Free tool
Stool score checker
Vets score poop from 1 (hard pellets) to 7 (water). A 2 is ideal. Pick the shape closest to what you saw and read what it can mean.
What the scale is
The 7-point fecal scoring scale is the one most clinics and pet food researchers use to describe consistency without arguing about words. It runs from very hard and dry (1) to watery with no texture (7), and it mostly reflects how much water is in the stool. A score of 2 is the target: firm but not hard, a little pliable, segmented, easy to pick up, and it leaves little or nothing behind. A 3 is still fine for many pets. Scores of 4 and 5 are soft stool; 6 and 7 are diarrhea.
Consistency is the thing that changes first when something is off, often a day before color or appetite does. That is why the PoopScout app leads with the score, and why keeping a note of your pet's usual score makes a change easy to spot.
How to score a poop
- Look at the whole thing, not the softest bit. Diarrhea sometimes follows a hard mass; score what is typical of the pile.
- Fresh is best. Poop dries out and firms up within hours outside.
- Score the shape and how it behaves when picked up: does it hold, leave residue, lose its form?
- Compare with your pet's normal, not with a textbook. A dog whose usual is a 3 has not changed if today is a 3.
Try it
Not sure whether the score means a vet call? The should I call the vet check combines the score with how your pet is acting and anything else you noticed.
When a score becomes a vet call
- 1, with straining, soreness or no poop for 2 to 3 days: Call your vet today. A cat straining with nothing coming out is Call a vet now.
- 4 or 5 for more than 2 days, or with vomiting, blood or low energy: Call your vet today.
- 6 lasting more than a day, or in a puppy or kitten, or with vomiting or blood: Call your vet today. A lot of blood, or a young pet who is also vomiting or tired, is now.
- 7: Call your vet today and keep fresh water available. Repeated watery stool, blood, vomiting, weakness, or a puppy, kitten or unvaccinated dog is Call a vet now.
For what to feed and how long to wait, read dog diarrhea or cat diarrhea. For the other end of the scale, the constipation guides cover dogs and cats.
Sources
The seven descriptors follow the widely used fecal scoring system published by a major pet nutrition research group and hosted by the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center; the verdicts follow VCA Animal Hospitals, Cornell Feline Health Center and the Merck Veterinary Manual. Each linked guide names its sources in full.
Questions
What is a normal stool score for a dog?
A 2: firm but not hard, segmented, easy to pick up, leaving little behind. A 3 (softer, holds its shape, leaves a mark) is still fine for many dogs. What matters most is a change from your dog's usual.
What is a normal stool score for a cat?
Also a 2. Cat poop is typically darker, drier and smaller than dog poop, so a 1 to 2 range is common, especially on dry food. Hard pellets with straining, or no poop for two days, is a call.
My dog's poop starts firm and ends soft. What score is that?
Score the typical part of the pile, and note the soft ending. A firm start with a soft finish is common with large-intestine irritation (colitis) and with a diet change. If it keeps happening, or there is mucus or blood, call your vet.
Is a score of 7 an emergency?
On its own, in a bright adult, it is a same-day call and a reason to keep water available. It becomes Call a vet now if it keeps coming, has blood in it, comes with vomiting or weakness, or your pet is a puppy, a kitten or a dog who is not fully vaccinated.