# Easy way to de-stinkify cat crap?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [August 19, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758 "2010-08-19T17:38:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/1 "2010-08-19T17:38:44Z")
Not a problem for the girls. They poop prodigiously, but the smell is tolerable if the boxes are cleaned regularly. But the little boy (Little! he’s not yet a year old and he already stratches out a good 24") can produce piles that will wake you out of a sound sleep. Foul, they are. All of the cats share a diet of dry food (Science Diet, Iams Hairball Control and Purina One mixed) and the odd envelope of Friskies to share. Anybody have any idea why Caelan is the stinker and not Havoc or Pixel? Any easy way to destinkify him?
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/2 "2010-08-19T18:21:42Z")
Some cats (and dogs) are just Talented that way. My brother had a greyhound whose farts had been classified as biological weapons. I THINK that you’re supposed to feed activated charcoal to dogs, to help the farts at least. However, dogs will eat stuff that cats won’t.
Do you grow grass for the cats to eat? Sometimes some chlorophyll will help with odor problems. And where’s the pic of Caelan? You know the rules!
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### Author:  [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/3 "2010-08-19T18:46:02Z")
We switched to Iams in the pink bag for stinkiness reasons. (Something about digestive happiness - I don’t remember the particulars.) It hasn’t solved the problem completely, but it’s much, much better.
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### Author:  [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/4 "2010-08-19T18:59:49Z")
My cat is on Halo dry food and while her poo still smells like poo, it’s the least stinky cat poo I’ve run across. It’s not cheap stuff even at wholesale but it goes a long way and is worth it.
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### Author:  [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/5 "2010-08-19T19:17:02Z")
Feed them only raw animals. Poop is almost odor-free (has a faint mushroom-y smell, that’s it). It’s also very tiny and firm because it’s nearly completely digested.
But changing to any higher-quality processed cat food should help. It’s the grains and fillers (fiber) that cats aren’t equipped to digest that is causing both the prodigious amounts of poop and the bad smell.
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### Author:  [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/6 "2010-08-19T19:21:21Z")
I want to say it has something to do with digesting magnesium, but am not certain. (One of those “I read it somewhere” vague cites, sorry!) I used to feed my herd one of the orange-bag Iams varieties and it specifically said something to the effect of “will make poop smell less poopy” on the bag. Lower magnesium content in the food.
(Sorry. Typing w/one arm in a sling, else I’d do the Googling for you!)
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/7 "2010-08-19T19:29:19Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#):
>
> And where’s the pic of Caelan? You know the rules!
[His introductory thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=535459&highlight=caelan). I’ll have to wait until I get home to take fresh pics of the little monster.
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### Author:  [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/8 "2010-08-19T19:37:29Z")
Does he cover his poops? When I had one male and two female cats, the male’s poops stunk to high heaven simply because he didn’t bother to cover them.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/9 "2010-08-19T19:44:48Z")
Nope, he covers them. Quite noisily, in fact. The wife is of the opinion that he knows when he’s about to violate the Geneva Accords and saves those for 5am.
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### Author:  [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/10 "2010-08-19T19:57:14Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> Anybody have any idea why Caelan is the stinker and not Havoc or Pixel? Any easy way to destinkify him?
It might be something as simple as him being less tolerant of the carb fillers in the food you’re using. Some cats just have more delicate stomachs and food allergies ( especially to things like corn and wheat gluten, but also different proteins at times ) aren’t uncommon.
I think the first and easiest fix to try is ( if you can afford it ) switching to a super-premium “grain free” cat food like Wellness or Innova and see if that helps. Another attempt at a fix would be if you are always feeding a particular type of protein ( say chicken ) try and switch that up in a systematic way.
Litter-wise, while not all cats tolerate it and not all holistic vets like it, fresh silica gel is the king of odor minimizers IMHO through its dessication properties.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/11 "2010-08-19T22:03:39Z")
The only cat I’ve had that created that kind of stench was a male kitten whose stools were sometimes less than solid. I don’t remember how long it took . . . maybe a few months . . . but eventually the problem went away by itself.
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### Author:  [@justpassingthrough](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justpassingthrough)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/12 "2010-08-19T23:29:24Z")
Royal Caanen (sp?) Search for previous threads on stinky cat poop, and you should see several Doper testimonials for this brand. Based on those recommendations, I switched.
Our kitty also had poops to “wake you out of a sound sleep,” but after a few rounds of this food, things were significantly better.
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### Author:  [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/13 "2010-08-20T14:18:34Z")
I just switched to Taste of the Wild from Innova Evo (I feed grain-free) and the poops got smaller and less stinkier.
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### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/14 "2010-08-20T16:49:53Z")
> [@BetsQ](#):
>
> We switched to Iams in the pink bag for stinkiness reasons. (Something about digestive happiness - I don’t remember the particulars.) It hasn’t solved the problem completely, but it’s much, much better.
Same here! The litter box is in the next room, and before switching to the pink bag I always knew when Mick took a dump. Now even when he doesn’t cover it, I can’t smell it unless I’m right next to the box, and even then, not so much.
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### Author:  [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/15 "2010-08-20T17:50:51Z")
Get a dog to eat it.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/16 "2010-08-20T18:05:47Z")
Is the pink bag “digestive health”? I might try it.
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### Author:  [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/17 "2010-08-20T18:22:36Z")
Have you tried baking soda in the litter? We found that makes a huge difference in the stink.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/18 "2010-08-20T20:35:16Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#):
> >
> > And where’s the pic of Caelan? You know the rules!
>
> [His introductory thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=535459&highlight=caelan). I’ll have to wait until I get home to take fresh pics of the little monster.
Nothing that cute could possibly cause an offensive stink. Or do anything wrong, for that matter. He’s adorable…and now I want another tiny orange kitten. I have two adult orange cats, but I want another kitten.
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### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/19 "2010-08-20T20:48:57Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> Is the pink bag “digestive health”? I might try it.
Yep. And Mick has also stopped horking. The darn stuff might just be helping!
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-way-to-de-stinkify-cat-crap/550758/20 "2010-08-21T21:02:12Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#):
>
> > [@silenus](#):
> >
> > [His introductory thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=535459&highlight=caelan). I’ll have to wait until I get home to take fresh pics of the little monster.
>
> Nothing that cute could possibly cause an offensive stink. Or do anything wrong, for that matter. He’s adorable…and now I want another tiny orange kitten. I have two adult orange cats, but I want another kitten.
That little, I agree. But [this](http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/silenus_/DSCN0046.jpg) is what he looks like now! 😛
eta: We picked up a couple of bags of the pink stuff at Petco. So far they are eating it. We’ll see if it makes things less noxious in a few days.
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