Part of my cat's stool was dark grey...

dianajune

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Pumpkin just had a bowel movement about 1/2 an hour ago.  It was several pieces as usual, but what caught my eye was that one of them was multi-colored.   It looked like it was dark grey on the outside towards one end, and the rest was brown.  When I split open that piece it looked grey on the inside, coated with brown on the outside.

I didn't think to check the other pieces until after I flushed them.  For the most part they looked normal, except for one piece that seemed extra mushy.  That one was right next to the multi-colored piece. :(

I use Tidy Cat non-clumping litter.  I will not use the clumping kind because Pumpkin has a tendency to lick or munch some of the clean litter he kicks out of his box.  That's what the grey part of this one piece looked like - digested litter.

I called the vet's office and told them.  She said if it was bleeding in his g.i. tract it would be red or black, not grey.  She suggested that I keep an eye on it, and in the meantime, get one of those special litter boxes with a "dome" so he can't kick excess litter on the floor.  At the moment I use one of my vacuums to clean up after him.

Pumpkin has a combination wet food/dry diet.  I'm trying to wean him off Meow Mix canned because I don't think it's as good as some of the others on the market.  However, that's the only brand he wants to eat.  For dry food, he likes a combination of Meow Mix original, Meow Mix Hairball Formula and Purina One Urinary Tract Health.  I've been trying to find the right combination of each so his stools won't be too soft or too firm.

For example, if he eats all "original formula" it will be too firm.  Too much "urinary tract health" and it'll be too soft.  

I haven't had a chance to prepare a "raw" diet as I've got alot going on.  I'm having a colonoscopy in a couple of days and will be moving the week after that.  I"m just getting over the stomach bug too.  One of my friends told me awhile back that he thought stress was causing Pumpkin to sample his litter.  That's when I first took him in.  Over time he seemed to not do it as often, until recently.

Sometimes he'll screech to be let out.  Pumpkin knows I want him to be an indoors kitty, and I noticed in the past, if he threw one of his fits about going outside, he'd try to munch on excess litter he kicked outside his box.    I try to keep up with his box whenever he uses it, but that's not always possible.  If I'm sleeping or out running errands, I won't be able to clean up the excess litter until I get up or come back, as the case may be.

Thoughts, anyone?  Has anyone out there ever had a kitty with multi-colored stools?  Do you know of a good litter he could try?  The vet and I discussed "Yesterday's News," which I tried in the past, but it expands when wet.  If I get some of that wheat/corn litter, that it's edible could encourage him to eat it.

Pumpkin had hairballs recently, and because this was his first visit to the vet since I took him in, I had them run all kinds of tests.  The bloodwork was good.  The xrays were good too.  He was on Laxatone and she suggested I put him back on it.  No blockages, no parasites (they checked his stool too, etc, etc.

Thoughts?  I'm stumped.  And concerned.  Otherwise he seems healthy - eats, plays, poops, etc.

 
 
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white shadow

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Hi dianajune!

Gray coloured stool would indicate that the food it used to be wasn't completely digested. If it was only a small portion of stool, I don't think you should be concerned....a lot? well, then, yeas, reason for concern. You did mention using Laxtone - that kind of product can cause foods to not get "processed"/digested....perhaps that's what happened.

Good on you for monitoring the litterbox - it's one of the few ways we can know what's going on inside these 'guys'.

Here's something you might file away for future reference: http://www.fanciers.com/cat-facts/c...es/61-the-poop-patrol-by-terri-jorgensen.html
 
 
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dianajune

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Hi dianajune!

Gray coloured stool would indicate that the food it used to be wasn't completely digested. If it was only a small portion of stool, I don't think you should be concerned....a lot? well, then, yeas, reason for concern. You did mention using Laxtone - that kind of product can cause foods to not get "processed"/digested....perhaps that's what happened.

Good on you for monitoring the litterbox - it's one of the few ways we can know what's going on inside these 'guys'.

Here's something you might file away for future reference: http://www.fanciers.com/cat-facts/c...es/61-the-poop-patrol-by-terri-jorgensen.html
 
That website is very interesting.  Thank you for sharing it with me!  I've got it bookmarked.  I didn't know that grey-colored stool meant that his food was only partially-digested.  I wonder why?  I'm trying to provide him with as healthy a diet as possible.  He's very finicky when it comes to wet food and dry.  

After I move next week I'll be better able to provide him with a raw diet.  My current home is an efficiency with next to no cooking facilities.  My next home will be better.  I'm hoping that the move won't make Pumpkin so stressed out that his gut will be further impacted.  I have IBS and the least bit of stress will make my gut do really strange things!  
 
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