Changing cat litter

Dizzyduck

boliston wrote: »

I would have thought that cat poo would bio degrade in the same way as human poo and that some of the chemicals & bleaches that people chuck down toilets would have more environmental impact.

If you have an outside bin then having it full of poo is fine, but if you live in an apartment block then you are not going to want a bin full of festering poo in your living room.

As mentioned in my post it the microbes in the pooh not the biodegradability that's an issue.
Also just because the word "flushable" is used doesn't necessarily mean it should be flushed - nothing else apart from pee/ pooh and toilet paper should be flushed.
I assume in apartments you are given outside bins?!
STW's are set up to deal with chemicals before they have an environmental impact otherwise why bother treating the effluent?

Fire_Fox

Dizzyduck wrote: »

As mentioned in my post it the microbes in the pooh not the biodegradability that's an issue.
Also just because the word "flushable" is used doesn't necessarily mean it should be flushed - nothing else apart from pee/ pooh and toilet paper should be flushed.
I assume in apartments you are given outside bins?!

Now we are getting into a whole different discussion. We have two pubs, a sarnie shop, two blocks of flats, sewer rats and junkies all using the same courtyard. I am not going downstairs and outside to bins that are permanently overflowing when my cat poops in the litter tray in my bedroom at midnight. I consider that to be a health hazard and, yes, I have spoken to the council who won't do anything because of the commercial and domestic mix.

Is it common for people to get infected as a result of flushing cat poo? I thought it was toxoplasmosis (protozoan) not bacteria? A healthy feline gut flora can't be that different from a human as the same probiotic supplements are used. What is the difference between flushing cat poo and flushing poo from a human who has gastroenteritis? :huh:

Natty68

I think it might be to do with any cat litter that might be mixed in with the poo. Apparently it can block the pipes quite considerably, well so I was lead to believe by a water engineer when he came to unblock the drains in the road. The first question he asked was whether anyone was flushing cat litter down the loo..

Me I'm one of these that double bags in big black bin liners, and chuck in the wheelie bin

Buttonmoons

I'm sure there are worse things flushed down the loo!

Vomit, Fag butts, Sanitary products, probably a ton of things!

I scoop the poops into scented bags but it doesn't prevent the total pong. I'm lucky that I have a bin chute right outside my door (Skyscraper) so no need to even go outside. I just lob it down, wheeeee, goodbye stink!

geri1965_2

boliston wrote: »

If you have an outside bin then having it full of poo is fine, but if you live in an apartment block then you are not going to want a bin full of festering poo in your living room.

My cat's poo goes into the kitchen bin (bagged first) - I can't smell it at all because I have a bin with a decent lid. When the lid is open it stinks, no more so than the rotting food though.

LittleBottle

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I am not going downstairs and outside to bins that are permanently overflowing when my cat poops in the litter tray in my bedroom at midnight.

Why is the litter tray in your bedroom??? My cat smells like all the evils in the world when she poops and you can smell it from a whole room away, I would be very sick if she did it in the same room while I slept :eek:. You must have a much less fragrant cat - you lucky thing.

I am curious about the flushing, I've heard advice saying you shouldn't put the solids in the bin because of risk to the binmen so I always flush that then double bag and bin the used (poop free) litter twice a week.

boliston

LittleBottle wrote: »

Why is the litter tray in your bedroom??? My cat smells like all the evils in the world when she poops and you can smell it from a whole room away, I would be very sick if she did it in the same room while I slept :eek:. You must have a much less fragrant cat - you lucky thing.......

My cats tend to cover what they have done so there is very little smell, especially as I use "World's Best Extra Strength Formula". If your litter is not controlling odour then you might need to think about trying a brand that does control it.

Fire_Fox

LittleBottle wrote: »

Why is the litter tray in your bedroom??? My cat smells like all the evils in the world when she poops and you can smell it from a whole room away, I would be very sick if she did it in the same room while I slept :eek:. You must have a much less fragrant cat - you lucky thing.

I have two litter trays and only five rooms in the flat! The first litter tray was in the combined kitchen/ living area, but Noah is nervous so needed second tray in a place he could retreat to when I have guests. Hall is central to the flat so guests would constantly be passing the tray and the bathroom is too small - neither room has a window either.

When Noah eats tuna or kibble containing rice (possibly all cereals) he poops three times a day and stinks the entire place out - instead he has raw plus high meat/ grain free wet and dry and only the occasional whiff. Change your cats food and you could find the smells are eliminated overnight.

Buttonmoons

My cats poop once a day (one after another, how grim) and I never smell it, though I can tell when the youngest has eaten something he shouldn't of, because OMG it honks!

He's also a bit minging and rarely bothers to cover it well, but then the other cat goes in and covers her own for about 30minutes (and god forbid she uses the tray, she ends up scratching the sides of it, the floor and the wall, which wakes me up and I end up shouting through "ARRGHH PACK IT IN") So because she kicks the litter around for a century, she breaks her poo (and his!) up into about a million pieces.

Really grosses me out when I see bits of kicked up poo, still attached by one of MY hairs......

rita-rabbit

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I have two litter trays and only five rooms in the flat! The first litter tray was in the combined kitchen/ living area, but Noah is nervous so needed second tray in a place he could retreat to when I have guests. Hall is central to the flat so guests would constantly be passing the tray and the bathroom is too small - neither room has a window either.

When Noah eats tuna or kibble containing rice (possibly all cereals) he poops three times a day and stinks the entire place out - instead he has raw plus high meat/ grain free wet and dry and only the occasional whiff. Change your cats food and you could find the smells are eliminated overnight.

the other end.....

I have a four roomed flat & two litter trays which are both in the bathroom (seems to be the best place, although initially I had one in the bathroom & other in the hallway until I got a triangle shaped one so it could fit in a corner in the bathroom instead, the other tray is rectangled & fits under the bathroom sink but this will dictate what type of bathroom suite I get when it's changed so box can still fit underneath - it's a small flat)

the binmen do not touch rubbish anymore so please do not flush solids (yuk)!

Note: the more fillers in the food the more `volume' & smells of waste.