Mystery animal pooing all over my garden and porch, help!

[Confuzzeled]

My dh thinks it's a cat but I don't think so, we own a cat and her poop has never looked like this.

It's like black oil and it's spread all over the place like an animal has the squits and is just pooping as it walks.

This has been going on since August, we've even used tiger poop but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

Another clue is that there is a vennel between our and our neighbours house. The poop goes all the way through this. There is a gate with a gap about 2.5" high below it. I don't think a cat could fit under this. Also cats don't tend to poop on concrete and this is all around our front and back door and through the vennel.

Any ideas?

Oh, we live in the city, I guess it's quite suburban though and loads of woods and green spaces near by.

A large bird?
A fox?
A badger?

nickytwotimes - A large bird?

Conjuring up a picture of wild ostrich roaming the streets in the wee small hours. And singling out Confuzzeled's garden.

Love it.

We have foxes poo round our garden (damn them) but it's not black and oily.

Oooh, what a mystery.

Doesn't sound like a fox- their poo looks like a white-ish twisted rag and badgers tend to dig shallow earth pits to do their business and it looks pretty similar to a dogs poo.

Am intrigued as to what it could be...

He He He, yes it is a mystery, a very sticky one

I don't think it's a bird because it's through the vennel which is like a tunnel and the birds don't tend to go near it. It's also trailed around on the ground like an animal has been dragging it's bum.

Snurk at ostrich!

I was thinking wood pigeon or summat.

SUrely there must be a poo identifying guide somewhere?

The solution to getting rid of foxes is either the big cat poo (that you've tried) or getting the man of the house to wee around the garden!

Not sure if it works with other animals tho...

could it be a raccoon?

do you even have raccoons in england ?

haa haa no, no racoons in Britain

Did Google stoat, weasel and mink poo but they don't look oily either (was thinking of small wild beasties that could fit through the small gap)

No racoons in Scotland I don't think

I'm off to search for a poop identifier on google

Give us a link if you find one!

Are they small patches of 'black oil'? If so, it is a hedgehog.
We had a family of hedgehogs living under our hedge (too cute, ds used to feed them hulahoops in the evening) and their poop was just like you have described.

hippi, your konwledge of animal poo is second to none.

hahaha sorry, i'm from the deep wood in minnesota.....

it was worth a shot

Ugh - I've just googled hedgehog poo pictures. Yuck.

Might be the right one though.

Yup Hippi it is small patches.

I love the idea of having hedgehogs but hate having to clean the black oily patches every time we want to use our garden. My dd is 2 and she touches everything.

Sorry about the clear - up though. We were lucky, only a few patches on the patio, the rest under the hedge and shrubs so not too much to worry about.

By the end of the summer we only had one left (next door's garden has a fox burrow, coincidence?) and that one would come to the patio in the evening adn if you sat very still you could place a hula hoop on the floor near your feet and the hoghedge would come and munch it.

Oh well done Hippi! [bows to the greater knowledge of poo]

I was going to say hedgehogs though I don'y have first hand experience of it!

Hippi, I'm pleased to hear that we now have a MN poop expert! (will you restrict your advive to small animals and does that include small humans?

oooh, x posted.

Humans? Human poop? Would I have to look at it?

Mystery solved, well done Daphne (not velma)

Only small baby stuff!

Oi! Lady! You have dropped something

Babystuff is fine, quite cute even!
(did I really just say that??)