11 Best Cat Foods for Smelly Poop in 2023 – Reviews & Top Picks

The smell of cat poop is no one’s favorite, but if your cat uses the litter box and you start gagging, there may be a solution. Your cat’s food could be to blame for their malodorous stool, especially if it has a lot of fillers and preservatives. Some cats have sensitive digestive systems that need higher-quality cat food or food that’s specially formulated to combat smelly poop. Fortunately, plenty of cat food on the market can address this issue. Check out the best dry and wet cat foods for smelly poop below.

A Quick Comparison of Our 2023 Winners

The 11 Best Cat Foods for Smelly Poop

1. Smalls Smooth Bird (Fresh Cat Food Subscription) – Best Overall

If you’re really looking to bring down litterbox smells, then you may want to try this Small’s Human-Grade Smooth Bird Recipe. As the name suggests, this recipe is human-grade and made with only the best ingredients around. The first few ingredients are meat-based, including chicken thigh and chicken liver. Veggies are added for improved nutritional content, and then everything is blended together until smooth. 

The protein included almost completely comes from meat and is all-natural. There are no dried protein products used to artificially boost the protein content. Plus, there are no artificial flavors or colors (as well as no preservatives at all). Because this food is human-grade, it is also much tastier and has a high water content. If your cat tends to get dehydrated, this food can be a life-saver. 

Compared to other cat foods, Smalls simply doesn’t compare. Plus, it gets delivered straight to your door, so you don’t have to worry about running out. All in all, we think this is the best cat food for smelly poop you’ll find on the market this year.

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2. Purina ONE Chicken Dry Cat Food – Best Value

Purina ONE Tender Selects Blend with Real Chicken Dry Cat Food is the best cat food for smelly poop for the money. The combination of crunchy bits and tender morsels is a delight for cats, while the lean protein and nutrients give you peace of mind about your cat’s nutrition. Real chicken is the first ingredient to support your cat’s muscle and skeletal health. The cat food also contains all the nutrition your cat needs with vitamins and minerals like taurine for eye health and omega fatty acids for a healthy coat and skin. The mix of textures provides variety for your cat, but the hard kibble helps to scrub your cat’s teeth and keep them clean. Purina ONE food is made in the USA with no fillers or preservatives. Purina ONE is lower in protein than competitors, but that makes it a more affordable option for a high-quality food.

11 Best Cat Foods for Smelly Poop in 2023 – Reviews & Top Picks

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3. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Dry Cat Food

Inspired by your domestic cat’s wild lynx counterpart, Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food is a high-protein food designed for your cat’s nutritional needs. Real chicken is the first ingredient for muscle and bone health, while grain-free carbohydrate sources like peas and sweet potatoes support energy needs. Some other desirable ingredients include spinach, apples, pumpkin, and blueberries. This formula also contains LifeSource Bits, small morsels packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for optimal nutrition throughout your cat’s life. Every ingredient is purposeful, so you won’t find poultry by-products, wheat, corn, soy, preservatives, or artificial flavors. This food is for adult cats, but you can get the same formula for kittens and mature adults.

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4. Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Kitten Dry Cat Food — Best for Kittens

Kittens need different nutrition than adult or mature cats, so you won’t find as many limited-ingredient or specialty foods on the market. If you’re concerned about your kitten’s digestion and smelly poop, however, Merrick Backcountry Raw Infused Kitten Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food is a good choice. Like the adult version, this grain-free food has chicken and turkey as the first ingredients for a lot of protein. It also has freeze-dried raw meat bites that your kitten is sure to love. Along with protein, this food offers vitamins and minerals, taurine, omegas, and probiotics to promote overall health and wellness. You won’t find any by-products, gluten, additives, or artificial preservatives that are known to upset cats’ digestion. The food is manufactured in the USA in small batches.

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5. American Journey Duck Dry Cat Food

American Journey Duck Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food is the next best option for cat food for smelly poop. This high-quality, grain-free food is designed for active cats. The top ingredient is deboned duck, followed by whole fruits and vegetables for optimal nutrition. The food is free from poultry by-products, wheat, corn, soy, and preservatives. In addition to 40% protein, this cat food includes many nutrients to support health, such as taurine for eye and heart health, omega fatty acids for a shiny coat and healthy skin, and antioxidants to support the immune system. Best of all, the food is manufactured in the USA with ingredients from trusted sources.

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6. Rachael Ray Nutrish Chicken & Rice Dry Cat Food

Rachael Ray Nutrish Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Cat Food is a newer brand on the market, but it’s quickly gaining popularity with pet parents. The food is formulated with farm-raised chicken as the first ingredient, which is surprising for the lower price, but the ingredients are lower quality after that. Still, this food has plenty of nutrients, such as biotin, B vitamins, and zinc from yeast and omega fatty acids for skin and coat health. Though brown rice, brewer’s rice, and corn gluten meal are included, the food doesn’t contain soy, wheat, corn, poultry by-product meal, and artificial flavors. This should help cats with sensitive digestive systems. Keep in mind, however, that this food isn’t grain-free and may upset cats with food sensitivities.

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7. Taste of the Wild Canyon River Grain-Free Dry Cat Food

Taste of the Wild Canyon River Grain-Free Dry Cat Food is a great choice for sensitive cats. Unlike many foods with duck or chicken, this cat food features trout and ocean fish as the first few ingredients. The food is high in protein, but some of that comes from peas instead of animal sources. You’ll also find vitamins and antioxidants for immune health and skin and coat health. Like other foods on the list, this cat food has no grain, corn, wheat, fillers, colors, preservatives, or artificial flavors. It’s gentle on cats’ stomachs and easy to digest, which may help with the smelly poop issues. Despite fish being the first ingredient, however, some picky cats refuse to eat it.

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8. Merrick Backcountry Raw Grain-Free Dry Cat Food

Merrick Backcountry Raw Grain-Free Dry Cat Food is a solid choice for a grain-free cat food that supports healthy digestion. Though a bit expensive, the food uses chicken as the first ingredient and contains a high amount of protein. Chicken meal is the second ingredient, but you’ll also find chicken liver, duck, and quail in the ingredient list for variety. In addition to diverse protein sources, this food offers plenty of omega fatty acids and probiotics for healthy digestion, skin, and coat. The food is manufactured in the USA in small batches, free from grains, wheat, gluten, by-products, corn, or artificial flavors. If your cat has known chicken sensitivities, this may not be the best choice, as it contains a lot of chicken and chicken meal.

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9. Instinct LID Grain-Free Natural Turkey Wet Cat Food

Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free Pate Real Turkey Recipe Natural Wet Canned Cat Food is a solid choice for a wet food. The savory pate has animal protein from cage-free turkey and one vegetable, providing well-rounded nutrition. The food contains no chicken, beef, fish, dairy, eggs, grain, potato, corn, wheat, or soy, which cover most of the common food sensitivities for cats. Plenty of pet parents remarked on how this food helped with their cats’ digestive issues, though some cats are too picky to eat it. Instinct also has a dry version of the limited-ingredient food if you want to combine wet and dry for your cat’s diet.

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10. Blue Buffalo Basics LID Duck & Potato Dry Cat Food

Limited ingredient cat food is a good choice for cats with sensitive digestion. Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Formula Duck & Potato Indoor Adult Dry Cat Food helps cats with food sensitivities that may contribute to digestive upset. The formula uses real duck as the first ingredient, followed by easy-to-digest carbohydrates like pumpkin. Despite a simpler combination of ingredients, this food contains 100% balanced nutrition with a variety of vitamins and minerals to support healthy muscles, bones, skin, and eyes. Like other Blue Buffalo foods, this formula has LifeSource Bits that contain antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals to help support the immune system. The food is made in the USA with no grains, poultry by-products, wheat, corn, or soy, making it ideal for cats with allergies, food sensitivities, or sensitive digestive systems. It’s also free from other common sources of food sensitivities, such as beef, chicken, dairy, and eggs.

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11. Royal Canin Feline Digestive Care Dry Cat Food

If your cat has severe digestive issues, Royal Canin Digestive Care Dry Cat Food is a specialty food that’s designed specifically for sensitive stomachs, smelly stool, and frequent vomiting. The food contains prebiotics and fiber to support the digestive tract and promote better nutrient absorption. The kibble is also ring-shaped to encourage slower eating and aid digestion. Royal Canin Digestive Care Dry Cat Food is also free from peas, which are a common source of digestive upset for some cats. Many pet parents noted a difference in frequent diarrhea and vomiting after switching cats to this food, though some cats are picky and won’t eat it.

Related Read: 10 Best Cat Foods for Diarrhea — Reviews & Top Picks

Buyer's Guide: Selecting the Best Cat Food for Smelly Poop

Cats with digestive problems require more research and selection when choosing the appropriate food. While many cats are hardy, these cats can’t be at their best on just any available food – they need the right ingredients to maintain optimal nutrition and care for their specific digestive needs. In many cases, cats with digestive concerns struggle with specific ingredients, such as grains, chicken, or peas. The best way to determine the cause of your cat’s digestive issues is by speaking to your vet. Once the cause is determined, you can try different foods to see what works best. It’s recommended to keep your cat on one food for a period of 3 months unless it experiences severe symptoms like worsening diarrhea or vomiting. If the food isn’t improving symptoms or making them worse, you can switch to another food. Avoid switching foods too often, however, since that can worsen digestive issues. Here are some things to look for in dry and wet cat foods for smelly poop:

Ingredients

Ingredients are the most important part of choosing the right food for your sensitive cat. Ideally, your cat food should have high-quality animal products as the first ingredients. That said, some cats are sensitive to chicken and may need a different animal protein. Other common sources of food sensitivities include grains, wheat, corn, and soy. Your cat may have a sensitivity to one or all of these ingredients. Fortunately, many grain-free foods are made without low-quality grains like these. Vegetables are an excellent choice of nutrition, but some vegetables have a high protein content that is substituted for animal protein. If a food contains potatoes or peas, they may contribute to a large portion of the protein content. Be sure to check labels to make sure you’re feeding high-quality animal protein as much as possible.

Nutrients

Nutrients refer to the protein, fat, and carbohydrate content in food. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they require a diet high in animal protein and fat. When choosing a food, look for formulas that contain mostly animal protein and fat sources. Carbohydrates are fine but shouldn’t make up most of the food’s nutritional content.

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Related Read: Do Cats Fart? (Everything There Is to Know About Feline Flatulence)

Final Thoughts

Plenty of dry and wet cat foods are available for cats with sensitive stomachs and smelly poop. Small’s Human-Grade Smooth Bird Recipe is the best overall, due to its fresh, high-quality proteins and grain-free formula. For a value-packed option, choose Purina ONE Tender Selects Blend Dry Cat Food, which is an inexpensive choice that contains chicken as the first ingredient. Another good option, Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dry Cat Food which is a high-quality, grain-free food with deboned chicken as the first ingredient and a variety of nutrients.

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Featured Image Credit: Laura Chouette, Unsplash