Cat litter and cat poo

Trina90

The breeder I got my 2 from said feed dry too. When I was at college we were taught it is actually better to feed dry as it makes them thirsty, so they actually drink more, and consume more water than if they are fed wet.

Better_Days

We have two kitties and their poo is definitely smellier when they are fed wet cat food. They have Arden Grange dry (this is the only dry they will eat, and only one flavour) and a little wet whiskers food.

We use a lidded litter tray and deep fill it. It's cleaned out at least once a day, with the whole thing cleaned out roughly once a month. This seems to work well. I've got a very good sense of smell, and the tray is only pongy when they have just used it. Have tried lots of different brands of cat litter but have now been using this for ages - Extreme classic cat litter. It is a bit pricey per bag, but works out reasonable as it lasts so long.

Last year I got the kitties a pet water fountain.
It was initially viewed with great suspicion, but they love it now, and it encourages them to drink more. As a result their urine is not quite so concentrated. There is no doubt though with cat wee, a little goes a very long way.

Reading your OP again, has Arthur been castrated yet? If not this will also make his urine much more pungent.

Redacted

We have 3 trays, although are about to decrease to 2 now that Maisie is older. She wasn't very good at making it to the tray to begin with, hence having 3.

One is a sift tray, which we use crystal litter in and a puppy pad lines the bottom drawer under the sieve. This has become her wee tray. The lining gets changed every couple of days. The litter gets raked and topped up as needed.

We have a large, deep, high sided tray which has oko's cats best clumping litter in. This is her preferred tray and the only one she poos in. The third is largely ignored now, and is a hooded tray with a mix of both the litters in.

It stinks when she poos, and she eats high meat content grain free wet, with a small bit of grain free dry each day. If her poo isn't properly covered, I cover it and wait for it to clump. We poopa scoop each day, but only do a full clean of the trays once a month unless she has an upset tummy necessitating more frequent cleaning.

suki1964

Better_Days wrote: »

We have two kitties and their poo is definitely smellier when they are fed wet cat food. They have Arden Grange dry (this is the only dry they will eat, and only one flavour) and a little wet whiskers food.

We use a lidded litter tray and deep fill it. It's cleaned out at least once a day, with the whole thing cleaned out roughly once a month. This seems to work well. I've got a very good sense of smell, and the tray is only pongy when they have just used it. Have tried lots of different brands of cat litter but have now been using this for ages - Extreme classic cat litter. It is a bit pricey per bag, but works out reasonable as it lasts so long.

Last year I got the kitties a pet water fountain.
It was initially viewed with great suspicion, but they love it now, and it encourages them to drink more. As a result their urine is not quite so concentrated. There is no doubt though with cat wee, a little goes a very long way.

Reading your OP again, has Arthur been castrated yet? If not this will also make his urine much more pungent.

Yep he's been done as he's a rescue

hes not at all fussed on dry food, I sprinkle some on his wet food and he will eat that, but the dry I leave down for him to eat whenever, he ignores

I'd love to know how so much wee can come out of such a little cat. He rarely drinks water, I do see him sometimes taking some, but not often. He dips his paw in and then licks that. He also likes to jump in the shower as I get out and licks his wet paws

Trina90

Cats are notoriously poor water drinkers. Some are better than others. So canned is probably better for the non-drinkers. I think it depends entirely on each cat. My two, one in particular, are very good drinkers. I can't even make a glass of water for myself without a cat reaching his head into it minutes after I put it down.

To say "bad food is really bad for cats" is a bit of an overstatement and unless it is said by a vet, and explained in more detail, people should not act on that. However, I do appreciate that you are just trying to give helpful advice.:) There are positives and negatives for both dry and wet food. That's why I choose to feed a bit of both. The debates on the Internet are overwhelming. You really just have to decide yourself in the end what seems to suit your cat.

georgiesmum

not good to use clumping litter for kittens, if it gets on their paws hey will lick it off and it may cause lumps in their stomach. Could be fatal. So my vet told me anyway.
Most cat liters are odure free and really good. Now cat food is another matter, it can be really stinky.

boots_babe

We've had cats for years but they've always gone outside to the toilet - except when poorly, when of course we put out a litter tray.

But when we got our latest rescue cat last year, we quickly found he didn't want to go out hardly at all. So for the first time we've had a to have a permanent litter tray which took some getting used to.

After some online research, we found the following, one of the best purchases ever:

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter_litter_boxes/litter_boxes_nofilter/litter_boxes_without_filter/300917

Not more smells or mess, it can be cleaned without getting anywhere near the actual litter, it's fantastic!

One word of warning, you must buy a good quality clumping litter for this litter tray to work. If you read the reviews you'll see that people who don't do this, find the mechanism doesn't work for them.

We use this, it's great:

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter/biokats/absorbent_litter/313836

gettingready

Trina90 wrote: »

See, I keep getting mixed information on this. I know about the blockages and stuff. One of them did have a urine infection when he was a kitten (i think he may have had it with the breeder). I have a fountain to encourage drinking. And this is also why I give wet food as well. I don't want to switch completely to wet food because it isn't good for their teeth.

The dry food is good for cat's teeth is a myth - try to clean your teeth with biscuits.

inkie wrote: »

^^^thats interesting as we were advised by our vets to feed dry good quality kibble S to our boys which we do. But they both drink lads and so that must flush them out.

Vets are very poorly trained in cat nutrition and really no good at advising what t feed - apart from the stuff they sell themselves foe comission.

KxMx

Cats can also be secretive drinkers, so the owner is thinking they don't much, but they are doing it unseen

wort

Well said getting ready. Vets don't know a huge amount about nutrition, they are paid to have the dried stuff in their surgery so of course they recommended that. And if your kitty gets ill you'll be paying them to get better.
Honestly have you ever seen wild cats eat dry biscuits!? The bone in raw feed is what helps their teeth.
As to poo smells I have a very sensitive nose, and just try changing to raw and you'll see they don't smell ! Plus they only poo small pellets once every couple of days.
They get their water from their food, my kitten is drinking less as he gets what he needs from his food his coats is soft and glossy and he's thriving. I would never go back to dry.
With regard to clumping litter being bad it's the clay based cheap ones that are risky.