If you’re reading this article, there is no doubt you love your cat… but that’s a given since you’re taking time out of your busy day to read an article about cats. There may be some things that can concern you about your little feline friend. For instance, the amount of dead things they bring to the door step, or how they look right at you while knocking your full glass of water off the counter. But there is one thing that may concern you about your feline friend that is completely beyond their control. I’m talking about their odor.
The reason I say it’s out of their control, is mainly that cats LOVE to smell good. By love, I mean obsess over it. There is a reason they clean themselves more than humans. But there are a few issues a cat might be facing that they can’t clean themselves of.
- Ear Infection
The last thing you want is for your cat to suffer. But, much like a baby, they can’t always tell you they are in pain. Ear issues can be the result of many things. They can be related to allergies, ear mites, skin conditions like seborrhea, objects that just got in the ear or even tumors. Depending on the cause, the problem may be treatable with medication or it may require deep cleaning or possibly even surgery.
As strange as it may sound, smelling your cat’s ears might be the easiest way to locate the source of their odor. If you realize that’s the issue, get with your vet as quickly as possible. You don’t want your cat to be in pain.
2. Bite Wound
Another serious issue that could be causing your cat pain is a bite wound. This type of issue is very common in cats that tend to roam the woods and neighborhoods. Most of you already know who you are. My cat rarely leaves the home, so I was able to rule this out quickly when trying to find out the issue for my cat’s smelliness.
The main reason this is such a dangerous source of smell is that the actual smell might be coming from an infected bite wound. Unless the wound is severe, it might go unnoticed under all that beautiful fur. However, that means it might have gone untreated for a significant amount of time–causing a smelly and potentially life-threatening infection to form.
3. Poor Dental Hygiene
This one will be an obvious one. If your cat has bad breath, you’re going to know. Brushing a cat’s teeth is important to their health. They can easily suffer from gum disease without proper care. Another possibility is stomatitis: a painful inflammation of a cat’s mouth and gums. Cats with stomatitis develop painful ulcers in their mouth, and bad breath is a common sign of the disease.
There isn’t a need to be alarmed though. As I mentioned earlier, all cats need dental care. 70% of cats over 2 years of age suffer from gum disease, mainly from lack of brushing.
4. Your Kitty Litter Isn’t As Good As You Think It Is
If your cat is like my cat, it’s spends a weird amount of in its kitty litter. After a while, I realized the litter was so weak that as my cat went into the box it was actually making her smell bad. I was changing it often, but its strength wasn’t enough.
Cats need a great kitty litter more than you may realize. Even though I was changing the litter box often, it just wasn’t enough. A few things to look for are litters that have fecal and urine control. Weak clumping can also be an issue because it can leave behind foul smelling litter. I’ve found the best litter to control these issues is Purina Tidy Cats. I go through a significant amount of this stuff, so ideally I try to buy a bunch at once as I like to keep my cat’s litter box as clean as possible.
Ideally my local Costco would have a big bulk amount, but at the moment it’s only available in parts of Oregon. I’m sure you’ll be seeing it in your local Costco stores soon. For the rest of us, we will have to find it where we can.
I also stumbled upon a contest for any of you living in Oregon from Purina Tidy Cats and Costco, and it offers a cool prize of a $300 gift card at Costco.
The Costco Tidy Cats Sweepstakes
At the end of the day, you love your cat. So do what you can to keep them healthy and free of foul smells–because we know you can’t go a day without cuddling them.
Sponsored post by Lunchbox. All opinions are my own.