Why oh why???

Question

OK...I have three cats....I've noticed that the "maintenance" of these three cats always ends up with the most gross horrible smells in the world. First, I have to empty 2 litterboxes daily, and let me tell you friends, that has to be the most disgusting chore on the face of the earth. Could anything be quite as toxic? I bought tons of surgical gloves and even a surgical mask for this unpleasant duty. Then...everytime I open some tins of Fancy Feast, some of the liquid drips right onto my hands!! Is it just me, or does that stuff reek? Anyway...why can't taking care of a cat be less gross? Also, am I the only one that HAS to smell something over and over when it makes me nauseous????

Answer 1

What goes in must come out. If their food stinks so will the end result. Try switching them to a less stinky cat food, my cats have always eaten dry food (just plain old friskies, and my cats live forever, our second oldest just died at 21 - my parents got her as a kitten around when I was born) and we've never had a super stink problem (and I've had as many as 8 cats at once, that was 5 litter boxes changed daily). Your cats may not want to eat dry food or a new food, so you can transition the switch by doing 25% new, 75% Fancy Feast, then 50/50, then 75/25, then 100% new. Your cat might not fully transfer to dry food if they are picky about wet, but if you wanted you could continue to mix a different wet with a dry (which is what I do with my very spoiled dog).

Answer 2

I feed a very good quality canned food along with some raw meat. Honestly, the litter box odors have improved greatly. Not only is the urine less smelly because they're getting enough moisture in their food, but the poo is smaller and less odorific. The raw meat has very little odor and the canned food doesn't smell much either.

The only thing I have to complain about is that Poppy used to be overweight and as a result she now has some loose skin - particularly a floppy belly. Not only that but she has long hair so when she pees there's usually something left clinging to her. Regular kitty brazilians are the order of the day for her!

Answer 3

What goes in directly affects what comes out.

Switch foods to something that's healthier and that does NOT use fish or fish meal. And make sure you're not giving them milk, there's too many sugars in milk for a cat, they digest it and have farts and diarhea as a result.

We get low smell from Royal Canin Siamese 38, from Wysong Vitality, and from Predator (a new dry food). I'd recommend any of those three. With 5 cats, we don't have the smells at all.

Answer 4

I had three cats now it's just two. Have them go outside for a little to help reduce the amount of feces or pee in the litter box. I mix clumping litter with cheap litter to cut down on cost and I also throw baking powder in the litter box.

Wet food stinks and I only feed them dried food and some meat because their stools will smell even worse if they had the wet food.

Usually taking care of cats are easy when they go outside sometimes. My cats are mostly indoors but they love when they get to go outside. It is wonderful for the long hair cat that has hairballs. That is a pain to clean also.

Answer 5

Boy, you sure are overreacting. I have had six cats in my home at one time and cleaned up for years in shelters for hundreds of cats - all without gloves or masks. It's just not that big a deal.

I guess you've never had babies and cleaned up with them three or four times a day for a couple of years.

Fancy Feast is a terrible cat food and bad enough to make anyone gag upon opening a can. Natural Balance, Wellness, Avoderm, etc. are not smelly.

Answer 6

The reason for both the horrible smell of the litter box and the cat food is the same: Fancy Feast is loaded with preservatives, by-products, and fillers. The food is stinky and therefore the waste even more so.

Switch to a high-quality food (Wellness is great for cats). You will IMMEDIATELY notice a vast reduction in stink. Not to mention it will make for far healthier and happier kitties.

Answer 7

Along with the other good advice. I would also suggest airing your house out daily, preferrably in the morning. But anytime will also help.

Answer 8

for the litter problem, use a scoopable, clumping cat litter with deodorizing crystals. there should be very little odor problems if you clean it daily(and your cats cover their poo). if you want, there is an automatic litterbox you can buy that scoops the mess every time your kitty uses but it is expensive. for the food, either use a dry cat food, or some wet foods come in pouches(less messy). good luck :-)

Answer 9

Let them be outdoors part of the day and you cut your litterbox duty at least by half.

Cats are naturally clean animals but if you shut them up in a house (especially multiple cats) you are going to eventually come face to face with animal scents and smells and waste. It's just inevitable.

Also, multiple cats kept indoors often become a bit territorial causing smelly accidents and "marking" and other undesirable (but natural) behaviors.

We kept our cats exclusively indoors for years until we found they had peed and pooped in secret places and had also marked some of our clothing and shoes. And these cats were both FIXED.

Bottom line - they may be domesticated, but they are still animals with instincts. If you want them indoors all the time you have to be prepared with the consequences.

Our cats are now primarily outdoor cats and they love it - and so do we. They are happy and healthy and going on 9 years old.

We feed our cats Fancy Feast, but there are even more high-quality canned foods than that - and they will be very expensive, although less smelly.

An alternative is to feed your cats cooked meat from your table. Cheaper than gourmet canned cat food and it smells much better.

Answer 10

Let them be indoor/outdoor and that will cut down on litterbox use.

Add some cooked meat to their diet or switch to a "gourmet" canned brand like Wellness.