Atlanta man calls 911 over cat's smelly litter box

ATLANTA - There are many reasons why you should call 911. A smelly litter box isn't one of them.

But that's just what one Atlanta man felt he needed to report. Police say he rang up the emergency line to deal with his litter issue.

The Atlanta Police Department shared audio from the call on Facebook.

"The cat got the house smelling bad ma'am," the man told the 911 dispatcher. "She's trying to burn incense in here, but it's not getting better. It's getting worser - the smell."

Officials say while they love Atlanta's feline friends, a lingering odor from a litter box is not something to dial 911 for and can actually make it more difficult for people with serious emergencies to get the help they need.

MORE: Atlanta woman calls 911 to order chicken wings

"Life-Threatening Situation? Call 911," the APD wrote. "Pet-related issues? Reach out to your local veterinary service."

Unnecessary 911 calls in Atlanta

Last year, officials told the Atlanta City Council that out of 1.3 million calls handled by the ATL e-911 in 2023, only 45,000 were deemed serious emergencies and only 900 of those were shootings or stabbings.

Some of the calls they received in 2023 included a man calling to ask about the score of the latest football game and a man trying to move his couch's pillows.

Though call wait times have improved slightly from an average of 29 seconds to 24 seconds, Atlanta Police Department’s chief administrative officer Peter Aman told members of the council the influx of non-emergency calls has made it difficult to get phones answered more quickly on top of staffing issues.

Officials are urging residents to think twice before dialing the number and directing people with non-emergencies to call 311 instead.

Starting this year, ATL 311 is now being used to handle APD’s non-emergency calls.