Very smelly soft stool, food change and test shows nothing?

Babypinkweeb

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Hi!

I've been feeding my boy the same dry food for a while now that he loves and does well on, but recently he started having soft stools (slightly melted ice cream texture) that are MEGA stinky and sometimes gets stuck on his butt hairs. His poop sample is cleared by the vet and he shows no other behavior changes or symptoms.

I suspect it's related to the food as the recent batch I got before all this started was different looking than my previous bags. After 3weeks of soft stools with some red blood, I made a decision to return to another dry food he has had before and did fine on in case the off batch was causing the issues (some recent reviews also echoed my experience). However he is still having the stool issues just with less to no blood now. I'm not sure if this is because of the sudden food transition or something else? It's really smelly and unusual. Either way I also started giving him some jarrow formulas saccharomyces boulardii as it has helped him firm up soft stool in the past.

I can't swap him to wet because I tried it for a few month slowly before until he literally started a hunger strike so bad it snowballed into a huge health scare that almost killed him due to him rejecting food. It's a long story but just trust me when I say this boy is sadly kibble only.(my other cat is getting the best wet I can afford!)
 

Margot Lane

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I hear you. In my case it’s WET only, but I wonder if our quandaries are similar. Pheeyew! What can we do? I’m seriously looking into a poo container w a heavy duty top & believe you me, it’s double bags & air freshener all the way. PS: don’t use lavender oil spray which is harmful to cats. I have an unproven theory it’s cos they can’t eat fresh mice, but I’m no scientist.
 

MissClouseau

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Was his stool tested for only worms or? If his food isn't smelly, and he doesn't have "constipation followed with soft stools", the bad odor is probably bad bacteria.

Sometimes after a period of diarrhea or infection, good bacteria takes time and some probiotics help to get restored. Unless the vet has a different suggestion, if I were you, I would try the new food + probiotics for 5-7 days. If after that soft stools and/or smelly stools continue, change the food to a simple formula, prescription gastrointestinal / hypoallergenic food. If the problem continues, then more tests would be ideal I think.
 
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Babypinkweeb

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Was his stool tested for only worms or? If his food isn't smelly, and he doesn't have "constipation followed with soft stools", the bad odor is probably bad bacteria.

Sometimes after a period of diarrhea or infection, good bacteria takes time and some probiotics help to get restored. Unless the vet has a different suggestion, if I were you, I would try the new food + probiotics for 5-7 days. If after that soft stools and/or smelly stools continue, change the food to a simple formula, prescription gastrointestinal / hypoallergenic food. If the problem continues, then more tests would be ideal I think.
I'm not sure if it was tested specifically for worms, but both cats are indoor only and on monthly revolution treatment, plus Ive been checking his poop a little too closely since this started and have found nothing strange in there.

When it first started I believe it was a mix of constipation and soft stool, partly due to the blood (he had constipation before so I could tell a bit) and some really hard little turds next to the soft stool. His recent poops have been soft only that I can tell. Both cats like to poop when I'm asleep so it may be the other cats tho, since he gets high quality wet and had small poops.

I also definitely agree. Sadly this kind of happened right before a business trip but I manage to get in a few days of probiotics before I left. I'll continue it for a week when I'm back and see if it improves.
 

Foreverlouiemylove

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Have you had a fecal test?
Do fecal test first.
What was your vet’s advice if you saw them?

Try Royal canin indoor (stool odor control features) dry food and it helps smell is gone.

I also experienced that food also affects cat poop smell and quality And also depending on cat.

For same fancy feast pate canned food, other canned food or dry food, two cats stool odor different. But as for me, royal canin indoor dry food and fancy feast or other canned food both make good stool and odor free.
 

Foreverlouiemylove

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I tried many dry food and Purina weight management chicken and rice made my cat have horrible awful smelly poop. It was weird.
Stool depends on cat‘s health or food they eat.

I learned if cat is good in health but smelly poop, he can’t digest something in food you feed and when fiber is lacked, it makes smelly poop.
I changed royal canin indoor dry food (fancy feast wet food no issue for making smelly poop ever) and ingredient has average fiber but no smelly poop.
 
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