Have any of you heard of/used Fresh Pets?

[Linzi]

I'm fairly new to the world of cat ownership (finally getting my own kitty 3 weeks ago after about a year of preparation), and have been looking for something to help reduce litter tray smells as much as possible (as well as doing things like feeding a good quality diet etc. - tips I've picked up elsewhere on this site). I've come across a product called Fresh Pets, which is a spray that is sprayed on their food, and is supposed to help get rid of bad smells. It sounds really good, although part of me is slightly sceptical and also wondering if it really is safe (which is my main concern), although the website makes all the right noises.

So I was wondering if any of you folks who are far more cat savvy than I am have used it/heard of it?

Thanks.

[jckkerrison]

Thats a complete new one to me,will be interesting to see what replies you get,with five of them could be a worth while product although strangely enough since we have moved onto chick crumb & pellets for litter the smells don't seem anywhere as bad, as long as they cover that is...!

[Linzi]

Yes, Oscar is a bit hit and miss when it comes to covering! The litter I'm using (currently in the process of moving from Catsan to silica based) doesn't seem to be a problem after a couple of hours. It's the immediate 'post poo' smell that's more of an issue.

[Bethy_boo]

I honestly don't think you can stop a cat's sh*t from smelling. It's just the way they are. I find quick removal and covering with a scented powder helps...but generally you just get used to it. Everybody's poo smells!

[Antonia]

I had a look at the Freshpet website... this stuff contains all kinds of adsorbing and binding ingredients. One of them is zeolite, which – according to Wikipedia – “…can be used in general odor elimination for all animal odors.”
Zeolite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is also used to make non-clumping cat litter. (How ironic – feeding cat litter in order to reduce stool smell.)

Anyways, my own experience has been that all my cats’ poos have been virtually odorless (and very firm) ever since they’ve been on an exclusively raw diet. Even the uncovered ones – like the little ‘Klingons’ you sometimes have to pick out of their breeches – hardly smell. Visitors often ask if our cats do their business in the garden because they can’t smell litter trays (there are two big ones in the house).

But of course feeding fresh raw meat is not a practical solution for everyone so I think you will have to put up with some smell, like Bethy_boo says.

[Suzygeorgie]

That's interesting. I don't have a very good sense of smell but my husband and son tell me that Kenny has a very strong odour when he poos!!! I use the nice-smelling powder on the cat litter, combined with emptying it as soon as he's been.

[Abbey]

I personally wouldn't. You don't know what it's doing to the taste of their food let alone their insides. And what happens when you have a kitten (who has an extremely sensitive digestive system) that gets affected by the ingredients and you end up with runny bums or worse, permanent damage.

The beauty of owning pets is experiencing it all. Cuddles, play time, feeding time and toilet time. Yes their poo will smell. I guess the severity of smell depends on the food and the cat. Just feed your kitty a good quality food and keep the litter tray clean (and especially picking poo up as soon as it comes put). Simply take a deep breath, scoop it up, run to the toilet and flush it (or run to the back door and flick it over the fence haha whatever you choose).

Last thing you want is to have a beautiful new kitten with the worse runs ever. You want to talk about smells... You just wait for that haha.

But that's just MY opinion...

[Linzi]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I was fairly sure it probably wasn't worth it (or sensible) to give it a try. Definitely not if it has a common ingredient with cat litter! Fortunately most of this week he's been going either over night or while I'm at work, so not so much a problem hehe. Plus he seems a lot better at burying it recently and the silica litter seems to be doing a better job than the catsan too (he was on that at the rescue). I've switched his dry food too (he has good quality wet for brekkie and tea, but dry down all the time too) and that also seems to be helping.

[Tivicoons]

my favourite subject!!! I think it is wrong to mask the smell of your cats poos etc as the offerings are one of the best indicators of general health... strangely when we went to the Exmoor Zoo for my youngest child's birthday last year we pulled in and could smell the big cats, we all agreed that it smelt just like Quiff (whiffy Quiffy)