Expert: Dear Tabbi - 2/13/2009

Question
Hello
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I live in an old apartment building and there is a lady in the building that has 18+ cats and the smell to the building coming from her place is awful it just lingers in the hallway coming up to my or should say to all apartments. I spray oroban to neutralize the air for a couple of days. It is very embarrassing for when company comes over. I have brought it to the landlord’s attention but he has never down anything about it. What else would be good to use to take away the smell? That is not that costly because it is I that is paying for this.
P.s .  I would like to hang up a sign ( we have a sign board that everyone uses) to maybe bring it more to her attention without being hurtful because saying something did not work. Would you also have an idea for that?
Thanks,
Nance  

Answer
Nance,

I have never used this, but I know people who have, and they swear by it for odors. It is called "Zero Odor". You can find it at zeroodor.com. I don't know if they sell it in stores, but the company should be able to tell you if they do and where.

At Target they have an electric air freshener/odor neutralizer called TrueAir. It is about 5"x5" and plugs into the wall. It has filters in it and they have one for it made just for pet odors. You may want to try those in a couple of your rooms.

The poor lady! It sounds like she has a big heart for cats. It seems that the older they get, the more cats they get! Maybe it is a source of comfort and companionship, and something to be able to care about and for. Sometimes it is the only thing that keeps them alive. But it is always a problem for neighbors, because after a while, the person doesn't smell the cats anymore.

Here is an interesting articles on "Cat Hoarders":
(copy and paste, or type the whole link into your address bar)

http://www.messybeast.com/collector.htm

It is possible that she cannot afford enough cat litter to keep the litter changed, or able to carry it from the store. Maybe someone can periodically leave bags of cat litter anonymously by her door.

Is there someone sympathetic to her and her cats that can talk to her and tell her it is becoming a problem and if they can do anything to help her control the smell before something is forcefully done?

Maybe there is a kid in the building who would like to earn extra money. They could tell her that they are trying to earn some money and could they 'work' for her helping to take care of her cats?

Find out from the SPCA if there is an organization that does free spay and neuters for low income people. Maybe she would get any tomcats neutered (they are the cause of a lot of strong odors). You can put any notices about it on your sign board.

I hope this helps. I understand how frustrating the problem is to you and I hope you can resolve it somehow. Or at least the odors in your apartment.

Tabbi