# indoor cat food = less smelly poo?



## meggles1410 (Jun 18, 2012)

Does indoor cat food lower the smell of poop, mym mum will not stop complaining and has threatened to to sell the hogs if I can't sort it out, so any tips will help, personally I don't think they smell.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

It depends on the food and the hedgehog. Indoor cat food is usually lower in fat and might be lower in protein which could make the poop smell less. Sometimes foods with fish in them make the poop smell more. Some people report that keeping an open container of baking soda near the cage helps with the smell, others use air purifiers. The bottom line is if the cage smells clean the poop. I find fresh poop smells the worst and my hedgehog cage is right beside my couch so when I'm watching TV in the evening he's right there and if he's up and running about the smell is also right there so I find I have to get up and clean it as soon as he poops (bonus, no poopy wheel in the morning because I cleaned the poop the night before). If the poop in the middle of the night is what is bothering your Mom maybe you can move the cage to a different space where she doesn't spend time at night so she doesn't have to smell it. (If the cage is in your room for instance then she wouldn't be smelling the cage in the middle of the night) 

Bottom line is poop smells bad and the cage needs to be cleaned daily.


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## meggles1410 (Jun 18, 2012)

Cages get cleaned the moment I wake up , I bought some indoor cat food, so I'll give it ago for now, and there is no fish in any foods x


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

What brand of food are you feeding? If it has too many fillers that can't be digested or it's too high in protein that can cause smellier poop. For now put an open container/box/dish of baking soda by the cage and when you are done cleaning spray the cage with a water baking soda solution to get rid of any lingering smell. If you can move the hedgehog cage away from where your Mom is during the night to somewhere she can't smell it do that too. I find once the fresh poop is cleaned from the cage the smell dissipates pretty quick. 

What kind of bedding are you using? I personally find that the smell of wood bedding mixed with urine is the worst smell ever I also hate cleaning particle bedding so I use fleece liners. Others have found that even with daily cleaning fleece liners get smelly and they switched back to a paper pulp style bedding like care fresh, fresh and comfy or a wood chip bedding (aspen or kiln dried pine) To reduce the risk of mites with these beddings it's best if you can freeze them for a few days before you use them. A change in bedding might help your smell problem.


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## Heavenly Hedgehogs (Mar 19, 2010)

The only time I ever noticed an odor was once when I added a food containing fish, that I threw out right away. 
In general I never had issues with smell. I have an air exchange fan in the room, which in the winter just works as a fan because of the winter cold. I scoop out the cages morning and evening , that includes moms with new babies. 
I have been in a few homes over time where there has been one hedgehog and you can smell the cage as soon as you walk in. IMHO, I think between a decent diet, which does not include fish.... And keeping cages clean, that would take care of any potential problems with odor. The baking soda is a good idea too


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## meggles1410 (Jun 18, 2012)

Well I went out and got some chicken indoor cat food, and this morning he isn't as bad as normal!
But also he is messy so I'm looking at some spesherlized hog bedding that they sell here that might help, 
A few people swear by it.

http://www.finacard-uk.com/index.php?ma ... 51898a9ib5


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Looks just fine to me! If you get some, just keep an eye out for your hedgie eating it, but as long as they don't make a habit of chowing down on the bedding it looks like a pretty good bedding as long as it is as dust free as they say.


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I've read about a few other people using finacard on the forum and they say it is dust free and helped with odor.


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## Sugargliderlove (May 27, 2012)

I use to feed nature recipe salmon food and it made sonics poop smelly. so I switched to simply nurish turkey and oatmeal flavor & Innova senior indoor cat food. the poop is not smelly as much. the only time it is bad is when he first poops. the fat % is 11 and the protien % is 35.


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## meggles1410 (Jun 18, 2012)

Yeah the essay thinngy seems convinsing, even about the blut edges to not hurt their eyes, but I'll allways check, first thing I check when I get them out  

And caspas food has never had fish, just chicken and rice and rabbit and vedge mix, low fat high protien.... blah blah he is just a super messy hog, so moving him off a liner is proberbly a good idea, I mixed his new food in with his old food ( ther indoor chicken food mixed with his old low fat chicken food) and the difference is brilliant.

Now with the baking soda, I only have baking powder, surely they are the same? X


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Baking powder is different, you'll need baking soda if you're wanting to use it to absorb odor.


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## meggles1410 (Jun 18, 2012)

Ah awesome, I'll double check in my baking cupboard if I don't have any I'll pop to the shops tomorrow x


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