To Rebecca:
 
>This started about a week ago.  Buster's poop has begun to smell really
>awful.  It's not runny or anything.  It still has shape and is solid...
>about?
 
    Well, a change in the smell of the feces in certain instances can
signify a problem, bu tit is usally associated with other GI signs.  For me,
the most disttinctive smell in feces is the presence of blood.  When a
ferret is passing a foreign object, the last couple of bowel movements will
smell very different because of the blood.  I worked for several weeks in
the parvo ward back in veterinary schools, and I'll never forget the smell
of bloody stool.
 
    Feces that are inproperly digested will have a rather rancid smell, but
it is fairly difficult to pick up unless you ahe some clinical suspicions.
 
     At this point, with no GI signs, I'd stay alert, bu not be overly
worried.
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
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Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1397]