Our family recently became cat owners when a very sweet, pregnant, half starving stray cat showed up on our doorstep. We live in a semi-rural neighborhood and so pets abandoned by their owners are unfortunately a regular occurrence.
Since getting Rita fixed wasn’t an option until her kittens were born and weaned, we tentatively prepared for a litter of kittens to invade our household.
While the kittens have been a boatload of fun over the past few months, they have also presented a challenge in the cleanliness department.
My husband has never been a fan of cat litter boxes, and so, any cat we have ever owned during our marriage had to be an outdoor pet. Â This worked well for our neighborhood which has little traffic and lots of space between homes and the road.
The kittens presented a different challenge, however, as we needed to train them to use a cat litter box properly if we were going to successfully get them adopted out to good homes.
As a result, enduring the inconvenience and smell of a cat litter box was something we were just going to have to deal with for a period of time.
Or, so we thought ….
When we first started the kittens on solid food, we used an organic kitten food that we had been feeding Mama Kitty.  I realize that assembling a raw pet food diet would be the best way to go. But, the truth is, these kittens were surprise visitors in our household, and I quite frankly did not have the bandwidth to make raw kitten food in addition to all my other cooking duties (on a positive note, Mama Kitty and weaning babies do have all the raw grassfed milk they can lap up!).
So, I did what I thought was the next best thing and bought organic pet food.
Unfortunately, this choice resulted in a cat litter box just as stinky as if we had purchased the conventional, GMO pet food!
I was shocked and disappointed and started searching for a better and healthier option for our little feline family.
I was very delighted to come across a grain free kitten food (this is the one I tried) at the pet store, and decided to give it a try. Â Both Mama Kitty and kittens loved it and within 24 hours, voila, no more stinky cat litter box!
The difference was amazing and my husband was relieved! Â The grain free cat food is more expensive than the conventional cheap stuff, but the significantly reduced smell was definitely worth it. Â Not to mention the cats eat less because the food is healthier for them and more filling which results in smaller stools too.
Why would a grain free cat food make a difference to the smell of a cat litter box, you may ask?
The reason is that the #1 ingredient of most major pet foods is typically corn, wheat, or rice. This is problematic because cats are carnivores, not omnivores and feeding them grains, some of the most difficult plant matter to break down, is not optimal for their digestion. When animals eat food that is not easily digested and/or not designed for their biology, the result is stinky, overly large stools.
So if you struggle with the smell of a cat litter box despite efforts to keep it cleaned and changed on a regular basis, try switching over to a grain free cat food if making your own raw food for your pet isn’t an option.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources and More Information
Choose Another Pet Food if Yours Has These Ingredients
Dirty Secrets of the Pet Food Industry
Shared it. I got dogs. They go
outside to do their thing. T.Y!
Nope. I clean it everyday!
Where is the best price and brand to try?
I’ve fed my full bred Ocicat raw meat from day one. Never a problem with stinky poop or piss. They’re obligate carnivores and require raw meat. Duh.
I would like to try this, but I’m wondering if needs to be canned wet food, or can you also buy the Blue Buffalo dry food?
Wet is better than dry. Dry food is overly processed and more denatured. Cats can have more health problems with dry food – urinary issues from lack of moisture, and it just puts more stress on organs and can contribute to diabetes, kidney disease and more. Some cats do okay on dry, but wet is closer to a more natural carnivore diet. Raw is great, but you have to be careful to make sure it’s balanced. Just raw meat isn’t balanced and is missing nutrients. Raw needs proper amount of bone and organs, and some people supplement with additional nutrients even with ground bone and organs. There are a lot of good frozen raw diet options at smaller pet stores these days. Catinfo.org is a good source of info from a vet and there are other good sites for good cat health and nutrition info.
Cats need real food and high quality food too, and that is one reason why they are experiencing so many degenerative diseases these days just like us. Read labels and remember they are sweet little carnivores. I learned about this after my beloved cat developed diabetes.
Best wishes to the kittens and the mama cat. It sounds like she is going to have a happy life with lots of healthy food.
Hi Pam, Cats should not eat dry kibble. Here is a video where Dr. Becker explains pet food. http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/10/my-top-3-pet-food-picks-from-an-upscale-boutique-shop.aspx Also, check out Catinfo.org. Unless you are willing to make raw food there are several brands of frozen/raw food at pet stores which is best. Second best would be grain/carbohydrate free can food as in Grain Free Wellness and Natural Balance LID.
RAW. Catinfo.org. And many other sites for recipes. Healthy cats eating what they can digest=less stink. Grain free is good for times you aren’t around to feed raw
Some knowledge I would like to share on any USA based pet foods that use any fish meal or oil products. The USA government has legislated, it is law, that all fish products for the pet food industry Will be treated with Ethoxyquin. This chemical rates 6 out of 10 on the pesticide scale. It was banned in Australia decades ago as it causes birth defects, renal failure, thyroid issues, cancer just to name a few side effects. The levels allowed in pet food is based on what is allowed for an adult human male ppm. Most dogs I know are smaller than this.
Some knowledge I would like to share on any USA based pet foods that use any fish meal or oil products. The USA government has legislated, it is law, that all fish products for the pet food industry Will be treated with Ethoxyquin. This chemical rates 6 out of 10 on the pesticide scale. It was banned in Australia decades ago as it causes birth defects, renal failure, thyroid issues, cancer just to name a few side effects. The levels allowed in pet food is based on what is allowed for an adult human male ppm. Most dogs I know are smaller than this.
I can vouch for the less stinky (or even stinkless) cat poop. I feed my cat mostly raw ground up meat (with a few veggies and some salmon oil and psyllium added). His mess hardly stinks at all. When I was feeding him cheap canned food, stinky. Or when I give him too much dry food – phew!
add a box & add baking soda to the litter