Black (but otherwise normal) stool w/ RAWZ pates?

[__caitlin]

Has anyone ever seen stool that was very dark, almost black, but NOT tarry and otherwise seeming normal?

About 2 months ago, I switched my cat to RAWZ rabbit pates doing an elimination diet for food allergies (manifested in overgrooming / itchiness). Prior to this, she ate Sheba and Weruva pates, and occasionally Royal Canin PR (her brother was an IBD cat and she would eat what he ate).

Since shifting to the RAWZ, I thought she was doing well -- except that her stools have become extremely dark. However, other than the dark color, the stools are for the most part normal shaped (sometimes a bit dry), NOT tarry at all, and are also almost odorless. Her stools used to be extremely smelly and permeated the room when she was on the other food, but since switching to RAWZ and removing all those additives, her stools hardly smell at all. I thought all of these were good signs.

But the other week, she had a stretch of 3-5 days where she was throwing up and reluctant to eat -- it always starts with a hairball (which usually resolves after she throws up the hairball), but this time the nausea and inappetence cycle lasted longer than usual. I gave her some slippery elm and it seemed to fix the problem. She went back to eating and pooping normally until having another large hairball the next week (but was once again fine afterward). This made me re-question the dark stools. But I'm trying to avoid being overly paranoid and taking her in for advanced diagnostics (e.g. ultrasound, endoscopy) if it isn't actually warranted.

I've attached some pics here of the poops in question! Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Maurey]

Were hairballs typical for your kitty before you switched to the Rawz? Might be a bit low in fat for her, if not. Does she have egg yolk/egg yolk lecithin or something for hairball control in her diet?

Stools look perfectly normal to me, similar to my raw fed cats’.

 

[di and bob]

It definitely could be the food. You could bring a sample to the vet and see what they say, they should be able to tell if it's alright. as fo the hairballs, if at all possible get some fats into the diet, a teaspoon of olive oil in the food, egg yolk, etc. I give my cats a teaspoon or so of butter twice a week. Butter has almost nonexistent lactose, so is safe for cats. It really seems to help.

 

[LTS3]

Might be a daftcat75 question? If the color is just dark, the Rawz must just be really well digested by the body.

 

[daftcat75]

I read somewhere, "if it's not tarry, don't feel sorry." Some foods result in darker stools than others. If she isn't struggling to poop and she's not throwing up from the food, stick with it. That it doesn't smell (or hardly smells) is indeed a good sign that you're on the right track. Separate from this or possibly related is the hairball problem. You could follow the egg yolk suggestions above. But if she's an IBD cat, egg protein may not be good for her. You could try adding a little olive oil or butter to her food once a week.

And to allay your concerns about the poop, you can collect about a nickel's worth of poop in a baggie, and take it down to the vet. You don't have to bring your cat down for this. The vet can quickly test it for the presence of blood, mucous, and a few other abnormalities. If you can't bring down a fresh sample (pooping after hours), you can triple baggie your sample and keep it in the fridge until you can take it down. Just for good paranoid measure, I kept that sample inside a washed out cat food can. Even though it was triple bagged, it still wasn't touching anything I intended to keep.

 

[__caitlin]

Thank you everyone!! I'm glad it seems like nothing is seriously wrong.

About the hairballs -- prior to RAWZ, I would say she did get them a bit more frequently than I thought the average cat should (maybe 1x/month). She has always been a pretty neurotic and fastidious groomer, though, which is why she's also prone to overgrooming whenever anything prompts it.

In this case, I don't have reason yet to think she's IBD, but I do believe she developed allergies (i.e. itchiness, not digestive symptoms) somehow recently. After a LOT of trial and error, I've come to believe that she is allergic to: beef, peas, probably chicken -- and the #1 culprit may actually be the corn cob litter that I've been using. I'm in the process of transitioning it out. But so probably will try to avoid egg protein too just in case.

I've been trying fish oil with her food -- but it's hard, because she absolutely HATES when I doctor her food in any way and can always tell. She actually loves fish, just doesn't like when her food is messed with. I'll try with butter or olive oil if she won't take the fish.

I read somewhere, "if it's not tarry, don't feel sorry." Some foods result in darker stools than others. If she isn't struggling to poop and she's not throwing up from the food, stick with it. That it doesn't smell (or hardly smells) is indeed a good sign that you're on the right track. Separate from this or possibly related is the hairball problem. You could follow the egg yolk suggestions above. But if she's an IBD cat, egg protein may not be good for her. You could try adding a little olive oil or butter to her food once a week.

And to allay your concerns about the poop, you can collect about a nickel's worth of poop in a baggie, and take it down to the vet. You don't have to bring your cat down for this. The vet can quickly test it for the presence of blood, mucous, and a few other abnormalities. If you can't bring down a fresh sample (pooping after hours), you can triple baggie your sample and keep it in the fridge until you can take it down. Just for good paranoid measure, I kept that sample inside a washed out cat food can. Even though it was triple bagged, it still wasn't touching anything I intended to keep.

And actually, I did bring a poop sample to the vet -- but they told me they only send out for a fecal parasites test (which she was negative for). When I asked whether they can tell me if there's blood in the stool, they had no idea what I was talking about. Is there a specific name of a test or something specific I can ask for to help prompt them? Alternatively I guess I'll just try a different vet at some point.

 

[daftcat75]

Thank you everyone!! I'm glad it seems like nothing is seriously wrong.

About the hairballs -- prior to RAWZ, I would say she did get them a bit more frequently than I thought the average cat should (maybe 1x/month). She has always been a pretty neurotic and fastidious groomer, though, which is why she's also prone to overgrooming whenever anything prompts it.

In this case, I don't have reason yet to think she's IBD, but I do believe she developed allergies (i.e. itchiness, not digestive symptoms) somehow recently. After a LOT of trial and error, I've come to believe that she is allergic to: beef, peas, probably chicken -- and the #1 culprit may actually be the corn cob litter that I've been using. I'm in the process of transitioning it out. But so probably will try to avoid egg protein too just in case.

I've been trying fish oil with her food -- but it's hard, because she absolutely HATES when I doctor her food in any way and can always tell. She actually loves fish, just doesn't like when her food is messed with. I'll try with butter or olive oil if she won't take the fish.


And actually, I did bring a poop sample to the vet -- but they told me they only send out for a fecal parasites test (which she was negative for). When I asked whether they can tell me if there's blood in the stool, they had no idea what I was talking about. Is there a specific name of a test or something specific I can ask for to help prompt them? Alternatively I guess I'll just try a different vet at some point.

I don’t know. They can test for blood in the urine. I thought this would be a pretty easy test for them. Something like dissolve a tiny amount in a solution and if it turns a certain color, it’s positive for the blood protein it was testing for. Maybe they don’t make that kind of test for cat poop?

 

[Maurey]

I don’t know. They can test for blood in the urine. I thought this would be a pretty easy test for them. Something like dissolve a tiny amount in a solution and if it turns a certain color, it’s positive for the blood protein it was testing for. Maybe they don’t make that kind of test for cat poop?

At least in human clinics, your standard way for doing a routine urinalysis is the dipstick method. Basically you dunk a fancy pH strip that reacts to different things in the urine (including presence of blood) and get measurements based off that.

For obvious reasons, this would be a bit problematic to do with stool. There are more advanced methods for stool and urine analysis, but not every clinic will have access to them.