Litter Box Stinks(duh) Litter Suggestions

I would put her on a different food! Using a high-quality brand of food means less excrement. If she is covering it up in the litter box it should not matter what type of litter it is, I would guess it is her food. We use Hills or Iams; both are excellent for pets.

First...you have received LOTS of great advice and suggestions, so I have nothing to add to that.

SECOND...I APPLAUD APPLAUD APPLAUD you for going to the Humane Society for a kitty. APPLAUD APPLAUD APPLAUD you! I hope you and kitty have many wonderful years together. My oldest kitty is 16 yrs this summer, and she has been w/me since she was 6 weeks...a rescue kitty (a kitten in an unwanted litter). And I have a feeling Josie will be w/me many more years. She is as healthy as can be.

Best.... :o)

Having had cats most of my life, I do agree that using a higher quality food seems to make a difference!

Your problem isn't the litter it's her food! Cheap food consists mainly of corn (filler)- which just like humans, animals cannot digest. It literally goes right through them. If you want to see a SIGNIFICANT change in amount (much, much less) and odor of your cat's feces, change it's diet. I recommend Nutro-Max - type will depend on your cat's age, exercise etc. The main ingredients are proteins and complex carbs (lamb,rice etc.) Mine are older so they receive the Adult Formula. It is much more expensive but I figure that cost into less food (both of mine eat about 1/4 cup each, twice a day), less litter, less box liners and less vet visits for poor urinary tract health etc. I have 2 cats, use the same cheap litter you are and only need to change once a week. They only poop every other day or so - and it doesn't have the rotten odor. Good luck!

i have also been guilty of using the cheap stuff for my cat. to make the kitty litter smell better, i use the arm and hammer kitty litter deoderizer...it helps

ps...i agree it may be the food. i found that the canned stuff is just horrible. for my cat i use science diet in the bag.

We use litter that is made of wheat, called Swheat Scoop. One of our cats was allergic to Meow Mix. Her little face swelled up. We feed our cats Blue Buffalo food, but we have been mixing it with Diamond because the Blue Buffalo is too rich for them and was causing one of the cats diarrhea. We have 4 cats, all of whom were rescues in one form or another. Their approximate ages are 9, 5, almost 4 and almost 1.

The food has a lot to do with what comes out the other end of cats. Stick with dry food. Science Diet is best for reducing # of poops and also smell. It is very nutrient rich so not much waste products in the food for the cat to pass. I know it is pricey so the next best thing would be Purina Cat Chow. You should start with small bags of food in the beginning until you find a good fit (cat likes it and helps poop issues).
As for litter, I have had luck with Tidy Cats clumping litter. Fresh step is the best for controlling smell but I don't buy it due to price. Arm & Hammer also make a deodrizer that helps to mix in with it.

Hope this helps.
Long time cat owner and former vet tech,
K.

I liked the Fresh Step Multiple Cat when I had my cat. It is the kind that is very fine, clumps the urine together, and coats the poop. The Multiple Cat formula has more odor blocking stuff in it to help control the stench. Also, make sure you scoop daily (not saying you aren't, but just in case). If you buy the litter in bulk (the large plastic container), it will save you a little bit of money and not cost TOO much more than the other, but yes, definitely worth the extra cost.

Or, you could just banish her to the garage! <giggle>

(No flames, the garage is as big as her house!)

We havea cat and we feed her Purina indoor formula, we use Arm and Hammer Multi cat litter. We only have one cat but i figured it was better coverage and I don't have trouble with ours smelling. Every great once in a while (but we all have those days right?) have u ever tried the litter deodrizer? You just shake some on top of the litter?

Yes Science Diet will cost more, but they say that they poop less.

Good Luck

Make sure she has had a fecal exam from the vet. Certain internal parasites can cause really foul smelling poop. Even if she has been treated for parasites by the humane society it often takes more than one treatment. Also, not all parasites are killed by the common deworming treatment. Coccidia is very common in cats and must be treated with special meds. Also if you are trying to get pregnant be sure to wear gloves when changing the litter. Cats can spread Toxoplasmosis and it can cause complications during pregnancy.

I didn't read resonses, so forgive me if I am repeating, or consider it reinforcement. :) I don't have cat(s), but when we had two dogs, we fed them Science Diet by vet recommendation. At first I thought it was WAAAAAYY!! too expensive to give a dog, but in the longrun, it cost just as little as puppy chows because the dogs ate so much less. Our two large dogs ate one 5 lb bag of SD in the same time frame as three bags of the cheap stuff (cost practically equal) with MUCH less waste. They ate the nutritional value they needed without all the 'fillers' that disrupt digestion and since it is denser in nutrition, they ate less. Therefore poop less. Added bonus, less smell. The one hint the vet did tell us is that during transition to "good-for-you" food for them, to slowly increase amounts so they don't eat the same amount of the dense nutrition and get too full too fast and uncomfortable, also helping their systems adjust to digesting less. Start with 1/4, then 1/2, then 3/4, then full SD. Transition over several feedings up to a week or so.

For savings ($5 on next purchase of SD), go here: http://www.feedingisbelieving.com/believe/index.jsp
Take the "3-Bag Challenge." You can also sign up to win pet food for life.

Another thing to consider is oral health. Anything dealing with digestion, really. Furballs? etc.

Hi C.-
I have 2 cats (although I'm losing one due to inappropriate pooping on furniture, yikes!) and we use Tidy Cats clumping litter (the red one, but either one works well). I scoop every day and change the box completely every 1-2 weeks, and also been using the Tidy Cats deodorizer sprinkled in box after every scoop. Of course mine don't poop as often - that's crazy! You might try changing her food gradually to something with more protein, still dry of course. You might also want to get another box (I currently have 3 but think 2 is fine for 1 cat). And a note of caution, they are very particular about their litter, so change it over gradually, or just add a new box with the clumping litter and see how she adjusts. Hey, at least she's going in the box and not on the furniture! Good luck!! Cats, how can you reason with them, huh???

Smelly cat, smelly cat what are they feeding you? Being funny. Remember "Friends"? LOL

I've found there is a difference in brands. I prefer Fresh Step or Tide Cat multiple cat type. It helps with odors better. It's scoops better too. I use to give my cat Meow Mix too. Although I didn't realize she has a sensitive urinary track and changed it to Purina Urinary health type of food. I believe it helped. Unfortunately "poop" is poop.

Best wishes!

Fresh Step and clean it out regularly

I'm with the croud that says it is the food. My cat developed a food issue that made him barf a lot. We changed his food & now he only barfs with a hair ball every once in a while. Our dog also developed a food allergy that gave him diarreah. We put him on a grain free food & he is much better now. I would check with the vet & change the food.

God bless!

I agree that the food is probably causing the problem. Talk to your vet and see what they say. Pooping that many times a day is not normal.

We use Fresh Step perfume & dye free litter and it works great!

we use the tidy cats for multiple cats (we only have one cat), it's like $5 for a 25 lb bag. I use the cat box liners and throw it all out once a week. Also, we have an enclosed litter box and there are scented filter things on the top of it that you can replace as needed. I never scoop ours out and you can't smell it at all.

Hi there, as many have said.. defenitly a higher quality food. Better for them, and they go potty a lot less. :) The key is to always stay on the same food if it works for kitty and your budget. No sudden changes of food, or its hard on their tummys, and causes stinkey messes :( Keep cleaning the litter box everyday, and i HIGHLY recommend using Tidy cats Deodarizer , sprinkle a little every time you clean litter box. The stuff is Unbelievable, and a MUST in my house. we have 3 cats, and our house smells wonderful! hope this info all helps :) Take Care...

It is probably the food she eats, not the litter, just as everyone has suggested. I take it your cat is an indoor only cat? If that's the case, there may not be a whole lot you can do other than to experiment with different foods for her. Here's something no one else mentioned, though, messing with her food could lead to other problems. My vet once told me to find a cat food and stick with it. Changing brands can mess with their digestive tracts and/or cause them to be picky eaters. For example, I used to have a cat that ate only canned food. The food was too rich in minerals and caused her to have a calcium build up in her urethra. When she went tinkle it came straight out and usually ended up on the wall and floor behind the litter box. And she screamed like she was mating. It was horrible. We put her on Science Diet dry food at the Vets direction. The bad news: she wouldn't eat it. She didn't starve herself (cats aren't stupid), but she ate just enough to keep her alive and that was it. She was an indoor/outdoor cat and she started supplementing her diet with all kinds of prey (birds, snakes, mice). We got her over the calcium build up, but she started losing weight. Then she started picking up parasites from all the prey she was eating. We were treating her worms it seemed at least once per month. Finally we started feeding her Meow Mix instead of the Science Diet. She liked it, ate it, and stopped eating all the prey she caught. She died at 26 years old. (We had to have her put down as she developed cancer of the mandibular bone (jaw) and could no longer eat). Since then, I've fed all of my cats Meow Mix as adults and they've all seemed to like it just fine. Currently I have two cats, a male and a female. Both are indoor/outdoor. The male prefers to do his business outside but the female (who is about a year and a half) prefers to do her business indoors. As kittens, both left the most atrocious odor at the litter box, but as they got older, the stinch seemed to lessen considerably. Maybe your cat will grow out of it, too, if given a little more time. If you decide to experiment with her food, do it just like you did with your baby. Try the new stuff exclusively for a week and watch for any reactions. That way, if you do have problems with the food, you'll know which food is causing the problem. Also, buy the smallest container available so that if your cat doesn't like it, you haven't wasted too much money. Before you go and spend a small fortune on Science Diet or IAMS, remember, for years and years, about the only cat food available was Purina Cat Chow dry mix. And we never had a cat shortage ovewr those years and years.
Good luck.

Hi C.,

We use the cheap litter from Aldi's. We have 1 cat and 2 six month old kittens. We change the litter once a week. The trick I have learned is that we sprinkle cheap baking soda on top of the litter every time we clean out the litter, and when we change the litter. Our litter box is in the basement, and if I do not do it the litter boxes stinks up the whole basement. Good Luck!

L.

we like the arm and hammer scoopable litter. The cat seems to like it better too. We used fresh step before switching to the arm and hammer. Our cat is picky on food and only likes the whiskas. We have tried science diet, iams and other expensive ones thinking we aren't giving our cat enough nutrition because he is small for a 4 year old cat but he likes the whiskas and we tried mixing it with other cat food and he will dig through the food and eat the whiskas and leave the rest there. The litterbox gets scooped every day or 2 and don't have to rinse it out as often. We also put a pet door through the inside door to the garage and put the litter box in the garage so it doesn't smell up the house but if I get out of the car and smell it then I get my daughter to clean it as it is her cat and her responsibility but most of the time I don't smell it because she usually scoops it every few days. We used to use the enclosed litterbox but whew did it stink when you take the lid off and all that smell is trapped in there more, that filter on the top also gets smelly so we don't use the top on it anymore.

I really like using Arm & Hammers's Litter Box deoderizer. It is a powder you sprinkle on top of litter as you need to. I usually put some in the bottom after changing litter and then sprinkle some on top. Then add some after scooping out to keep it fresh.....

You can find it next to kitty litter and still can use special kitty. I prefer tidy cat (multi-cat formula) personally for kitty litter.

For cat food, I use Purina One Indoor or Hairball Formula or IAM's Indoor or Hairball formula but that is because she has problems digesting the others for some reason.

I hope that helps!!! Congrats on kitty adoption!

Have you talked to the vet? Your cat shouldn't be pooping that much per day. She could have an intestinal problem that once taken care of will remedy the situation. I had a really large cat and he only pooped once a day. So I'd check on that. Good luck and God Bless.

Hi,
I use the porous silica sand called Mimi litter. It is the crystals type. I had tried several brands and I like the crystal type best. I buy it at Walmart in a 4 lb. bag. It dehydrates the moisture eliminating the odor. I start with about half a bag, then scoop every couple of days, and add a little more each week. I usually buy a bag every 3 weeks or so. Good luck.

The clumping litter is the only way to go!!!!!!!!!!!

We always use Arm & Hammer Kity litter. We also bought the multi cat on just for the extra boost. We never had a problem with smell, and our cat used the box alot also. Hope this helps. We also put a small kitchen trash bag over the box, so when we were ready to change all we had to do was turn bag and tie .

I only use fresh step an its the clumpable kind. Also grace only eats dry food,also could be the dry food she is eating there is a brand by purina an I can't spit the name of it out an the moment not real cheap but then the bag lasts along time its green an has a cat on the front of it is for indoor cats. I recently just switched grace to the expensive food of fancy feast for the price only place I have gotten a decent size bag is schnucks grocery store. Try the other brand first. Could be that the friskies is not filling her up. Hope this helps.

There is a deodorizing spray you can spray on the litter. Or add baking soda to the litter.

I agree about changing the food.
But for litter I HIGHLY recommend Feline Pine. People have actually commented on the fact that they can't even tell that we have a litter box. I will never use anything else.
Good luck!!

I work with foster animals, so have lots of experience with this issue. Yes, the scoopables are much better at keeping the smell down! It is worth the money.

What food you use makes a difference also. Cheaper foods tend to have more fillers, making for more and smellier poop.

Arm & Hammer makes a litter that works really well. My dad has 4 cats and you can't tell when you walk in.

I don’t know if just changing the littler will help. I once had a kitten that had the worst smelling poop. We had the littler box in a bathroom far away from the main area of the house but still the smell would get everywhere – it was awful! Anyway the problem was her diet. She had a very sensitive stomach and certain foods would give her diarrhea and extremely bad smelling poop. Our doctor had us switch her to only wet food and her diarrhea and bad smelling poop went away. When she got a little older we were able to switch her to dry food but it had to be prescription diet for sensitive stomach. You may just want to call your vet and ask them what food to try or take her and a sample of her poop in to the vet. Good luck!

We have tried all kinds of foods and usually stay with the expensive ones. One of our cats has a problem with his digestive tract. He has chronic blood in his stools and from my research it's rather common. He stinks to high heaven! We have to get it out of the house ASAP!

We used all sorts of expensive litters for years. It finally occurred to me that if I use the cheap stuff I can just change it as often as I want to or need to.

We have 4 cats and one box per cat. They do share boxes. But having them all over the house helps tremendously. It's easier to keep up with the boxes. Also, if one stinks bad and we are out of litter, we can throw it on the back steps until we get out for litter.

Suzi

We use Tidy Cat scoopable litter, and it works well for us. We sometimes sprinkle baking soda in the litter box as well. The main thing that helps is using an enclosed litter box. If you have a basement just put it down there, so your whole house won't stink. Good luck.

We had a cat and used the cheap litter-we would put baking soda in before the litter and then sprinkle it on top as needed...it seemed to help some.

I would recommend changing her food before changing the litter. We use the special kitty litter as well, but only have odor problems if we don't scoop/change the litter regularly. My 2 cats eat Nutro Natural Choice "Senior" formula. It isn't cheap, although I feel it's a good value, and my cats poop much less than 5 times a day! Look for a food with meats as the first few ingredients, and avoid one with more corn. If you go to cats.about.com (no www) (or go to www.about.com and search "cats"), they have tons of food suggestions that are higher quality than Meow Mix. Some of them are pretty expensive, just go with the best stuff you can afford.
Hope this helps!!

C.,
I have had indoor cats for sometime. I, too, do not like
to smell like I have one. So, I wanted the odor eliminated.
So I thought what takes out odor. So, I started using baking
soda in the cat box. And this helped immensely. I have a very sensitive sense of smell and the last thing I wanted is my house to smell like a cat box. I would put the baking soda under the bag then in the bag then throughout the litter and well it worked. So I continue this to this day.
My best to you and let me know if it works for you.
K. (____@____.com)

A couple of things: 1. Don't be afraid to change her litter brand, but be careful cats can be picky. So, if she stops using the litter after changing brands immediately change her back or try a gradual change. 2. I use the cheap special kitty stuff, too & yes it does stink when I go to dump it it leaves a horrible stench in the air). 3. I've used the tidy cat with the red label on it & there was no stink & my cats didn't mind the change as they had with other brands & there was no smell even when I dumped it. 4. Meow Mix should be a good enough brand that it shouldn't be the cause, but maybe it just doesn't settle well with her. 5. How old is she? that could determine if her going to the bathroom that many times a day is normal or not. Just like babies, kittens go ALOT more often than adult cats (2 years of age or older). 6. also, siamese cats have a HORRIBLE odor, so if she has any amount of Siamese in her it will be bad & it's uncontrollable. I guess I had more than a couple of things, but hopefully you can get your problem solved - there's not much worse than stinky litter boxes ( I know I have 3 cats!)

SInce you just got her from the humane society so recently..has she had a thorough examination to make sure there isnt' something going on with her stomach or intestines that could be causing it?? My first thought was that you must be feeding her canned food because that will cause really smelly bowel movements....but it doesnt look like that is the case.Maybe he has an allergy that is causing it. My first step would be to call the vet and ask him.
Congratulations on the new kitten!!
R. Ann

The more expensive perfumed litter does NOT eliminate odor, it only adds perfume to the problem. That's even worse ! We used Tidy Cat (clumping litter) for multiple cats and it seemed to be the best. We also used a covered litter box, and sometimes threw some baking soda in the box.
Also, we used plastic cat box liners, and every couple of days bagged the whole thing up and threw it out. No matter how well you scoop, there is always enough left in the litter to continue to breed bacteria and odor.
Switch her food to something like Science diet, or Iams, and stick with it. That should be your biggest help.
We used to occasionally give our kitty some canned food for a treat, but we did it knowing the litter box was going to be especially potent after that.

We use Fresh Step. Yes it costs but it works.
Also we feed Science Diet dry. My two cats poop once each each day. Less stink.
Good luck and enjoy your new cat.

I agree with what many have said here. It is the food. Try a new kind but remember to mix the end of each bag so it isn't such a big step to the kitty's system. I would also try a good brand (call your vet). I also use Aldi litter (or whatever I can get cheapest) and use some baking soda type product inbetween. She could still be adjusting to you and nervous which could make it stink too. It wouldn't hurt to call the vet.