Poop poop de poop...

This is an entry about poop. And there will be photos of my poop but I will give you ample warning before the photos appear so that you have the chance to look away if you’re squeamish about such things. Some of you might ask…why Misty…why? The topic is not cute. Well because poop is very important in the scheme of raw feeding and mine has become an obsession for Mummy. So the “problem” that we’re facing is that I have somewhat regular soft/wet poo. About once a week or once every 2 weeks. Usually it’ll only be for that one time during that one day a week or 2 weeks or the worst is 2 or 3 times in a day in very very small amounts with increasing softness (i.e. from just slightly soft to melted chocolate to liquid).We say “problem” because it really isn’t so bad…but after having spoken to a few other raw feeders, it’s not the norm either. But take note that pooping once every 2 days when on a raw diet is notconsidered constipation (I generally poo once every 2 days). Kitties on a raw diet will poo less frequently and the amount of poop will also be less. And the poo will smell ALOT ALOT ALOT ALOT less (almost no smell). This is because a raw diet is highly digestible so the body absorbs/uses up almost everything and there is less waste. This is an awesome thing. One of the very very few “rules” in raw feeding is:

• too little bone or too much organs in the diet = soft/wet poo or even diarrhea
• too much bone or too much to eat = dry/heard poo or even constipation
• new type of protein can also lead to soft/wet poo or diarrhea (but should go away after a while once the tummy gets used to the new meat)

The 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other organs is a guideline and pawrents don’t have to follow it strictly. It all depends on how your kitty reacts to the meals. Also, if you are weighing each bone-in meat like Mummy does, remember that the 10% refers to the bone and not the meat+bone together. Some kitties might have more sensitive stomachs and will have reactions to certain types of meats or organs. Mummy has read of some kitties who will have wet poo immediately after eating kidney or a specific type of meat. I am pretty sensitive to “other organs”. Anything more than a thin sliver and I have wet poo the next day. My wet poop problem used to be worse…I don’t call it diarrhea because it’s not an uncontrollable or explosive wet poo. I always go to my litter box to poo and if some end up outside the box or somewhere else in the house, it’s only because some of it gets stuck to my bum bum fur (and I don’t realise it) and I end up carrying it around the house until it drops somewhere. This is fact. Daddy and Mummy have seen it happen with their own eyes. And also taken a video of it……..

Mummy is so obssessed with my poo and since my poo doesn’t smell at all, she will watch me while I use the litter box…sigh..I get no privacy in this house.

Ummm..where was I…yes so it used to be worse. I would have wet/soft poo almost everyday for 3 to 4 days. So Mummy increased the bone amount in my meals until I started having SUPER hard and dry poo..but could still have wet poo the next day. It was extremely confusing for Mummy. She brought me to Dr Tham along with a fresh poo sample for him to take a look at me, do a fecal test, look at all the poo poo photos she had taken over the few weeks and eliminated illness or worms as the problem. After consulting with a few people from the rawcat Yahoo! group and Auntie Mi, she decided to try to figure out the problem systematically. Because she keeps a log of what she buys every month for my meals, she knew that in the month the wet poo problem started, she had started adding heart and other organs to my meals. And also feeding me more food in general but keeping the bone amount the same. Since she had already tried increasing bone which didn’t eliminate the problem completely, she decided to stop feeding other organs and see if there would be an improvement. And there was! I stopped having wet poo so often…so now Mummy is trying to find the perfect ratio of food for me. There are 3 things which she is working on: slightly more bone, less liver and being careful not to overfeed in a day. Also keeping a daily record of what I eat and when I have wet poo so that she can try to see a pattern. The “problem” is somewhat perplexing because it’s been so hard to identify what exactly is causing the wet poo….for example I had perfect poo yesterday night and this morning wet poo! I think it could be too much liver….I had liver in my meals yesterday…. This wet poo thing isn’t a huge issue for Mummy and Daddy…Initially they were very worried I was sick and frustrated because they just couldn’t figure out the cause. But when it became clear I wasn’t sick or with worms, they learned to relax a little and try to take it in their stride. It’s not something that happens every day and I don’t damage the furniture or anything. All it takes is a little time to clean up. And I’ve become very clever not to try to bury super wet poo because I end up getting some on my paws and smearing it around the house. So I’m helping to keep the house clean too!! The benefits of raw diet totally outweigh this “inconvenience”. But they do want to try to find the right ratio of food for me if they can because they also worry if my tummy doesn’t feel so good when I have wet poo….sometimes Mummy does get disheartened and wonders what she’s doing wrong *pat pat* Well…we’ll keep everyone updated on our progress!! Wish us luck! Ok here comes the poo pics!! . . . . . . Stop scrolling if you don’t want to look. . . . . . Last chance. . . . . . Ta daaaaah!!

good healthy poo. small lumps, firm, not too wet or too dry.

another good poo. but a little too dry.

this is poo that still has “form” but is actually kinda wet and soft. but is still okaaaay.

this is not good poo. it is very very hard and dry. like a piece of wood.

this is poo that looks like it has “form” but is actually completely mushy. you can’t pick it up at all. not very good.

this is poo without form. like melted chocolate. not good poo.

this one stuck to my bum fur and dropped off when I walked out of the litter box. this one was was in the wet poo often days and really scared Mummy because you can see there is some blood!! I think this is the one that got me to the vet the next day…

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