Characteristics of feline diarrhea, likely cause and location
This, I believe, is a useful table if you are a cat caregiver who has full-time indoor cats and therefore have to manage a litter tray or trays. The experts say that it is wise for a cat owner to ensure that they have opportunity to observe their cat’s poop because it is a useful diagnostic tool. This is not going to be normally available to an owner who allows their cat to go outside because normally they will go to the toilet outside if there is access to a backyard where there is earth. There is a trend towards confining domestic cats to their homes for their safety and the safety of the animals upon which they prey, and which sometimes are precious and rare native species. This will allow owners to use this table.

Feline abdominal X-ray from Animal Clinic of Billings
Color | Likely cause | Likely location |
Yellow or greenish | Rapid transit | Small bowel |
Black, tarry | Upper GI bleeding | Stomach or small bowel |
Red blood or clots | Lower GI bleeding | Colon |
Pasty, light | Lack of bile | Liver |
Large, gray, rancid | Inadequate digestion or absorption | Small bowel or pancreas |
Consistency | Likely cause | Likely location |
Watery | Rapid transit | Small-bowel |
Foamy | Bacterial infection | Small-bowel |
Greasy, often with oily hair around the anus | Malabsorption | Small-bowel, pancreas |
Soft, bulky | Overfeeding, or poor-quality diet high in fibre | Small-bowel (rapid transit) |
Glistening or jellylike | Contains mucus | Colon |
Odour | Likely cause | Likely location |
Food like, or smelling like sour milk | Rapid transit, inadequate digestion or absorption (suggests overfeeding, especially in kittens) | Small-bowel |
Rancid or foul | Inadequate digestion with fermentation | Small-bowel, pancreas |
Putrid | Intestinal infection, bleeding | Small-bowel |
Frequency | Likely cause | Likely location |
Several small stools in an hour with straining | Colitis | Colon |
Three or four large stools a day | Malabsorption, inflammatory bowel disease | Small-bowel, pancreas |
A week or longer | A chronic ailment such as colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, parasite infection, or malabsorption syndrome | Throughout the intestinal tract |
Condition of the cat | Likely cause | Likely location |
Weight loss | Inadequate digestion or absorption | Small-bowel, pancreas |
No weight loss, normal appetite | Large bowel disorder | Colon |
Vomiting | Enteritis | Small-bowel, rarely colon |

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