Air Freshener advice

[loobs]

I have been owned by indoor cats for the past ten years and obviously I am well used to dealing with litter trays. When either of my cats does a number 2, I clean it up straight away. Sometimes when I've been out I come home to a very smelly house. This is all part and parcel of being a pet owner, and it doesn't really bother me. The problem is when I am arriving with a guest. This happened to me today, I was taking them in to the house and one of my cats had done an extremely smelly poop. I was mortified.

I don't use plug in air fresheners because I don't think they are safe for pets, and don't have any air freshener sprays for the same reason. When I came home today I opened some windows and was frantically spraying deodorant to try and cover the smell. The cats' poo doesn't always smell ( they are fussy eaters and one is on a special diet so I can't change the food) but sods law states that it will when I have people with me.

Would very occasional use of an air freshener spray be harmful? All the information about air fresheners seems to be about plug ins, which I won't use anyway. I thought about getting one for when I do have visitors and wouldn't spray it anywhere near my cats.

Does anybody know if this would be safe, or if not, what products could you recommend?

Thank you!

[Kay]

I recently decided to give up conventional air fresheners for the same reasons as you, and research led me to Citrus Magic products

I have a solid block one on a shelf above the litter tray and it really works

[bobbys girl]

I've started to make my own air freshener spray. I use distilled water with a little alcohol (vodka) and a few drops of a good essential oil. Lavender, lemon, peppermint, tea tree, grapefruit and geranium are all good. I put it in a little spray bottle and give it a good shake before spraying. Obvious advise is - don't spray it near the cats or on you favourite fabrics, but otherwise it's fine - and quick!

[MarySkater]

I make occasional use of Neutradol spray. I'll keep the cats out of the room for quarter of an hour, to let it settle, and I make sure it can't get on their food or water. It's probably less than once a month I feel the need to use it, and at that rate of use, I don't believe it does any harm.

[Antonio]

@loobs,
Do you use open litter tray or do you have a closed one?
I found out that covered trays are very good at containing smells, provided that they are regularly cleaned and every, say, 15 days you give them a good wash.
They also have active carbon filters that need to be replaced about every 2-3 months.

[loobs]

I recently decided to give up conventional air fresheners for the same reasons as you, and research led me to Citrus Magic products

I have a solid block one on a shelf above the litter tray and it really works

I came across them too and decided to give it a go. It hasn't worked I'm afraid!

[loobs]

@loobs,
Do you use open litter tray or do you have a closed one?
I found out that covered trays are very good at containing smells, provided that they are regularly cleaned and every, say, 15 days you give them a good wash.
They also have active carbon filters that need to be replaced about every 2-3 months.

I have a closed one downstairs but I can still smell cat poop as soon as I come in sometimes!

[Lilith]

Although they're not ideal or 'green' I use the battery-powered Airwick 'compact' fresheners that keep emitting a spray of 'freshener' every so often, but you have to stand them somewhere where the cat can't jump and put its nose near the device.

They do work reasonably well.

[bobbys girl]

I know it's very tempting to use air fresheners, but a lot of the'big name' stuff is packed full of the same chemicals that are pumped out of diesel vehicles - they don't tell you that do they! Napthalene, toluene, benzene, acetone all sorts of nasties.

OH used to work in the tyre industry, he used all of the above and more. Many of our neighbours worked in the same factory and I can tell you an alarming number of them died of lung, throat, stomach or bladder cancer or were forced to retire early due to ill health. OH calls them fxxk-u-lates!

I'm still experimenting with essential oils, Castile soap, water and vodak (not necessarily at the same time!) When it comes to stopping the little darlings peeing where they shouldn't, citrus scents and eucalyptus seem to be working OK 60% of the time. Peppermint and birch mask the smell very well - but don't inhale too deeply!

I just hope all my good work is not in vain when Freddie and Hana arrive next week. I'm taking a Bob-scented towel to my neighbours tomorrow and am going to leave it with the kittens.

[Ruth B]

I will admit to using a quick spray of Oust when mine have been particularly smelly just before we want to use the room with the litter tray in, never around the cats and never around their food or water, but normally just a quick spray in the air above the litter tray.

The best thing for keeping odours down that I have found is a good quality cat litter. I use the Catsan Clumping litter and as long as the cat buries what he has done the smell is normally gone within a few minutes, it's expensive but I feel that it is worth the cost. I also use a litter tray deodorizing spray on the remaining litter after I have cleaned the trays out to help with any residual smells.

[Kay]

a natural air freshener is a bowl of 50/50 white vinegar and water, with some essential oils added - I find lavender is the nicest - and this solution is good for all-round cleaning in the home too

didn't mask the smell of the tray as well as Citrus Magic lavender though - I have a solid block one sitting on a shelf just above the litter tray, and its just where my nose is when I bend down to scoop, which is the only time I get a strong whiff of my cats' evacuations

[Antonio]

Like others have said, I wouldn't use chemical air freshener on a regular/daily basis.
I think you have to work on the litter quality. Some of them absorb and neutralise odours very well. And on the kittie's food quality. I have noticed than some canned food make cats produce smelly poops.

[pharazone2017]

Raising cats in home can cause bad odors , using a pet friendly air freshener in home is a good idea , this collection is great to check
http://topproductguide.com/home-utiliti ... -home-use/

[lilynmitz]

I agree, using a good quality litter really helps. Despite what the adverts say, Catsan really stinks. I also briefly used a pink one (can't remember the name, but similar to catsan) used by the rescue centre I brought Elsie home from to help her settle in, and that was absolutely toxic!!! (and turned her white paws pink!) A friend of mine used Catsan for years and their house smelt noticeably "catty" nevertheless. They recently changed to Worlds Best and you can hardly smell anything now. It may be pricey, but it's really efficient as you only need to scoop the solid bits and wipe the tray down, with a full clean out every two weeks or so. I use Cats Best (much the same but cheaper than WB) and that's pretty good too. Not much hides the smell of a fresh poo though

The main smell issue I'm having to deal with is the smell of cat food! If we've been away so the house hasn't been aired, it's pretty whiffy.....