Type of scat ?

[Unreal_tk]

I went out shed hunting today and I found this. I am not very keen on scrapes yet so im not sure if its bobcat or coyote or maybe something else?





Thanks in advance!

[007pennpal]

Your pic is kinda far away so its hard to see, but it looks like bobcat to me.

[shoot4fur]

it is for sure a pile of crap!

[beardogger]

coyote ------cats bury their scat

[Unreal_tk]

Thanks for the input thus far. Its kinda smaller and broke up like bobcat scat but like beardogger says they usually bury it. It was found on a old road on a high point above a saddle. Perfect cat location as well. If I get back there tomorrow ill take a better picture. Any more input would be great!

[dwalton]

Who ever told you that they bury does not know much about bobcats. this may be different in different areas. I have only once seen where cats try to cover it like house cats do. They make a scratch first and then deposit scat on the scratch. I have seen a lot of scat that had no scratch by it. What is other peoples opinion on this. The picture you showed it is hard to see enough to tell what it is. Bobcat scat is usually segmented with fine rodent hair and small bones. Cat digestive tracts do not digest the bones as canines do. It will not have plant material [berry, grass, nuts] as canines do. A bobcat feeding on deer will have a black soft feces. It all depends on the area and main food source of the bobs. Dewey

[South Texan]

Mr. Dewey,
Like you said, cat scat here in south Texas is 99% of the time not buried.

Often the cat scat is eaten by the dogs as you are road hunting. Most of the time, by watching the dogs eat it, it seems to have a chewy texture to it.

Road hunting one morning I had a guy with me that had never cat hunted before. I seen one of the dogs eating cat scat. He asked "What is he eating?" I told him "cat scat". He then asked "How do you know?" I told him, as the dog was eating it "See how chewy it is, that's cat scat." He looked at me kinda funny like he wanted to ask "What does it taste like?" I had to grin. Robbie

[dwalton]

Robbie: Have you ever seen dogs eat coyote scat? I have not. Just wondering about others opinion. Dewey

[Unreal_tk]

Thanks for the information. I learned alot by this topic already. I have seen just scat without a scratch a couple times, the couple of scratchs in the snow I've found I didn't root around to look at the scat. I know next year I will take a better look. I will try to get back to those droppings tomorrow if the weather clears.

EDIT: I blew up one pic to make it easier to see.

[South Texan]

Mr. Dewey,
No, I have never seen my dogs eat any other scat, just cat scat.

Often wondered if it is only cat dogs that eat cat scat or would any dog eat it? My cat dogs seem to be the only ones I have noticed to do this, but I spend a lot more time with them, than the other dogs. Also wondered what makes them like it and not any other scat. Maybe the things a cat eats makes it taste better to them, I don't know. Robbie

[mark]

I have never seen mine eat coyote scat or fresher cat scat. Will your dogs eat the fresher cat scat?

[dwalton]

My dogs will pick up and eat cat scat. Always have for as long as I can remember having cat dogs. Dewey

[South Texan]

Mark,
Sometimes they will eat the fresher cat scat and other times they want. They seem to like the more dried out scat the best.

Last year the dogs started a cat off of the scat. I saw them go to whipping and popping their tails and knew it was a cat. I had a young dog that started eating it and before I could get out of the truck and to the scat the young dog eat it all up. But... there was still a few tumble bugs on the ground there where the cat scat was. As dry as it was here last year for the dogs to be able to work on the trail and evidence of the tumble bugs I know that scat was pretty fresh. Robbie

[007pennpal]

Yep, blown up it looks like bobcat scat.