Question
He's castrate, nearly 4 y.o, weights about 4kg(9 lbs), crossbreed of Siberian and unknown dad - very dense and long fur, lives indoor, quite inactive.
I trim him twice a year for almost zero in spring and late summer. The food and water are always there. For time to time I give him some milk, chicken.
The first 3 years of his life he ate varieties of "Royal Canin".
One year ago I switched for "ORIJEN 6 Fresh FISH" and after about 7 months he's got dandruff. On this nutrition he pooped once a day.
I decided to try "Acana Prairie Feast" and he eats it for 2.5 months now, the dandruff is gone, but I also bought him tablets "For skin&coat" so I don't know which has helped. And the pooping, on this nutrition it's twice a day and pretty smelly.
Answer
So, first, 1 to 2 times a day is not necessarily abnormal for a cat, though it's the larger cats that will be more frequent than that. The thing to know is that normal cat feces has a pretty high water level and that even a small increase in the water intake can lead to softer and more frequent stools. One of our cats has megacolon and we actually medicate him to close to a diarrhea state in order to ensure he can pass it, so I'm way more familiar with this kind of thing than I ever hoped to be. At any rate, my initial sense is that your cat's latest diet has a higher liquid content than prior options, hence the increase and, as a consequence, the smell.
Now, it may not be the food. There may be a medical issue here, so some things to watch out for, beyond the increase in frequency include:
- Flatulence (persistent, the odd fart is not a problem)
- Vomiting (some cats are a bit more prone, so if this is new, then it may be an issue)
- Weight loss
If any of those are included in the change, then get your cat into the vet for a look-see. There are a number of possible concerns that could be in play here, though the best case is you switch the diet back. To quote @Zaralynda in this respect: "I'd recommend taking the skin & coat tablets & ingredient list for his current food along to help your vet in the case of a food intolerance." Good advice whenever your cat is not on their game.
Answered By - Joanne C