Can I sanitise soil safely ?

[Firefly]

My elderly Cypriot cat uses my garden as a loo, ok, better than using someone else's ! He's getting a bit lax in covering up now, so I usually have to do it In spite of that, the soils smell awful, do any of you gardeners out there know of a product that I can use to safely sanitise the soil ?

Thanks, Jackie.

[panoscouse]

Powered garlic mixed with chili powder should keep the cat away.

To totally sanitise the soil you could cover it in clear plastic sheeting.

Search google for 'soil solarisation', plenty of examples on there.

[Firefly]

Thanks both, but the poor old thing has to go somewhere. It concerns me that whatever I use will harm him either by damage to his paws, or internally from washing himself.

Jackie

[panoscouse]

Jackie,

If you call into the big Agricultural shop near to London Rd Supie (opposite side) and ask for a bag of powered Zeolite. 10kilo around €15.
It's basically powered cat litter without the additives and has no smell or toxicity. Mix that into the soil where he goes and it will absorb all the excess moisture and should eliminate most of the unpleasant odour. It's also good for absorbing oil stains off a driveway.

[trevnhil]

Jackie is in the UK, but maybe she can get a similar product there

Trev..

[panoscouse]

Oops! didn't spot the location.

In that case try B&M etc and get a bag of cat litter. I'd soak it overnight and then let it dry to remove any perfumes in it. As it's more likely to be granular it will remain in the soil for several years but should do no harm to anything planted after it's been washed and dried.

[Dominic]

Tackling the problem from a different angle, how about altering his diet so his poop doesn't stink so much?

[Firefly]

Panoscouse

Thanks for the idea, I will certainly try it.

Dominic

He mainly eats fish, which he goes mad for, having been begging in a fish Taverna for food when he was just a kitten. Too cruel to stop him now poor old man.

Flossie

Quite so.

Jackie