Let’s talk poop
A lot of people get really concerned when they transition their cats to the natural diet, that their cat is constipated because they are used to seeing huge kibble and canned food stools. Raw fed stool is tiny in comparison to these big bulky stools you might be used to. Don’t worry, that is exactly how it should be!
The reason for this is with the canned and kibble and other cooked foods there is so much unusable waste matter in the food that the poop is full of bulk waste. This is also why your kibble and canned food fed cats (and dogs) poop always smells awful. On the natural diet, their stool should have little to no odor because everything usable is being digested, rather than fermented and putrefied by bacteria. The odor comes from the bacteria breaking down the indigestible materials in the processed commercial foods – in other words, all the toxic junk they put in those foods leads to lots of bacterial waste that stinks!
With the raw natural food, the body can use the majority of the material coming in. This means there is very little left over to be eliminated, creating small stool. The reason the stool is dry and crumbly is that most of what’s left over in the waste is broken-down bone, which is used like we use fiber by the cat’s body. This is what we want to see: all the protein being used, and most of the bone being used, and the body only pushing out the excess of bone with little to no odors.
Your cat’s stool should be small and gray or whitish in color. Once it has had some time to dry out in the litterbox it should be easy to crumble and turn to powder.

What color should my cat’s stool be?
Most of the time cat’s stool will be a pale gray, and when it dries, it will be more white. But if you have liver or other organ meats in the meal, it will sometimes be a bit darker, light brown to dark brown. It’s fine if you are seeing a darker shade than the photo above!
What if their stool is black or very dark brown?
Black stool can be old waste being eliminated. If your cat was originally fed cooked or processed foods before returning to their natural diet, they will have old, dried-out waste stuck in the digestive tract, which will be eliminated over time the longer they are on their natural foods. This old dry waste needs to be rehydrated before the body can eliminate it. This is why it comes out slowly, bit by bit and can occasionally cause some slow downs and constipation.
Black stool can occasionally be a cause for concern. Tarry stool, which is stool that looks like coffee grounds, can be an indication of internal bleeding. If you see stool that is black in color and also looks like coffee grounds, you may need to get your cat to the vet. If you suspect your cat has eaten something non-edible, then get an X-ray as quickly as you can to check for internal bleeding.
What if their stool has red blood in it?
Red blood means irritation of the colon or anus. This is rarely a cause for concern, it just means that something irritating has passed through, causing some small abrasions. But, whenever we see red blood in the stool, it is always best to fast for a day or two. This digestive break allows time for the body to repair any small abrasions and keeps the digestive tract from becoming chronically irritated. Sometimes old waste being eliminated by the body can be irritating to the tissues, so giving the body a bit of a break to rest after eliminating something irritating is always beneficial.
If you are seeing red blood in the stool frequently though, this can be an indication that something is wrong in your feeding routine. Check the feeding guide to make sure you are not missing anything – https://www.therawkey.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Natural-Cat-Diet-Quick-Start-Guide-March-2023.pdf or join our facebook group for troubleshooting and support – https://www.facebook.com/groups/naturaldogdiet
Have more questions? Need one on one help getting started or troubleshooting feeding or healing issues? I offer consultations here: https://www.therawkey.com/consultations/