Those of us who have indoor cats and go through the perils of a clean litter tray on a daily basis, have no choice but to spend a decent amount of money on maintaining a clean and hygienic toilet facility for our pets. Cats are very finicky creatures about the spick and span condition of their litter trays. If they can smell anything undesirable which could be odour from another cat using their loo (in case of more than one cat in the house, and if it has not been cleaned properly, your cat will not use the litter tray and instead proceed to punish you for it by choosing another place, near or not so near the litter tray.

This means that you not only have to change the litter often enough but refresh it on a daily basis as cat litter can smell pretty disgusting especially in closed environs, with warm and humid conditions adding to the dire situation.

Ideally the litter tray should be kept near an exhaust fan or a window. But if that is not possible, it is a good idea to scoop out the dropping and freshen the litter with litter fresheners. Here comes the crunch. Litter, available in shops, is imported hence not easy on the pocket, and then to add the expense of litter fresheners is a bit much.

Here is a green and cost effective idea to freshen your cat’s litter tray

But there is that magic ingredient in your kitchen — baking soda — which can come to the rescue. Every time you clean out the litter tray, sprinkle about one tablespoon of baking soda over the litter. It takes about two minutes to neutralise the bad odour. It is available everywhere and is cost-effective indeed.

Even better would be to fill a jam jar with baking soda. Fill it to the top, leaving a little empty space on top to help you give it a shake afterwards. To this baking soda, you can add any of your favourite perfume oil: lavender, lemon, rose, orange. These are available in supermarkets and wherever perfumed candles and oils are sold. Add four to five drops to the jam jar. Give it a shake and now your economical, homemade and cost-effective litter freshener is ready.

If in a day or two you feel that the perfume oil fragrance has vanished, just give the jar another shake, and the fragrance will be restored again.

Your kitty will soon reward you by visiting her loo promptly and efficiently.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, February 14th, 2016