AIBU to have the litter tray in my office room?

[Meadowdog]

I wasn't actually sure whether to put this thread in AIBU or here but figured I'd probably get more useful advice here than just "yuck, YABU!"

We've downsized and the only place we can find to put the cat litter tray is my home office (I work from home most days). Have you done this? Would it bother you - and how can I make the best of it? We have two cats and one is indoor only so the tray is heavily used!

I've got an air purifier and a mat that's meant to stop them tracking litter so much. The litter is clumpable and I scoop each morning. Window will be open a crack (not all the way as the room is upstairs and I don’t want the cats climbing out) They eat Smilla brand dry food and Felix as good as it looks wet food. Treats are Thrive chicken. Would it help to change any of these? Any other advice?

Obviously in Teams meetings I'll be using a fake background as I don't want my colleagues to see a cat doing a giant poo in its tray while I'm on video 😅

Have you no room at all in the bathroom?

We've had litter trays all over the place.
Currently the tray is in our kitchen by the back door as she began to mark her territory there.
As long as the tray is cleaned regularly and the cat approves I don't mind where it is 😅

Just a word of warning, if your cat does something very smelly and you’re stuck in an online meeting that has just started and can’t excuse yourself, it is not pleasant…… Then the cat curls up in your lap smug and proud of himself and you’re stuck in the stench until you find an excuse to pause the meeting for a comfort break! This is past experience…

Get one with a cover?

I did this for a while, but as PP says, when they drop a beefy poo and you are stuck on a call uts horrendous. Litter try lives under the stairs now

Can you afford one of the litter robot ones? I bought my sister one for her birthday (she has indoor only cats!) and she said it's changed her life, especially as she also wfh. She said it has zero smell and because it self cleans every time and alerts when it needs emptying she doesn't even need to spend time thinking about it anymore.

Ours don't use litter trays anymore but when they did I used the litter cleaning spray + shaker of powder that helps remove smells from pets at home and scooped twice a day. That kept it fairly under control!

Thanks for the responses. Good point about being stuck in a meeting when something very smelly happens. Unfortunately DH will absolutely not agree to a tray in the bathroom or kitchen. And I hate having tracked litter in either of those places. My mother has hers in the kitchen pantry and I think I'd like that less than the work room to be honest. In our old house the cats had the box room entirely to themselves so we all got very spoiled!

@cruffinsmuffin the litter robots I've found look like they start at around £600. You're an amazing sister to have bought one of these as a birthday gift. It's a bit more than I'm comfortable spending on a litter tray but it does sound pretty incredible. Maybe I'll ask for one for Christmas 😄.

Eh? He doesn't want their toilet near the household toilet, a room used for 2mins at a time a few times a day but is happy for you to have the litter tray in the room you sit in for 8 hours a day?

Top tip: strike a match (off screen) and it gets rid of the smell 😉

@Meadowdog it was her 30th (such a cool 30th gift I know) and I'm financially able to do it for her but I know she wouldn't ever be able to do it, she's mentioned it before - got to go wild for a big birthday 😂 hopefully Santa brings you one!!

The simple solution freshener powder is a lifesaver tbh, it's what I used in my manual litter trays - makes a huge difference!

I have 4 litter trays, one on each floor including in my partners home office.

(Also in the kitchen, spare bedrrom
and our en-suite as you should have one for each cat and we have 4 cats).

Never once has a cat done a massive
stinky poo and driven him out of his office. What are all your cats eating???

We used to have one for each cat (side by side) but they just used the same one so we got rid of the other. What are you feeding your cats @whirlyhead as it sounds like they're not smelly?

I've just told DH that if I try the tray in my work room and I can't stand it then it's going in the bathroom, and he has agreed.

Great tip about the match 😅.

I’ve seen cheaper robot litters on amazon.

I must admit I’d like one too when funds allow.

Mines in the kitchen. Nowhere else for it to go.

Why doesn’t he want it in the bathroom? That’s where ours is. Our cats only have dry food and their poos still can stink. I wouldn’t dream of having the tray in my home office.

You can get mesh to go over open windows.

We have a tray and decrepit elderly cat that lives in the office. She has a very regular poo schedule - once a day at around 9pm .... unless DH has a meeting in which case she always manages to squeeze an extra one out, usually in the first 10 minutes. He's even been known to pretend to have a meeting 15 minutes before the actual meeting starts.

My new cat stinks, I have to get the poo scooped within seconds
Fed exactly the same as my old cat
High meat content, grain free food

Agreed - I used to have one in my office/spare room but no longer do! (I haven't moved it far - just outside the door, in the hallway - but I tend to shut the door when in meetings so it's not too bad.)

The other one's in the en-suite - no room for it in the main bathroom.

Ordinary cat food from sainsburys! Plus chicken and tinned tuna. They do also use the garden I must admit. But stinky poos are a rarity.

Your cats a true professional and I hope you appreciate the level of skill she has attained.

My cat's tray is in the kitchen, I work in the dining room, no door inbetween rooms. Without fail I'll be on a zoom and she will start busily digging around and have a poo. No way would I want that happening in an enclosed room with me, it's bad enough it being a bit of a distance away.

This thread has made me smile.

We have two cats and three litter trays and the cats also have access to outside. We have two trays in the utility and one in the bathroom. We've just had a new kitchen and utility put in and I designed the utility room around the cats' trays 🙈

We changed their food about 5 months ago and they are now only fed Katkins. We very, very rarely have stinky poos now and their coats are so soft. It isn't cheap but I'd recommend the food to help with any smell.

I'd also agree with others and suggest putting the tray in the bathroom rather than your office. Failing that a covered litter tray may help a bit.

If their poo really stinks is generally a sign of poor diet. Yes, poo smells but it shouldn't be overly offensive.

Anyway, we have litter trays all over the place. Just keep on top of the poo picking and use decent quality litter and it's fine.

Different food agrees with different cats, though.

@cinnamonfrenchtoast I think he's just stinky
He's the same on dry, wet or raw
I've never known a cat have stinky poo on raw but he managed it