How to own a cat without the house smelling like a litter tray?

[PaperDoves]

Just that really. We would all love to add a cat to our family but the main thing putting me off is the smell. The Internet has a few suggestions:

1. Scoop the tray at least twice a day
2. Pine pellets and a sifting litter tray may help compared to clay litter

Anything else? Any and all hints and tricks are more than welcome, it's the only thing holding me back!

Quite.

@GiantKitten so you believe some random twonk in the internet who can type ‘I work for Thames water’ …..

well I’m a Nigerian Prince who desperately needs to deposit 123456789 million in a bank account, so I need all you banking details and national insurance number please. ….

This is on Thames Water website, same as all the other water companies-

The three Ps is the best rule to remember when it comes to what’s flushable; pee, poo, paper. Nothing else!

I have ten cats, I find the wood pellet litter does smell and is messy. The best by far for me is the ultra clumping Canada clay types made by Tigerino, Golden Grey Master, Professional Classic etc. You can get unscented or various scents such as baby powder or lavender.
They are sold by Zooplus or Bitiba they last ages as well.
best to use a good deep layer and is easy to scoop.
I do think it's a good thing to always have a litter tray, it's much easier to spot any signs of illness such as cystitis, which could be fatal if the cats bladder blocked, and you wouldn't be aware of they only went outside. It's more considerate to your neighbours too.

Have a cat flap and don’t have a tray.

All wood pellets are not equal, depends what they are made out of.

I’ve been flushing it for years. Never backs up!

It”s not the litter that is the real problem. You shouldn’t flush cat poo down the loo.

No types of animal faeces is allowed to be flushed down the toilet.

faq.anglianwater.co.uk/article/qed94917/can-you-flush-dog-poo-down-the-toilet

If I want to bin up the whole thing and throw it away daily, what kind of litter would be best? Would wood pellets still work in a thin layer?

I'd be willing to try doing a deep layer of clumping litter and scooping as it's used, then throwing everything away once a week (?) but wouldn't it smell cleaner to use a thin layer and throw it away daily?

May need to experiment 🤔

I thin layer of wood pellets works fine.

Honestly buy a sieve system and good pellets.

I've tried everything going including brilliant clumping and it's best I've found for no smell and no tracking.

@PaperDoves yes to experimenting with different types - the cat may not like a particular sort or prefer it deeper/shallower than you originally planned.

After many attempts to not have stinky cats, my current solution is amazing and there's no smell at all. I use clumping litter (Amazon brand) in a covered litter tray that has a carbon filter. Biggest change has been better quality food which stops their poo being too grim in the first place. I started with Royal Canin dry food but they now have James Wellbeloved. Normal meat pouches alongside the god quality dry food. Works a treat for us.

I've never flushed cat poo down the loo - mine have always been outdoor cats with minimal litter tray use - but thank you to those who've pointed out why you should not: every day's a school day!

Install a cat flap.

We use this and it is the best. We also have one of these which has been worth every penny.

www.amazon.co.uk/Modkat-Top-Entry-Reduces-Tracking-Reusable/dp/B004DBNGU8/ref=asc_df_B004DBNGU8/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=220924312265&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5518547867595923272&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9041106&hvtargid=pla-337339842700&psc=1

See, I judge these threads a bit like I judge the facilities in pubs/restaurants that I visit! I love an “olde-worlde” pub, but I often hate their loos - you have to contort yourself to squeeze in front of the loo to then shut the door etc. On the odd occasion I find a clean and spacious environment, the establishment rockets up my list of recommendations.

I apply the same standard for my cat - namely space, privacy and cleanliness.

So he has a very large, covered try - after all, who wants to be mid-shit when someone wanders past? I use Cat’s Best clumping litter - and it’s VERY deep. This makes scooping out really easy, there’s no way anything is reaching the bottom of the tray. Scooped out clumps go in a nappy bag and then in the bin. I don’t care what any product claims, it should never be flushed down the loo.

I’m lucky that my cat has no interest in leaving my decent-sized garden - I would worry that he’d be shitting on other peoples lawns! He’s a polite bugger though - he’ll be mooching round outside, comes in to use his litter tray and then heads back out again. Bonus is I’m not worried about the lawnmower flinging a fresh poo around!

I used to have the Modkat top-entry tray linked above. I now have a robot litter tray, it’s ace. Expensive, but worth it and it uses much less litter so I reckon it will pay for itself in the long run.

If clumping litter is too thin, it will stick to the bottom of the tray and it's a nightmare to clean properly, it needs to be thick.

You could use a thin layer of wood pellets but cats like to bury their poo so they may not appreciate a thin layer.

It's also worth noting that not all cats like all litters and all trays, so you may need to experiment. One of mine won't use wood litter so we had to get something finer. Wood pellets are quite big and can be painful for kittens and spoilt adult cats

I've had 10 cats over the years and my house never smells bad. I dont leave mess though. My house is clean and tidy and I scoop and clean the trays regularly.
I only had one smelly cat but she was 21 with cat IBS but I just put up with it because I loved her.

My top recommendation is get a dog as well. I have two house cats and can count on one hand the amount of cat poo I’ve had to remove from the litter tray. Dog beats me to it and is chief litter tray emptier. 😁

I keep the litter box outside by the back door in the garden & dcat goes out to use it. I just bring it in when I lock up for the night, works well for me.

A bit too direct, perhaps, but spot on. Especially the danger to the wildlife (cats killing wildlife is a big deal (in Australia at least)

OP you don't need to throw the whole contents away each week. It clumps up, you scoop the clump and a bit around it. All smell is gone.