/10/2021 15:11

Catsan is shit

Theunamedcat · 02/10/2021 15:13

I use this I have three trays even if I don't scoop daily it lasts three days sometimes four before I notice

Litter tray odour control?
Burtknowsbest · 02/10/2021 15:15

I use a clumping, antibacterial litter that I can lift and dispose of straight away. With Catsan the urine will just sit at the bottom of the tray and smell. Pets at home have a good choice.

inmyslippers · 02/10/2021 15:16

Wood pellet litter

1vandal2 · 02/10/2021 15:17

Do not flush cat litter and cat poop down the toilet.

Wood pellets are a great natural litter that i never notice any smell from the pee and i just fully change it every two days with two cats. It's extremely cheap.

Soontobe60 · 02/10/2021 15:21

I have 2 house cats. I have 1 big lidded litter tray, change it every 2 days, use 2 litres of wood pellets when it’s changed. Remove poo when it’s just been produced. My DD has just been over and I asked if she could smell the litter tray - it’s due to be changed today - and she can’t.

Amrapaali · 02/10/2021 16:41

Cats Best clumping litter. And Beaphar odour control sprinkled on top.

Agree with looking at her diet. Maybe add a probiotic like Fortiflora?

AlCalavicci · 02/10/2021 16:52

There are a couple of things you can do

1st loom at her food , Tescos own makes my cats poo smell shocking, Sheba and Felix are ok but I avoid the fishy ones.

Use a covered litter tray

I mix catsan Tescos clumping ( about 50 /50 ) the litre clumps but doesn't weld it's self to the tray .

Keep the tray in the bathroom window open / extractor fan on . At least the smell won't hut you as soon as you walk through the front door, and bathrooms are sort of ok to be a bit wiffy .

stclair · 02/10/2021 16:59

I use the crystal cat litter usually which controls the smell very well. A friend gave me a huge bag of catsan and quite frankly, it stinks! Glad to get to the end of it to get back to the crystals (didn’t want to be wasteful Smile).

Lifeisforalimitedperiodonly · 03/10/2021 01:58

Another vote for the hooded litter tray with a little swing door. It has a deodoriser in the lid. From Amazon. Also from Amazon, Worlds best cat litter - only place I can get the lavender one. The plain one can be got at Pets at home but I use a deodorant sprinkle thing if I get that one.
Both of them are flushable which is great.

icedcoffees · 03/10/2021 08:37

Catsan is awful - I really don't know why it's so popular, it stinks to high heaven 🤢

We use Cat's Best clumping litter from ZooPlus and have three indoor cats. Poos are scooped right away and clumps are done daily. We top up when needed and do a full change once a month.

A 40L bag of litter lasts us about three months and costs £24.99.

DebbieHarrysCheekbones · 03/10/2021 08:54

Catsan is shit pardon the pun

Worlds best cst litter is clumping and is a great litter which although pricey lasts a long time.
Also have you got a hooded tray with a flap that mitigates a little too.
You can get litter freshener powder and sprays too but some cats don’t like the foreign scent.

Hot soapy water rinsed thoroughly and scalded with boiling water then dried is the best. Avoid bleach at all costs

EvilWhich · 03/10/2021 09:44

You need to change her food! Our Ragdoll can poop in the rotary and we literally wouldn't know if we couldn't hear her scraping. Feed the best quality, grain free food and you will notice a massive difference.

Wood pellet litter and a lidded tray will help too

FangsForTheMemory · 03/10/2021 23:10

I think it's actually illegal to put cat (or dog) poo down the loo.

Magissa · 03/10/2021 23:26

Wow truly didn't know it shouldn't be flushed. Have used two different flushable litters - cats best oko and worlds best both say you can flush on the packet. Just googled it and found this

https://www.vettimes.co.uk/to-flush-or-not-to-flush/

Will bag up now (which I have sometimes done anyway )
Feel so bad about it! Thanks for pointing it out.

longtompot · 03/10/2021 23:38

I didn't realise until recently that you shouldn't flush your cats poo down the loo. The litter can block the pipes and the poo can spread toxoplasmosis as our systems don't kill it off when the water is purified. I'd never thrown any animal waste down the loo but it was something I read on Worlds Best Cat Litter.
Speaking of, it really is really good. Don't get the lavender one unless you want your cat to wee anywhere but the litter tray, unless that's just my cat. It is so easy to clean up and really does absorb smells.
When doing the litter, make sure you clean the floor around it as well. My cat sometimes misses the tray so I have puppy pads around the two trays he has.

flohawks.com/do-not-flush-cat-poop-down-your-toilet/?cf_chl_managed_tk=pmd_BDBOPKmmPMuf7XoVyDyHrksI_pxD4jpNaSr1x5zHSGQ-1633300433-0-gqNtZGzNAyWjcnBszQeR

longtompot · 03/10/2021 23:41

@icedcoffees

Catsan is awful - I really don't know why it's so popular, it stinks to high heaven 🤢

We use Cat's Best clumping litter from ZooPlus and have three indoor cats. Poos are scooped right away and clumps are done daily. We top up when needed and do a full change once a month.

A 40L bag of litter lasts us about three months and costs £24.99.

Do you have a link for that as I can't find it on their website. I've only found the best offers for it on Amazon and would love to buy away from there.
Sarah2384 · 03/10/2021 23:53

Clumping litter is your friend - the wees form themselves into solid balls, just as easy to scoop and remove as a poo is. I find the tray filled with a bag of litter lasts 7-8 days.
Catsan soaks up wee but it sits there until the rest is emptied.
When I'm at home, I scoop as soon as I notice that the tray has been used (none of this waiting until the end of the day malarkey). I don't think we have a smell issue.

Mykittensaremyfriends · 03/10/2021 23:53

@longtompot have google now you know what you're looking for may get it cheaper depending on postage