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Clearing MULTIPLE rooms with his STINKY POO!

georgehairlesson

Senior Lairian
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Sep 8, 2009
Messages
318
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I know this has been spoken of before, about kitties having stinky poo, but I swear George has the smelliest poo I have EVER smelled! He clears rooms with it! I have him on Merrick Before Grain canned food and Spots Stew Sensitive bagged food. He is not getting diarrhea, so the smell is not due to that, but it's just absolutely HORRIBLE! I've been leery about switching his food AGAIN, because he has tried many kinds of foods. I've also been leery about switching him to raw food. I know that many(PittrottMommy??) of you say it takes away the smell, but it makes me nervous with E-Coli and other contaminates that can come from raw food. I know his breeder fed her cats raw food as a snack daily, but also fed dry food. Are you not supposed to feed 100% raw food daily? What are some good brands of raw foods. Is it rare for kitties to get E-Coli from raw food? Should I transition over to it and how? Sorry so many questions. I am a very concerned mommy.
 

Maggies mommy

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My bf says every time she poops "that's not normal iv had cats my whole life & non of their poop ever smelled that bad!" I don't worry tho she is just stinky lol!
 

Marnasobsession

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Mine are on Origyn grain free and canned grain free and they both REEK! I do know raw digests faster and when they eat it you should wait a couple of hours before they eat kibble so it does not sit in the gi system too long. Is the time frame right Brooke or Pittrottmommy?
 

PitRottMommy

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May 28, 2009
Messages
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First things first, here is the ingredient break down for Spot's Stew Sensitive formula. I have highlighted the portions that are known to give cats gas and stinky poop. If you could include which canned Merrick you're feeding, this may also help to uncover why it's so stinky:

Turkey, pea protein, whole dried eggs, oats, pearled barley, vegetable broth, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), pea flour, turkey liver, salmon, flaxseed, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea fiber, sweet potatoes, apples, blueberries, green beans, carrots, cranberries, zucchini, alfalfa, inulin, calcium sulfate, potassium chloride, taurine, salt, folic acid, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, cobalt proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, choline bitartrate, niacin, pantothenic acid, ascorbic acid, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium longum, enterococcus faecium, lactobacillus plantarum, calcium iodate, sodium selenite

Even though this food is considered decent, it still has alot of stuff in its early ingredients (which make up the highest percentage of food) that is filler and unwanted entirely. Any fish protein, in its own right, is known specifically for giving cats very malodorous stools. If you are using Merrick's Tuna or Salmon, you may have your answer right there. Coupled with the dry Spot's Stew, it may simply be too much for your companion's stomach.

I, personally, think much higher of Merrick's Before Grain foods than I do of Spot's Stew because they don't use filler like pea protein, fiber and flour. I would recommend, if funds are available to you, to switch directly over to Merrick entirely and leave the fillers behind you. I would recommend their chicken over their fish formulas for aforementioned reasons. Here's a breakdown of the Chicken formula:

Chicken Deboned, Chicken Meal, Potato Dehydrated, Turkey Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E), Sweet Potato Dehydrated, Dried Egg, Natural Flavor, Yeast Culture, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lysine, Sea Salt, Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Choline Chloride, Acai Berry Freeze-Dried, Blueberry Dried, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Taurine, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

In regards to raw food, I recommend that anyone that is having concerns do the most research they can before switching. Did you know that E. coli is a common intestinal bacteria? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli). Many people become extremely scared of E. coli. If one does the math, should we not be more fearful of exactly how this common intestinal bacteria came to be on the MEAT of foods than if we're giving E. coli back to our pet? Meat becomes tainted with bacteria (fecal contamination, as noted in the link above) because of poorly cleaned environments for animal slaughter and often intestinal flora finds itself present on knives and such. Mind you, that's present on your food as well as it may be for a pet's food.

Now, pets are equipped with intestinal tracts that are not like our own. They move much faster and they're much more efficient at absorbing raw proteins that are readily available. Our bodies (human, that is) were made to digest mostly plant material and some meat. Cats, however, were meant to digest a grand amount of meat and very little plant material. So, when food companies begin adding in bits and pieces of "filler" (which cats cannot absorb, this is why I dislike CORN so much in foods...but many people seem to think cats need), this is when our pets start having gas and cramping, soft stools, full-blown diarrhea, etc. Meat, itself, does not have a large amount of anything that can give animals gas. Consider where most gas comes from, digestion of plant material. When a pet is switched over to a raw diet, the amount of stool produced is less (there's no filler to bulk up the stool), the poop is dry and firm because barely anything is left (I'd say usually upwards of 95% of the meal was absorbed), there's little (if any) odor because the food was entirely processed before it had time to spoil (which is a downfall of many canned and kibbled foods). If I could describe the odor of raw poop to you, it would be something like day-old dish water. Not offensive at all, simply notable. To sidenote, when Jason and I switched our entire clan (dogs too) over too raw, we had a single instance where one of our puppies pooped 5 times in his kennel (and effectively buried it in his bedding). Desite removing this dog multiple times from his kennel per day, feeding him from a crouching position and getting partially into his kennel to remove his toys and to give him belly rubs...it wasn't for almost an entire week that anyone knew there were 5 tiny little poops wrapped up in his bedding.

In this picture, not my own mind you--but I AM tempted, shows "kibble" poop on the left and "raw poop" on the right. Notice how the raw poop has already started to crumble and fall away. More importantly, do you see the difference in how little raw poop is actually there?:

Raw%20fed%20-%20fecal%20consistanc%20copy.jpg


Having said that, let me also say that when I first received Baldwin, we went through a very, very long period of watery, sometimes bloody, stool. I had more than 7 doctors that I worked with recommending medications, coming up with concoctions that were almost ludicrous at times, to stop the diarrhea. Nothing worked. I switched diets consistently. Still no change. Mind you, he'd been fed Iams from the day he was born until the day he was brought to my home (and a few weeks following, to ensure no diarrhea...except, well, he CAME with that!). After being unable to stop the diarrhea for months on end without medications, without being able to change foods, etc. I finally had a culture and sensitivity panel performed on his stool. Know what he had? An overgrowth of E. coli and 2 other intestinal bacteria. We immediately began treating the overgrowths, but Baldwin never regained a trusted 100% output of solid stool. It wasn't until we switched to raw rabbit that he had normal poop. That was in October of 2008. Fast forward to June of 2009 when I found his brother and sister in a shelter in Kentucky. After rescuing them and being put in touch with his previous owner, I learned that Buck (the boy) had NEVER had normal poop and had, essentially, been having the same problems that Baldwin had been having---but they never found any way to help Buck. Gawd... to say that he woke me up that night on our way back to OKC with the foul odor (mind you, their litterbox was at least 20' away and IN a closet) is to put it lightly. Be that as it may, 2 days after arriving home, I put Buck on the same medications that had treated Baldwin and began the raw rabbit. Within 24 hours, normal poop. And I haven't EVER had ANYTHING but SOLID poop from ANY of the cats since switching. That's over 15 months of solid poop for Baldwin--non-stinky, solid, poop.

ETA: I should also mention that I have two large litter boxes for all three of my cats. And, because of the tiny output of stool, I'm able to clean their boxes twice a week. On a good week, when I'm not supplementing with pumpkin or any "treats" that bulk their stool, I can clean it once a week. And all I do is scoop. I'm fortunate enough that raw diet is so dependable that we don't actually have to dump the boxes, scrub them out, let them dry, etc except for about 4 times a year. I cannot recommend raw diet enough.
 

Marnasobsession

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Messages
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TY for all the info. I did not know about the fish. I am sure this is the culprit. When I checked with the local supplier about their raw I think it had salmon in it. I will have to double check. I am going to start with raw chicken necks and see how it goes then possibly make the switch.
 

PitRottMommy

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Joined
May 28, 2009
Messages
860
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Chicken necks are a great option! I envy those of you able to get them, I cannot find them anywhere. I give the occasional brutally-beaten-to-a-pulp turkey neck and duck wing to Baldwin (he loves them, but the others won't even touch them).
 

Brooke

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May 4, 2009
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Chicken necks are a great option! I envy those of you able to get them, I cannot find them anywhere. I give the occasional brutally-beaten-to-a-pulp turkey neck and duck wing to Baldwin (he loves them, but the others won't even touch them).

I second that!! Fortunately, I can find chicken necks at my local grocery store (must be a Florida thing? 2 pounds for a dollar!) and the cats love them! Even if you don't do a complete switch to raw, raw meat and bones are the absolute best thing you can give your cats for dental health. I don't believe (any more) than kibble is good for their teeth...that's the equivalent of saying eating Doritos is good for my teeth! :LOL:

I have a story similar to Pitrottmommy's...when I got Nelson out of rescue, he came with diarrhea. I never got to the point of having a C & S done, but we tried medications, antibiotics, different foods, grain-free canned food changed it from watery liquid to soft-serve yogurt, a slight improvement. I remember one night, while he and Mandy were still in quarantine in the spare bedroom, I tried to sleep in there with them (and the litter box) and he literally woke me up with the sounds and smells of explosive diarrhea and chased me out of the room. It wasn't until Pitrottmommy convinced me to make the switch to raw that he was finally cured - within 24 hours, a solid, odorless poop.

A few weeks ago, I ran out of raw and in a pinch had to give the cats canned food for breakfast. When I got home from work, my house smelled like a public bathroom. I had forgotten what normal cat poo smells like! :Badly:

I'm a fan of all or nothing, but I'm told you can get some of these benefits even with supplementing raw into the cat's diet. But, like Marna mentioned previously, they digest at a different rate, so make sure to feed raw and kibble at separate times of the day.
 

georgehairlesson

Senior Lairian
Senior Lairian
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
318
Points
88
First things first, here is the ingredient break down for Spot's Stew Sensitive formula. I have highlighted the portions that are known to give cats gas and stinky poop. If you could include which canned Merrick you're feeding, this may also help to uncover why it's so stinky:

Turkey, pea protein, whole dried eggs, oats, pearled barley, vegetable broth, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), pea flour, turkey liver, salmon, flaxseed, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea fiber, sweet potatoes, apples, blueberries, green beans, carrots, cranberries, zucchini, alfalfa, inulin, calcium sulfate, potassium chloride, taurine, salt, folic acid, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, cobalt proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, choline bitartrate, niacin, pantothenic acid, ascorbic acid, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium longum, enterococcus faecium, lactobacillus plantarum, calcium iodate, sodium selenite

Even though this food is considered decent, it still has alot of stuff in its early ingredients (which make up the highest percentage of food) that is filler and unwanted entirely. Any fish protein, in its own right, is known specifically for giving cats very malodorous stools. If you are using Merrick's Tuna or Salmon, you may have your answer right there. Coupled with the dry Spot's Stew, it may simply be too much for your companion's stomach.

I, personally, think much higher of Merrick's Before Grain foods than I do of Spot's Stew because they don't use filler like pea protein, fiber and flour. I would recommend, if funds are available to you, to switch directly over to Merrick entirely and leave the fillers behind you. I would recommend their chicken over their fish formulas for aforementioned reasons. Here's a breakdown of the Chicken formula:

Chicken Deboned, Chicken Meal, Potato Dehydrated, Turkey Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E), Sweet Potato Dehydrated, Dried Egg, Natural Flavor, Yeast Culture, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lysine, Sea Salt, Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Choline Chloride, Acai Berry Freeze-Dried, Blueberry Dried, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Taurine, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

In regards to raw food, I recommend that anyone that is having concerns do the most research they can before switching. Did you know that E. coli is a common intestinal bacteria? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli). Many people become extremely scared of E. coli. If one does the math, should we not be more fearful of exactly how this common intestinal bacteria came to be on the MEAT of foods than if we're giving E. coli back to our pet? Meat becomes tainted with bacteria (fecal contamination, as noted in the link above) because of poorly cleaned environments for animal slaughter and often intestinal flora finds itself present on knives and such. Mind you, that's present on your food as well as it may be for a pet's food.

Now, pets are equipped with intestinal tracts that are not like our own. They move much faster and they're much more efficient at absorbing raw proteins that are readily available. Our bodies (human, that is) were made to digest mostly plant material and some meat. Cats, however, were meant to digest a grand amount of meat and very little plant material. So, when food companies begin adding in bits and pieces of "filler" (which cats cannot absorb, this is why I dislike CORN so much in foods...but many people seem to think cats need), this is when our pets start having gas and cramping, soft stools, full-blown diarrhea, etc. Meat, itself, does not have a large amount of anything that can give animals gas. Consider where most gas comes from, digestion of plant material. When a pet is switched over to a raw diet, the amount of stool produced is less (there's no filler to bulk up the stool), the poop is dry and firm because barely anything is left (I'd say usually upwards of 95% of the meal was absorbed), there's little (if any) odor because the food was entirely processed before it had time to spoil (which is a downfall of many canned and kibbled foods). If I could describe the odor of raw poop to you, it would be something like day-old dish water. Not offensive at all, simply notable. To sidenote, when Jason and I switched our entire clan (dogs too) over too raw, we had a single instance where one of our puppies pooped 5 times in his kennel (and effectively buried it in his bedding). Desite removing this dog multiple times from his kennel per day, feeding him from a crouching position and getting partially into his kennel to remove his toys and to give him belly rubs...it wasn't for almost an entire week that anyone knew there were 5 tiny little poops wrapped up in his bedding.

In this picture, not my own mind you--but I AM tempted, shows "kibble" poop on the left and "raw poop" on the right. Notice how the raw poop has already started to crumble and fall away. More importantly, do you see the difference in how little raw poop is actually there?:

Raw%20fed%20-%20fecal%20consistanc%20copy.jpg


Having said that, let me also say that when I first received Baldwin, we went through a very, very long period of watery, sometimes bloody, stool. I had more than 7 doctors that I worked with recommending medications, coming up with concoctions that were almost ludicrous at times, to stop the diarrhea. Nothing worked. I switched diets consistently. Still no change. Mind you, he'd been fed Iams from the day he was born until the day he was brought to my home (and a few weeks following, to ensure no diarrhea...except, well, he CAME with that!). After being unable to stop the diarrhea for months on end without medications, without being able to change foods, etc. I finally had a culture and sensitivity panel performed on his stool. Know what he had? An overgrowth of E. coli and 2 other intestinal bacteria. We immediately began treating the overgrowths, but Baldwin never regained a trusted 100% output of solid stool. It wasn't until we switched to raw rabbit that he had normal poop. That was in October of 2008. Fast forward to June of 2009 when I found his brother and sister in a shelter in Kentucky. After rescuing them and being put in touch with his previous owner, I learned that Buck (the boy) had NEVER had normal poop and had, essentially, been having the same problems that Baldwin had been having---but they never found any way to help Buck. Gawd... to say that he woke me up that night on our way back to OKC with the foul odor (mind you, their litterbox was at least 20' away and IN a closet) is to put it lightly. Be that as it may, 2 days after arriving home, I put Buck on the same medications that had treated Baldwin and began the raw rabbit. Within 24 hours, normal poop. And I haven't EVER had ANYTHING but SOLID poop from ANY of the cats since switching. That's over 15 months of solid poop for Baldwin--non-stinky, solid, poop.

ETA: I should also mention that I have two large litter boxes for all three of my cats. And, because of the tiny output of stool, I'm able to clean their boxes twice a week. On a good week, when I'm not supplementing with pumpkin or any "treats" that bulk their stool, I can clean it once a week. And all I do is scoop. I'm fortunate enough that raw diet is so dependable that we don't actually have to dump the boxes, scrub them out, let them dry, etc except for about 4 times a year. I cannot recommend raw diet enough.

We tried the dried Merrick Before Grain Turkey formula and his poo still smelled. The wet food we are giving him are the Merrick entrees: Ocean Breeze, Cowboy Cookout(his favorite), Grammy's Pot Pie, California Roll, Southern Delight, Turducken, Surf and Turf, Before Grain Quail, Chicken, Turkey, and Beef.
 

Marnasobsession

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There is a local owned grocer that is very customer oriented. I am going to talk to the butcher. I am sure it will be no prob. One of the benfits of a small town.
 

PitRottMommy

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Messages
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We tried the dried Merrick Before Grain Turkey formula and his poo still smelled. The wet food we are giving him are the Merrick entrees: Ocean Breeze, Cowboy Cookout(his favorite), Grammy's Pot Pie, California Roll, Southern Delight, Turducken, Surf and Turf, Before Grain Quail, Chicken, Turkey, and Beef.

Raw is where you'll find non-stinky poop. Kibble and canned still encourage stinky poop.

Most of the foods you've mentioned have fish in them, I'd recommend starting to read labels and phase away from anything with fish in it.
 

ilovemysphynx

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Feb 2, 2009
Messages
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I can not feed Leo anything with fish because he throws up.
Just keep in mind you should find A food that you and your cat like and only change if you have to. I know raw would not fit into my life and I won't have the stomach to feed it. So I stick with science diet and love it. Poop smell is not so bad but it is poop.
 

miss_gldelx

Lairian
Joined
Jul 12, 2010
Messages
27
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First things first, here is the ingredient break down for Spot's Stew Sensitive formula. I have highlighted the portions that are known to give cats gas and stinky poop. If you could include which canned Merrick you're feeding, this may also help to uncover why it's so stinky:

Turkey, pea protein, whole dried eggs, oats, pearled barley, vegetable broth, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), pea flour, turkey liver, salmon, flaxseed, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea fiber, sweet potatoes, apples, blueberries, green beans, carrots, cranberries, zucchini, alfalfa, inulin, calcium sulfate, potassium chloride, taurine, salt, folic acid, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, cobalt proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, choline bitartrate, niacin, pantothenic acid, ascorbic acid, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin, lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium longum, enterococcus faecium, lactobacillus plantarum, calcium iodate, sodium selenite

Even though this food is considered decent, it still has alot of stuff in its early ingredients (which make up the highest percentage of food) that is filler and unwanted entirely. Any fish protein, in its own right, is known specifically for giving cats very malodorous stools. If you are using Merrick's Tuna or Salmon, you may have your answer right there. Coupled with the dry Spot's Stew, it may simply be too much for your companion's stomach.

I, personally, think much higher of Merrick's Before Grain foods than I do of Spot's Stew because they don't use filler like pea protein, fiber and flour. I would recommend, if funds are available to you, to switch directly over to Merrick entirely and leave the fillers behind you. I would recommend their chicken over their fish formulas for aforementioned reasons. Here's a breakdown of the Chicken formula:

Chicken Deboned, Chicken Meal, Potato Dehydrated, Turkey Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E), Sweet Potato Dehydrated, Dried Egg, Natural Flavor, Yeast Culture, Dicalcium Phosphate, Lysine, Sea Salt, Alfalfa, Salmon Oil, Choline Chloride, Acai Berry Freeze-Dried, Blueberry Dried, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Taurine, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

In regards to raw food, I recommend that anyone that is having concerns do the most research they can before switching. Did you know that E. coli is a common intestinal bacteria? (Escherichia coli - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Many people become extremely scared of E. coli. If one does the math, should we not be more fearful of exactly how this common intestinal bacteria came to be on the MEAT of foods than if we're giving E. coli back to our pet? Meat becomes tainted with bacteria (fecal contamination, as noted in the link above) because of poorly cleaned environments for animal slaughter and often intestinal flora finds itself present on knives and such. Mind you, that's present on your food as well as it may be for a pet's food.

Now, pets are equipped with intestinal tracts that are not like our own. They move much faster and they're much more efficient at absorbing raw proteins that are readily available. Our bodies (human, that is) were made to digest mostly plant material and some meat. Cats, however, were meant to digest a grand amount of meat and very little plant material. So, when food companies begin adding in bits and pieces of "filler" (which cats cannot absorb, this is why I dislike CORN so much in foods...but many people seem to think cats need), this is when our pets start having gas and cramping, soft stools, full-blown diarrhea, etc. Meat, itself, does not have a large amount of anything that can give animals gas. Consider where most gas comes from, digestion of plant material. When a pet is switched over to a raw diet, the amount of stool produced is less (there's no filler to bulk up the stool), the poop is dry and firm because barely anything is left (I'd say usually upwards of 95% of the meal was absorbed), there's little (if any) odor because the food was entirely processed before it had time to spoil (which is a downfall of many canned and kibbled foods). If I could describe the odor of raw poop to you, it would be something like day-old dish water. Not offensive at all, simply notable. To sidenote, when Jason and I switched our entire clan (dogs too) over too raw, we had a single instance where one of our puppies pooped 5 times in his kennel (and effectively buried it in his bedding). Desite removing this dog multiple times from his kennel per day, feeding him from a crouching position and getting partially into his kennel to remove his toys and to give him belly rubs...it wasn't for almost an entire week that anyone knew there were 5 tiny little poops wrapped up in his bedding.

In this picture, not my own mind you--but I AM tempted, shows "kibble" poop on the left and "raw poop" on the right. Notice how the raw poop has already started to crumble and fall away. More importantly, do you see the difference in how little raw poop is actually there?:

Raw%20fed%20-%20fecal%20consistanc%20copy.jpg


Having said that, let me also say that when I first received Baldwin, we went through a very, very long period of watery, sometimes bloody, stool. I had more than 7 doctors that I worked with recommending medications, coming up with concoctions that were almost ludicrous at times, to stop the diarrhea. Nothing worked. I switched diets consistently. Still no change. Mind you, he'd been fed Iams from the day he was born until the day he was brought to my home (and a few weeks following, to ensure no diarrhea...except, well, he CAME with that!). After being unable to stop the diarrhea for months on end without medications, without being able to change foods, etc. I finally had a culture and sensitivity panel performed on his stool. Know what he had? An overgrowth of E. coli and 2 other intestinal bacteria. We immediately began treating the overgrowths, but Baldwin never regained a trusted 100% output of solid stool. It wasn't until we switched to raw rabbit that he had normal poop. That was in October of 2008. Fast forward to June of 2009 when I found his brother and sister in a shelter in Kentucky. After rescuing them and being put in touch with his previous owner, I learned that Buck (the boy) had NEVER had normal poop and had, essentially, been having the same problems that Baldwin had been having---but they never found any way to help Buck. Gawd... to say that he woke me up that night on our way back to OKC with the foul odor (mind you, their litterbox was at least 20' away and IN a closet) is to put it lightly. Be that as it may, 2 days after arriving home, I put Buck on the same medications that had treated Baldwin and began the raw rabbit. Within 24 hours, normal poop. And I haven't EVER had ANYTHING but SOLID poop from ANY of the cats since switching. That's over 15 months of solid poop for Baldwin--non-stinky, solid, poop.

ETA: I should also mention that I have two large litter boxes for all three of my cats. And, because of the tiny output of stool, I'm able to clean their boxes twice a week. On a good week, when I'm not supplementing with pumpkin or any "treats" that bulk their stool, I can clean it once a week. And all I do is scoop. I'm fortunate enough that raw diet is so dependable that we don't actually have to dump the boxes, scrub them out, let them dry, etc except for about 4 times a year. I cannot recommend raw diet enough.
have any of you heard of Blue Buffalo? i have done some comparison of my own and found it to be pretty decent. Feedback??

BLUE Healthy Growth for Kittens


Our natural BLUE Healthy Growth Kitten food is holistically formulated to support the needs of growing kittens.
Ingredient/Nutrient Benefit
DHA Cognitive Learning
Deboned Chicken Healthy Muscle Growth
Vitamins & Chelated Minerals Immune System Health
Taurine Heart & Eye Health
Wholesome Whole Grains Energy for Growth & Play

The Wholesome Goodness of the Finest Natural Ingredients

High-Quality Protein
Kittens love our tasty chicken, and it provides them with essential amino acids they need every day.

Wholesome Whole Grains
Hearty whole grains like brown rice, barley and oats supply the complex carbohydrates that your kitten needs for energy.

Healthy Garden Veggies
Whole carrots, sweet potatoes and parsley are three of the nutrient-rich vegetables that your kitten will get in every bite of BLUE.

The Benefits of Our Exclusive Lifesource Bits


Immune System Health LifeSource® Bit Life Stage Support

LifeSource® Bits contain a precise blend of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants selected by holistic veterinarians and animal nutritionists. These include ingredients that have been shown to:

* Help counteract the negative impact of some environmental toxins
* Help strengthen a kitten's immune system
* Help support her specific life stage requirements

Importantly, BLUE LifeSource Bits are "cold-formed" separately from the rest of our kibble to help preserve the potency of the ingredients. Other brands that add antioxidants, vitamins and minerals process all of their ingredients together at temperatures as high as 350°. Heat can degrade the potency of some vitamins by as much as 75%.


Ingredients

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (naturally preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Salmon Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal (natural source of DHA-Docosahexaneoic Acid), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Potatoes, Peas, Dried Egg, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, Blueberries, Flaxseed (natural source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Turmeric, Fish Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium .
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 36.0% min
Crude Fat 20.0% min
Crude Fiber 3.5% max
Moisture 10.0% max
Magnesium 0.04% min
Calcium 1.0% min
Phosphorus 0.9% min
Taurine 0.15% min
Vitamin C * 200 mg/kg min
DHA * 0.2% min
Omega 3 Fatty Acids* 0.5% min
Omega 6 Fatty Acids* 4.0% min

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles.
 
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