New indoor cat owner ! Smelly, frequent poops, litter and cling on's. HELP!!!!

[jemma lucy]

Hi guys im new to the site, Im from Sydney, Australia. Ive just adopted 2 ragdoll adult cats (sisters) both 4 years old - Jemma & Lucy. They live indoors with me in a small apartment. I absoloutly love my new babies dearly but we are having a little
issue. poop....The diet they were on was only Iams dry kibble and their poop is sooo smelly, it makes me wanna heave and I have a pretty strong stomach!! They also poop 3-4 times daily and if it is not removed immediatley they wee and poop outside the litter box. (a nice surprise to come home to!) They also get cling ons in their long fur and I have many a time chasing them around like a madwoman to clean their messy buts. I pretty much spend all my spare time cleaning up poop, and seeing im a nurse for a living, thats a lot of poop cleaning :lol3:!  Ive been reading up on various diets for cats to change the odour, frequency and consistancy of their stools. I saw that a diet of meat is a lot better for them. i have noticed My cats seem quite lethergic and not as bright or playful as other cats ive known. Is it true that a lot of pet foods contain mainly fillers/cereals ? I was quite surprised as any vet or 'expert' will tell you that the high priced brand name premium dry foods are all you need to feed your cat, and in fact my own vet told me the very same thing - however- I read that if the diet is high in meat (as cats are carnivores) they will not produce as much waste and it is more natural. from what i have seen in this thread this looks promising ! however, I tried one of my cats on minced steak and she had diarrhoa all day. perhaps i made the switch too quick? Ive also been slowly introducing a new 'grain free' kibble and wet food, however this dosnt seem to be helping and the stools are still mushy and smelly. I have read about 'natural' brands such as evo, natures .. ect. but I can't find them in The pet stores in Sydney.
does anyone have any suggestions on how/what to start with when trying my kittys on a raw food diet ? 
Also how do you guys cope with the gross factor of the raw meat juices ? do you have a system you use?

thankyou !! 

 

[ldg]

Carolina will REALLY be able to help you! She has long haired kitties, and Bugsy is her big rag doll boy! :nod:

BTW - grain free doesn't necessarily mean carbohydrate or starch-free. Take a look at the label - you'll likely see potatoes or peas instead of wheat, rice, or corn. :nod:

Feeding raw will really help clean up those stinky poops and dirty butts!

 

[jemma lucy]

hi laurie , thankyou for replying to both of my posts in this topic of raw feeding.
I am so glad I found this site ! It looks like I am well on the way to getting the support I need to clean up my poor kittys buts ! That is true about 'grain free' dry food , the other questionable ingrediants listed are : potatoes, peas, carrots, kelp meal, pinapple, blueberries, parsley flakes, cranberry powder, brewers yeast?! I am amazed at how many $$$ commercial top shelf cat foods are filled with this kind of rubbish!!

 

[jemma lucy]

well after lots of patience, trial and error, its been 2 weeks now since I started them on raw and I am really noticing the difference. no more smelly messy poops and butts, more energy and shiny coats. my 2 lazy cats have turned into kittens again ! thanks for all your advice !!!!!
:lol3::nod:

 

[carolina]

OMG,I am so sorry I am just seeing this thread now
Well...... Congratulations then! Isn't it amazing the difference raw makes in their lives? Everything changes really, their poop is a bonus :lol3: For me, it was a sign of a lifesaving change for Bugsy, as he was on a bad IBD path...... and now he is 100% better
But my goodness their coats are just.... Giant cotton balls! And they are just so happy and healthy :nod:
You just bought years of health to your babies!!! Congrats again!!

 

[klag]

Hi!

When I first transitioned my cats from full time Fancy Feast wet and dry to ultra-premium grain free wet and dry, the first thing I noticed was no more smelly litter boxes.  I have not noticed any difference since I started adding raw to the rotation, but it wasn't bad in the first place since they were already eating mostly healthy food as it was.  I'm only doing raw 2 or 3 days per week, so maybe I'll notice another difference when adding more.

I also have 2 long hair cats, and while neither have chronic or even common mushy stool issues, there are times they get into something or just get sick and have loose runny stool.  You can get a groomer to shave their "potty trail" with the clippers in the butt and rear area to avoid them getting it all over themselves.  It grows back in a few weeks anyway and hopefully by then they are all better.  It's so much easier then having to clean them up 2-3 times per day.... longhair cats are soooooooo messy when they get sick.  If that's not an option, you can trim it yourself in the rear area.

If you continue to find them going outside the litterbox, you might need to add a 2nd litterbox.  I have four litter boxes all over the house for my five cats. They have designated certain boxes as poo or pee only boxes.   They are weird like that sometimes

 

[ldg]

Aw, that is GREAT to hear! I'm so glad you're all doing well and happy! :bigthumb: Thanks for checking back in with us!