Instructions
Check the feces for consistency. Gastrointestinal illnesses typically show in extremely soft or runny diarrhea. Hard feces could indicate dehydration or megacolon, conditions that need veterinary treatment to overcome, says Dr. Holly Nash of PetEducation.com.
Note the color of your cat's feces. Red blood in the stool points toward lower intestinal disease, while dark brown or black feces may be a sign of internal bleeding or liver disease.
Look in the hair around your cat's anus and in the feces for tapeworm segments, which resemble small, rice-like pellets that move if they are still alive, advises Dr. Nash. Kittens heavily infested with roundworms may pass whole worms in their stool.
Smell the stool. Some pancreatic diseases cause fats not to be absorbed by the body, creating particularly malodorous feces, reports Ohio's Seville Animal Hospital. Intestinal infections generated by bacteria, viruses or parasites can also result in smelly stool.
How to Detect Illness in Cat Feces
Veterinarians typically examine a cat's feces as a diagnostic tool in determining certain illnesses. Because the body removes toxins, minerals and nutrients out of the body in stool, veterinary professionals use a series of tests to detect problems in the feces, according to veterinarians Dennis McCurnin and Joanna Bassert in "Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians." Learning what to look for in your litter box at home enables you to get prompt veterinary treatment if your cat becomes ill.