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Old November 28th, 2010, 09:42 AM
GGirl GGirl is offline
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Another Stinky Poop Question

About a month ago, I adopted two 4(now 5?) month kittens (brother and sister) from a rescue group. They were very generous and gave us lots of toys and a bag of Science Diet Kitten Dry food and two cans of wet food.

I think the bag lasted for two weeks, and during this time, the kittens had really smelly farts and poops. The poops ranged from brown and slightly wet to normal stools. When they pooped, despite cleaning the box right after and adding Arm&Hammer Cat deodorizer, the smell lingered throughout the apartment. I tried changing their diet to what I fed my cats in the past who had no such issue, although you would probably classify it as a lower quality brand, I went with the President Choice Kitten Chicken and Rice. We stayed on this for a week, and still the problem persisted. I then went to PetSmart and asked their advice, and they recommended Nutro Max Cat Kitten. They said it was a much higher quality and I will be coming back for more. Again, the problem still persists.

I also talked to one of my "cat-lady" friends and she suggested it might be worms. I could try giving them some plain vanilla yogurt and/or get them tested. I tried the yogurt but the cats are confused and wont eat it. I also contacted the rescue organization and ask them and they reassured me the cats were dewormed and it must be diet related.

So I'm now confused as to what to do. Should I get them tested for worms? Should I try switching their food again? Should I try wet, or will that just increase the smell? What brands or ingredients have been known to help? Or is this just normal and will be with us forever?

I've had two cats in the past and their poops never smelled this bad. I also clean the kitty litter twice a day, so I'm being very diligent that it's not the box but the actual smell that is lingering. I also do not see anything in the stools themselves. And both the cats have stinky farts/poos. Is it just their genetics?
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  #2  
Old November 28th, 2010, 11:21 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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The only way you are going to get rid of the stinky poops is to change their diet, period. Get rid of the carbs.

Not all cats have a problem with carbs, but ones that do end up with anything from stinky poops to diarrhea and gas. A raw diet will almost 100% guarantee no smell, and small poops. A quality canned with no kibble is the next best thing. Cats are not meant to have carbs and their digestive system is not made to digest them.

Here are some good links:

A bible for all cat owners:
http://www.catinfo.org/

More technical data on cat nutrition:

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

Here are some great canned (all GRAIN FREE):

My favourites:
Wellness (does have some sweet potato which can cause some issues)
Nature's Variety, Instinct (no potato)
Organics by Nature

My occasional feedings:

Fromm's 4 Starr
Go Natural

My favourite Treat canned:
Almo Nature

My favourite treat crunchie
Now!


My Jasper does not do well on carbs, he gets just like your kitties if he eats any amount of kibble or a bit of grains, especially corn then it is . He eats half canned (the above ones mentioned), and half homemade raw and his smell is pretty much gone . If somebody gives him more than a tiny bit of kibble, he gets very stinky
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  #3  
Old November 29th, 2010, 09:31 AM
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kasey&roxie kasey&roxie is offline
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GGirl, congratulations on your new fur babies!!

Did the rescue say what they dewormed them with? I know with some dewormer they need to do it more than once.

I adopted two kitties last year from our local OSPCA, they were dewormed there too and we found a tapeworm on Kasey the night we brought him home.

Our other kitty, Roxie developed stinky, bloody diarrhea a week after we adopted them and we tried all kinds of different food and nothing mattered. Kasey had mostly normal poop but would have a runny one every once in while and they both had gas as well. We did fecal samples more than once that came back negative for parasites etc. I switched vets and when we did a final fecal they came back positive for clostridium bacteria. We did a round of metranidozole and they cleared up.

We did a full PCR fecal analysis that checks for parasites and bacteria. We also tested for tritrichomonas foetus.

I would do both. Get them checked out at your vet and switch their food. A good quality grain free canned is a great place to start.
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Old November 29th, 2010, 09:39 AM
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14+kitties 14+kitties is offline
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As L4 stated the kitties' diet needs to be changed to eliminate the dry food all together. All of the diet changes will play havoc with your kitties' bellies. Sort of like when we eat too many veggies or too much fruit. And we are built to handle that type of food. Cats aren't. Cats are obligate carnivores. They need meat, not grains. Deworming again wouldn't hurt.
Once the kittens are on a good diet and not yoyoing back and forth I am sure things will improve. Please don't expect overnight though. It will take a while for the bellies to settle. Meanwhile you could try adding some probiotics to their diet. It will help rebuild their belly flora. You can find probiotics at most health food stores and good pharmacies.
Please try to find a Global pet food store or even Pet Valu. Their food choice is much better quality than the food mentioned.
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Old December 1st, 2010, 07:40 AM
GGirl GGirl is offline
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Thanks for the help everyone. I really really appreciate it.

I'm so confused!

I went to my local petvalu and they were very helpful. I asked about the wet food but he recommended to keep them on dry food. He suggested a few brands and I decided to go with Taste of the Wild. He was very helpful and even said if the cats don't like the food to return the bag and he'll give me a refund on the unused portion.

What is a probiotic? Is it powder form? A pill? Is there a "cat" form or any probiotic is good? I'm starting to get desperate The poop smell seems to be getting worse, I guess because of all the food changes.

How long on the new food until I see a change? The guy at petvalu said up to two months!
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Old December 1st, 2010, 08:05 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GGirl View Post
he recommended to keep them on dry food. He suggested a few brands and I decided to go with Taste of the Wild.

The poop smell seems to be getting worse, I guess because of all the food changes.
Ummm, you didn't get the premium canned as recommended above. Your cat may not be able to handle the carbs and dry food is NOT good for your cat.

Please take the time to read this website, it is by far the best one written on the web.

http://www.catinfo.org/

With my Jasper, it is about 24 hours after taking him off all kibble (sometimes DH gives him too much in a day ), to get him back to normal poops.
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Rose semi feral, a cpietra rescue, female tabby (approx 13 yrs)

Jasper RIP (2001-2018)
Sweet Pea RIP (2004?-2014)
Puddles RIP (1996-2014)
Snowball RIP (1991-2005)

In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats.-English Proverb

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” Stephen R. Covey
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Old December 1st, 2010, 08:21 AM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GGirl View Post
I asked about the wet food but he recommended to keep them on dry food.
Most pet store clerks are totally clueless about feline nutrition, and this guy was clearly no exception. Take the TOTW back and say your cat won't eat it. Then pick up some cans of quality wet food instead and stick with that.

You can use human probiotics from a health food store. They come in capsules that you sprinkle into the wet food. Most have to be stored in the fridge. A good one to look for is Natural Factor's Ultimate Multi or 12/12. Has a wide variety of organisms and is high potency, with minimal dairy.
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Old December 9th, 2010, 06:30 PM
tklow tklow is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Love4himies View Post
Please take the time to read this website, it is by far the best one written on the web.

http://www.catinfo.org/
Dr. Pierson's site is excellent, though with anything, you want to look at various sources. One thing to be cautious about is the recommendation for an all raw food diet (B.A.R.F) for cats as recent research links this diet to increased digestive problems and IBS. If your cat already has stinky poop, IBS is the last thing you want and it's also very unpleasant/painful for a cat. This site is always worth considering: http://www.azmira.com/StudyRawFoodDiets.htm, though the site is to some extent promoting their own supplements. There are some good articles in veterinary resource archives as well, if you have university journal access.

Using a high quality canned all-meat diet may work for you. I've heard that is sometimes the case, though with our little guy it had no effect. His poops are so smelly we hope he won't use the litter box within an hour of anyone coming over. It's a real challenge having a super stinky cat so I really sympathize, but we love our little guy and take it as part of the package (while continuing to work toward a resolution).

Hope you find something that helps! (probiotics apparently work for a lot of people too: specifically, fortiflora. My cats love the taste of the stuff but it did nothing to resolve the problem. That said, so many people have claimed success with these that it's worth trying!)
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Old December 9th, 2010, 08:11 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tklow View Post
One thing to be cautious about is the recommendation for an all raw food diet (B.A.R.F) for cats as recent research links this diet to increased digestive problems and IBS.
Say what? Got any links to that "research"?


Quote:
Originally Posted by tklow View Post
This site is always worth considering: http://www.azmira.com/StudyRawFoodDiets.htm,
Not worth considering at all, actually. Here's a previous post on "Dr." Newman and her self-serving agenda:
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....ira#post485031

Quote:
Originally Posted by tklow View Post
There are some good articles in veterinary resource archives as well,
Any "articles" or "studies" by the veterinary community regarding raw diets are complete hogwash, funded by Big Pet Food to propagate their own lies.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tklow View Post
His poops are so smelly we hope he won't use the litter box within an hour of anyone coming over.
Have you tried digestive enzymes? Sometimes stinky and/or mushy poop is a symptom of malabsorption, and digestive enzymes like Prozyme might help.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tklow View Post
(probiotics apparently work for a lot of people too: specifically, fortiflora.
Not a fan of Fortiflora. Has too many extraneous ingredients and isn't high potency enough. Probiotics from a human health food store often work better.
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