As much as we love our feline friends, we don’t love when their litter boxes stink to the high heavens! When your entire house reeks every time your cat goes to the bathroom, something must be done. Fortunately, there are options to remedy this situation.
What causes smelly poop in cats? Usually, it’s intestinal parasites, bacterial infections, digestive issues, or a disagreeable diet. Before anything else, you should take your pet to the vet to ensure they aren’t ill. If they are not, your best bet is to change the food they’re eating.
Why change their food? Your pet may have developed a food sensitivity to proteins such as chicken and fish, or grains, or may just be having trouble digesting certain ingredients — all of which can lead to overly stinky poop. But which food would be most helpful?
We’ve reviewed some of the most popular cat foods for smelly poop and came up with a list that will help your house smell like home once again.
A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites (2024)
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Best Overall
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Smalls Human-Grade Fresh Cat Food Subscription |
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Budget Buy
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Rachael Ray Nutrish Cat Food |
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Blue Buffalo Protein Cat Food |
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Purina ONE Tender Cat Food |
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Taste of the Wild Dry Cat Food |
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The 10 Best Cat Foods for Smelly Poop
1. Smalls Human-Grade Fresh Cat Food Subscription – Best Overall
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | Yes |
| Crude protein: | 17% |
| Crude fat: | 7.5% |
| Calories: | 1415 kcal/kg |
Smalls Cat Food is a subscription delivery service that brings your cat’s food right to your door. It is made of high-quality ingredients in convenient, moisture-packed fresh food recipes. You can choose the recipe that works best for your cat and know that you’re feeding them wholesome food without any fillers. This food is ideal for cats with food allergies, sensitive stomachs, or weight issues.
The limited ingredients that go into the Smalls recipes provide quality nutrition and promote easy digestion. As a result, your cat’s poop may become firmer, smaller, and less smelly. The company was started in 2017 when two guys decided to home-cook cat food in small batches and give it to friends. They claim to have cured a cat of ulcers in just a few weeks.
The recipes are low-calorie and start with the highest quality protein combined with vegetables, vitamins, and minerals that cats need. The high protein and low fat contents of the recipes along with the limited, healthy ingredients make Smalls the best overall cat food for smelly poop.
2. Rachael Ray Nutrish Premium Dry Cat Food – Budget Buy
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | No |
| Crude protein: | 34% |
| Crude fat: | 14% |
| Calories: | 386 kcal/cup |
Rachel Ray Nutrish Super Premium food for cats is our pick for the best cat food for smelly poops for the money. Featuring farm-raised chicken as the first ingredient on the list means this food is high in protein, making it healthy for your kitty. It also contains beet pulp, a source of fiber that also includes prebiotics to help improve digestive health. Plus, this cat food is made up of small pieces making it easier for your pet to eat (which helps them avoid vomiting later).
Rachel Ray Nutrish Super Premium also avoids fillers, artificial flavors and preservatives, soy, and wheat.
3. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Protein Grain-Free Dry Cat Food
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | Yes |
| Crude protein: | 40% |
| Crude fat: | 18% |
| Calories: | 443 kcal/cup |
Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein Grain-Free dry cat food is another option we recommend. It is packed with real chicken for a high protein amount that is sure to keep your kitty’s muscles strong and contains sweet potatoes and peas instead of grains. Plus, it offers omega fatty acids to keep your pet’s skin and coat healthy. This food also includes LifeSource Bits (minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants), specially curated by animal nutritionists and holistic vets to improve immune function.
Blue Buffalo Wilderness avoids chicken by-product meal, corn, soy, wheat, and artificial preservatives or flavors.
4. Purina ONE Tender Selects Dry Cat Food
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | No |
| Crude protein: | 34% |
| Crude fat: | 15% |
| Calories: | 370 kcal/cup |
Purina ONE Tender Selects Blend is another great option you can try. This food is high in protein — with salmon (or chicken) listed as the first ingredient — so if your cat isn’t sensitive to either of those, it should be gentle on their stomach. Purine ONE also includes healthy omega fatty acids to keep your kitty’s coat shiny and plenty of vitamins and minerals for balanced nutrition. Plus, it’s recommended by vets.
There are reviews of this cat food improving the smell of cat poop.
5. Taste of the Wild Roasted and Smoked Meat Dry Cat Food
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | Yes |
| Crude protein: | 32% |
| Crude fat: | 16% |
| Calories: | 350 kcal/cup |
Produced by a family-owned company, this brand claims their food is an “ancestrally accurate diet” that mimics what your kitty’s ancestors would have eaten. This particular recipe mimics a river diet, containing trout as the first ingredient, along with wood-smoked salmon. It also includes sweet potatoes in place of grains to help your pet more easily digest their food. Plus, Taste of the Wild has a mix of fruits and veggies full of antioxidants to help boost your pet’s immune system and maintain their overall health and well-being.
Though this product is made in the U.S., they source their ingredients globally.
6. Instinct Original Grain-Free Pate Wet Cat Food
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | Yes |
| Crude protein: | 10% |
| Crude fat: | 5% |
| Calories: | 193 kcal/cup |
If your cat prefers wet cat food to dry, then Instinct Grain-Free Pate might be the pick for you. Inspired by raw diets, it has cage-free chicken listed as the first ingredient. In fact, 95% of the product consists of chicken, chicken liver, and turkey for a huge protein boost that will keep your cat strong. It contains 0% of grains, soy, wheat, potatoes, corn, xantham gum, carrageenan, or artificial preservatives and flavors — all known food sensitivity triggers — making it a healthy choice for your pet, especially if they have a sensitive stomach.
This product is made in the United States.
7. Tiki Succulent Chicken Recipe Wet Cat Food
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | Yes |
| Crude protein: | 16% |
| Crude fat: | 6% |
| Calories: | 63 kcal/cup |
Another wet cat food, Tiki Cat Luau, features human-quality shreds of meat in their food. With real, hormone-free chicken listed as the first ingredient, each can of cat food is also high moisture offering your cat extra water to meet their needs. Grain-free and low in carbohydrates, Tiki Cat helps your cat maintain its weight and keep its blood sugar level. Several vets have reviewed their formulas to ensure their suitability for kitties with special diet needs such as irritable bowel syndrome and diabetes. This food does not contain ingredients such as artificial flavors, gums, or fillers.
Tiki Cat comes in a wide variety of flavors, including salmon, chicken & egg, seabass, tuna & mackerel, and tilapia.
8. Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Grain-Free Dry Cat Food
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | Yes |
| Crude protein: | 30% |
| Crude fat: | 14% |
| Calories: | 402 kcal/cup |
If your cat has issues with smelly poop, it might be because they have food sensitivities or a stomach unable to digest specific ingredients. If that’s the case, trying a limited ingredient food may be your best bet. Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Diet contains a single protein source in the form of duck and includes pumpkin and potatoes in place of grains to support digestion. Because it has no grains, it is gluten-free, making it easier for sensitive kitties to stomach. It also contains no chicken or beef — two potential food sensitivity triggers in cats.
Also packed with LifeSource Bits (antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins) and omega fatty acids, this food isn’t just good for your pet’s stomach but for their overall health as well.
9. Dr. Elsey’s Cleanprotein Chicken Recipe Cat Food
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | Yes |
| Crude protein: | 59% |
| Crude fat: | 18% |
| Calories: | 544 kcal/cup |
Dr. Elsey’s cat food aims to promote a healthy life via vet-approved ingredients that are over 90% protein. Like Taste of the Wild, this food mimics an ancestral diet that consists mostly of protein with no grains or gluten, with chicken being listed as the first ingredient. The product also includes healthy omega fatty acids to boost the shine on your cat’s coat. Dr. Elsey’s is a low oxalate food, meaning it will help keep your pet’s kidneys healthy and urinary crystal-free.
This product is non-GMO and contains no artificial preservatives or fillers. Though it is gluten-free, it is not made in a gluten-free facility, so keep that in mind if your cat is susceptible to gluten.
10. Royal Canin Digestive Care Dry Cat Food
| High protein: | Yes |
| Grain-free: | No |
| Crude protein: | 36% |
| Crude fat: | 813% |
| Calories: | 350 kcal/cup |
As you know, smelly poop is often the result of food sensitivities and digestive issues, which is why Royal Canin Digestive Care can help immensely. It is specifically formulated for cats 1 year of age and up who have sensitive stomachs and promotes digestive health via healthy, easier-to-digest fibers and prebiotics. In fact, this product claims that after 10 days of use, it effectively improves stool quality up to 95%. Plus, the shape of the food is designed to help cats not throw up after eating.
This brand has been formulated by vets and nutritionists to meet any specific dietary needs your pet may have.
Buyer’s Guide: Selecting the Best Cat Foods for Smelly Poop
After you’ve ruled out any health issues that could be causing your cat’s poop to smell worse than usual and decided to try switching up their diet, there are some things to consider. Since a lot of the time digestive issues will be caused by sensitivity to a particular ingredient in foods, that should be your primary focus. Once you’ve decided upon a brand, we recommend trying it with your cat for at least 3 months so you can see how it affects them (unless, of course, there’s an immediate negative effect — in that case, always stop using the product as soon as you notice a problem).
Look for This in Cat Food for Smelly Poop
The ingredients that are in cat food should, by far, be what you look for when it comes to choosing a new food for your cat. Ingredients you want to be sure a food contains include:
Ingredients you don’t want your cat food to have include:
What Your Cat Prefers
Cats are individuals, so they will have different preferences regarding what they want to eat. Of course, if your cat adores chicken, but it makes them sick, don’t feed it to them. But if your cat prefers wet food to dry, then try to get them a good wet food brand they’ll love.
- NO MESS - The 360° tray on this cat food and water bowl set has a raised design to catch and...
- WHISKER FRIENDLY - Shallow and wide metal containers with flat bottoms ensure your kitty can enjoy...
- CHEW-SAFE MATERIALS - Kittens and cats love chewing on silicone and soft rubber - but it's a choking...
Whether you are an avid kibble supporter, favor wet food, or dabble between the two, opting for the right cat bowl to serve it in is key! The Hepper NomNom Cat Bowl is equipped with features like shallow dishes for whisker relief, slight elevation to promote good posture and digestion, and removable stainless steel bowls for easy cleaning. Its modern design is spill-proof and has a wide tray on the base meant to catch anything that falls from your kitty's mouth or out of the bowl. Click here to find out if the Hepper NomNom Cat Bowl is right for you.
At Pet Keen, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company!
Brand Reputation
Not all brands of pet food are created equal. Seek out trustworthy brands with plenty of third-party reviews from other cat owners before buying so you know what you’re getting into. Also, research the ingredients the brand uses and where they come from to ensure they’re quality. Finally, look at recent news of the brand. You may find a brand people love, only to find out there’s been a change in recent years that affected the quality of the food.
Conclusion
When it comes to clearing up your kitty’s stinky poop, changing their diet could work wonders. We recommend Smalls Cat Food as the best overall cat food for this due to the limited and fresh ingredient list. Offering good ingredients for the best value, our pick is the Rachael Ray Nutrish Super Premium. Finally, Blue Buffalo Wilderness takes third place due to its use of real chicken and LifeSource Bits, plus the absence of grains.
See also:
- How to Get Cat Poop Stains & Smells Out of a Couch (5 Steps)
- Best Cat Foods for Firm Stool – Reviews & Top Picks
Featured Image Credit: Krakenimages, Shutterstock
