Kitty poo

My kitten has stinky poop Hes 9 weeks. I don't know if that is normal for cats or not. I haven't had one in a long time. I switched him to Purina kitten chow with a mixture of wet food only chicken and turkey, I know its not a good kind but its the only kind that works for him. He use to have diarrhea with any other kind. Now It is solid and his coat is nice and shinny and soft. But his poop does have a strong smell, not very awful though. Once its covered with litter the smell goes away.

Is that normal?

Might be the food. Usually if you switch to a higher quality food, the poo smells better. My kitties are on Purina Pro Plan, and their poop smells as close to delightful as poop is gonna get! When they got Cat Chow, their poop was RANK!

I agree with Okie, it's likely the food. I feed an all raw diet, and their poop has no smell at all. No lie! Higher quality, higher protein diets tend to produce less stinky poops.

But, has he been tested for intestinal parasites? If not, a deworming might help, too.

Good luck!

Okay thanks,

I'll try switching to higher quality food but I've already tired a few, those seem to give him diarrhea. I havn't tried purina pro plan yet though so maybe Ill try
that one.

Should he stay on a kitten food or is it fine to switch to adult cat food?


If that don't work then Hes off to the vet to be tested.

At 9 weeks old he needs to be on kitten food still until they are about a year old

I know the better food I feed my cats the less stinky the litter tray is

Yeah, it's the food with the stink. I clean Attitude and Nuts' 4 litter boxes daily and they don't really smell much(they used to eat Natural Balance but I have switched them to Solid Gold) but the calico's is so disgusting and smelly(she eats Cat Chow) and I swear she pees and poops more than Attitude and Nuts combined(of course she also has a small litter box in there so it might just look like more.) I hate cleaning her box out, it is so gross and it just reeks.

Taryn

Just how many foods have you tried? You're supposed to do ~two weeks transitions from one food to another, slowly phasing one out as you mix more of the other in. Surely you can't have been doing this since he hasn't even been alive (or weaned) long enough to do this with 3-4 foods.

You must do this slowly if you're going to use dry foods.

Second to that, even if a kitten is clean of parasites, their digestive tracts can get mixed up pretty easily. It doesn't take as much to give them diarrhea, gas, and/or extra stinky stools. This has a lot to do with "gut flora" (good bacteria in the intestine) and that it takes a little while to establish well. 9 week olds are just so young and their entire systems aren't as well established as they will be at even 4 months. (more time with mother and nursing can really help prevent some issues) You could try giving your kitten some probiotics, such as bene-bac, to help settle things down.
But do discuss the stinky poo and tendency to diarrhea with your vet. They have something else they can give you to help calm down the GI a little.

Has he been to the vet, yet? Started kitten shots? (rabies is given at 14wks, so he still needs that)
When you said "mix" are you literally mixing the wet and dry food together? What's your wet food brands?

First, congrats on your new little guy! I agree with strange_wings on checking for parasites. Your kitten can get them from it's mother. Most common ones can be hookworms and roundworms. Definitely have that checked if you haven't already. I also agree with everyone on the food could be the culprit. Kitten chow doesn't have the best ingredients which can cause the stinky poo, larger, more frequent bowel movements too. The food you are feeding just isn't going to stick with him and he will be hungrier and want to eat more often. Feed a food with the meat protein as the first ingredient, like Chicken Meal. Stay away from by-products, ground yellow corn, sorghum and coloring. Those ingredients are what can cause the extra smelly poo and more of it too. Give your kitten time like strange_wings suggested to adjust to a new food. Mixing it properly is a must when changing diets. I started my Chester Cheetah on Nutro Max Cat Kitten formula when I got him and he is a senior guy now that still eats Nutro, just a weight management formula (he is a lazy boy ).

Good luck to you!

My Lily will only eat Purina One and her poo reeks! I've tried to switch her to better food but she refuses everything that isn't Purina.

Jack eats Wellness or Avoderm canned and his poo is much more tolerable.

Originally Posted by jenwales

My Lily will only eat Purina One and her poo reeks! I've tried to switch her to better food but she refuses everything that isn't Purina.

Click to expand...

Have you tried petsmarts Authority? It's decent quality and the ingredients are similar to, but better (has corn, but no by-products - meat's higher up) than, purina one. She might agree to the taste of it. Again, very slowly mixing may get her used to another food, both GI and taste wise.