Cat stool colors meaning?

werra

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My cats have light green poops? My cat also don't seem to have a diarrhea I checked the poop and it is not watery. Is it bad? Their diet is 9 lives. I fed them Orijen before but right now I switched them to 9 lives. Other than the poop color they seem healthy and playful running around my house playing and eating normal as well.
 
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ldg

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It's probably the food coloring. The color of cats' poop is directly related to what you feed them. Orijen is a far, far, far superior food, without additives or coloring. I assume the poop was not green when you fed them Orijen?
 

feralvr

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Agree with LDG :). It is the food coloring additives in that food. I would definitely switch to another higher quality brand of wet food. There are many available that are quite reasonable and have better ingredients which would be more healthful for your cats. :wavey:
 
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white shadow

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It is important to note changes in the stool that do not relate to other changes, that cannot be accounted for by a change in diet or medication or routine. Be sure to advise your vet of these changes.

The color of stool may provide clues. In the poop chapter, we saw that the normal brown color of stool is due to gut bacterial action on bilirubin. Bilirubin comes from spent red blood cells and is delivered to the gut in bile. Bilirubin has a yellow hue and if the stool passes too quickly, as in diarrhea, before the gut bacteria have their chance, the stool may appear more yellow. If bilirubin is low or absent and the stool has a greenish cast from its bile content, this could indicate a problem with bilirubin excretion and should be reported to the vet.

http://www.felineconstipation.org/whatgoeswrong.html
There used to be a quick reference chart on a now defunct GeoCities site - it's still available on archive here http://web.archive.org/web/20091023085756/http://geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/2148/pets/monitor.htm and that, as well suggests a problem with transit time.

Did the stool colour change when you switched from Orijen to 9Lives? Is your 9Lives a dry food?

I just looked at the ingredients on the 9Lives website - the 9Lives dry products ingredients are radically different from Orijen, containing mostly corn and wheat and very little quality protein and fats.....that change, in itself, could account for some change in the stool.

I would be concerned enough though to at least consult with the Vet.

werra, there are many better quality foods available....why not ask over in the Nutrition Forum? I'm sure you'll get many suggestions (probably including the addition of wet foods!)
 
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werra

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Not all my cats have that stool color I checked the litter box yesterday. There is a stool there that is brown color but I don't know who among my cats. I am feeding  dry food to my cats. Orijen is expensive and the 7.5kg bag lasts for 3 weeks only for my 4 cats. Right now I preordered orijen to the store that I am buying but they said they will have the 7.5kg bag on the last week of February. There is also no good wet food in my area. Only friskies, whiskas and fancy feast are available. For the dry food, only Royal Canin, Acana, Orijen, 9lives, Iams are available in my area. Do you think I can feed them Iams dry food for now? 
 
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ldg

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There used to be a quick reference chart on a now defunct GeoCities site - it's still available on archive here http://web.archive.org/web/20091023085756/http://geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/2148/pets/monitor.htm and that, as well suggests a problem with transit time.

Did the stool colour change when you switched from Orijen to 9Lives? Is your 9Lives a dry food?

I just looked at the ingredients on the 9Lives website - the 9Lives dry products ingredients are radically different from Orijen, containing mostly corn and wheat and very little quality protein and fats.....that change, in itself, could account for some change in the stool.

I would be concerned enough though to at least consult with the Vet.

werra, there are many better quality foods available....why not ask over in the Nutrition Forum? I'm sure you'll get many suggestions (probably including the addition of wet foods!)

Very interesting - thanks for the information and the links.
 

white shadow

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Not all my cats have that stool color I checked the litter box yesterday. There is a stool there that is brown color but I don't know who among my cats...
Well, the first task would be to determine who is depositing the green poop. As cats (generally) make at least one deposit daily, it could take only a few days to find the perpetrator...but, you'll need a second litterbox and a separate space with food and water where you can isolate each cat for a day.

Now, speaking of litterboxes, if you have four cats and only one litterbox, you're fortunate if they haven't been doing their business outside the box. There's a rule of thumb about one box per cat plus one extra, but you might not need to go that far. More info here http://www.catinfo.org/?link=litterbox#Types_of_Litter_Boxes,_Size,_Number_and_Location

We'll both be in trouble if we get too far into the food discussion here - this is the health forum - but, in terms of food and general health, wet food (almost any wet food) is a healthier choice. Here's why http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_Just_Fine_on_Dry_Food

You asked about using Iams dry 'for now'....if you are going to change dry foods, you need to do it slowly, over a period of several days/a week. Mixing both, gradually replace the old with the new. Otherwise you'll upset the digestive systems leading to other litterbox problems.

You haven't said whether the green poop appeared just after you changed foods or while they were on Orijen.
 
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werra

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The green poop started after I changed them to 9 lives.  I know about tchanging the dry food gradually but thanks for reminding me it again 
  One of my cats has rodent ulcer that is why she is allergic to certain canned foods. About 2 days ago I fed her whiskas tuna and her mouth started to swollen again that is why I stopped feeding it right away and put some pet gel on her lips.I have two litter boxes there is also one in my bedroom because some of my cats sleep there. 

Edit: Just now, I caught one of my cats in the litter box her stool color is light brown in color and it appears to be firm. 
 
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fourkittens

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Wonder about the food coloring answer.  I have 4 cats and all eat the same thing but only 1 poops green and its very foul smelling.  Any other Ideas?
 

onlinefeline

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My male kitty, T.C. recently was treated for tapeworm then roundworm.  Now his stools are tan colored. They are firm, not loose / this has been for over a week. what could cause this? 
 
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