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The litter tray

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“My cats poo doesnt smell”

38 replies

SlushMountain · 06/08/2026 20:33

I have got two cats and im not use to having house cats (they can go out but choose not to) we have litter trays but my god when they poo it just absolutely reeks, even behind a closed door the smell is just out of this world stinky. I keep reading people saying their cat’s poo doesnt smell! how exactly? I’ve tried different litters etc doesnt change anything. Even my kids are complaining how stinky it is. The smell lingers for ages and yes I clean it straight away but it lingers.

OP posts:
Octavia64 · 06/08/2026 20:33

i have had several cats over many years and their poo always smells.

mishmashmess · 06/08/2026 20:35

Mine eat top of the range 'better poo' 100% meat food. Their poo still stinks. It's just a cat thing.

chirrupybird · 06/08/2026 20:35

All poo smells.

gayestgal · 06/08/2026 20:35

Mine eat whiskas and absolutely smell

I have heard that better food brands smell better but cant confirm

Puppylucky · 06/08/2026 20:36

But it doesn't linger. Once it's been scooped the smell has gone.

mishmashmess · 06/08/2026 20:37

Interestingly a friend has a dog that's fed on 100% meat food and it really makes a difference it terms of smell - I am hugely intolerant to the smell of dog poo, but I can be near her dog's poo without gagging. A great diet doesn't seem to have the same effect on cats though, sadly.

Namechangedforspooky · 06/08/2026 20:38

Litter robot - absolute game changer.
our house rarely smells with 2 cats. Change the litter once a week

101Kittens · 06/08/2026 20:41

I have one indoor cat who can stink out the house occassionally but it doesn't linger after it's scooped and flushed. Another who only eats good quality wet food and doesn't smell beyond the litter box.

The undigestable content in food/treats is a major contributor to stinky poop.

PickledMuffin · 06/08/2026 20:42

i don’t think i’ve ever had a cat that didnt do stinky poos….

Dovesono · 06/08/2026 20:44

Is "Dr" Gillian McKeith working with felines now?

Threetoedsloth · 06/08/2026 20:46

It's at times like this I am glad I have lost my sense of smell- tiny benefit but I don't smell our boycat's horrid poos whereas my husband can detect them from upstairs and hurtles to sort it out. I'd like to smell all sorts of things again, my great nephew's little head, perfume, food. But cat poo- no thanks.

JeremiaBoogle · 06/08/2026 20:47

Full on stinkiod.

VideoVox · 07/08/2026 07:26

When I got mine from the rescue they said she ate I think it was Whiskas, so I carried on feeding that. Dear god her poop stank the whole house out, I would have to open pretty much every window. I’ve gone through trial and error over the years and now give her Encore pouches in broth and Scrumbles dry food. It smells a bit just around the tray when she first goes but doesn’t spread through the entire house. I quite often get up and don’t even realise she has pooped until I look in the tray.

MildlyMoist · 07/08/2026 07:35

101Kittens · 06/08/2026 20:41

I have one indoor cat who can stink out the house occassionally but it doesn't linger after it's scooped and flushed. Another who only eats good quality wet food and doesn't smell beyond the litter box.

The undigestable content in food/treats is a major contributor to stinky poop.

Please don’t flush cat poo! Sewage systems (in the uk, might be different elsewhere) aren’t designed to break down the pathogens in cat poo, which differ from our own, and they carry parasites which won’t be killed and will end up in our water.

You need to bag and bin it.

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 07/08/2026 07:35

Son’s cat doesn’t. Plenty of litter in the tray. It’s a brand that doesn’t flush though.

InQuiresandplaceswheretheysing · 07/08/2026 12:32

Mine was much better after changing to grain free food.

101Kittens · 07/08/2026 12:59

My cats don't have toxoplasmosis @MildlyMoist

Are you as concerned about the billions of microplastics in our water so you don't use anything plastic?

Pixiedust1234 · 07/08/2026 13:47

It depends on what The Stray eats and the ratio. It also depends on which kitty litter we use as some absorb smells better. I've found her poo gets smelly when her anxiety has ramped up and I assume it's similar to humans when we get stressed our digestive system becomes crampy, smelly, and often 😷

Try a different wet food, and different litter and clean it up immediately.

Pixiedust1234 · 07/08/2026 13:51

101Kittens · 07/08/2026 12:59

My cats don't have toxoplasmosis @MildlyMoist

Are you as concerned about the billions of microplastics in our water so you don't use anything plastic?

The water companies have requested that animal poo is not flushed into their systems, for multiple reasons. Same as their requests that people do not flush "flushable" wet wipes or putting fats down the drain.

MildlyMoist · 07/08/2026 14:12

101Kittens · 07/08/2026 12:59

My cats don't have toxoplasmosis @MildlyMoist

Are you as concerned about the billions of microplastics in our water so you don't use anything plastic?

Fabulous case of whataboutery! Well done.

I’m concerned you keep an animal and don’t know how to safely dispose of its waste.

If bagging and binning is distasteful, you should have thought about that before getting cats. There’s so much wrong with our water industry that adding totally unnecessary additional strain on the sewage process when there’s a perfectly safe and viable alternative is just silly.

LetItGoToRuin · 07/08/2026 15:41

We've had our new kitten for a month. He's fed on KatKin which is almost pure meat. No grain - no fillers at all. He does hard poos and buries them neatly. If you didn't go digging you wouldn't know he had done a poo.

He was on Metacam briefly after being neutered. Diarrhoea poos stunk the house out.

Our previous cats didn't bury their poos, for some reason, but we also didn't feed them such good food. Their poos always smelled.

I think the answer is diet. I'm sure raw is even better, but pure meat options such as KatKin and Marro are the next best. It's expensive though!

magicbeany · 07/08/2026 16:16

You can try active charcoal litter? My friend’s cat’s poo STANK. They got some from Amazon and told me to use it when I looked after her. You still pick up as soon as possible but it really did help.

gingercat02 · 07/08/2026 16:17

Yep my very small cat has the arse of doom, she can clear the room with a fart

timtamsarebetterthanpenguins · 07/08/2026 16:17

All poo smells, but healthy poo shouldn't smell awful and it certainly shouldn't linger once it's been removed from the trays.

Iheartmysmart · 07/08/2026 16:22

I couldn’t quite believe how stinky my little menace was when I first got her. I’d been used to a raw fed dog so there was very little smell from his poo. Since changing her to Untamed cat food, it’s been much better. There is a slight smell but it’s gone as soon as I clean her tray. Previously it would linger which wasn’t helpful when her litter tray is in my home office 🤢

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