empty retches when Dealing with the Smell of Cat Poo in Litter Tray

bullets

When I come down in the morning to find a (really) used litter tray
the sight alone and the smell of the Poo causes me to get
empty retches, coughing, tearing of the eyes and if I am not carefuly and dont
get a glass of water and fresh air slight vomiting. When it comes to bad smells
I have a weak stomach. (and the sight alone can trigger this off)

at home we change our Cats Litter Tray once-twice a day. Usually we change all
the litter. The Cat is not fusy and will use it whenever he needs to. Liter is not
that expenisve so we dont try and skimp on it.

We also keep in some strays or domesticated feral cats about 9 at the moment
at night when the weather is bad (we all know they are moving in permantly sooner or later some are on the waiting to get the snip list)

They all share the litter tray without any fuss at all! If I put more than one litter tray
out they use the extra ones. I obviously cant have 10 seperate litter trays and they
are not fussy. Also sometimes when they are out the COME IN to use the litter tray.

Anyone got suggestions on how to deal with empty retches?
I try to hold my breath!!!

~B

FlutterinBantam

Its probably the sight which triggers off this reaction.

Have an old newspaper handy and slap it over the tray,which eliminates one of the sensory triggers.Then a quick dump into wherever you put it would reduce the nausea.Use strong gardening gloves the reduce the perception of contact

Some cat food can also produce fairly ahem .. "stinky ding-a-lings"..so have a look at the food you give them.

Alun

FlutterinBantam wrote:

Some cat food can also produce fairly ahem .. "stinky ding-a-lings"..so have a look at the food you give them.

... especially kitten food which is higher in protein than adult cat food, which combined with the rather short digestive tracts of kittens / young cats does indeed result in some powerful odours! It gets better though as they get older and get onto adult food.

bullets

Will try the newspaper over the tray out of sight out of mind trick.
Usually if there is strong smell the girlfriend comes to the rescue
as she is a groomer she's used to animal smells a bit more.
But bit unfair on her when shes in bed and I am up a few hours
earlier than her.

One common thing they all love is sliced Ham and Chedder Cheese!
Its the only bargining tool I have when trying to get them all out of the house
at the same time. I give them Cheese spareingly as I reckon it would run the guts
out of them. But I go through a LOT of ham.

Our own House Cat (who was originally a stray) when he
goes its usually not that bad and the litter masks the smell pretty good.
But on occasion it stinks.

Yeah I reckon its the Kittens that have the strongest smelling waste.
The other more feral ones vary. Got 5 under a year old, 3 about 12-15 weeks old
and the Mammy. Mammy leaves Curry, the Youngest ones leave black toxic waste.
The middle of the road ones vary.

~B

FlutterinBantam

Yes,that would stack up, as of course cats use poo to mark out territory and in fact the covering up process is indicative of the cats confidence.
The more confident cat will blast away with out too much covering as he doesn't ,well give a shyte:D ,who knows he is around. the less confident cat will take great pains to cover his tracks so as other cats are not aware of his visit.

There are also perfumed litters available,but with 9 cats cost could be an issue

cotton

10 cats & one litter tray, no wonder you're retching. That's an awful lot of mess in one tray.:eek: Definately get more trays. It's usually one per cat & then one more. The more you have, the less of a "pile up" you'll have to deal with.

Tabitharose

I've 3 cats & 4 litter trays I'd use a few more litter trays if I were you & also try the litter tray liners - just scoop up the edges & straight into the bin

FranknFurter

Tabitharose wrote:

I've 3 cats & 4 litter trays I'd use a few more litter trays if I were you & also try the litter tray liners - just scoop up the edges & straight into the bin

(And I'd cut out the ham, that is probably half the problem if you are doing daily cleanouts. Dry food is cheaper and will cause much less offensive remains, just make sure there is water 24/7, but definitely, add another cpl of trays). Tabitharose, just curious, dont you find the cat rips those litter tray liners to shreds? Or is it just our gal who does B

Irish-Lass

have you every thought of using the covered litter trays with the swing doors we have 2 of them in the house, you can take the door off it until the cats get use to it, but it might also help cut down on the odour and the sight in the morning until your stomach settles down.

We use the litter liners as well. And yes sometimes the cats rip them but I find when they are used in a covered litter train the cats are more interested in scratching the sides rather then the base, it makes the trays last longer and also you only have to give the tray a quick wipe down as it doesn't get as dirty.

SMK

I use litter liners and under the litter I put bicarbonate of soda - I cover the bottom completely with it. It won't eliminate the smell completely but it does help!

Sigma Force

Bicarb of soda, great tip.
Also mabey put out 3 litter trays instead of the one for the ones outside.
Depending on what they eat some food makes them whiffy, I know it migth sound more expensive but if you tried changing their diet to Burns or something similar that might help with the whiff or mabey mix some in with their regular food.
I think you can still get scented litter liners but this might put some cats off but worth a go.

FranknFurter

Another option (if you have cash burning a hole in your pocket), is THIS or even better, THIS!

The first is available in Petstop Blanchardstown for €200, the latter (amazing) one I have only ever seen available online.
If you do get one, PLEASE let us know what you think. I use a wheelchair so cleaning the litter tray is a huge ordeal for me every day, Id love to know if these are any easier in real life. Id have to sell my soul to get one, but it might be worth it! LOL

B

josephine20

Just spray a bit of perfume/deodrant/something nice in a tissue and hold it up to your nose while you do the litter tray.

Tabitharose

FranknFurter wrote:

Tabitharose, just curious, dont you find the cat rips those litter tray liners to shreds? Or is it just our gal who does B

some do some don't - with some fosters I've had half the fun is removing the liner & ripping it to shreds, with others they don't rip them at all - I don't use them with my own cats, but then I don't have issues with cleaning their litter trays. I only use them with fosters when they have the runs or when I've wormed them as I may need to change the entire contents of the litter tray several times a day sometimes & it's just quicker. I find as Irish Lass does that with the hooded litter trays the cats like to scratch the sides (walls) rather than the base so they don't go near the litter liner

FranknFurter

hmm...
I (now) use a hooded litter tray and she absolutely shreds the liner, so now I just put a sheet of newspaper under the litter. (Bloody sanicat turns into cement on the tray in the space of a few hours otherwise!).

B

Irish-Lass

what about getting a deep pan litter tray FranknFurter it might cut down on her shredding the liner. We might get the odd tear in the liner but no one has every shredded it.

We just got one of these sent over from the states and have to say they are brilliant all the cats love it and it stops the dogs being able to help themselves to a snack and also cuts down on the amount of litter that ends up on the floor as the steps catch it, I am in love with my Booda litter tray, now just to ask nicely for another one to be brought over The one we have is in a lovely copper colour

SMK

Irish Lass,
I really like the look of the Booba litter tray! It looks quite small though - is it? One of my cats is quite big - he could do with a few sessions at the gym!!

Irish-Lass

its very large i have a big tom cat and its bigger then him there is plenty of room they are very large its actually bigger then my extra large swing door tray I have

FAYESY

That is such a cool looking tray!

What litter do you use? We have started to use the wood pellets & find the smell is sooooooooo much less offensive now.

Irish-Lass

we actually use sanicat, we tried the wood pellets but one of my females wouldn't set foot in the litter trays. We have the new booda one, 2 extra large covered litter trays with swing doors and then a large open tray that gets changed morning and evening. But this week they have all only been using the booda litter tray.