What the color means
A change in your dog's or cat's stool is often the first sign that something is off. Pick what you are seeing to find out what it can point to and how soon to call.
What does it look like?
What it can point to
This is what healthy stool looks like in dogs and cats. Shade varies a little with the food.
What to do
Nothing to do. Knowing what is normal for your pet is what lets you spot a change.
What it can point to
Black, sticky stool can be digested blood from the stomach or upper gut. Some medicines and supplements also darken stool.
What to do
Call your vet today, and sooner if your pet is weak, pale or vomiting. Say what medicines your pet takes, including any painkillers.
What it can point to
Fresh blood usually comes from the lower gut or the rear end: an irritated colon, straining, or a problem near the anus.
What to do
A single small streak in a bright, eating pet still deserves a call to your vet for advice. A lot of blood, or blood with vomiting, weakness or pale gums, is an emergency.
What it can point to
Bloody diarrhea that looks like raspberry jam can mean serious bleeding into the gut, and pets can dehydrate quickly.
What to do
Go to your vet or an emergency clinic now.
What it can point to
Often food moving through too fast, for example after a diet change. It can also point to the liver, gallbladder or pancreas.
What to do
If it lasts more than a day or two, or comes with vomiting, not eating or yellow gums or eyes, call your vet.
What it can point to
Can follow eating a lot of grass, or food moving through quickly. Some rat and mouse poisons are dyed green or blue.
What to do
If there is any chance your pet reached a poison, treat it as an emergency and call now. Otherwise call your vet if it lasts more than a day or two.
What it can point to
Pale, fatty-looking stool can mean fat is not being digested, which can point to the pancreas or to bile not reaching the gut.
What to do
Book a vet visit soon, and take a fresh sample with you.
What it can point to
Rice-like grains or spaghetti-like strands are usually worms. Check they are really in the stool and not picked up from the ground.
What to do
Call your vet for the right dewormer for your pet. Different worms need different products, so do not guess.
What it can point to
Hard, crumbly white stool usually means too much bone or calcium in the diet, and it can lead to constipation.
What to do
Talk to your vet about the diet. If your pet is straining, see the last row.
What it can point to
Mucus comes from the large bowel and shows it is irritated. A little once is common after a food upset.
What to do
If it keeps happening, or there is blood or straining, call your vet.
What it can point to
Diarrhea has many causes, from a change of food to infection or organ disease. Older and small pets dehydrate fast.
What to do
Call your vet today if it lasts more than a day, if your pet is old, very small or has another illness, or if there is blood, vomiting or weakness. Keep water available.
What it can point to
Usually constipation, which is common in older pets, especially cats. Straining in a litter box can also be a blocked bladder, which looks the same from across the room.
What to do
A cat that strains and produces nothing, or cries in the box, needs a vet now: a blocked bladder is life-threatening. Constipation that lasts more than a day or two needs a vet visit.
This tool organizes what you have noticed. It can't examine your pet, and its result is not a diagnosis or veterinary advice. Take what it shows to your vet; if your pet is in distress, go to an emergency clinic now. Full disclaimer
How to use the chart
Color and texture are clues, not a diagnosis. The same color can come from something harmless that was eaten yesterday or from a disease, and only a vet can tell which. What the chart can do is tell you how soon to call.
One odd stool in a pet that is bright, eating and otherwise normal is usually worth watching for a day. A change that lasts, or that comes with vomiting, not eating, weakness or pale gums, is not.
If you are going to the vet, take a fresh sample in a sealed bag or pot, and a photo of anything unusual. It saves time and it is often the most useful thing you can bring.
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