Someone recently posted asking for a "chart" on stool appearance and what
it means.  Here's some info I obtained from my Wildife Rehabilitation List.
Sorry, I can't credit the author.  I just kept the body of the post.
 
COLOR:
Yellow or greenish - indicates rapid transit (small bowel)
Black, tarry - indicates bleeding in the upper digetive tract
Bloody - red blood or clots indicate bleeding in the colon
Pasty, light colored - indicates lack of bile (liver disease)
Large, gray, rancid smelling - indicates inadequate digestion or
absorption (malabsorption symdrome)
 
CONSISTENCY:
Watery - indicates small bowel wall irritation (toxins and severe
infections)
Foamy - suggests a bacterial infection
Greasy - often with oil on the hair around the anus; indicates
malabsorption
Excessive mucus - a glistening or jelly like appearance indicates
colonic origin
 
ODOR (the more watery the stool, the greater the odor):
Foodlike or smelling like sour milk - suggests both rapid transit and
malabsorption; for example, overfeeding
Putrid - suggests an intestinal infection
 
FREQUENCY:
Several in an hour, each small, with straining - suggests inflammation
of the large bowel
Three or four times daily, each large - suggests malabsorption or small
bowel disorder
Diarrhea which persists for several days or longer suggests a chronic
ailment such as colitis, parasite infestation, or malabsorption
syndrome.  Diarrhea is a symptom, not a disease.
 
Hope this is helpful.
Katharine
[Posted in FML issue 3023]