What your pet's poop will tell you about his health
Tips / / January 02, 2021
Before you say "fu", we remind you: in everything related to health, there are no taboo or overly sensitive topics. Especially when it comes to pets that cannot complain of stomach pain or nausea. To understand how an animal is doing, owners have to focus on changes in their behavior or other symptoms. For example, the consistency, color, and odor of stool in cats and dogs suggests a variety of health problems. We figured out how to distinguish the norm from the reason to urgently make an appointment with the veterinarian.
When everything is fine
You don't need a protective suit, elbow-length rubber gloves and a gas mask to check your pet's excrement. An ordinary examination at arm's length is sufficient.
The stool of a healthy dog should be firm but not hard. In shape, it resembles a log with small cracks, in color - chocolate. It is very important that there is no discharge, mucus or blood on the surface of the faeces. The dog should leave "sausages" for walks once or twice a day. Normal digestion in cats is the same. Unless the volume will be different. Although if you compare the Maine Coon and the pug, it is not known who will win.
When feces are like a sheep's
For those who spent their childhood not with their grandmother in the village, but in a concrete jungle: “like a lamb” - these are small lumps that look like peas. Dense, hard, sometimes dry. Perhaps this is one of the signs of constipation, especially if such stools appear rarely and in small volumes. This happens when your pet does not have enough fluid for various diseases or if the motility of the colon is disturbed. Pay attention to whether the animal drinks as much as before.
Constipation can also occur due to improper diet. In this case, food with a high fiber content will be useful. Check with your veterinarian to find out how changing the diet can help your pet.
Nutrition is only part of the treatment. The specialist will tell you what other additional measures need to be taken so that the pet is healthy again.
When it's wet and soft
Wet, soft and, as doctors say, poorly formed feces are discomfort for both the pet and the owner, including in terms of cleaning. Such a chair is a reason to take a closer look at the health of the animal and its diet.
At the appointment, the veterinarian may ask you not only how the feces look, but also how often the pet defecates. And also find out the history of the animal's nutrition over the past couple of months or even years - yes, everything is like with humans.
Soft stools are one of the signs of increased motility of the gastrointestinal tract. Simply put, the walls of the digestive system contract more actively than usual. Because of this, the content moves faster towards the outlet and does not have time to form a dense mass. This can happen for various reasons: due to changes in nutrition, stress or damage to the nervous system.
* Internal data of Hill's Pet Nutrition.
When it looks like porridge
Things are more complicated if a dog's or cat's stool is similar in consistency to porridge: the feces are not clear-cut, but they also do not look like water. They lie down in a bunch, they are removed from the ground or from a tray with difficulty.
One possible cause of a digestive upset is eating disorders. For example, an improperly selected diet, spoiled foods, treats that are not intended for animals, or a sharp change in types of food (switching from porridge to another food or vice versa). If it's really just about feeding, then it's easy to fix.
But diet is not the only reason for mushy stools. It can also be due to infection, neoplasm, or inflammatory bowel disease. In any case, you cannot do without the advice of a specialist.
When one water
Perhaps the most dangerous option is diarrhea. The stool looks like brown water. At the same time, the cat literally does not leave the litter box, and the dog cannot wait for a walk.
In this case, you need to act quickly. Do not feed the animal anything that you think would help, make an appointment with the veterinary clinic immediately. Loose stools can signal malabsorption, severe intoxication, and even a serious gastrointestinal infection.
When there is something wrong with the color
The second thing you should look for after determining the consistency is the color of the faeces. We remind you: pets should normally have excrement of a brown-chocolate hue. Deviations indicate possible diseases.
- Black stool is one of the signs of bleeding in the anterior gastrointestinal tract (stomach, duodenum, and small intestine).
- A reddish tint indicates bleeding in the lower GI tract. This happens, for example, with colitis - inflammation of the colon mucosa.
- Light brown faeces can occur with accelerated peristalsis or the predominance of plant foods in the diet.
- The green tint appears due to the increased secretion of bile or bile enzymes - bilirubin and biliverdin. Also, feces can turn green if the pet eats a lot of grass.
- Gray or white feces are observed when the pancreas or liver malfunctions, as well as when bile does not enter the intestine (for example, in the case of cholelithiasis).
When it smells too strong
Finally, a third indicator of digestive problems in cats and dogs is the presence of a specific odor. Of course, excrement cannot smell like a rose, but in this case we are talking about an atypical stench.
- A putrid odor appears with diseases of the stomach, for example, with ulcers.
- It gives off rancid oil in case of malfunction of the pancreas, diseases of the liver and biliary tract.
- The sour smell signals fermentation in the large intestine, impaired absorption of fatty acids in the small intestine.
How to collect feces for analysis
It is only necessary to bring faeces for analysis if requested by the veterinarian. In a telephone conversation, describe to the doctor your observations and concerns - if you need material for research, the specialist will tell you about it.
Prepare the container if necessary. A small, clean, sterile plastic container is best. It can be found in any “human” pharmacy. Use clean scoops, shovels - the same as during normal cleaning for an animal, only thoroughly wash it all first. Check with your veterinarian on how best to store samples if you cannot bring them to the clinic or laboratory within a couple of hours of collection.
Learn more about diet food