How can such a tiny kitten produce such a huge stink?

[Guinastasia]

All right, this weekend, my family has acquired a sixth cat. (Yes, we are nuts). A little grey tabby who goes by the name of Maggie.

Said kitten is in my room for the time being, along with her litterbox. She goes in it to do her business, and suddenly, the room is filled with a stench that could gag a maggot. A stench that seems like it should belong to a prison toilet, NOT the litterbox of a cute little bundle of fur.


Maggie, Magpie, Mags, you are cute. But my god, can you ever stink up a room!

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

Ooooooohhhhhhhhh, yeh. I hear you, and empathise. Try multiplying that by three.

One thing I found helped was switching the little poopydrawers from canned food to dry. Their output still stank, but not nearly so much.

[Guinastasia]

The little snot won't eat the dry stuff. We even tried mixing it in with the wet stuff-she ate the wet stuff, leaving the few little pellets in the dish.

*snort*

[Ephemera]

Originally Posted by EddyTeddyFreddy

Ooooooohhhhhhhhh, yeh. I hear you, and empathise. Try multiplying that by three.

One thing I found helped was switching the little poopydrawers from canned food to dry. Their output still stank, but not nearly so much.

You would think dry food will help but not in all cases. I've switched mine over to dry from moist in the past week and I can still smell her sometimes when I am in the bathroom. It's vile.

[overlyverbose]

Are you feeding her the same thing she was fed at her previous home? She might be having some intestinal problems because of new food if you're not. You might try mixing some of her old food with the new food, then weaning her off the old stuff.

But, yeah, kittens can create a huge stench. It's really incredible that something so adorable could leave such a stinkbomb.

[kittenblue]

I've used this cure for stinky kitten farts with great success. Don't know how it'll work with stinky kitten poop, but it can't hurt. Feed the kitten some plain yogurt (with active cultures) One serving cured my little stink bomb.

[Guinastasia]

We got her from the vet's office-they do adoptions and my mother saw her and fell in love. I figure they were probably feeding her Science Diet dry, which is what we give them. Who knows?

kittenblue, there's an idea-I'll have to try it. She's also got a case of the farts-the SBDs.

It seems that for some reason, kittens always seem to have the worst smelling feces. She's right up there with my FATHER for stinking up a room. That's a considerable feat right there.

[Ms Boods]

Am myself completely immune to any vile stench, but my partner is a dainty flower -- when The Boods was a baby, her litterbox was near the bedroom, and every night, without fail, just after lights were off, she would 'make a smell' as they say in the No Naughty Cats book.

I would try so hard not to laugh as my partner would start to moan, and even to weep, leaping out of bed naked to grab 2 handy spray-cans of Lysol and start blasting the room and hallway with it...you know that sort of quiet laughing that shakes you to bits.

[lissener]

Guin, what do you mean he won't eat the dry, will only eat wet? So from that I'm guessing this is what's happening: You give him wet food, he turns up his nose. So he jumps into some flipflops, grabs your car keys and takes some cash outta your purse, and runs to the All Night Convenience store for a can of Fancy Feast?

What? He can't drive? Oh, YOU'RE feeding him canned food! Oh, in that case, problem solved: DON'T!

(And if your local grocery store delivers, keep him the hell away from the phone!)

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by lissener

Guin, what do you mean he won't eat the dry, will only eat wet? So from that I'm guessing this is what's happening: You give him wet food, he turns up his nose. So he jumps into some flipflops, grabs your car keys and takes some cash outta your purse, and runs to the All Night Convenience store for a can of Fancy Feast?

What? He can't drive? Oh, YOU'RE feeding him canned food! Oh, in that case, problem solved: DON'T!

(And if your local grocery store delivers, keep him the hell away from the phone!)

OH for godsakes, lissener, must you always be such an ass?

She REFUSES to eat the dry stuff. We tried it for the first day, and by the second evening, she still hadn't eaten. My mother tried a tiny bit of wet stuff, and she ate it. That's all she would eat. We keep trying to give her the dry stuff, and she refuses it, even when she's obviously starving.

It's not like we're giving her poison-my other cats eat a combination of wet and dry food.

Most kittens, I've noticed, have really stinky poop. It happened when we got Buffy and Gypsy-and they WERE eating dry stuff at the time.

My mom is going to ask the vet about it.

[LavenderBlue]

Originally Posted by EddyTeddyFreddy

Ooooooohhhhhhhhh, yeh. I hear you, and empathise. Try multiplying that by three.

One thing I found helped was switching the little poopydrawers from canned food to dry. Their output still stank, but not nearly so much.

Your kitties may have stinky poo but they're darned adorable.

We keep our litterbox in the basement so the stink doesn't permeate the rest of the house.

[lissener]

I wasn't being an ass; I was being funny. That was the routine I used when I worked at pet store for 8 years; 2 of which I was the Cat Room manager. I'm much funnier in person; no one was ever offended. It must be the twinkle in my eye.

Some rich old white lady would come in and say her cat (or her poodle; I worked both rooms) would only eat lobster salad. I would do said routine, and she would be charmed right of of their waist-high cotton underpants.

The point is, if the cat's old enough to eat dry foot, she WILL get hungry enough to eat whatever you give her. Period.

[Starving Artist]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

OH for godsakes, lissener, must you always be such an ass?

I think friend lissener was just trying to be funny. After watching his posting style for a while you can begin to pick up on it. Hell, I've even found him being funny while we knocking the crap out of each other.

[Ilsa_Lund]

Originally Posted by lissener

So from that I'm guessing this is what's happening: You give him wet food, he turns up his nose. So he jumps into some flipflops, grabs your car keys and takes some cash outta your purse, and runs to the All Night Convenience store for a can of Fancy Feast?

So he turns his nose up at wet food, and then goes and buys wet food?

[Ephemera]

The first time I read lissener's original post to this thread, I thought he was being an ass too but after rereading it, it does seem like he was just trying to be funny with mixed results. While I did laugh at the post, it was a bit belligerent as well.

[Guinastasia]

Ah, then I appologize, lissener-I thought you were going to give me one of those lectures on giving in to my cat.

Right now, she's curled up on the nightstand beside my computer, sound asleep.

Little stinker.

[lissener]

Originally Posted by Aesiron

The first time I read lissener's original post to this thread, I thought he was being an ass too but after rereading it, it does seem like he was just trying to be funny with mixed results. While I did laugh at the post, it was a bit belligerent as well.

Guess what? You were mistaken. It was not belligerent.

[Ephemera]

My first impression and Guin's reaction shows it was, even if it was unintentional.

[Johnny Bravo]

What sort of litter do you use? I have Arm & Hammer brand litter and it's awesome, especially with an air freshener strategically placed near the box.

[lissener]

Originally Posted by Aesiron

My first impression and Guin's reaction shows it was, even if it was unintentional.

You know, I'm sick and fucking tired of this. All you assholes carry this prejudice around with you, and REFUSE to take any responsibility for your knee-jerkness. There are two participants in the exchange of information; the sender is responsible for half, the recipient is responsible for half. If you can't admit to leaping to an assumption, and offer to accept half the responsibility for the failure of the exchange, then fuck the hell out of both of you. I write like I speak: when I speak, people laugh. I'm sorry if your prejudices force you to presume on the side of asshole rather that ever fucking once giving me the benefit of the doubt, or at least acknowledge your part in the interpretation. Obviously there's something in my written delivery that lacks whatever it is about my face-to-face delivery that's given me, among friends, a reputation for being extremely funny (if a bit of an insult comic).

I'm tired of taking 100% of the responsibilities for the humorless idiots that abound on this board; I will no longer accept responsibility for your prejudice and assumptions.

[Ephemera]

Firstly, if I were as prejudiced against you as you thought I was, I never would have reread your post, decided you meant it as a joke, and then actually defended you.

Secondly, you saying I had a knee-jerk response is highly ironic considering the vitriol in your reply to me.

Thirdly, your rant about accepting responsibility goes both ways. You're not a victim and the role of martyr does not suit you. You have been told numerous times that you come off as a dick and have even started threads asking how not to. It isn't anyone else's fault but your own that you haven't implemented the suggestions given to you.

And finally, look into prozac.

[lissener]

Originally Posted by Aesiron

Firstly, if I were as prejudiced against you as you thought I was, I never would have reread your post, decided you meant it as a joke, and then actually defended you.

Secondly, you saying I had a knee-jerk response is highly ironic considering the vitriol in your reply to me.

Thirdly, your rant about accepting responsibility goes both ways. You're not a victim and the role of martyr does not suit you. You have been told numerous times that you come off as a dick and have even started threads asking how not to. It isn't anyone else's fault but your own that you haven't implemented the suggestions given to you.

And finally, look into prozac.

It wasn't kneejerk; it was just finally time for me to QUIT being a martyr and always accepting 100% percent of the responsibility for any such misinterpretations.

I never started any threads asking how not to be a dick, though I have attempted to understand a little better why many people consistently interpret me that way. As a result, I now have a better understanding: both of my output, and of others' input. My primary goal was understanding; change was secondary, and I never gave anyone carte blanche to dictate my behavior. I have considered and applied the information in that thread that I have found useful. Fuck you for using that against me. And fuck you for presuming to offer me medical advice. What if you said that to someone who WAS on prozac? That would make you a REAL asshole.

In any case, Guinistasia has a long standing and totally exaggerated and unfair and inflexible prejudice against me, and your repeated statement that my reply WAS belligerent, rather than that you INTERPRETED it as belligerent, implied a similar and arrogant prejudice on your part. So fuck you again, you fucking fuck.

[Ephemera]

Originally Posted by lissener

And fuck you for presuming to offer me medical advice. What if you said that to someone who WAS on prozac? That would make you a REAL asshole.

If that were the case, I'd suggest scheduling an appointment with your doctor to either discuss stronger medications or at least higher dosages.

[Troy McClure SF]

Originally Posted by lissener

I wasn't being an ass; I was being funny.

If you have to tell people this, then it wasn't funny.

FTR, I thought you were being an ass at first too, then read your original response and said, "oh, OK, misunderstanding." Reading the rest, I believe I've swayed back to "ass."

And I have no prejudice against you.

[TwistofFate]

Could it be that you're really, REALLY bad at comedy, lissener? If I went to a pet store and was treated to a "routine" like that I'd be off to another pet store pretty quickly.

[kittenblue]

As much as I adore my cats, I'm with lissener on this...I have never allowed a cat to be finicky on me. They get what I want them to eat, and I know that a couple of days without food isn't going to kill them. Heck, the new cat is on her third day of hiding from us, not eating yet, and I'm not in the least bit worried. And when she comes out, she'll eat what's in the dish. So everybody just unruffle your feathers and calm down. Try petting a cat...very relaxing.

[overlyverbose]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

We got her from the vet's office-they do adoptions and my mother saw her and fell in love. I figure they were probably feeding her Science Diet dry, which is what we give them. Who knows?

kittenblue, there's an idea-I'll have to try it. She's also got a case of the farts-the SBDs.

It seems that for some reason, kittens always seem to have the worst smelling feces. She's right up there with my FATHER for stinking up a room. That's a considerable feat right there.

That's very impressive! Well, if it is her food, it'll probably right itself in a few days anyway once her innards get used to what she's eating. I tend to be pretty strict with my cats - they eat what I feed 'em (but I do occasionally sneak them a little bite of chicken or tuna if I ever make it plain, which is rare).

Either way, congratulations on your newest addition, and best of luck!

[brief hijack]I had to share this with somebody, but it wasn't worth starting a new thread over, so, Guinastasia, you'll have to forgive me for hijacking your thread. But one of my cats just sauntered over to me, and when I tried not to pet him, he stuck his tail in my coffee. Very, very weird. I don't think the one has to do with the other, but it was pretty funny and seemed almost deliberate. He seemed almost indignant when he did it, and usually has a good grasp of where his tail is going. It was just funny as all hell, though. Okay, I'm done. Sorry 'bout that. I'm going to shuffle off and clean out my coffee cup.[/brief hijack]

[Guinastasia]

lissener, what the fuck?

a long standing and totally exaggerated and unfair and inflexible prejudice against me

That's news to me.

Jesus Christ, I appologized for the misunderstanding. Go shit in someone else's thread.

Hmmm, litter-I forget what kind we use. It's not the litter itself-because it works just fine with the others. I think it's just because of the different foods and such. She'll even out-the others did.

[lissener]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

lissener, what the fuck?



That's news to me.

Dude, you have stated such very bluntly, here and elsewhere. Ignoring my post would've been a lot more honest than denying it.

[Ilsa_Lund]

FWIW, I can see how the post could be seen as jerkish. However, a winky () smiley would have avoided all of this; making it instantly obvious the tone in which the post was intended. We've got them for a reason.

[lissener]

Sorry, I loathe the smileys, and use them only on the rarest occasion.

[Ephemera]

In this thread, you used them twice (1, 2) in reply to someone who I assume does not have "a long standing and totally exaggerated and unfair and inflexible prejudice" against you whereas in this thread, you posted without them in reply to someone who you says does. Why?

Seems a bit disingenuous to me.

[NoClueBoy]

Can we please get back to the cat shit?

It's much more interesting.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

An excellent point, NCB.

Now, why in hell would anyone use scented litter? I tried it once, and all it produced was an ungodly sickening sweetened stink. Eau de coprolite does NOT appeal to me.

[Ilsa_Lund]

Originally Posted by EddyTeddyFreddy

An excellent point, NCB.

Now, why in hell would anyone use scented litter? I tried it once, and all it produced was an ungodly sickening sweetened stink. Eau de coprolite does NOT appeal to me.

Coprolites!?!? Maybe if you cleaned out the litterbox before the Tootsie-Rolls fossilized, you wouldn't have an odor problem!

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

Originally Posted by Ilsa_Lund

Coprolites!?!? Maybe if you cleaned out the litterbox before the Tootsie-Rolls fossilized, you wouldn't have an odor problem!

Heh. It's the fresh ones, hot out of the oven, that stink up the joint. Once they've cooled and hardened they're nowhere near as foul.

As the keeper of seven cats and seven litterboxes, I can fairly claim a certain degree of expertise in this field.

[NoClueBoy]

When I was a kid, and we lived for a while in the Piney Woods near Henderson, our cats were indoor/outdoor cats. (Yes, glue down, with built in padding) They apparantly supplemented their diet of what we fed them with creatures and things they got in the wilds of our acreage. They progressively became more and more outdoor critters.

My job it was to clean the box, hmmm? Stink it did. Stink enough to make one gag it did, yes.

Why I'm channelling Yoda I'll never know. But their shit stank so much more than when we had them in the city as mostly indoor cats. And no, they weren't sick. They could fell a cow if they wanted to, they were so strong.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

They could fell a cow? All mine can do is jostle a gerbil!

[NoClueBoy]

They beat me at arm wrestling, too!

'Course, I was a little kid, but still!

[NoClueBoy]

Did you ever notice that chicken's shit is fowl smelling?

[Guinastasia]

The problem isn't so much laying them out-it's that in the act of covering them, the little runt steps in it, and it gets imbedded in her toes.

So far, though, the last few times we've been able to catch her before she steps in it. So either my mother or I hold her, while the other scoops out the offending article.

I don't know, it just seems like kitten poop smells worse than big cat poop. Well, except for maybe Gypsy. THAT cat can produce a nasty stench. Although not as bad as this little one.

(And don't get me started on how Gypsy and Piper Grace hold their water all day and then go and pee out the Mighty Mississippi. Damn, what the hell? THAT stinks too!)

[lissener]

Originally Posted by Aesiron

In this thread, you used them twice (1, 2) in reply to someone who I assume does not have "a long standing and totally exaggerated and unfair and inflexible prejudice" against you whereas in this thread, you posted without them in reply to someone who you says does. Why?

Seems a bit disingenuous to me.

Yes; I thought to mention these as one of the rare instances. I had been "flirting" with the OP in another thread; the winky smilies were a reference to that.

[dwyr]

I'm with you on the kitten poop smell. I've had five of my own and have been raising foster kittens this spring & summer-fifteen so far. I'm surprised my house is still habitable.

I've not tried the yogurt thing, might give that a go. However all my cats eventually grew out of the problem (and gassiness too). About the dry food, don't worry too much. Young ones tastes change as they grow and what they won't eat one week they may very well gobble down like ambrosia next week. Keep trying every now and then. And while it's probably true that most cats will eventually eat when hungry enough not all of them will. I had a tabby that refused to eat his dry food all of the sudden. I just ignored him figuring he'd eat eventually. It wasn't until I noticed he'd lost weight that I realized he wasn't eating anything (I had another cat at the time). I started switching brands until I found one he liked and no more trouble. I later read in the Merck Veterinary Manual that some cats will actually starve to death rather than eat something they don't like. Very stubborn animals!

But we already knew that, right?

[lisacurl]

Originally Posted by dwyr

I later read in the Merck Veterinary Manual that some cats will actually starve to death rather than eat something they don't like. Very stubborn animals!

I just thought that needed to be emphasized.