Why do my cat's farts smell?

5:47 PM posted by wendell | Comments (0) | Subscribe to this blog's feed

cat_fart_smells.jpgSo I'm working on the computer the other night and my cat Maddy jumps on my lap for loving. Nothing unusual here, this happens every night. So I'm petting her and she's purring and everything seems to be all right. Suddenly, a strong sulphuric scent ruined the moment. My cat farted! I've had Maddy for about six years and she's probably farted a handful of times that I know of. This led me to wonder, why do cats fart? Is this a sign of a greater problem?

Here's what my research turned up:

  • If your cat eats a high grain diet like IAMS, your cat will be more prone to let one loose more often. IAMS isn't exactly the best cat food and is typically loaded with filler like corn that your cat can't digest. In worse situations, your cat can suffer from a bad stomach if he or she can't digest the food correctly. The next time you go to the store or vet, take a look at the ingredients in your cat food. If the ingredients are proportionately high in corn, wheat, soy, By-products, BHA, corn syrup, meat and bone meal (may include anything from road kill to dead pets), artificial colors, Ethoxyquin and beef tallow/lard you might want to start looking at a better brand of cat food.
  • Cat food with Ethoxyquin in particular can be very dangerous to the long term health of your cat. Although I'm not a vet, my research tells me that Ethoxyquin has been linked to leukemia, liver cancer, chronic diarrhea, immune deficiency syndrome, loss of hair, liver damage and kidney damage. Ethoxyquin was initially developed as a herbicide and it's also still being used as stabilizer in rubber production. Sound healthy for your cat? Probably not.
  • Many believe that wet food for cats make them pass gas more than dry food. I'm not so sure about that. My cat has been eating a combination of mostly wet and dry food for six years and she rarely farts.

    • Having said all of this, if your cat is having a consistent issue with passing smelly gas, you might want to take your cat to the vet to have his/her stool examined more closely. My cat rarely farts so I'm not worried about it and I don't think you should be either if it rarely happens. It's always a good idea to talk to the vet just in case though.

    Another way to look at your cat passing gas is that he or she is so comfortable with you that it simply flows out of them without any resistance. I've noticed that my cat has only farted when we've been cuddling. I'm squeezing her gently so that might be the issue too! Either way, I look at it is as a compliment.

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