Let’s face it it isn’t meant to smell like a basket of roses, but if your kitty can clear the room after having a bowel movement, you may start to wonder if your cat’s poop smells much worse than it should. Here’s what you should know about cats and their malodorous poops.
Problems with diet
Just like in humans, a poor diet can lead to an upset stomach for your cat. Whenever possible, you should opt for a high quality wet cat food. Wet cat foods provide more moisture, which can make bowel movements easier for your cat. They also tend to contain less fillers, which mean that there are more digestible ingredients. Often times, what’s causing the odor in the litter box is the bacteria working to digest the parts of the food that your cat could not.
Likewise, if you have your cat on a rotation diet, take note of which days seem to be the worst for litter box odor. There may be a certain brand or flavor to blame. Suddenly switching your cat’s food can also lead to an upset stomach.
Health concerns
Inappropriate litter box usage is one of the tell tale signs of health problems. Many serious illnesses such as chronic kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, and more make their presence known by irregular waste. Furthermore, parasites such as worms and certain malignant microorganisms can give your cat an upset stomach and unpleasant litter box experience, too.
Choice of cat litter
After you’ve taken your cat to the vet and he or she has been given a clean bill of health, and you’re quite sure after consulting with the vet that your cat is on the appropriate food, you may want to blame the litter box itself.
Some cat litters smell worse than others. For instance, natural plant based litters and unscented clay litters need to be completely changed often because they hold onto odors. The problem could also be that your cat isn’t covering up the poop, which you can imagine would have the same effect as someone in your family who never flushes the toilet.
Are you worried about your cat’s litter box smelling up your apartment while you’re out of town? Hire a pet sitter! Our pet sitters scoop the litter box daily. Drop us a line today!
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Candace Elise Hoes is a pet sitter and blogger at Katie’s Kitty. She is a graduate of the MFA Writing Program at California College of the Arts.
Photo by schuger on pixabay.