If there’s one thing about your loving pet you could probably live without, it’s likely to be the horrific smell emanating from their kitty litter box after each bathroom visit. While there are certain kinds of litters and litter box/trays that can help to minimize the smell, it’s fair to say some kitties have more of an odor.
When your entire home smells of cat poop horrific every time your cat needs to visit the bathroom, this is usually a sign you should be looking into different kinds of cat food. Certain dietary factors can have a huge impact on your cat’s faeces smell. So, which are the best cat foods for smelly poop?
Best Cat Food For Smelly Poop
Our extensive testing and research with our own cats and our large audience of cat owners led us to pick the Natural Balance Limited Ingedient dry cat food as the best overall. This had a significant effect for most of us in helping reduce the odors from our cats' poop!
Best Cat Food for Stinky Poop - Our 3 Best Picks
In our research we're looking for the best overall, but also another couple of good options.
As with all our testing, we've done the same thing when looking for cat food that reduces odor in your cat's poop.
The good news for cat owners tired of dealing with foul-smelling odors, is there are various foods out there specifically intended to improve your cat’s digestion and reduce smells.
Here are our top picks for the best cat food for stinky poop in adult cats.
1. Best Overall: Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet
Natural Balance’s “Limited Ingredient” diet minimizes a lot of the “added extras” in other cat foods to reduce unwanted smells. The grain-free diet comes with a single animal protein source, reducing the number of ingredients your cats are exposed to. By keeping the number of ingredients low, you can reduce the risk of your cats suffering from allergic reactions to certain foods.
The Natural Balance food still contains everything your kitty needs to stay happy and healthy though, such as high-quality protein (duck), nutrients for a healthy coat and skin, and plenty of valuable minerals.
2. Best Value: Rachael Ray Nutrish Cat Food
If you’re trying to give your cat the best possible diet on a budget, the Rachael Ray Nutrish cat food could be the perfect solution. This high-quality mixture of rice, vegetables, essential vitamins, and minerals ensures your cat gets everything they need for a healthy digestive system.
While the main ingredient in this food is still protein, you also get extra value through things like beet pulp for wholesome fiber and prebiotics. If your kitty’s smelly bathroom habits are something to do with discomfort in his stomach, it’s worth trying this budget-friendly food.
3. Best Premium: Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein
For cats needing nothing but the very best, Blue Buffalo’s Wilderness High Protein is an excellent pick. This high-quality food is packed with real chicken as the number one ingredient, to support your cat’s need for protein. The grain-free mixture also includes healthy carbohydrates to help boost your feline friend’s energy levels.
Extra antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids are included in all of the natural cat food from Blue Buffalo, to help keep your kitty’s digestive system and immune system in check. Plus, the dry food mixture lasts a decent amount of time.
Additional Picks
Now we’ve covered the top picks for the best cat food for smelly poop, let’s take a look at some runner-up options deserving a mention. These foods are also excellent for supporting your cat’s digestive system and minimizing litter box problems.
4. Instinct Original Grain-Free Pate
Ideal if you prefer to feed your kitty wet cat food, the Instinct Original grain-free pate is easy to digest and fantastic for sensitive stomachs. This food comes with 95% contents of protein sources like chicken, turkey, and liver, so you know your cat is getting only the best.
The raw-inspired food is fantastic if you’ve been considering putting your kitty on a raw diet, but don’t have the money to fully invest in making raw meals at home.
5. Stella & Chewy's Chick Chick Chicken
Stella and Chewy’s dinner morsels are ideal when you want to ensure your cat is getting nothing but the very best ingredients in their food. The freeze-dried raw dinner morsels are made with 98% cage-free chicken. This food also contains taurine and probiotics for better dietary health.
Made in the USA, the all-natural foods are minimally processed to give your kitties the organic eating experience they might have had in nature. You can even mix these morsels with other foods if you want to give your kitty a boost of extra protein and nutrition.
6. Taste of the Wild Canyon River Grain-Free
Packed with extra nutrients, probiotics, antioxidants, and vitamins, the Taste of the Wild food is perfect for giving your cat all of the sensational nutrition they need. With high-quality flavors to choose from, including smoked salmon and roasted venison, you’re sure to find something that suits your cat’s tastes.
This nutrient-rich food offers cats various vitamins and minerals from superfoods and fruits, to promote a healthy coat and skin. There’s also access to species-specific probiotics, and prebiotics to ensure healthy digestion.
7. Purina ONE Tender Selects Dry Cat Food
Purina uses real chicken as the number one ingredient of its Tender Selects dry cat food, ensuring your furry pal can get all the protein they need to stay healthy and strong. The high protein content assists with building strong muscles, while the omega-6 fatty acids support a healthy coat and skin.
Purine promises completely balanced nutrition with this kibble, to keep your cat in great condition for longer. There are also absolutely no fillers in this food, so you can rest assured grains won’t be irritating your cat’s system.
8. Blue Buffalo Basics Skin & Stomach Care Grain Free
Blue Buffalo Basics promises a limited ingredient diet with its skin and stomach care food. Fewer unnecessary ingredients mean less risk your cat’s stomach or digestive system will end up being irritated by something in its food. As with all of the top cat foods, the number one ingredient in this product is protein, via duck or chicken.
This cat food comes with special natural fiber sources to promote healthy digestion, as well as a precise blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Every part of this food has been custom-made for cats with sensitive stomachs, ensuring digestion issues are kept to a minimum.
Read this next: Can Cats Drink Milk? Everything You Need to Know
What Are the Qualities of The Best Cat Food for Smelly Poop?
The best cat food for smelly poop is usually a food capable of addressing any dietary problems your feline friend might have. While there are various factors that can contribute to your cat’s bathroom habits, the wrong diet is the most common cause of terrible smells.
Good cat food for smelly stool should include:
Free from allergenic or irritating ingredients
Limited ingredient cat foods are often a common solution for cats with smelly poop. This is because most of the digestion problems caused by cat foods are a result of something within the food reacting badly with your cat’s digestive system. If your cat food is packed full of extra ingredients and additives, it’s more likely to cause irritation.
Avoid any common allergens, including grain, and make sure you stay away from cat foods that contain any lactose. Remember, your cat will likely be lactose intolerant, so the presence of any lactose in their diet will only make their bathroom habits worse.
High-quality food sources
Higher quality sources of food are also less likely to cause problems with your cat’s digestive system. Any food you buy for your cat should have a good source of protein as the number one ingredient. This protein should ideally be from an organic source, like cage-free chicken.
While it’s important to consider your cat’s preferences, focus on foods that are packed with protein and contain a few extra vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Probiotics, prebiotics, and substances which help to promote natural digestion can be useful here too.
Consider raw food
If your cat generally has a lot of digestion issues, you might consider turning to raw food. Though more expensive, and a little more complex to prepare than the standard cat food, raw food is free from anything which might cause irritation to your cat’s digestive system.
You can even make your own raw food at home and carefully choose each ingredient yourself.
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Raw food gives your cat a diet closer to what they would be likely to have in the natural world. Before you switch to a raw food diet, however, you may want to look at speaking to your veterinarian and getting their advice. They may be able to offer insights to help you make the best possible food for your cat.
Things to Look for In Your Chosen Cat Food
The best cat food for smelly poop will be focused on aiding your cat’s digestion while minimizing anything which might irritate your feline friend’s sensitive stomach. If your cat has a specific issue with their health that might be contributing to their bathroom issues, consider asking your vet for advice on which food to use.
It’s also worth making sure the food you choose can still support your cat’s unique health requirements if they have any. Some factors to look for include:
Things to Avoid
It’s worth remembering every cat is different, and the dietary requirements and digestive health of your feline friend might differ compared to those of other cats. Paying attention to your kitty’s unique health needs and food preferences will help you to make the right choice.
Based on what you know about your cat, it’s worth taking extra steps to avoid substances that might be problematic for them. For instance, food sensitivity triggers commonly contribute to digestion problems and smellier litter boxes. One of the biggest triggers for cats is also common proteins like chicken, seafood, and beef. If you know your cat has an issue with one of these foods, it might be worth experimenting with different proteins.
Another common source of irritants for cats is grain, which is why so many of the top foods on the market are entirely grain-free. Avoid anything with soy, corn, or wheat as a large ingredient. Similarly, it’s also a good idea to avoid artificial ingredients as much as possible. Artificial flavors, preservatives, and colors can often irritate your cat’s stomach.
Don’t forget to stay away from dairy and milk products too. Most cats are lactose intolerant, and foods or treats with milk as an ingredient can lead to worse stomach problems.
If you’re not sure what kind of foods, recipes, or ingredients might be problematic for your cat, the best option is to try a limited ingredient diet. This can help you to avoid many of the most problematic ingredients in cat foods.
Read this next: 12 Best Hypoallergenic Cat Foods
Best Cat Food for Smelly Poop: The Verdict
The best cat food for smelly poop might take a while and a little experimentation to find. You’ll need to choose a food that supports your cat’s digestion, but also appeals to their individual preferences, which isn’t always simple.
Always keep an open mind to parasites, bacteria, and bacterial infections (salmonella) as these can cause stinky poop and diarrhea.
Our favorite option is the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient diet cat food. Not only does this limited ingredient food reduce the risk of your cat suffering from allergic responses to various irritating foods, but it’s packed full of high-quality nutrition. With this simple dry cat food, you can cut out common problematic foods, and still give your kitty the right balance of protein, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins to keep them healthy.
Good luck finding the food best for tackling your cat’s smelly litter box habits.
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