Cat litter smell.

Curse These Metal Hands

A cat turned up at our door a few days ago, crying, very hungry, cold and wet. We took her in, posted on social media groups etc. and the vet will see her on Tues to check for a chip, the hope is to get her back to her owner because she's very tame and someone must be missing her. In the meantime there are a lot of fireworks going off etc. so we are eager to keep her inside incase she gets spooked or harmed over Halloween.

We got a one of those covered litter boxes with the flap, but every morning when we come down the whole kitchen absolutely stinks. During the day we can clean as she uses it but not at night. We are using the Tesco litter which may be the issue. Any tips or brand recommendations in the event that she's not chipped and has to stay longer?

Alun

Clumping litter works better in that regard I found, it absorbs the wee and forms big clumps that you can remove in one go and it also dries out the poos a bit making them less smelly. You can also get perfumed versions but some cats don't like the smell :) Be aware also that clumping litter is a lot finer than the usual stuff and again, some cats are fussy and won't use it because of that, and it also tends to get trailed around the area around the litter box a bit more than other types.

Well done BTW in taking kitty in and looking after her :)

johndoe99

I use Aldi's litter, once bough tescos as it was cheap, but cat refused to use it. Think it was because it stuck to his paws.

I used silica litter for my late cat, great for curbing smell, as he lived indoors only in apartment with me. Only usually available in pet stores though.

glen123

I've tried multiple litters and I find this clumping one to be the best:

https://www.maxizoo.ie/p/catsan-ultra-plus-clumping-litter-10-l-1003179/

If you add deodorant to it, it's even better. Absolutely no smell if you clean it once a day (just scrape the bottom in case any pee is stuck in there)

ZX7R

Cat could have a urine tract infection, my cat 17 years old her urine smells very bad when she gets one

Also just a thought, do you have underfloor heating, if so if heating is on at night it can cause the smell to be worse.

Alun

https://www.maxizoo.ie/p/multifit-ultra-comfort-15-l-1005146/

This is the one I used. We tried the perfumed one but no dice ☹️

iwillhtfu

Cats are always hungry and seldom lost I'd imagine she will find her way home.

This is from a cat owner that had to drive across the country to collect their cat as someone thought their cat was lost. 🙄

Good thinking having the cat scanned for a chip would've saved me a trip had the gobshite that took our cat done the same.

Faith

Our cat won’t go near clumping litter, and we found clay based ones tracked really badly. We use Pampuss wood pellet non-clumping litter plus a deodoriser. It’s not perfect, but it definitely doesn’t stink the place out (and that’s including that it’s basically impossible to scoop out the dissolved wood pellets so it does a great job at absorbing smells overall).

Also, I think the hooded trays can trap smells a little more. You could try leaving the lid off and see if that helps? Sounds counter-intuitive but might be worth a try.

Curse These Metal Hands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119813129#Comment_119813129

Normally I would leave it, but it was miserable evening and there were a lot of fireworks going off, it also seemed distressed and drank a lot of water when he took it in, it had been licking water off our drive when we found it. Thought the best option would be to take it in and try and find the owner. I also thought it might have arrived inside an engine or something like that and was lost.

Hopefully if there is a chip it will reveal something.

Curse These Metal Hands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119813110#Comment_119813110

No underfloor heating but the house is generally very warm. She drinks a lot of water, not sure it that's an indication of anything but will say it to the vet. She's also pooing at least four times a day so maybe has worms or something?

iwillhtfu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119813300#Comment_119813300

There's no harm in a few days. If there's no chip I'd be inclined to leave her out and ignored to encourage her to go home.

When our cat went missing I wouldn't have thought of social media groups and likely not a member of any of them.

I use Cat's Best Original - I truly found it lived up to its name! It's also compostable.

https://www.maxizoo.ie/p/cats-best-original-43-kg-1103723/?isSearchPage=cat%27s%20best

It's not the cheapest on the market, but it's worth it. I've two cats, and would use maybe 1 and a half bags of this litter per month for two trays (mine don't like to share!)

In my experience cats don't drink a lot of water, so given that, and the fact that her urine smells strongly, as someone suggest above, she could have a UTI.

ZX7R

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119813359#Comment_119813359

The cat should not really be pooing 4 times a day ,this could simply be because of over feeding or that she is eating dry food in your home.

Cats poo more if they consume dry food only.

Is the cats stool loose or solid.

If the cat had worms you would easily know blotted belly and you see them.

The cat has had a stressful experience in a different house different food ect none of this would help the toilet ruteen.

If you're feeding dry food swap for wet food and less Water to drink this may help.

Tell vet everything and ask for a full examination of the cat.

No doubt even if the owners are found,you will have a friend and visitor for the duration of the cats life.

patnor1011

Silica litter is the best however my chat is a champ and only use litter box when we lock down tight and sleep too long. He simply prefer to do it in the wild. He usually jump out the toilet window we leave open for him. If someone close it then he go for any window he find open. Since kids go sleep late and we wake up around 4-5 every morning I only need to change litter like once a month usually weekend if we manage to oversleep.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119814264#Comment_119814264

Can I ask how “compostable” works in this context please? Does the whole lot go into the brown bin?

No, cat litter should go in the general waste bin, not the brown bin.

I don't compost it myself, as I am not a gardener and not knowledgeable enough on composting and I know that cat faeces can contain harmful bacteria which shouldn't be used in gardens.

However the litter I use is made of plant fibres so is considered biodegradable and compostable, and someone with a compost heap in their garden could dispose of it that way.

Sorry that's not a full answer.

ZX7R

How did the cat get on in the vets.

Curse These Metal Hands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119824905#Comment_119824905

No chip unfortunately. We let her out yesterday and she arrived back crying at the door in the evening again.

ZX7R

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119825567#Comment_119825567

I think you have a new pet.

Alun

We need photos 😁

Curse These Metal Hands

She took to the bean bag immediately.

Congratulations on being adopted by your new pet! She is very pretty.

She looks just like my tabby 😺

Have you chosen a name yet?

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119814738#Comment_119814738

Thanks, I did encounter one person who was putting it all in the brown bin, supposedly on DSPCA advice, but it seemed a bit strange to me.

Congrats to the OP on being chosen.

ZX7R

Beautiful cat.

Alun

She's lovely! Reminds me of our Buffy who we lost a couple of years ago ❤️

Curse These Metal Hands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119825772#Comment_119825772

Squiggles 😂

Curse These Metal Hands

A woman got in touch that lives nearby. She is fairly certain it's her cat, she last saw it in August. I think the black lines around the eyes suggest it's not?

The problem with tabby's, is they all look so alike - they can sometimes be very hard to tell apart.

But this does look like two different cats. The markings between the eyes and around the eyes do appear to be slightly different.

Curse These Metal Hands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119839078#Comment_119839078

Yeah we are willing to keep her unless the owner gets in touch, but most definitely don't want to give her to the wrong person though. We've had messages from all over the country.

This really drives home the importance of getting your pets microchipped, doesn't it! My girls were both chipped by the rescue I adopted them from as part of the adoption agreement, and their chips are registered to both myself, and the rescue.

So you can see how hard it is to tell tabbys apart, here is a pic of my tabby (age 1 year). They all have similar markings around the forehead and eyes.