You can discover a lot about your cat’s well-being from cat poop. So whether you’ve just chosen your first kitten or you’ve parted your home with cats for years, watch for a few key signs when you scoop out the litter box.
The treatment your cat will require depends on what’s creating their diarrhea. Some will need prescription medications, like metronidazole or prednisolone, to control inflammation.
On the other hand, your vet may recommend a special diet if they hold a food allergy or intolerance, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or colitis is the dilemma.
Cat Poop: What’s Normal?
Generally, cats poop at least once a day. If they’re healthful, their poop should:
- Consider not too hard or too soft or mushy.
- Be deep brown
- Not smell too foul, though some smell is typical.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is usual for cats, and there are several reasons why your cat might own it. Sometimes, it comes and goes quickly. Other times, it can serve for days, weeks, or months or come back regularly.
Diarrhea persists for 24 to 48 hours probably won’t create a problem unless you have a more adult cat or a kitten. But if it lasts more extended, your cat can notice dehydrated, which can be critical.
Some common reasons for cat diarrhea include:
- Modifications to their diet or food sensitivities or intolerances
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Worms (intestinal parasites)
- Pancreatic disease
- Cancer
- Colitis
- Hyperthyroidism
How much a cat poops in one day
A good prevailing rule of thumb is that cats should poop at least once a day. However, the quantity of times your cat poops in a day depends on various factors:
- Age: Usually speaking, a kitten will poop more extra than an older cat will. On the flip view, when it occurs to senior cats, you may even notice times when they skip a day.
- Diet: A cat fed a lower-quality food will often poop more frequently than a cat provided a portion of higher quality food. How?? As when there is more filler than nutrient-rich components, the cat will require eliminating the garbage. When you put a cat on a raw diet, the poops become solid, poops more diminutive, and less foul-smelling. Think of it this fashion: if you eat McDonald’s five days a week, you’re likely running to have some not-so-great poops. Whereas if you have nutrient-dense foods five days a week, gastrointestinal fitness will probably be more enjoyable.
- Water Intake: The precise amount of water intake is also necessary when it gets to poop. If cats are dehydrated, they can grow constipated, which will reduce their stool count.
- Exercise: If your cat is more active, it will likely have a more harmonious poop inventory. Have you ever got that “oh no!” sound in your belly when you’re on a trip? It’s similar to that, but for your cat.
- Health: Chronic health issues such as IBD, hyperthyroidism, chronic kidney disease (CKD), megacolon, or intestinal parasites will also affect the number of times your cat will poop daily.
If your cat has diarrhea that persists for more than a day or two, consult your veterinarian to determine the cause. Visit your vet right away if the diarrhea is black or bloody, or if it occurs along with fever, sluggishness, vomiting, or a loss of appetite.
For many cats, a deworming prescription or probiotics may also be needed. To prevent diarrhea, don’t provide your cat dairy products like milk or yogurt — many cats can’t assimilate them properly. Also, if you shift to the brand or type of food you give them, be sure to introduce it over several days by mixing it with smaller and smaller amounts of the old food until they are eating only the new stuff.
Constipation
When a cat is constipated, they’ll hurt a lot when they try to poop or won’t provide anything for the litter box. Of course, you don’t want to bother if it only happens sometimes. But if it’s more typical for your pet, you should reach your vet.
Cats can get constipated for several reasons, including:
- Over-grooming, which drives to extra hair in the digestive region
- Kidney difficulties
- Feline megacolon — while the colon gets very big, and its muscles no longer squeeze, getting hard, dry stool build up inside
- Something blocking their colons, such as string or bones
- Diets that don’t have enough fibre
- Problems inside the colon, like tumours or narrow areas
Spine difficulties or pain
To help your cat’s constipation, your vet may recommend that you give them more fibre by combining canned pumpkin with their conventional food. Or they might advise you to switch to food that’s more comfortable for your pet to eat. Hairball medications might also benefit.
It also ensures they get more exercise and drink more water so that waste will lead through their system more quickly.
You should speak to your vet about any poop problems your cat has, but this table may help you figure out what may be prompting them:
| Symptom | Appearance | Frequency | Possible causes |
| Constipation | Small, hard, dry poop | Less than once a day | Dehydration, megacolon, dietary issues |
| Constipation | Small, hard, dry poop that has a lot of hair | Less than once a day | Hairballs, over-grooming |
| Constipation | Thin, ribbon-like poop | Less than once a day | Colon problems, like a tumor |
| Diarrhea | Black, tarry, runny poop | It varies | Stomach or intestinal bleeding. Call the vet right away |
| Diarrhea | Smelly, pudding-like poop | 2-3 times daily | Food intolerances, inflammatory bowel disease |
| Diarrhea | Gooey poop filled with mucus | It varies | Too little fiber; colitis |
| Diarrhea | Can vary, sometimes soft, frothy, greasy poop with mucus and/or blood | It varies | Parasites |