Madeline is about 10 months old and she is a spayed indoor cat. We recently moved her up from the kitten-sized litter box to the normal, larger litter box because it seemed like it was time - her litter box was filling rather quickly and causing our tiny apartment to smell. However, even with the bigger box, it seems like she's defecating quite a lot.
It isn't runny or soft or an odd color, and she's not doing it in any strange places. She doesn't seem to be in any kind of pain, and she doesn't act like she's sick. She's been her completely normal, happy, loving self lately - except for the increased defecation. It seems like she's going often enough for me to fill 3/4 of a small plastic sandwich bag every day. Is this normal and I'm just being paranoid, or is this something I need to contact the vet about?
TIA!
2007-09-18 14:05:28 · 10 answers · asked by d0lly 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
We are feeding her dry food [which she likes better than wet]. We switch daily between Purina Kitten Chow and Friskies Feline Favorites. She occasionally gets a small treat of "people food" [a tiny piece of canned tuna, chicken, or shrimp] but the defecation habits don't seem to change whether she's gotten that type of treat recently or not.
2007-09-18 14:15:15 · update #1
Probably not, though to be sure you should take her (and a sandwich bag of poo) to the vet. The grocery-store brands of food you're feeding her are loaded with corn and other fillers, which they find barely digestible, and so she just passes them. You might consider switching her to a more nutritious diet such as Iams, Science Diet, or Innova. She won't like a sudden switch, though, so do it gradually, by mixing small amounts of the new food in her old food and gradually phasing out the old stuff.
2007-09-18 14:19:17 · answer #1 · answered by Black Max 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I don't think it's really anything to worry about :) She seems like she's in good health otherwise, and if she was sick, she would most likely have diarrhea. Is she a big kitty? Our cats poop A LOT.
I agree with the person above me too. He has a good point.
Take your kitty to the vet if you have the chance, just to be sure. It sounds normal to me, since all cats are different, but a vet will definitely know. Don't worry though. I don't think it's an emergency, but ofcourse the sooner you do it, the sooner you'll know whether or not it's normal for your cat.
Good luck! :)
2007-09-18 14:38:01 · answer #2 · answered by ♪Elan♪ 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
She's fine, that's the normal amount for a cat to use the litter box daily. Actually, the cats at our Vet Clinic go more than that sometimes.
As long as her feces aren't runny it's perfectly fine.
The foods your feeding her are okay too, Kitten Chow and Friskies are normal cat foods, so you don't need to change her diet. Actually, if you change her diet, she will have a much higher chance of getting an upset stomach.
2007-09-18 14:31:06 · answer #3 · answered by chetblong 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Every cat is different, and they process food differently with the various brands. Some food has more filler that can't be digested, so bigger or more frequent poops come out. Look to the food you're using first, it also directly affects the smell.
Most cats poop once and pee twice in one day. With ours, we have 4, I scoop whenever the box is used,and walk the used litter out once or twice a day to the garbage. Keeping it in the kitchen is where the smells get nasty. No sense keeping it once it's scooped, just walk it outside to the garbage and things won't be so bad.
Save one of the plastic type cat food bags once they're empty, you can scoop into that and fold the top over and only make one trip outside for the day, it works well with our four, who collectively poop more than your one cat does!
2007-09-18 14:17:41 · answer #4 · answered by hudsongray 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
seems pretty normal to me..thats about 3-4 times a day, right?
cats probably have a much faster metabolism than we do..and therefore defecate more often. actually, some people think that humans should do it that often too....
2007-09-18 14:14:44 · answer #5 · answered by misspurrl 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You should put her back on a kitten formula until she is a year old. As for the number of poops, unless your kitten starts having runny poos, stops going or starts acting different they don't matter.
Cats and dogs both go to the bathroom about 10-15 mins. after they eat,and they go even more if they are very active.
2007-09-18 14:43:03 · answer #6 · answered by merrymeet2005 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It sounds like she's otherwise healthy. What type of food do you feed her? I think some name brand pet food companies make a low residue type of food designed to decrease stool volume. You may want to check that out...I'm not sure if they make it for cats.
2007-09-18 14:12:12 · answer #7 · answered by kikitiki 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Tia, is your cat eating a high-quality pet food? Cats who eat low quality, inexpensive food will need to eat more to get the same nourishment. The more she eats- the more she poops. So that tells you that the food she is eating is not being utilized very well by her body. It always pays to feed your cat a high-quality food. (No grocery store pet food) This is just one of the reasons. I guarantee you that if you upgrade her food, this will not be a problem anymore.
2007-09-18 14:13:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Maybe you need to get her on better food, go to a vet and try one of their foods, I switched my cat to Nutros and they go like once a day. Hope that helps
2007-09-18 14:35:26 · answer #9 · answered by hungryeyes001 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
What are you feeding her? Foods with grains and fillers result in more poop...
2007-09-18 14:16:51 · answer #10 · answered by daa 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋