Cat food, smelly poop and their litterbox! How to fix it

Cat food, smelly poop and their litterbox! How to fix it

The pawing on ones’ shoulder, the snuggles, the purring and endless demand for attention are every cat owners delight. Cats have been scientifically proven to better the individuals mental and physical health. Research done in Australia showed that children who owned cats were happier, had more courage and experienced less loneliness as compared to those that did not own cats.

However, with every good thing comes a challenge. Cats are known to have very foul-smelling poop, a condition known as the odoriferous stool condition, which, given some situations, can be out of control.

What causes smelly cat poop?

1. Parasites

Some of the pests found in the intestines in cats, especially the coccidian, trichomonas and the giardia, are known to cause diarrhoea and gas which produces a foul smell.

When a cat or kitten has an infection, bacteria such as the salmonella, once settled, causes inflammations that lead to foul-smelling gas and diarrhoea.

3. Diet

When it comes to kittens, a change in diet or introduction to new foods causes faecal odour.  Cats are also known hunters. Therefore, the foul smell may be as a result of the cat feeding on prey such as rodents and bugs.

Just like in humans, cats are prone to mal-digestion or malabsorption, which eventually leads to bad smelling stool.

Which are the cat foods that make poop smelly?

1. Protein diet

Foods full of protein are one of the most common causes of smelly cat poop. Kittens are recommended foods high in protein to facilitate their growth, especially if you are weaning the cat into adulthood. This goes without saying that the poop is going to stink worse than before.

As previously mentioned, cats love to hunt. Some of the prey that cats feed on are known to cause a foul smell to the cat’s poop. These include rodents, insects and reptiles.

What kind of food should you feed your cat to prevent smelly poop?

Before going on a self-medicated trip with your cat, you must visit your veterinary for proper diagnostics. The vet is in a better and professional position to determine if the cat is suffering from an allergic reaction to food, indigestion, parasite or bacterial infection. Once this is done, the vet will recommend foods in cohesion with the recommended treatment that help eliminate the smelly poop predicament. Such foods include:

1. Cat food that contains easy to digest carbohydrates.

Though it is easy for some cats to digest whole-grain carbohydrates, it is essential to limit the number of carbs that your cat takes in. This dramatically reduces the amount of odour produced.

2. Avoid artificial additives like the plague in your cat food.

Things like preservatives, food colour, flavours and even some vitamins tend to upset the cat’s stomach. This leads to diarrhoea and bad smelling poop.

3. Use fewer ingredients in the cat food

The lesser the ingredients, the smaller the chances of getting an allergic attack. And if by bad luck, the cat does react to the food, then it becomes easier to eliminate the ingredients and identify the trigger.

4. Take into consideration the quality of the protein

Animal proteins, especially from fish, chicken, and meat, are considered the best for the cat as they help meet the 26% daily requirement for protein.

5. Feed the cat enough fibre and moisture from liquids such as milk to ensure digestion which in turn reduces poop odour.

As we have established some of the things that cause cat poop to smell beyond normal, and what to feed the cats in order to reduce the smell, it is equally important to know how to limit the smell coming from the litter box. Every poop has a foul odour, and considering how many times a cat relieves itself, it would be excruciatingly tiresome to keep letting it out and back in for relief. Thus the litter box. Here are ways in which we can keep the litter box from smelling;

1. Place the litter box where there is ventilation and easy reach for the cat. Most people make the mistake of hiding the litter box in a dark and secluded room. This only concentrated the smell making it unpleasant not only for you but for the cat as well. Eventually, the cat will find a better place to relieve him/herself. Usually, the centre of your bed. After all, we all want comfort.
2. Clean the litter box daily to avoid concentration of poop, urine and smell.
3. Replace the litter at least once a week. Scooping alone does not eliminate all the dirt. The little that remains might harbour parasites and bacteria that will lead to diseases and eventually, more smelly poop and vet visits.
4. Try non-scented deodorizer for a fresh-smelling litter box. You could also pour some baking soda on the litter once you’ve scooped the poop. Baking soda is known to eliminate the rancid smell that might remain after cleaning the litter.
5. With the vast improvement in technology, purpose to invest in the new self-cleaning litter box that cleans itself after every use leaving no trace of poop, urine or even smell.
6. Finally, replace the litter box every year. Like a worn mattress, your cats’ poop area needs to be replaced. Bacteria and bad odour tend to hide in those worn areas.

Some of the most common questions asked when it comes to cat poop and cats in general include;

1. What are the causes of smelly cat poop?

Some of the causes include a change in diet due to weaning the kitten, too many ingredients in the cat food, parasite and bacteria infestation, cancer and the kind of prey they feed on after hunting.

2. What is the weaning period for a kitten?

It takes about four to six weeks to wean a kitten. They are usually fully weaned by the time they are ten weeks old.

3. Does baking soda eliminate bad odour from the litter box?

Yes. Baking soda absorbs all the bad odour acting as an unscented deodorant.

4. What if the cat does not want to use the litter box despite training?

This may be an underlying health issue. Kindly visit the vet.

5. Why not train the cat to use and lush the toilet?

As fancy as this may seem, the cat poop cat easily clog the toilet and damage your pipes and septic tank.