What animal left this scat?

[Dakota Slim]

Asking for a friend. In the Yuma area...

 

Edited October 10, 2021 by Dakota Slim

[Mike C...]

Just a guess-Tortice ??? 

[Bedrock Bob]

If it was in a shed on top of a shelf I'd say it was ringtail. If it was on my front porch in a flower pot I'd say the cat is sick.

Is that undigested vegetable matter or fur? Are there bones in it? Insect parts? Seeds?

Where was it found? (In a shed, out in the desert, under your pillow, etc.)

It could be about any small animal. We need more info.

You know the drill Slim.  Streak, hardness, specific gravity, close up of the matrix. It's the same with turds. You must look closely and identify what the animal ate to guess what animal it is. It's tough to tell what's in a turd from a photo.

Rub it under the toilet tank lid and post a photo of the streak. 

 

[Dakota Slim]

43 minutes ago, Bedrock Bob said:

If it was in a shed on top of a shelf I'd say it was ringtail. If it was on my front porch in a flower pot I'd say the cat is sick.

Is that undigested vegetable matter or fur? Are there bones in it? Insect parts? Seeds?

Where was it found? (In a shed, out in the desert, under your pillow, etc.)

It could be about any small animal. We need more info.

You know the drill Slim.  Streak, hardness, specific gravity, close up of the matrix. It's the same with turds. You must look closely and identify what the animal ate to guess what animal it is. It's tough to tell what's in a turd from a photo.

Rub it under the toilet tank lid and post a photo of the streak. 

 

Somebody said it was your dinner Bob. 

[Bedrock Bob]

17 hours ago, Dakota Slim said:

Somebody said it was your dinner Bob. 

I thought you really wanted to identify it Slim. I didn't realize you were just looking for trouble. 

You aren't a very happy person are you Slim? You can't post $h!t without getting upset about it. 

[Dakota Slim]

2 hours ago, Bedrock Bob said:

I thought you really wanted to identify it Slim. I didn't realize you were just looking for trouble. 

You aren't a very happy person are you Slim? You can't post $h!t without getting upset about it. 

You know the drill Bob.  Streak, hardness, specific gravity, close up of the matrix. It's the same with turds. You must look closely and identify what the animal ate to guess what animal it is. It's tough to tell what's in a turd from a photo.

Rub it under the toilet tank lid and post a photo of the streak. 

[DarkSilicate]

coyote

 

[Dakota Slim]

52 minutes ago, DarkSilicate said:

coyote

 

After discussing the situation with the lucky finders of this scat, it turns out that it was found in their back yard which has a pool and is enclosed by a 6' wall. Wile-E-Coyote and the roadrunner could have gotten over the wall but it was more likely left by a feral cat. They said they found a dead bird in their yard a few days earlier.

[Bedrock Bob]

It looks like this mystery has been solved.

Thanks for posting Slim! 

[Dakota Slim]

The homeowner just got back to me. She wrote "Looked up Bobcat scat...believe that is what it is."

Edited October 16, 2021 by Dakota Slim

[Bedrock Bob]

You identify scat from the contents of the turd. Not really from the shape.

Without knowing what is in the turd you are just guessing. If guessing is good enough then groovy. Otherwise you need to break it apart and at least determine if the animal was omnivorous. That is basic scatology 101.

Identifying scat is just like identifying a rock. It is fairly easy to determine what it is if you know what it is made of. 

The turd could be any small carnivore or omnivore. Without an attempt to identify it properly any guess is as good as the next. 

Yes, it looks like bobcat poop. It also looks like skunk poop. Ringtail poop. Dog poop. Cat poop. Raccoon poop. Coyote poop... You determine what left the poop by analyzing the contents. The only difference between turds is what the animal ate and was able to digest.

[clay]

Pictures of scat will tell you less than pictures of rocks. Smell and taste. Everything else is just guessing.

[Bedrock Bob]

15 minutes ago, clay said:

Pictures of scat will tell you less than pictures of rocks. Smell and taste. Everything else is just guessing.

I was slowly working up to that Clay.

But yeah. Exactly.

 

 

 

[Dakota Slim]

25 minutes ago, clay said:

Pictures of scat will tell you less than pictures of rocks. Smell and taste. Everything else is just guessing.

Bob (hereinafter referred to as "Bobcat Bob") said he was working up to that. Apparently didn't want to come out and admit that's what he does. 

[Bedrock Bob]

Actually Slim I think it is ringtail. Do you see how the turds are folded in half? Ringtail (sometimes) have long turds folded in half like that. Also the tapered ends. Ringtail hate it when their butt hole slams shut. So their turds are always tapered. 

Cat poop is usually one big one and one little one. They stay regular. But ringtail only poop once every few days. They have long colons and their turds are longer in proportion to their diameter. So they leave several "v" shaped turds like that. So do skunks. Especially if they eat little animals with fur and bones that reinforce their little poops.

It's a lot longer in proportion than the average cat crap. And whatever is holding it together does not look like a purely carnivorous matrix like a bobcat. It looks more omnivorous like a ringtail or a skunk. Or a lactose intolerant raccoon.

Just my two cents. It can be whatever kind of poop you want to believe it is. But it looks like ringtail or skunk or something to me. And that is probably more likely than bobcat in a residential area.