From glorious furry cuddles to playtime and adorable social media posts, there are countless reasons to love the company of an indoor cat, but there’s no denying there can be one big downside: scooping smelly litter boxes!
With cats visiting their litter box many times daily, owners can spend a serious amount of time scooping in a bid to keep nasty odours under control. But even with regular cleaning, litter boxes can annoyingly still have a strong smell. This is partly down to the amount of ammonia released as cat urine is more concentrated than that of many other pets, including dogs, so it’s worth encouraging cats to drink as much as possible to help to dilute their urine.
Another straightforward way to help reduce odours is to consider switching a cat’s food as the smell of their waste can be affected by what they eat. For instance, diets that are higher in protein can cause much more odoriferous stools. Kitten food in particular contains higher protein quantities to help young cats develop so once they have reached their first birthday ensure cats are weaned onto a lower-protein adult diet.
Another thing to think about is changing litter tray as the type of tray and litter lining can have a massive effect on smells. A fantastic way of combating both odours and never-ending tray maintenance is to invest in an automatic litter box. A product to consider is the ScoopFree™ Original Self-Cleaning Litter Box from PetSafe® Brand. Retailing at £154.99, it’s the only self-cleaning litter box that uses disposable trays, meaning a fresh-smelling home and no more scooping. The box can be left for weeks at a time, it just needs to be plugged in!
It works by using an automatic rake system that sweeps cats’ waste into a covered compartment 20 minutes after the box is used. Safety sensors detect if the cat has re-entered the box and stop the rake from sweeping until the cat has left again. The box uses specially-designed crystal litter, packed in a convenient disposable litter tray with leak-proof lining. This absorbent litter is five times more effective at reducing odour than clay or clumping litters and uses five to 10 times less litter than traditional trays, meaning less waste.
PetSafe® Brand also offers another ScoopFree™ model – the ScoopFree™ Ultra, £181.99. The box boasts additional features including a Privacy Hood that gives cats extra privacy while keeping the litter properly contained. It also has an Adjustable Rake Delay that allows you to time the rake to sweep 5, 10 or 20 minutes after use and a Health Counter that tracks how often cats are using the tray.
For more information on the full range of PetSafe® Brand Waste Management products visit www.petsafe.com/UK.
