Coprophagia (Stool Eating) in Pets: Primary Causes and Potential Solutions

What is Coprophagia?

Coprophagia is a behavior of animals eating their own stool and digesting the content a second time. While it is a common practice in certain domestic animals, such as rabbits that is often considered the representative species, it is also seen regularly in dogs and cats - our beloved four-legged friends. Rats and mice also express the behavior. In the case of rabbits, the stool pellets are a bit softer than the regular ones to re-ingest, but which mostly come out in the night. Dogs, however, do not eat soft, poorly formed stools or diarrhea that much at all, and are attracted mostly to harder but fresh stools. Mothers with puppies have a greater tendency, but its where some stool eating might be expected and considered normal.

Dogs often eat other animal’s stool, which can be considered normal, but equally repulsive nonetheless, particularly when that happens in our households. Since having both dogs and cats as pets is quite common, there is a greater possibility of a dog attracted to other dogs or cats’ feces. In fact, their eating or playing with their buddies’ poops, not just theirs may be even more prevalent. For the pet parents, it does not make a bit of difference whether your dog or cat is eating its own poop or someone else. You just need to address the behavior and stop them from doing it again.

Coprophagia vs Pica

Sometimes, animals also eat other non-food items, such as dirt, wood, soap, rocks, ropes, or such other items. It is known as pica and often reflective of some nutritional deficiency, mostly certain minerals but can also be due to other reasons, such as anxiety, boredom, etc. Pets may vomit upon eating such objects or face internal issues in the digestive system too. Although the terms pica and coprophagia should not be understood similarly and can have potentially different underlying causes, it is reported that dogs with pica engage in coprophagy more than their healthy counterparts (Boze, 2010).

Healthy or Not So Much

Coprophagia is a normal, healthy behavior in rabbits, but it is not so much in dogs and cats. It should always be prevented or discouraged in our pets due to the lack of known health benefits and the mess it can create around the house not to mention the disgust felt by the owners. While the habit may itself have some evolutionary and survival reasons in times of food scarcity, it can not be considered a normal behavior in modern times due to the quality and quantity of food as well as the care available for our pets in many American homes. Once noticed, it is prudent to address the potential causes and help them avoid from doing that ever again.  

Extent and Prevalence

In a recent study with a rather large number of dogs (>3000), Hart et al. (2018) found that ~23% were eating their own stool. Of those 23%, 16% of dogs were reported to eat stools ≥6 times (referred to as frequent stool eaters), whereas another >7% were reported to eat 1-5 times. Of the frequent stool eaters, almost 80% were seen eating stools greater than 10 times. However, another study with 73 dogs showed almost 43% being coprophagic (Amaral et al., 2018). Although there does not appear to be a scientific study about the issue in cats, prevalence is not as common in them. Underlying causes and potential solutions is thought to be quite similar.  

In another peer reviewed scientific article, Boze (2008) reported 28.5% of dogs to be coprophagic, while 49% of them to have attempted to eat feces at some point in time. Boze (2008) also showed that while most effective form of stopping the behavior was limiting the access to the stool itself, dietary supplements that contained only a few components described below were found to be somewhat effective as well. None of those supplements had all the necessary components.

Potential Causes

There are several possible reasons as to why pets eat their own and that of their buddies’ feces or other non-food items. Some of those reasons include digestive issues, malnutrition, vitamin or mineral deficiency, insufficient food, etc. Some medical conditions, such as diabetes, thyroid disease, etc. can also lead to this not so pleasant behavior. Similarly, parasites, too can cause this repulsive habit. Finally, environmental stresses, such as isolation, anxiety, excessive confinement, etc. can lead to developing this abnormal condition as well.

Within the probable causes related to diet and nutrition, excessive amount of carbohydrates is believed to be one of the factors (Kronfield, 1973; McKeown, 1988). This is related more to the dry, kibble-based diets that contain not only high levels of carbohydrates, but those carbohydrates are highly processed too rendering the food rather low quality. Diets with below average digestibility and low-fiber contents have all been suggested to promote coprophagic behavior (Debraekeleer et al., 2010; 2000). This is not surprising since such diets are rather poor in quality and the pet may be trying to compensate their nutrient requirement from the poop.

Another factor that is often associated with coprophagy is thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. In a study with beagle dogs, coprophagia was observed when they were fed a diet deficient in thiamine (Head and Harrington, 1981). In fact, fecal matter is relatively high in thiamine because of all the bacteria excreted in the feces and the animal is likely trying to compensate at least part of their B1 need from the stool.  

Commercial Products on Coprophagia: Characteristics, Forms, and Delivery

There are probably more than a dozen and half commercial products aiming to help your pets from eating their own stool. Several of them are available as powders, several in tablet form, and several as soft chews. Regardless, there are certain characteristics that define a great product from a mediocre one. They include viable probiotics (spore forming Bacillus species are far superior to vegetative Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, or Bifidobacterium species), prebiotics, enzymes, certain B-vitamins, and specific herbs that change the taste of their poop and make that unpalatable to them. While there are some other components that add value, they are not as critical.

As with all other products, no coprophagia products are not created equal. Some even lack the basic ingredients and components, while others contain only a few that are slightly useful, and yet others do not even mention what and how much active ingredients they contain. Only a very few products contain all the essential components in the right amount.

A point worth noting is how convenient it is to administer. With powders, it is quite easy as you can just top dress or spread over any food given to your pets at any time. However, pet owners may need to buy a separate product, commonly known as pill hiders or pill pockets, to administer tablets as dogs and cats are notorious for taking tablets. Chews also are convenient, but they are usually fed separately.

Comparison of Dietary Supplements Related to Coprophagia

Science4Pets’ No Coprophagia - No Eating Stool not only contains all the critical components from natural sources, but also in amounts sufficient to actually provide the real solution to pet owners’ not so pleasant problem. One of its critical feature is the inclusion of two different species of spore-forming probiotics, Bacillus coagulans and Bacillus subtilis as opposed to much inferior vegetative probiotic species of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Enterococcus that are used by almost 95% of the industry. All of these vegetative species are not even stable to stomach acid, thus products with these species alone may not actually help your dogs and cats establish the optimum digestive health essential for preventing coprophagia. Of all the No Coprophagia products, it is only that of Science4Pets’ No Coprophagia - No Eating Stool that contains two spore-forming probiotic species.

Another important component of no coprophagia products is certain B-vitamins, which is lacking in most products. Similarly, many do not contain appropriate enzymes, while others are missing in prebiotics; both being essential for establishing the proper digestive health and gut environment critical for preventing your pets from diving into the yucky stuff. Finally, there are certain Ayurvedic and other herbs that will make the taste of their stool quite unpleasant, while also adding value to the product in freshening the breath and soothing the digestive system.

Table 1 provides the details about most of the products available in the market for dealing with coprophagia in your pets. It also includes their size and price. The price, size, and characteristics were based mostly on the info available on the product label posted on Amazon.  

Table 1. Comparative No Coprophagia - No Eating Stool - Supplements for Pets

 Summary

Coprophagia is a relatively common issue found in pets, more so in dogs than cats. Underlying causes may vary, but one such causes is related to diet and nutrition. Regardless, the issue should not be considered normal in modern times except probably with nursing mothers. Of the several potential intervention approaches, providing a properly formulated supplement, be it as powder or chews, that contains all the critical components, including probiotics, prebiotics, B-vitamins, enzymes, and specific herbs among them, for stopping the habit would most likely be beneficial for your pets. While Science4Pets’ No Coprophagia – No Eating Stool is a unique product like no other, you may want to do your own research and compare their real quality before putting your complete trust on any.   

References

Amaral, A.R, Hayasaki Porsani, M.Y., Martins, P.O., Teixeira, F.A., Macedo, H.T., Pedrinelli, V., Annibale Vendramini, T.H., Brunetto, M.A. (2018) Canine coprophagic behavior is influenced by coprophagic cohabitant. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 28:35-39.

Boze, B. (2008). A Comparison of Common Treatments for Coprophagy in Canis familiaris. Journal of Applied Companion Animal Behavior, 2:22-28.

Boze, B.G. (2010). Correlates of Coprophagy in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) as Assessed by Owner Reports. Journal of Applied Companion Animal Behavior, 4: 28– 38.

Debraekeleer, J., Gross, K.L., and Zicker, S.C. (2000). Normal dogs. In: Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 4th Edition (Hand, M.S., Thatcher, C.D., Remillard, R.L., Roudebush, P., eds), Mark Morris Institute, Topeka, KS:213-260.

Debraekeleer, J., Gross, K.L., and Zicker, S.C. (2010). Feeding young adult dogs: before middle age. In: Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 5th Edition (Hand, M.S., Thatcher, C.D., Remillard, R.L., Roudebush, P., Novotny, B.J., eds), Mark Morris Institute, Topeka, KS:257-272.

Hart, B.L., Hart, L.A., Thigpen, A.P., Tran, A. and Bain, M.J (2018). The paradox of canine conspecific coprophagy. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 4:106–114.

Head, D.H. and Harrington, D.D. (1981). Experimentally induced thiamine deficiency in beagle dogs: clinical observations. American Journal of Veterinary Research, 42:984-991.

Kronfeld, D.S. (1973). Diet and the performance of racing sled dogs. Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association, 162: 470- 473.

McKeown, C. (1988). Coprophagia: food for thought. Canadian Veterinary Journal, 29: 849-850.