How often a cat should poop will depend to a large degree on the cat. There are a lot of factors influencing this, as with any other aspect of feline health. Your cat may use the litter box once a day or much more frequently; some cats need to go less often. Your pet’s overall state of health may be reflected in litter-box habits so it’s worth keeping an eye on the situation.
How many times a day should cats poop? Adult cats should defecate at least once daily. Some cats go more often; defecating more than four times a day may indicate a digestive issue.
If you’ve found yourself landing on this page, you probably have questions regarding your cat’s health. Maybe you’re wondering why your cat doesn’t use the litter-box more often. Perhaps your cat seems to be going to the litter-box a lot and you’re concerned that she may be unwell. Keep reading — we have the answers to these and more questions.
How many times a day should cats poop?
Like humans, adult cats should move their bowels at least once per day. It’s not unusual for some cats to go slightly less often but if they miss more than two days you should check to make sure that nothing is wrong. It’s also not out of the ordinary for some cats to go more frequently; some cats poop three or four times a day. If you free-feed instead of using portion control, your cat will probably need the litter-box more frequently. In the case of a kitten, they may poop more frequently because their digestive systems are still developing; it’s quite normal for a kitten to need the litter-box half a dozen times a day or even more.
As your cat grows out of kittenhood, she should poop less frequently and eventually settle down to regular habits. A number of factors can influence the frequency with which your cat poops: her overall state of health, her usual diet and any recent variations there may have been, plus factors relating to her environment. If your cat suddenly seems to be pooping a lot more or a lot less than usual, you may need to make sure she doesn’t have any health issues. It should be easy for her to pass stool — straining and crying are a sure sign that she needs help from the vet. When cleaning your cat’s litter-box, you should quickly note whether the contents look normal as this can be an indicator as to whether her digestion is functioning well or not.
In general, a cat should produce small, solid pieces of scat, dark brown in colour and fairly dry. Obviously, it will smell bad but an unusually foul odour can be a symptom of severe problems. If the colour is other than dark brown or the stool is loose and not solid, your cat may be unwell. The problem may be temporary (perhaps she ate something that disagreed with her or had some emotional upset that day) or it may be something more serious that will require treatment to resolve. Any blood in the stool should immediately be discussed with your vet, even if no other symptoms are present.
Diarrhoea and diet
Diarrhoea is a common problem for cats. It will often resolve in a day or so without any intervention. Some cats seem to develop diarrhoea periodically but are none the worse for it. If your cat’s digestive issues persist, though, you get her examined by your vet. Diarrhoea can cause dehydration and is often distressing for your pet; there may also be an underlying infection or food intolerance that needs to be addressed so your cat can recover.
If your cat is producing loose stools, there may be a number of causes. Diet is perhaps the most common. It’s important to feed your cat a good-quality, high-protein cat food, preferably a premium brand that uses rabbit or poultry as a primary ingredient. Avoid brands that contain a lot of vegetable ingredients, especially grains. Grains such as wheat or rice provide little or no useful nutrition — only empty calories. This includes “whole grains”.
Cats are not omnivores and they don’t require grain, whole or otherwise; far from being healthy, foods with a heavy emphasis on vegetable ingredients can cause digestive problems in cats. Keep in mind also that you should be feeding cat food to your cat and not food for humans or dogs (or other animals). Some cats go wild for dog food and most will beg for food off your plate. Unfortunately, dog food is not formulated for the feline digestive system and human food often disagrees with cats. Some of our food can be downright toxic, such as garlic or onions. A very common culprit is milk; while feeding milk to cats and kittens may be traditional, it’s generally a bad idea as cats are lactose intolerant once weaned.
Diarrhoea and other causes
Stomach complaints can cause your cat to suffer from diarrhoea. Causes can include food poisoning, poisoning by non-food items, and viral or bacterial infections. Sometimes your cat will recover from these naturally: once the toxins are excreted or the infection fought off, everything should eventually get back to normal. In other cases, you may need to take your cat to the vet. Seek medical attention for feline diarrhoea that is persistent or extreme, especially if there are other symptoms. If your cat has a bad stomach upset accompanied by lethargy, disorientation or refusal of food and drink, you should report her symptoms to the vet.
Your cat could be seriously ill. Another common cause of diarrhoea in cats, although generally not very severe, is stress: it’s very common for a cat to suffer diarrhoea when you move house or if she has to take a long trip. Again, this will usually resolve itself once everything has calmed down. The problem may reoccur if the stress is ongoing; common ongoing stressors include separation anxiety when the owner leaves for work each day, the presence of noisy, over-friendly or hostile pets in the same house, bullying by family members or situations involving a lot of upheavals, such as remodelling or construction in your building. Your vet will be able to help you with feline stress and anxiety; herbal or pheromone-based preparations may help.
Treatment for diarrhoea
A cat with diarrhoea can rapidly become dehydrated so ensuring that your pet gets enough fluid is a top priority. Feed her wet food with additional water mashed into it or give water from a syringe. Some people attempt to medicate their cat’s diarrhoea at home using herbal remedies such as slippery elm bark; I wouldn’t recommend this as herbal treatments aren’t standardised and you don’t always know what’s in them.
I’d also caution against another common home remedy: yoghurt. Adult cats are lactose intolerant. While plain yoghurt shouldn’t contain any lactose (the bacteria cultures in the yoghurt should have converted it all) some brands use an admixture of milk products such as cream or powdered milk to give their yoghurt a creamier flavour. This means that you could be feeding your cat something that actively irritates her gut and makes the diarrhoea worse rather than better. Giving your cat diarrhoea remedies for humans is a very bad idea — some are profoundly toxic to cats, while others could cause your cat to suffer from a dangerous degree of constipation.
If your cat’s diarrhoea doesn’t clear up by itself or if it tends to come back, you should seek help from your vet. Your vet may provide treatment to deal with an infection if one is present. If your cat is dehydrated, intravenous fluids may be prescribed. Your vet can help you uncover the underlying cause of persistent diarrhoea and tackle it so your cat can recover.