Foster cat leaves ashy stuff Everywhere

[Jessieyvonne]

Hi all. I’m looking for some help identifying what this gray/black ashy stuff is that Lola (the cat that I’m fostering) is leaving everywhere. I’m familiar with flea dirt and this is very different. It is much larger, hard, and kind of crumbly. In the picture you’ll see it mixed with some litter granules. Some background about Lola.. she is a deaf street cat that has been living with me for a few months. She’s not very friendly with people but I am trying to transition her to an indoor lifestyle due to her disability. We’ve built a bit of trust with each other and I was hoping to find some insight here before I traumatized her by taking her to the vet. Thanks very much in advance for your help.

 

[neely]

Welcome to TCS! I tried my best to identify the ashy stuff but unfortunately I'm stumped. However, thank you for rescuing and fostering Lola. I'm sure she will flourish with your TLC. Maybe other members will have a clue about the ashy matter.

 

[Jessieyvonne]

Thank you, Neely.

 

[Willowy]

Does she still go outside? It looks like dried mud, so maybe she grooms the mud out of her fur. Does she leave it somewhere if she's only been there a few minutes and wasn't grooming herself?

 

[Sarabismom]

Kind of looks like dried blood. And also kind of looks like ear gunk?
may also check between her paws and see if she was digging in a potted plant or something?

 

[DeadlyCorgi]

looks like dirt, check her paws if she just has dirt in them from digging in a plant for dirt.

 

[Kat0121]

looks like dirt, check her paws if she just has dirt in them from digging in a plant for dirt.

Yes. That's what it looks like to me too. Like she's been rolling around outside, digging or both.

 

[Jessieyvonne]

Thank y’all for your thoughts. She doesn’t have access to outside but I do have a large palm in my living room. I’ll cover the pot to see if that stops it. I was also worried it might be ear gunk or scabbing of some sort. It’s a tricky situation with Lola as she is pretty feral and won’t let me inspect her paws or other areas. She only lets me scratch her between the ears. Thanks again, everyone!

 

[DeadlyCorgi]

Thank y’all for your thoughts. She doesn’t have access to outside but I do have a large palm in my living room. I’ll cover the pot to see if that stops it. I was also worried it might be ear gunk or scabbing of some sort. It’s a tricky situation with Lola as she is pretty feral and won’t let me inspect her paws or other areas. She only lets me scratch her between the ears. Thanks again, everyone!

No problamo! :3

 

[Sarabismom]

Thank y’all for your thoughts. She doesn’t have access to outside but I do have a large palm in my living room. I’ll cover the pot to see if that stops it. I was also worried it might be ear gunk or scabbing of some sort. It’s a tricky situation with Lola as she is pretty feral and won’t let me inspect her paws or other areas. She only lets me scratch her between the ears. Thanks again, everyone!

I'd be willing to bet she was in the pot of your palm. Keep us updated please!

 

[Willowy]

Yeah it does kind of look like potting soil. It even have the little styrofoam bits they put in to keep it from clumping up. That's probably it!

But if it continues after you cover the pot, let us know.

 

[katma]

If you can get some glass marbles or some small pebbles, try covering the dirt in your plant's pot with those. Supposedly cats will not dig at pebbles, and glass marbles would defy her efforts

That way you can still water the plant and kitty won't track potting soil everywhere. Good luck!

 

[kittenmittens84]

Yeah it does kind of look like potting soil. It even have the little styrofoam bits they put in to keep it from clumping up. That's probably it!

But if it continues after you cover the pot, let us know.

The styrofoamy things are perlite! It’s basically volcano popcorn, when lava cools into glass and then is quickly reheated, all the water in it explodes and creates this weird very lightweight aerated glass basically. This has nothing to do with this thread, just a fun fact I learned a few days ago when I was repotting my cacti lol

 

[Willowy]

The styrofoamy things are perlite!

Some brands use perlite, but I'm pretty sure others use actual styrofoam. It's squishy and blows away if you put the plant outside in the wind. Perlite is hard and doesn't blow away as easily. But in the OP's picture, yeah, I do think that's perlite.

Not my picture but it shows the differences:

 

[Jessieyvonne]

Hi everyone. I thought I'd come back and give an update on the mystery substance. I decided to take Lola to the vet after covering the potting soil of my plants and the substance still appearing in her bedding. Apparently she had a pretty bad ear infection, causing that black, flaky build-up. The vet cleaned her ears and provided some medicated drops. Giving her the drops has been a pretty challenging experience, but we are getting through it. aha Thanks again for all the help, guys.

 

[Furballsmom]

Actually, YOU rock!!

 

[Sarabismom]

Awh thanks for the update! Poor Lola! I hope she feels better soon!

 

[Metal Fox]

Hi everyone. I thought I'd come back and give an update on the mystery substance. I decided to take Lola to the vet after covering the potting soil of my plants and the substance still appearing in her bedding. Apparently she had a pretty bad ear infection, causing that black, flaky build-up. The vet cleaned her ears and provided some medicated drops. Giving her the drops has been a pretty challenging experience, but we are getting through it. aha Thanks again for all the help, guys.

The black flakey build up in her ears is probably dried blood from mites, but in the photo you sent it looked like a mixture of rocks and mud. But it could have been both the dried blood in her ears and the dirt from your potted plant. Hope your kitty gets better!