Need food and litter advice please

[NacMacFeeglie]

My kitten is now four months old and is lovely. However he poops a lot. And it's more of a soft type. I clean his litter tray out but my house always seems to smell of it. It also gets caught in his fur around his back passage.

I am thinking this must be a feeding thing. He had dry food. Whiskas kitten. And fresh water.

Could someone advise on the best type of food to have him on please.

[TheOneWiththeNicestSmile]

Mine have Felix Doubly Delicious & Royal Canin biscuits & have lovely firm poo unless they've been eating green things outside

The litter tray is covered & it seems the best litter for preventing smells is one of the wood-based ones like Cat's Best

I buy in bulk from zooplus - delivery is free over about £25 & usually only takes a couple of days

[TheOneWiththeNicestSmile]

Actually thinking back they also had Royal Canin wet kitten food for quite a long time but it's expensive

Whiskas is generally considered to be pretty rubbish quality. (A lot of people say Felix is too, but it is one of zooplus's recommended brands which Whiskas isn't. My cats are pretty healthy too. )

[chockbic]

Has he been wormed?

Dry food usually bungs them up, if anything.

[dogfish22]

Mine get the runs from dry food, do your cat a favour and stop feeding dry! Try some actual cat food instead of cereals better suited to humans (which Whiskas is, unfortunately).

Note that "kitten food" as such is a scam as well, wild animals do not get any different food in the wild than their parents.

Cats aren't meant to eat human produced dry food, which is even more full of rubbish than most wet foods.
Note that all dry foods are full of fillers, such as grains and rice, and that cats can not digest plant foods. They are obligate carnivores, and get most of their water intake from their food, hence a cat on dry food will be in a constant state of dehydration with urinary tract and kidney problems int the future.

To fix his bowels up a bit, try some raw meat, i.e. minced cow.

I found Animonda Carny (available at zoo plus) working quite well or MAC's (thehappykittycompany.co.uk) or if you have some money to spend, Omnomnom.

Have a look at the nutrition information:

1. Whiskas
   

Meat and Animal Derivatives,Fish and Fish Derivatives (including 4% Salmon) ,Minerals ,Vegetable Protein Extracts

So, we have some offal to make it smell nice to the cat and a whole 4% of meat. And a lot of filler.

Alternative suggestions:

Animonda Carny complete food

Meat Saucer:
Beef (34%, lung, meat, kidney, heart, udder), broth (31%), chicken (27%, liver, stomach, neck, meat), wild game (7%).
Beef & Chicken:
Beef (38%, meat, lung, heart, kidney, udder), broth (31%), chicken (30%, liver, meat, stomach, neck), calcium carbonate.
Beef & Heart:
Beef (53%, meat, lung, liver, kidney, udder), broth (31%), heart (15%), calcium carbonate.

No fillers, though the meat is of mixed quality, but its a very good basic food.

Lets have a look at some of the premium stuff:

MAC's Duck, Rabbit & Beef complete food

Ingredients: Meat (min. 45% game, min 15% duck, min. 15% rabbit, min. 15% beef) and animal derivatives (liver, lung), broth, minerals, taurine.

Om Nom Nom Chicken and Veal complete food Unfortunately very expensive as its an import, but when you open the can you can actually recognise whats in it.

70% Meat and Organs as follows:
20.0% Veal meat and hearts
15% Chicken hearts, whole
15% Chicken necks
15% Chicken meat and stomach
5% Liver
26 % Chicken broth
3 % Carrots
1 % Minerals & Vitamins

Note that you're much better off feeding your cat smaller portions of nutritious food than lots of rubbish.

Animonda is quite economical and can be found at zooplus.co.uk

[Beautifullymixed]

OP have a read of this thread here

Another interesting thread here.

[Beautifullymixed]

Until I sorted out my cats diet and litter, my house also stank. I hated it. Now, so different and no smell.
Cats best okoplus is a good one, but I hated the tracking. I have found the one for me after much trials and tribulations. Cats best natures gold, same make as the oko plus but large pellets.

A great litter really hides the smells, and these leave a fresh, woody smell with absolutely no urine smells. For weeks. The clumping action means you just take out the clumps, leaving fresh litter behind. I clean the litter box sides inside and out each morning, and my box is smell free.
So is my flat. For me, it's worth paying that little extra. Although, if I've run out I will use wood pellets, which are also good. Just not clumping, so wash and empty the box weekly.