The scale
The 7-point cat stool chart
A 1–7 firmness score of the kind vets use, with no brand attached. 2 and 3 are what you want to see.
Hard pellets
dry, crumbly, effort to pass
Firm, segmented
normal: holds shape, little residue
Log, moist
normal: holds shape, leaves residue
Soft log
soft but shaped
Soft piles
loses shape
No shape
texture only, puddles
Watery
liquid
Source: a generic 1–7 fecal consistency score of the kind used in veterinary practice, as logged in FelineSense; no brand chart
Call your vet regardless of the score
The 1–7 score describes consistency only. These findings matter whatever the consistency is, and FelineSense flags them separately:
- Black or tarry: suggests digested blood from higher up the gut. Call the vet today.
- Fresh blood: red streaks or spots. Call the vet today, sooner if your cat is weak or vomiting.
- Visible worms: small, rice-like segments in the stool or around the bottom are usually tapeworm, which cats catch by swallowing fleas while grooming. Bring a sample; dewormers are matched to the worm.
- Watery stool for two days or more, or diarrhea with vomiting, lethargy or a cat that stops eating. Kittens dehydrate fast, so call sooner for a kitten.
Straining in the box? Check whether it is urine or stool. A cat, especially a male, that strains and produces little or no urine may have a blocked urethra, and that is often mistaken for constipation. See the litter box section below.
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual · CAPC (tapeworms and fleas) · Cornell Feline Health Center
Reading it
What the patterns mean
What healthy cat poop looks like
2 to 3 is the target. Healthy stool is brown, formed and holds its shape, so it is easy to scoop. Most adult cats pass stool about once a day. A 4 now and then is fine, and one soft day after a new food or a stressful event is unremarkable. A pattern is what matters, which is why a one-tap daily log beats trying to remember.
Hard pellets, repeatedly
Constipation is common in cats, especially older ones and those that drink little. Twice or more in a row is worth acting on: more wet food, more water, and a spoon of plain canned pumpkin can help. If your cat keeps straining, call your vet; long-standing constipation can stretch the colon (megacolon).
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual · Cornell Feline Health Center
Mucus on the stool
A little mucus is common with a mild upset of the large bowel. Watch it, and mention it to your vet if it keeps happening, or if it comes with blood or straining.
Changing food? Go slowly
A sudden switch is one of the most common causes of loose stool, and cats can be stubborn about new food. Change over about 7 days, or 10 for a sensitive cat, shifting the ratio a little at a time, and check the stool and the appetite each day so you can slow down if the gut objects. Never let a cat go hungry while it refuses the new food. FelineSense runs that schedule for you with the daily check-in built in: see switching food.
Source: Cornell Feline Health Center (hepatic lipidosis) · AAHA
The litter box
What the litter box tells you
Urine is half of what the box shows, and in cats it is often the more urgent half.
Urine clumps: count them and size them
Clumping litter turns every pee into a clump you can read. Learn your cat’s normal number and size, then watch for change.
Bigger clumps, or more of them, usually mean your cat is drinking and peeing more. In cats that points to kidney disease, diabetes or an overactive thyroid, and it is worth a vet check with a urine sample. The water intake guide explains what counts as drinking too much.
Small, frequent clumps, often with straining, blood in the urine, crying in the box or licking under the tail, point to the bladder or urethra: cystitis, crystals, stones or infection. Call your vet the same day.
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual · Cornell Feline Health Center (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease)
A male cat straining to pee is an emergency
A cat that squats again and again and produces little or no urine may have a blocked urethra. It happens mostly in male cats, whose urethra is narrow, and it is often mistaken for constipation. Other signs are crying, licking the genital area, vomiting and hiding. A blockage can kill in as little as 24 to 48 hours, and the cat gets sicker by the hour.
Go to an emergency vet now. Do not wait overnight to see if it passes. No urine at all in 24 hours needs the same call.
Source: Cornell Feline Health Center (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease) · Merck Veterinary Manual
Why is my cat peeing outside the litter box?
Treat it as a health signal first, not bad behavior. Cystitis, a urinary infection or stones make the box feel painful; arthritis makes a high-sided box hard to climb into; kidney disease and diabetes mean more urine, more urgently. Stress and a box your cat dislikes come next. See your vet before you change anything else, and never punish: it adds stress and makes it worse.
The set-up that prevents most problems: one box per cat plus one, in different quiet spots away from food and water; large, uncovered and unscented, about 1.5 times your cat’s length; fine clumping litter, scooped at least once a day. FelineSense has these in its five-pillars home environment checklist and puts the daily scoop and the weekly full change in the care calendar.
Source: AAFP/ISFM Guidelines for Diagnosing and Solving House-Soiling Behavior in Cats 2014 · AAFP/ISFM Feline Environmental Needs Guidelines 2013
In FelineSense
Log the box in one tap
- Each pee logged as normal, small, large or “tried, none”, with straining, blood or peeing outside the box marked
- Straining with nothing coming out reads “Straining, nothing coming” and tells you to go to the vet now
- Stool scored 1–7 with blood, black, mucus or worms flagged, and a verdict: fine, watch, worth a vet call, or see a vet now
- Pick the Litter box category before recording a cry in the Listen tab and the blockage warning shows straight away
- The last 14, 30 or 90 days of stool and litter box entries go into the vet report
Launching first on iPhone and iPad, with Android and Amazon soon after.
Questions
Frequently asked
What does healthy cat poop look like?
When is cat diarrhea an emergency?
Why is my cat straining in the litter box?
Why is my cat peeing more than usual?
Why is my cat peeing outside the litter box?
What are the white rice-like things in my cat’s poop?
FelineSense keeps the stool and litter box log for your own cat, gives a verdict on each entry, and puts the recent weeks into a report for your vet.
See the app