How to get rid of stinky cat poop

Original post found on Cat World.  Cat World is a community of crazy cat enthusiasts who all share a passion for staying up to date with what's happening in the kitty circles as well as staying on top of new tricks, tips, advice, and more.

PLEASE NOTE: This blog is sharing of information only, and not meant as veterinary/medical advice. If your cat(s) experience issues, please consult with your local vet office.

The exact cause of why your cat's poop can smell so bad can vary greatly. It's important to have the foul smelling stool checked by a veterinarian if the odor of your cat's feces is really bad. You can find that the stink is really from something they ate, or it can be a more serious matter. Your cats foul smelling stools should be taken seriously if the feces' odor is ongoing.

Naturally, stool has an unpleasant smell. But, sometimes it can have a strong foul smell. Just like human stool, cat’s poop can smell horrible for the same reasons. But sometimes it makes you ask "why does my cat's poop smell so bad?" and we have answers.

Serious medical conditions, bacteria not good for feline's health present in the colon and food consumed are some reasons your kitty’s poop can smell so bad. Moreover, excess gas and diarrhea also tend to cause it to stink.

Many kitty disorders often result in stool with a stinking smell and diarrhea. However, most of the conditions either self-remedy or disappear with a change in diet.

 According to Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine’s Tom Ewing, diarrhea in your cat could point to an underlying, life-threatening condition.

So, What Causes A Foul Smell In Cats' Poop?

Introducing new foods to your kitty’s diet or parasite-related inflammation can cause your cat’s stool to stink in the litter box. Gastrointestinal tract, infectious diseases, inflammation and cancer are often attributed to adult kitty fecal abnormality. A vet can help determine the actual cause of foul smell in your pet’s droppings for prompt treatment.

Cats dislike water, but are generally clean animals. They work hard to smell good and stay clean even if they rarely get baths. On the converse, litter boxes start smelling as soon as their poop drops in them, unless of course you have an automatic litter box, which cleans itself. However, a sudden change in the smell of feces is a cause for concern, especially if it has an abnormal, strong pungent smell.

What’s good about all these is that you can feed your cat with cats food for smelly fecal matter to get rid of the bad smell. Here’re a few reasons why your cat’s feces could be smelling foul:

Top 7 Reasons Feline Feces Stinks

Cat poop can suddenly start smelling foul just like human defecation. It indicates that something isn’t right with your best friend. And it can be anything from bacteria and diet to parasites and a critical health condition.

1) Diet

Just like humans, cats are sensitive to certain foods or specific things found in particular foods. For instance, your kitty could be sensitive to grains or foods with high vitamin content.

Diet elimination can help you determine the specific foods causing your cat digestive issues and thus "go to the bathroom" with a foul smell. Cut out vitamin supplements or give a grain-free diet to get rid of these issues.

2) Bacteria

Cats are naturally carnivores. They prey on other small animals to eat as food. Their natural drive for prey can result in them eating what’s not right or healthy. This is more so true if your cat spends a lot of time outdoors.

They can eat meat infected with salmonella or E. coli bacteria, causing them digestive discomfort, inflammation or sudden stinking smell in feces as well as diarrhea.

3) Medications And Hormonal Changes

Certain medications for pain and those with an effect on hormones can alter your cat’s natural chemical balance. Depending on the duration the chemical changes have occurred, your cat can suddenly defecate foul-smelling poop.

4) Digestive Disorders

Digestive disorders and related problems can wreak havoc in your cat’s gastrointestinal tract as it does in humans. The result would be strong pungent odors, usually very smelly. Most issues with the digestive tract often result from poor digestion and absorption of starches and fats.

5) Anal Glands Infections

Every mammal, including cats, have anal glands. They often drain through gland ducts. However, sometimes they clog and call for manual draining. If the glands get infected, your cat can produce a runny discharge that smells so bad and lingers all over the litter box.

6) Protein-Rich Foods

Cats are carnivores naturally. That means their food is often rich in proteins, specifically animal proteins they source outdoors. As a result, the high protein content in your cat’s diet causes it to defecate stool that smells horrible and smelly. Although you can’t do much about the smell in your cat’s droppings, a change in diet can do wonders.

7) Parasites

A parasitic infection can upset the stomach of your cat, causing serious diarrhea and feces that smell so bad that you'll have to go to a veterinarian. Coccidian and Trichomonas are some parasites that often cause serious issues in animals, including cats that are smelly. However, antibiotics and other veterinarian interventions can treat conditions the parasites cause in your cat or cats.

How To Remedy Your Kitty's Foul-Smelling Stool

Nobody likes the smell of cats’ feces. It gets even worse when the already bad smell becomes difficult to withstand from cats. But, since an infection, an inflammatory disease, gastrointestinal tract and cancer can cause discomfort and stinking feces in your best friend, it becomes necessary to treat all underlying conditions. Here’s how to deal with the issues:

1) Disinfect The Litter Box And Keep It Clean

Scoop poop from the cats litter box on a daily basis; you can create a schedule for that. Sprinkle baking soda on the litter box floor to eliminate bad odor and kill germs and other forms of bacteria. Change the cats litter as often as possible to keep it fresh and clean, especially if you have CatSpot coconut cat litter.

Scrub the litter box at least twice every month, from top to bottom, especially for plastic litter boxes; they easily harbor bacteria and produce a foul smell. Many owners have also considered a special litter that changes colors depending on your cat's health.

2) Changing The Diet

Upon determining the foods your cat is sensitive to, put them on a new diet and feeding routine for your cats health, according to any veterinarian you ask. Make sure you consult a veterinarian to help come up with a proper diet and feeding routine for your cats. Digestive supplements can reduce the number of bacteria present in the body of your cat, with is necessary for your pet health.

Choose cat food brands that use a few ingredients to produce their cat foods. Check online articles, journals or literature resources on the best foods for cat with foul-smelling stool. Use the phrase “the best cat food for foul-smelling or stinking fecal matter.”

3) Cat Grooming

Groom your cat to remove any foul smell on its body. Wash it with cat shampoo and comb the hairs to remove loose ones.

4) Vacuum Your House

Vacuum your draperies, area rugs, carpets, couches and chairs as often as possible, including other areas your cat frequents. It’ll help eliminate dander and loose hairs from your cats body, leaving it smelling fresh and not smelly.

Consider using furnace filters, air purifiers, blankets and beds for cats to keep foul smell of your cat’s feces out of your house.

Jackie Johnston

Author

Jackie Johnston is the founder of Cat Word – a community of cat enthusiasts with a mission to spread as much knowledge as they can throughout the world on every aspect of raising and nurturing cats! In her spare time, Jackie loves reading and spending time with her two sons Logan and Christopher, and of course with their furry felines Simba and Max.

Lingering cat smells can be a headache for homeowners. Even if residents of the home become so used to the smells they no longer notice, you can bet guests and potential buyers will.

Plus, cat smells can be offensive to cats themselves. Cats mark territory with their urine. And a cat smelling the scent of another cat, particularly one from a different household, may develop behavioral issues such as aggression, agitation or urinating in inappropriate places, such as peeing outside the litter box. If a cat keeps peeing on carpet, it could be because there’s a lingering urine odor in that spot.

That’s why understanding what causes a cat smell to linger, and learning how to get rid of it, can make your home a more pleasant place to live and visit.

Why Is Cat Smell So Hard To Get Rid Of?

Cat smell, particularly cat urine, is hard to eliminate because of its chemical makeup.

“Cat urine contains uric acid, along with other compounds such as pheromones, especially if the cat is claiming its territory,” says Bruce Vance, a certified house cleaning technician with Town and Country Cleaning Services. “Common cleaning agents don’t remove the uric acid, which can linger in a home for years.”

Cat urine also contains urea, a different compound created when proteins break down. Urea itself is odorless. But as it ages, it breaks down into ammonia, which has a strong odor. That’s why cat urine tends to smell worse over time.

How cats evolved makes matters worse. “Cats originated from desert animals, so they are very good at conserving water,” says Dr. Chyrle Bonk, a veterinarian. “This makes their urine very concentrated.”

Cat hair, vomit, dander and feces can also cause a home to smell. Your cat’s litter box may be another cause. Keep cat litter clean to reduce odor.

While cat smells new or old can be pesky, it’s possible to remove them. It can be particularly difficult to learn how to get cat pee out of clothes, furniture, carpets and other materials. If the mess is fresh, first blot or wipe away as much of the cat urine, vomit, etc. with a paper towel or old cloth. Then consider one of the following five options. All but the first can be used on any surface.

Vacuuming and washing

Vacuuming can be especially helpful for cat hair or dander smells, Bonk says. If your cat sheds, vacuum your home at least once a week and be sure to empty the vacuum cleaner bag right away so the smell doesn’t linger.

A vacuum that catches cat hair can go a long way toward keeping smelling fresh. Regularly cleaning washer-safe cat beds or cat blankets can also help control smells while getting rid of hair and dander at the same time.

Baking soda, Vance says, neutralizes acidic properties, such as the uric acid in cat pee. Sprinkle baking soda over the affected area and let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the severity of the smell. Then wipe or vacuum it away.

Vinegar

Because vinegar is acidic, it can neutralize bacteria in fresh cat pee and alleviate odor, Vance says.

Mix equal parts white or apple cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray the vinegar cleaning solution on the affected area, whether your floor or furniture. Blot away the solution with a paper towel or old cloth. Repeat until the smell is gone.

Enzymatic cleaners

Enzymatic cleaners, Vance says, are effective because they break down ammonia, sulfur and other compounds in cat urine, vomit and feces. That’s also why they remove old cat smells better than baking soda or vinegar and water.

Follow label instructions for use. Instructions for how to get cat pee out of carpet might differ from getting it out of laundry. In general, thoroughly spray the affected area and let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes. Then blot or scrub away the solution and let it air dry for a few hours.

Hydrogen peroxide

Finally, Vance recommends hydrogen peroxide because it oxidizes the ammonia smell. Pour it directly on the affected area, let it rest for five minutes, then wipe or scrub it away.

For a fresher smell, add a teaspoon of dishwasher detergent to the solution. Be sure to thoroughly remove the product because it can discolor if left sitting too long, especially on fabric or carpet.

Note: To avoid staining, test this method on a spot you can easily cover.

Still Can’t Get Rid of Cat Smell?

Sometimes, you may not know exactly where an old cat smell is coming from. Sprinkling baking soda on several suspected areas, giving your home a good vacuum and cleaning your hardwood floors with vinegar and water may help you find the source.

If these DIY options don’t remove cat smells, or if you can’t find the affected area, you may need to hire a cleaning company.

“In extreme cases where the odor has dispersed through the furnishings and even walls of a room, it may be necessary to bring in a professional to treat the area,” Vance says.

Originally Published: December 07, 2021