Cat smells like poop?

So over the last couple of days I've noticed my younger kitty, Zelda, often smells like poop. The first time I caught a whiff I thought one of the cats had just used the litter box, but then the smell didn't go away. I really only notice the smell when she has her tail up, exposing her anus, but I don't smell it all the time. I checked her for any fecal residue and can't find anything. Could it be her anal glands? I've read about but never had to deal with an anal gland problem with an animal before, and I wasn't sure if it was a normal problem for her to have at this age. Could she just be really, really gassy? She's only about five months old. There hasn't been any change in her behavior.

It could be the anal gland. Anal gland secretion smells worse than poop, IMO. Some cats never have a problem with their glands, others may need a little help to get the secretions out. In serious cases, the glands get impacted and infected and surgical removal may be needed. If you've never expressed anal glands yourself, ask the vet to show you.

Gas could also cause the smell. What do you feed your cat? Poor quality diets seem to cause gas in cats.

She eats a can of wellness paired with dry purina or wellness kitten food.

LTS3 said:

Gas could also cause the smell. What do you feed your cat? Poor quality diets seem to cause gas in cats.

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If the smell is poopy, in my experience, the problem is more likely to be gas than the anal sacs, which make, hmm, a nastier smell. Our previous cat had anal sac problems and tended to "leak" every now and then, usually getting goopy stuff on clothes or linens. For her, anyway, the smell was not like a poopy or gassy smell, it was much stronger, thicker. (This was not pleasant.) But your cat may be different!

If it's gas, though, yes, diet can be the cause. One of our cats had horribly smelly gas (this was not pleasant, either, particularly since she seemed to release a lot of it when she would lie on my lap) until we took potato out of her diet. That also stopped her from vomiting froth in the early mornings. Every cat is different but I'd probably try feeding less carbs to see if that helps: lots of cats don't do well with grains, and we avoid ingredients like potatoes and peas in our cats' foods, too.

For what it's worth - my 6 month old kitten has gas and sometimes farts......in my lap (and oh God, the stinky horror!!!)  

I haven't been able to narrow down what specific ingredient is causing it - my gang doesn't like pate, so I try to make sure I get cans with no wheat gluten, but sometimes for financial/economic reasons, I have to rotate in cheaper cans that do.    I know that the most common ingredients that cause gassy reactions are corn, wheat gluten, carrageenan, potatoes, peas - possibly even the fruits & veg that are in some canned food (I know Wellness has carrageenan and I think....blueberries or cranberries?  (Not knocking the Wellness food at all - I fed my guys Wellness canned kitten food, so I'm trying to remember - I know it has carrageenan for sure).   You could even play with giving them different proteins - some cats digest rabbit or duck better than chicken - you could try finding foods that have no fish (which can be difficult) You just have to do some trial & error, and it takes time.....and money lol

I'm giving my kitten a little  plain organic yogurt every day (I don't have a probiotic yet, so I'm just using yogurt) - it hasn't been long enough to say with 100% certainty that his gas issue is fixed, but I haven't smelt any farts in a few days