Question for CAT MOMMIES! (bling un-related post)

[PilsnPinkysMom]

Sorry for the Off Topic post, ladies, but I''m at my wits end.

I have two lovely felines (Pinky & Pilsner

) who I adore to the utmost: but I''m having a major problem & seeking out advice.

THEY STINK. HORRIBLY.

We live in an apartment and I keep their box in the laundry room... I scoop daily (and even have a "litter locker" contraption... think: Diaper Genie for cats), use plastic box liners, scrub the box itself bi-weekly, and change litter out at least once a week. And still: They Smell. I''m finding that now the cats THEMSELVES stink. It''s gross & makes me feel like my home isn''t clean.

I avoid getting super-fragranced litters, ''cause I''m concerned they''re not 100% safe... But now I''m willing to try anything.

Does anyone have a litter suggestion? A particular brand that seems to work?

So far I have tried: Arm & Hammer multi-cat, Tidy Cat multi-cat, & Tidy Cat multi-cat for ''small spaces.'' Even that last one didn''t work, and I''m afraid it''s the be-all-end-all of cat litters and my cats are just especially potent.

They eat Science Diet Cat & Kitty food, so I''m wondering if that has something to do with it... But... It''s ''good'' stuff, so I''m hesitant to switch them to something else. Plus we get it for free

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/24/2008 4:29:57 PM
Author:PilsnPinkysMom
Sorry for the Off Topic post, ladies, but I'm at my wits end.

I have two lovely felines (Pinky & Pilsner

) who I adore to the utmost: but I'm having a major problem & seeking out advice.

THEY STINK. HORRIBLY.

We live in an apartment and I keep their box in the laundry room... I scoop daily (and even have a 'litter locker' contraption... think: Diaper Genie for cats), use plastic box liners, scrub the box itself bi-weekly, and change litter out at least once a week. And still: They Smell. I'm finding that now the cats THEMSELVES stink. It's gross & makes me feel like my home isn't clean.

I avoid getting super-fragranced litters, 'cause I'm concerned they're not 100% safe... But now I'm willing to try anything.

Does anyone have a litter suggestion? A particular brand that seems to work?

So far I have tried: Arm & Hammer multi-cat, Tidy Cat multi-cat, & Tidy Cat multi-cat for 'small spaces.' Even that last one didn't work, and I'm afraid it's the be-all-end-all of cat litters and my cats are just especially potent.

They eat Science Diet Cat & Kitty food, so I'm wondering if that has something to do with it... But... It's 'good' stuff, so I'm hesitant to switch them to something else. Plus we get it for free

Can you be a bit more specific as to what you are smelling? Is it a urine type smell? Are they male or female and are they neutered? Long or short haired cats?
It might be a good idea to have your vet look at them.

 

[BlueSki231]

This is bizarre.. I have a cat (used to have 2 but the other died in May

) and we''ve never had odor problems.

Maybe you could be more specific, like Lorelei asked.. What exactly IS the odor? Or can you not figure that out? Do you let the cats outside?

Part of me thinks it could be their diet - but hey, I''m not vet. If you get concerned enough I''d ask a vet - I''m sure they''d have more input.

 

[Elmorton]

For litter we use Scoop Away Multi-cat. We''ve had both cats in a one-bedroom apartment, and it was the only litter that didn''t reek. We also used covered boxes (and still use, actually - we have one covered and one open. The open one they use for #1, the covered for #2. Kitties are bizarre little creatures!).

But if your cats themselves are stinky...that could be a medical issue. I know bad breath can be a sign of illness.

Also..do Pinky and Pilsner get along?? One time our Elmo got loose outside and we were chasing after him and by the time we reached him, he smelled like a skunk. He''d gotten some tiny cuts from trying to run away from us in some rocks, so we rushed him to the vet. He was fine, just a couple boo-boos, but the vet said that his horrible stink was due to the fact that cats have hormones that they release when they''re really freaked out - it''s a defense thing, just like how skunks spray. I guess what I''m thinking is that if your kitties are terrified of each other (or something else), that might be a cause of some pretty bad stink! With Elmo''s odor, we bathed him, but the vet says it will also go away on its own.

If it''s just litter/poo/urine smells, then it may be your food, litter...but some kitties also stink a little bit - you know, like some dogs do? We call Elmo "stinky" all the time because well...he just smells a little bit more than Morty.

Oh - and I think we do use/have used scented litter and have had no problems with it, health or otherwise.

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

It''s a cat poo smell... No urine problems. Both cats are ''fixed'', have never marked, nor gone anywhere in the apartment except for the box. They get along fine and seem to be happy kitties. The smell on them seems to be a result of being in/out of the box & seems to be something that a simple bath can take care of (but I can''t say they''re too fond of baths

)

Both have been to the vet recently (within the month) because one came down with an upper respiratory infection. Besides the one being temporarily sneezy, the vet said they were in good health... The one who had a cold is on a kitty supplement of sorts, so maybe thats causing some digestive-related side effects. I should probably call her to ask

I guess I''m just curious what type of litter/other odor neutralizing devices people use. My whole home isn''t smelly, thank goodness, but I dread having to go near the box & the laundry room is in close proximity to our kitchen... And if one cat has just used the box, it is an UNPLEASANT place to be.

 

[BlueSki231]

Hmm then it almost seems as it has to be food related..
We''ve never had that issue and there has never been an intolerable smell coming from the litter box - even right after it''s used. We use just plain old generic non-scented kitty litter.

Maybe try switchin up the food for a month and see if anything changes.

 

[Aloros]

From what I hear, a lot of vets have a sort of partnership with science diet, and that it is not the best food for cats. It has corn in it, which cats cannot digest, so where does it end up...? In the litterbox!

Try switching them over gradually to a food with a higher protein content. A couple that I''ve tried and liked: Innova and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover''s Soul.

I have my cat on Chicken Soup right now, and his poop barely smells at all. If he gets into anything else though (he''s very um...food motivated...), PU!

 

[IloveAsschers13]

Hey--
We just switched our litter too, and this one smells WAY less. I think we just switched over to tidy cat.. Yeah I was going to say about the food thing- our kitties (i just typed KIDS hahaha) eat Wellness kitten brand-both try and wet.

Our cats clean themselves CONSTANTLY.. they were born in July so they are only 5 months old and at first Louie, the boy, was not so good at cleaning himself, but Lucky took care of that for him and cleaned him just as good as she cleaned herself.

Unfortunately, Louie has started marking his territory.. spraying... which SMELLS! we are getting them fixed soon.. I can''t think of really anything else that it would be other than not really taking care of their own hygiene which is normally what they do naturally. Who knows maybe they will start.

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

World''s Best Cat Litter. It''s expensive but SO worth it! It''s a corn based litter so it doesn''t have the dust that typical litters have which can cling to your cat''s fur. It also clumps very well which means less waste falls off the clumps making the litter stink. It has a very different smell to it than most litters but I started using it about 6 months ago and have not looked back. I also have two kitties.

Also, to freshen your cuties up - pick up a package of kitty wipes (avalible at any pet store). They are like oversized baby wipes and they make your kitty smell nice and fresh without the hassle of a bath!

 

[radiantquest]

i have 2 cats. i use fresh step scoopable and feed them purina one cat chow. i scoop twice a week. i dont know if that will help, but it works for me.

 

[SparkleSparkle]

It definitely could be the food - I tried giving Sweetie some Eukanuba and OMG her poop was so stinky I couldn''t be in the same room!

Smelled like a combination of poop and formaldehyde. She''s on a prescription Science Diet food now, which is better. We''re using Fresh Step scoopable - so far it''s been the only one that keeps the litter smell away.

 

[Halo]

I 2nd Keepingthefaith21. My cat uses World''s Best Cat Litter and also Dr. Elsie''s Cat Attract litter, as she''s very fussy so we alternate between the two. World''s Best is my favorite as it is flushable, biodegradable (unlike almost all other litters) and doesn''t smell. It''s pricey but to me it''s worth it. The Cat Attract is also very good, and pricey, but isn''t flushable. It too doesn''t smell.

As for food, I feed my cat Medi-Cal Preventative Formula dry and wet, which she just loves. I also give her little bits of fruits and veggies but no other human food (she especially likes anything watery like watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes etc. She also loves apples).

She is 2 years old and with those litters and foods I haven''t had any problem with smell at all. In fact, our house doesn''t smell like cat at all, not even in the washroom where her litter boxes are. People actually don''t know I have a cat until they see a stray cat hair on my black clothes, lol. She doesn''t even have bad breath; it''s very strange but I''ll take it, hehe

Good luck!

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 10/24/2008 6:02:39 PM
Author: Aloros
From what I hear, a lot of vets have a sort of partnership with science diet, and that it is not the best food for cats. It has corn in it, which cats cannot digest, so where does it end up...? In the litterbox!


Try switching them over gradually to a food with a higher protein content. A couple that I''ve tried and liked: Innova and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover''s Soul.


I have my cat on Chicken Soup right now, and his poop barely smells at all. If he gets into anything else though (he''s very um...food motivated...), PU!

I agree on the food issue. I feed our cats a high protein food similar to Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover''s Soul- It is called Nature''s Variety. My cats LOVE it and they poop less than they did on the food that has a higher filler content (like corn and other grains).

I find it worth it to pay for the high quality clumping, scoopable cat litter. One time recently we bought the cheap stuff they sell in bulk in PetCo that you can buy a refillable container with and it didn''t do anything to control the poo smell. It was overwhelming our upstairs, even right after we''d scoop and add fresh litter.

We were having a problem with our kitten stepping in his fresh poo when he was trying to bury it after going to the bathroom. He would get "poopy paws" and then jump onto our bed.

That cat got a TON of baths in the first few weeks we had him (not to mention many sheet changes to our bed). Hes much better now.

Just thought of one last thing... have your kittens been de-wormed? I''ve heard that if they haven''t been de-wormed it can make their poo runny and it might be harder for them to clean themselves properly.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

Is your kitty stressed? We just had a big move that stressed our cat out immensely! Basically our vent just said give him time to adjust and it will get better. For now the only solution seems to be Glade plug ins lol

 

[dcgator]

I am also a big fan of Scoop Away Multi-Cat and we have both covered litter boxes which are kept in a closet. The covered boxes definitley makes a difference, as we didn''t have those before. I find my little guy is not as clean as the older one, but I guess some of them are just lazy about cleaning themselves, lol.

I am not sure of the science of the food, but I think it would be worth a shot to swtich it.

Good luck!