Any Animal Faeces Experts Here?

Wheelnut

Can anybody identify what animal would have dropped the faeces shown in the photos below? I found them on the top of a 4" garden wall at the back of the house. The wall is about 4 ft high. It's obviously not a cat or a dog and it's too big to be a bird. So what sort of animal would climb up on a wall to do its business? (apart from the human animal).

I'm a bit concerned about this because wild mink were spotted at a river about 400 metres away and I'm worried that they may be coming around the house.

...and a secondary question: I have a rat-baiting point near this location, would a mink take rat poison and would it kill him?

Rainbowsend

No expert by any means, but it looks very fatty/greasy as far as I know foxes scat is pointed at both ends and this looks very blunt, badgers would be very dark almost black, but I suppose that depends on what it has been eating. Dont know much about mink but looks a bit big for mink!

Trizo

Wheelnut wrote: »

Can anybody identify what animal would have dropped the faeces shown in the photos below? I found them on the top of a 4" garden wall at the back of the house. The wall is about 4 ft high. It's obviously not a cat or a dog and it's too big to be a bird. So what sort of animal would climb up on a wall to do its business? (apart from the human animal).

I'm a bit concerned about this because wild mink were spotted at a river about 400 metres away and I'm worried that they may be coming around the house.

...and a secondary question: I have a rat-baiting point near this location, would a mink take rat poison and would it kill him?

Im no expert but i have a book that is pretty good at identifying these things,Most carnavours droppings turn white (bone content) so if you wait to see if this happens. mink and polecat droppings are usually twisted and pointed at the ends as well as its contents usually having fur,feathers and bone fragments(berries too) so check for that. why do you belive it not to be a cat ?

doctor evil

Could be a fox, they have been known to poop on the of walls (and even cars!) to mark their territory. With the rubbish they can eat and the cr*p people leave out for them the poop could be different.

I don't believe it is a cat as a cat feels very insecrue while relieving itself hence it tends to have its back to something and also buries (unless sick v old etc)

210

If it was more black I would suspect a pheasant but not sure about the colour in your photos although it depends on what they are eating. A pheasant would roost & leave deposits very hapily on a wall. Have you seen any pheasants arround ?

Wheelnut

The colour as it appears on the screen is very accurate. I am keeping an eye on it but there is no sign of any white appearing in it, so that may rule out a carnivour (good point Trizo!). I have not seen any pheasants close to the house and I don't think it's a cat because they usually bury their stuff. Thanks for all the help so far, I've learned one or two things already even though I've not found the answer.

doctor evil

If it was a pheasant wouldn't it not have the white streak in it? birds dispel pee as uric acid which is the bit part of their scat.

Connacht

Looks like a domestic animal to me. Not a mink, as that would be black, thinner, more like tar. Not a fox, as that would have hair in it and be twisted at one end. Colour wise, a fox's can vary from almost completely white to pretty dark, almost black. Not a pine marten or otter either (not that it would be, on the top of a wall like that). Sorry, in my opinion, that is.

fryup

are we avoiding the obvious here.....dog sh1t ?

recedite

I hope that's not my measuring tape you were using there.

Eddie B

Well you can rule out fox, badger, mink, and pheasant!
Im thinking cat!

sineadgalway

looks a lot like cat/small dog to me...

Wheelnut

There is only one other house close to ours, they have a dog and we don't, but neither of us have a cat. I know the habits of that dog and they don't include climbing up on 4ft walls to have a poo. (he's small and he couldn't jump that high)

The reason I asked for opinions is because it's on top of a narrow 4ft high wall and there are really no domestic animals that can fall under suspicion, so I concluded it must be something wild.

Just to update Trizo's suggestion, it has not turned white so the animal does not seem to be a carnivour.

kildare.17hmr

If there are mink so close it could very well be that. Mink do there business on stones and rocks usually

wildlifeman

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/mammal-forums/33488-mink-spraint.html

Wheelnut

Thanks Wildlifeman, that site seems to point towards mink. When they refer to it being "heavily twisted" I presume they mean something like in my photos. However there was no strong smell from the faeces on my wall.

Eddie B

Wheelnut wrote: »

There is only one other house close to ours, they have a dog and we don't, but neither of us have a cat. I know the habits of that dog and they don't include climbing up on 4ft walls to have a poo. (he's small and he couldn't jump that high)

The reason I asked for opinions is because it's on top of a narrow 4ft high wall and there are really no domestic animals that can fall under suspicion, so I concluded it must be something wild.

Just to update Trizo's suggestion, it has not turned white so the animal does not seem to be a carnivour.

Just because neither of you own a cat that doesn't mean it's not belong to one!
Cat's can roam a considerable distance during the night whilst hunting and can come and go from gardens without anyone noticing them, well, apart from leaving a big cat s**t on your wall!:D
My money's still on cat!

Terrier

This is mink sh!t ... on my local river!