My kitty has horrificly smelly poop (i clean the cat box everyday, but a moment or two of fresh poop in there stinks up the house, lasting even after its cleaned up) I'm going to invest in buying expensive Hills Science Diet which "guarantees" less feces odor, I'm wondering how soon will it make a difference after starting the new food? Does her digestive system need a few days/weeks to adjust and clean out the old crappy food..? Or will her poop start smelling less right away..?
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how soon to see a difference after changing cat's food
- Thread starter erikainak
- Start Date
I believe a cat that is relatively active and eating well can digest and pass food within 24 hours..? This is also assuming a cat eliminates at least once a day.
Be careful investing just because of company claims - of course they're going to say favourable things about their own brand and tout that it's the best for X, Y, and Z reasons. If your cat's poop smells abnormally strongly I would be more inclined to speak with a vet first in case there is some sort of sensitivity to an ingredient that doesn't digest well in your cat, or there is a digestive issue.
I don't want to sound anti-Hills (it has a time and a place for specific conditions and prescriptions), but looking at the ingredients, I don't see much that's all that desirable for a cat's diet. Lots of grains, not much meat. If perhaps your cat does have a sensitive tummy, she may benefit from a high protein, low carb limited ingredient food. There are plenty of other limited ingredient and sensitive stomach formulas from better brands with better ingredients, and not much of a price difference compared to Hills either.
Cats are obligate carnivores, so they get their nutrients from meat-based proteins. While omnivores and non-obligate carnivores (like dogs) are able to use plant-based proteins, cats do best with more meat and less plant matter. It's not the end of the world if grains do appear in a food, but I think there is a marked difference between a food that touts a high amount of meat vs a high amount of grain.
This is anecdotal, but our older cat used to eat a cheap food that was full of corn, wheat, and soy and his poops reeked to high heaven. I started transitioning him away from those foods and went to a higher protein food that only had rice as a grain and it got marginally better, less strong smelling for sure. Now he eats wet food that doesn't have any grains and like most poo, it still smells like poo, but he definitely doesn't clear a room anymore. I also noticed a difference in amount of output - he ate and pooped more when he was being fed foods that were less protein-packed, presumably because any ingredients in the food that his body couldn't utilize were just passing right through his body uselessly.
Choosing The Right Food for Your Cat and you
How to Compare Cat Foods & Calculate Carbs: Dry Matter Basis
Grain-Free Cat Food – What Does It Mean?
Be careful investing just because of company claims - of course they're going to say favourable things about their own brand and tout that it's the best for X, Y, and Z reasons. If your cat's poop smells abnormally strongly I would be more inclined to speak with a vet first in case there is some sort of sensitivity to an ingredient that doesn't digest well in your cat, or there is a digestive issue.
I don't want to sound anti-Hills (it has a time and a place for specific conditions and prescriptions), but looking at the ingredients, I don't see much that's all that desirable for a cat's diet. Lots of grains, not much meat. If perhaps your cat does have a sensitive tummy, she may benefit from a high protein, low carb limited ingredient food. There are plenty of other limited ingredient and sensitive stomach formulas from better brands with better ingredients, and not much of a price difference compared to Hills either.
Cats are obligate carnivores, so they get their nutrients from meat-based proteins. While omnivores and non-obligate carnivores (like dogs) are able to use plant-based proteins, cats do best with more meat and less plant matter. It's not the end of the world if grains do appear in a food, but I think there is a marked difference between a food that touts a high amount of meat vs a high amount of grain.
This is anecdotal, but our older cat used to eat a cheap food that was full of corn, wheat, and soy and his poops reeked to high heaven. I started transitioning him away from those foods and went to a higher protein food that only had rice as a grain and it got marginally better, less strong smelling for sure. Now he eats wet food that doesn't have any grains and like most poo, it still smells like poo, but he definitely doesn't clear a room anymore. I also noticed a difference in amount of output - he ate and pooped more when he was being fed foods that were less protein-packed, presumably because any ingredients in the food that his body couldn't utilize were just passing right through his body uselessly.
Choosing The Right Food for Your Cat and you
How to Compare Cat Foods & Calculate Carbs: Dry Matter Basis
Grain-Free Cat Food – What Does It Mean?
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I pretty much agree with @pinkdagger. Especially in regard to making sure there is no underlying medical problem and in regards to Hill's being a high carb diet.
It took our cat about 2-3 days before there was a difference. The body still has enough waste in it to last 2-3 days, and beyond that the gut flora will have to change, too.
If there is no underlying medical cause and you are feeding your kitty a animal based, high protein, low carb diet, then you might want to look into probiotics or digestive enzymes.
It took our cat about 2-3 days before there was a difference. The body still has enough waste in it to last 2-3 days, and beyond that the gut flora will have to change, too.
If there is no underlying medical cause and you are feeding your kitty a animal based, high protein, low carb diet, then you might want to look into probiotics or digestive enzymes.
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I agree with Pink Dagger, unless you get the grain free version of Science Diet, be prepared for stinky poops as a lot of the ingredients in Science Diet are not that digestible to the cat which will cause bigger poops and stinkier poops. Years ago I fed Science Diet when I didn't know better and my litter boxes stunk to high heaven. Go with a grain free high protein low carb canned food. In addition to the links listed above Visit catinfo.org for specific information on proper cat nutrition.
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