Dear Sinéad, Siouxsie and Thomas:
My name is Niko, and I am scared that there might be something wrong with me.

I have very smelly gas, and I can't help it! Sometimes my mama pets me and kneads my body with her hands and my muscles relax ... and then I hear the telltale"poot" sound that means mamma is soon going to cover her nose and put me down on the less-comfy carpet.

My brother, Kashka, doesn't smell as bad as me. Of course, he's better at covering his poop in the litter box, but we can't all be obsessive-compulsive. We eat the same food, but my poop actually smells worse than his. I know because I compare CONSTANTLY.

Might there be something wrong with my health? Or are some cats just more gassy? I hope there's something I can do about it, because I don't want to be known as "the smelly cat."

Thanks,
Niko

Sinéad: We know it took a lot of courage for you to ask this question, Niko. But rest assured, you're not the only kitty in the world with smelly gas.

Siouxsie: Lots of cats have smelly gas for one reason or another, and most of the time our humans just let it go -- or worse, they laugh at us and call us names!

Thomas: But it's not normal for cats -- or dogs, or humans, for that matter -- to have a lot of smelly gas. Usually animals have gas because they're constipated, because they've been eating foods that irritate or toxify their intestines, or because of problems with the intestines themselves.

Sinéad: The good news is that your human can help you to get rid of your gas problem, and we have some tips on how she can do that.

Siouxsie: The first possible cause of gas is constipation. And even if you're having regular bowel movements, you still could be constipated. If there was a time when you didn't poop for a day or two, because you had an operation or you had to take some medicine that slowed your digestion down, or whatever -- you could still be constipated even if you're pooping twice a day.

Thomas: Speaking of pooping twice a day, most experts agree that a healthy cat passes stool once or twice a day. Healthy stools are medium to dark brown, and should come out in long pieces that are soft enough to be easily flattened if pressed. It is natural for stools to have some odor.

Sinéad: The reason constipation causes gas is because when food sits in your intestines for too long, it starts to putrefy and ferment. That fermentation produces gases, some of which are smellier than others.

Siouxsie: Constipation can be relieved by adding fiber to the diet. Even if you're eating dry kibble, you could still not be getting enough fiber to keep your intestines working as they should. Anitra Frazier, author of The New Natural Cat, suggests that cats be groomed at least 30 seconds a day (even short-haired cats) to prevent swallowing of hair. Hairballs are the primary cause of constipation in cats. She also suggests adding to one meal a day 1/8 teaspoon of ground psyllium husks and 2 Tablespoons of water. Psyllium husks are a good stool conditioner and mucoid (they help stools slip out easily and prevent straining).

Thomas: Frazier also suggests adding one teaspoon of grated carrots per meal, three times a week, to help clean intestinal walls. Of course, the carrots will go down better with canned food than with dry.

Sinéad: Another reason why you might be having foul-smelling gas and stools is because the food you're eating isn't agreeing with you. It may be that you're allergic to something that you're ingesting.

Siouxsie: The level of sensitivity to chemicals and food ingredients can vary even between blood siblings. Many cats have some level of allergy to corn, which is a primary ingredient in many supermarket cat foods. Also, the artificial colorings and chemical preservatives in many supermarket foods can cause allergic reactions, as can scented cat litter, chemical air fresheners, and house cleaning or pest control chemicals.

Thomas: To reduce potential food allergies, we recommend that your mama feed you the highest-quality cat food she can afford. Brands such as Nutro Natural (which Mama feeds us), Eagle Pack, Wysong, and others along this line, contain higher quality, less allergenic ingredients than most supermarket brands. They also tend to be made with more fiber, which will help the food pass through your intestines more quickly, and therefore not have time to ferment and make gas.

Sinéad: A word of advice for your mama, though: Even high-quality cat foods can make some kitties' stools smell bad. Mama fed us one kind of really wonderful, high-quality cat food, and we liked it a lot, and it had no preservatives or anything. But it made all of our poop smell so bad that we ran away from the litterbox as soon as we were done with our business! So Mama switched back to our other cat food and our poop stopped smelling so bad.

Siouxsie: Another thing your mamma can do, in addition to feeding you better food, is to help your intestines be more friendly to "good" bacteria. Our intestines are full of bacteria; some kinds help us get nutrition and digest our food, and others grow because of the process of decay inside our intestines.

Thomas: The kind of bacteria you want more of in your intestines are acidophilus and bifidus. These bacteria are found in yogurt and in supplements that can be purchased in liquid or pill form at your local health food store. Your mama should feed you a tablespoon a day of plain, lowfat or nonfat, organic yogurt for a few days and see if that helps reduce your gas and make your stools less smelly. She needs to make sure that the yogurt she feeds you doesn't have any sugar or artificial sweeteners, though! We think you'll like the taste of this treat, too.

Sinéad: If eating yogurt makes you gassier because you can't tolerate cow's milk (a fairly common problem for cats, believe it or not!), your human should buy unflavored liquid or pill acidophilus supplements. If she goes this route, she should mix one teaspoonful of it into your and your brother's dinners whenever she has it in the house. Acidophilus doesn't keep for more than two weeks, so use it up quickly. It'll be good for her, too, so she can put some in her food too if she wants!

Siouxsie: Intestinal bacteria -- both the good ones and the bad ones -- get killed off if you have to take antibiotics for any reason. If you ever have to take antibiotics, your mama should supplement your diet with acidophilus, either in the form of yogurt or supplements added to your food, while you're taking them.

Thomas: Another supplement your mama can give you is Chlorophyll. Liquid chlorophyll can be added to your food. It inhibits bacterial growth, neutralizes foul odor in all parts of the body, and prevents putrefaction (decay) in the intestines.

Sinéad: Sometimes there are things that just go wrong with our intestines, and they make us gassy, too. Worms have been known to cause gas in cats, for example. And there's an illness called Irritable Bowel Disease that makes our intestines not work right. Cats with IBD tend to alternate between constipation and diarrhea, and their stools are very smelly. Sometimes there's blood in their stools as well.

Siouxsie: Veterinarians often prescribe a bland diet and steroids to treat IBD, because that lessens the swelling of the irritated bowel tissues. However, if we got IBD, Mama would take us to a holistic vet as well as our standard vet. She'd try treating it with changes in our diet, nutritional supplements, and anything else before she gave us steroids. Steroids make the symptoms go away but they don't treat the problem. They might do in an emergency, but she wouldn't want to use them on us for a long time.

Thomas: The point of this discussion is that we suggest that your mama talk to your vet about your gas problem. She should collect a sample of your poop for the veterinarian to look at under the microscope; then your vet can see if you have worms or some other tiny parasite such as giardia (which causes foul-smelling diarrhea among other intestinal complaints). The microscopic examination will also reveal if there's any blood in your stool that can't be seen with the naked eye.

Sinéad: Your vet may also have some other ideas about how your mama can treat your gas problem. You'll be a lot more comfortable if you're not so gassy. After all, severe gas is as painful for us cats as it is for humans!

Siouxsie: We do think that with some changes in your diet, you'll find your gas abates pretty significantly. But again, we do think your mama should talk to your vet and make sure there's no disease or malformation of your intestines that needs to be treated medically.

Thomas: We know it isn't fun to go to the vet, but we think you'll agree it's worth it if you have less gas and more time on your mama's lap.

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail us at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the material in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.