Thursday, November 7, 2013

What I know: Lets talk poop..


Seriously lady, we think you have issues!!
Yeah yeah yeah, who really wants to talk about poop?? but it is actually a pretty important thing in your cat's life. It is often one of the first signs that something is wrong with your kitty. We all know that too soft poop is diarrhea and is not a good thing. I'm fairly certain we also know that stool color can also signify problems. Too light in color and you could be dealing with a bacterial issue, too dark and you could be dealing with an upper GI bleed.

You must also know that what you feed your kitties has an effect on their 'output'. I'm sure we've all had a moment in the bathroom when looking down at the toilet and it takes a moment before we remember there is a reason why the poop looks as it does.. (what, you haven't?  really?  you mean you don't look and that's only me??)

Since putting the foster kittens on raw exclusively, their life long constant diarrhea cleared up pretty darn quickly, which means that their poop started looking normal and then got even better. The difference between a conventional fed cat vs a raw fed cat can really be seen in the litter box.


The first photo is to show the size of things. The second to show you how dry their stool is so that it does not pick up that much litter.  After they were on raw for long enough to see this benefit I weighed the amount of waste in 12 hours. I scooped and weighed, and it came up with 1lb 1oz.  Once they were on conventional food for a few days I did the same thing and it was 1lb 5oz.  The thing is there was also some clean up that needed to be done since their stool was softer and it stuck to things and need to be cleaned up... so not only did we have the increase in waste, we had to use and then also throw away a few paper towels.*

*please note, that two weight samples does not a scientific study make, but this is pretty typical of what I see on a regular basis.

This might not seem like much, but over time it makes a difference. Not to mention the near lack of smell. Seriously! If you have a cat who has poop that could peel the paint off walls, you can be fairly certain that would near disappear with a change of diet. Kibble fed kitties generally have the largest and smelliest stools. Canned fed cats generally have smaller and slightly less smelly stool when compared to kibble fed kitties.

When I talk to people about not being able to feed raw due to the expense, I often use the fact that you will use less litter as a reason to seriously consider it.

a poop from one of The Crew
Yes, this is poop from an adult kitty
Also so you know, I also only feed my kitties about 2-3 ounces of food per meal. They are full and satisfied often on far less food than a conventional fed kitty. Sometimes they want more, sometimes they eat less which also helps contribute to the cost efficiency of raw; but that is probably content for a different post..

Want to learn more about raw feeding?  Check out

(feel free to share your favorite websites in the comments if you might happen to have one)


13 comments:

  1. LOL, no topic is sacred with you! :-) Seriously, though output is a sign of health. I admit that, if someone is using the litter box to poo, I will watch (discretely) to make sure everything is coming out ok (pun intended).

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  2. I remember many years ago DR OZ did a show with Oprah on poop. I had never realized the importance, I know it sounds dumb, but since then I really do know it's importance with myself and my kitties. I think you did a great post!

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  3. Great timing! I'm working on getting my cats off kibble. This will keep me motivated!

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  4. Very informative post! Thank you!

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  5. Hey, poop is an important topic! Thank you for sharing!

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  6. We had a huge change in poop here with grain-free kibble and canned food VS cheap supermarket brands. NEVER going back, for many reasons!

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  7. That may be next for our household and thanks for the links!

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  8. This is very true! The type of food does influence the poop a lot. Thank you for this post!

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  9. a topic that needs to be discussed and thanks for doing that.

    emma and buster

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  10. As a pet owner who everyday has a conversation about poop, thanks!

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  11. Thanks for the poop on poop! :)

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  12. Thanks for the scoop on poop. I've certainly found since I've gone to better quality foods the output is definitely less.

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  13. How did we do without this kind of post for so long? I'm glad to have read this. Thanks!

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