Should I change her food or her litter?

My kitty came home on Science Diet and I am using Tidy Cats small spaces. I have noticed that when Kiki poops it really smells. So what could the problem be? If I change food, what to change it to? I can't afford high priced foods. Or maybe it's the litter, I have never used the "small spaces" before. I was reading another post that said the special kitty litter was good. Should I try that? I think I might need one that isn't so dusty as every one is sneezing, even the cat.

likely both... try a NON corn based food nutro, natural balence , wellness are good choices the first one has extras to aid in odur control...

I like the Dr. Elsey line (Precious Cat, etc.) - I use the Cat Attract version because I've a boy who's had litter box issues. He also, ah, smelled to high heaven with #2's when I adopted him, and on his first foods. I switched over to Nutro and, for me, the difference was amazing. Before, and the boxes are both a good 20-30 feet from me in different rooms, his going could wake me from a sound sleep. Now, while not exactly a gardenia, it's so much better. On the days he feels like covering, most of the time I don't know he went til i check the boxes. And, even when it's fresh and still aromatic, it's so much better.

If you do change foods or litter, do a slow transition plan, or you may end up with worse problems! The boxes or bags generally tell you how to proceed. Good luck!

I agree with everyone who says it's probably a combination.

I know my Freya got pretty smelly when she ate Science Diet, and that problem cleared up completely when I switched her off of it. As for the litter, if your finding the litter that dusty, it's probably not a bad idea to try something else.

I think you'd find the Special Kitty litter to be worse, not better. Very dusty. It's Wal-Mart's store brand.

Buy the best food you can, checking the ingredients. Sharky can tell you what is best on a budget.

But if you rescued the kitty from a shelter, eating anything, even store brands, is better than being put to sleep, so thank you.

We switched back to Tidy Cats Scoop 24/7 Performance. I had been using Special Kitty scoop and Sam's club scooping litter, but I think Stimpy was having an allergic reaction to it. It goes on sale in pretty regular cycles in the big buckets, just watch the sale ads.

My cats have decided they like Nutro Max again. You could check that one out for food. It's very budget friendly, and various bag sizes always seem to be on sale at Petco or Petsmart.

We use only special kitty and I have no complaints about dust. Its not dust free but very low dust--the newer formula with crystals even has less dust I think (just found this on the shelf last trip... a maroon box, we usually use the green box) Any other store brand we used made the cats sneeze.

leslie

Well, I don't know about the litter, but I do have a recommendation about the food. When I adopted a couple of my cats, they too came home from the humane society with bags of Science Diet. I too noticed that the food was pretty smelly itself, and therefore their poops were very unpleasant. Science Diet isn't all that great of a food at all I've realized. I've figured out that the only reason why it's considered a great food and is so expensive is because they are selling a vet-recommended/endorsed food, so they can get away with selling a crap-food. Something that is quite a bit cheaper, yet still a very good food (IMO, others will/may say differently) is any of the Nutro foods. I don't feed it, I feed a cheaper, local grain-free food, but if I didn't have access to that one I would feed one of the Nutro Max Cat formulas. It doesn't smell so bad when you open the bag, and their poops are always nice, non-stinky, and firm when they're on it. You will save money if you buy Nutro instead of Science Diet, not only on the food but on vet bills

I've always had good luck with Tidy Cats, so I don't think that that's the problem. It's made mainly to mask odors, more-so than other brands. Within the past 6 months or so I've switched to an unscented, all-natural clumping litter and that seems to work very well. Plus it's like one of the cheapest ways to go when it comes to buying kitty litter. I also use Tidy Cats clay litter (there are 4 boxes, 2 clumping and 2 clay). I think it's the antimicrobial odor control stuff, but I think that all of their clay litters are pretty much the same (except for the crystal type of course). But this combination seems to work very nicely- I only need to change the clay about once a week or so, and I very rarely change the clumping, since it is so good on odor and I keep it so clean in the first place.

(sry I tend to type wayyyy too much, ignore my babbling lol)

I switched my foster boys to Authority Sensitive Solutions - no corn or wheat - but it still has grain. I am currently bound to feed Authority b/c we have a PetSmart adoption center and that's what they get when they are in there. I think it has helped their poos... along with the daily dose of Animal Essentials probiotics. I liked the Eagle Pack Holistic Solutions too, but with six fosters on it... AE was more cost effective.

I also use the Walmart Special Kitty litter - the boys are fine with it... I also like a local chain's (Meijer) version of a the odor control clumping litter that suspicously looks a lot like Tidy Cats 24/7 but costs a little less.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

I switched my foster boys to Authority Sensitive Solutions - no corn or wheat - but it still has grain. I am currently bound to feed Authority b/c we have a PetSmart adoption center and that's what they get when they are in there. I think it has helped their poos... along with the daily dose of Animal Essentials probiotics. I liked the Eagle Pack Holistic Solutions too, but with six fosters on it... AE was more cost effective.

I also use the Walmart Special Kitty litter - the boys are fine with it... I also like a local chain's (Meijer) version of a the odor control clumping litter that suspicously looks a lot like Tidy Cats 24/7 but costs a little less.

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I miss Meijers, we always shop there when we come to visit. (Hubby's from there) I like it so much more than Wal-Mart. However, the only choices I have here are Wal-Mart, K-Mart (if your desperate), Target, Petsmart, and Petco.