View Full Version : Worried...about my cat
ckelley116
11-01-20, 19:09
Yes, I know how silly that sounds. But I just found a drop of wet red blood, about the size of a dime, on the floor in front of his litter box. I wiped it up and there didn’t seem to be any fecal matter, just a bit of mucus (I didn’t touch it, but I could tell from the way it reacted with the paper towel). He appears to be acting normally, as vocal and playful as always, and I’ve refrained so far from actually digging into the litter box to see if there’s anything in there. I know in the human body bright red blood is typically a sign of something benign, but I have no idea how a cat’s digestive system works. Trying not to catastrophize and rush him to the emergency vet. He’s an indoor cat and has always been healthy but I hate to think of him sick or in pain 🙁
My husband swears he didn’t cut himself and I know it’s not from me. The litter box is in the laundry room and no one’s been in there today but me. Has anyone else experienced this with a cat?
I've had it once in my cat when it had a very bad food intolerance and bowel inflammation - the blood was mixed with mucous and diahorrea (sp?) when it occured.
I’ve refrained so far from actually digging into the litter box to see if there’s anything in there.
I think that honestly should be the first thing that you do, the vet will want to know if you do need to take your cat in what the other poos are like. I think you are best placed to know your cat, and its behaviour, more than anybody else. So, I think monitor very closely and watch when he/ she uses the litter tray ? I think I would also check the cat all over visually, paws and underneath and anywhere a small cut could have come from. Let us know what you find/see.....
Dying_Swan
11-01-20, 19:24
Hi. I've suffered plenty of cat anxiety in the past so if you're silly, so am I. Do you think it was definitely from his rear end, or could it have been urine? Reason I ask is it's not uncommon for cats to have crystals in their urine, or "feline idiopathic cystitis". One of my female cats had it and peed bright red blood. I probably would have a root through the litter to check, as it can be more of a problem for male cats. When mine had it, she kept going to the litter tray a peeing tiny amounts. It was easily treated with a special food. If you think it's from the rear end, have you recently changed cat food? My cat has allergies and twice poo'd red blood after a diet change. It could also be something really simple like a little cut on his paw. I'd say check him over, look at how he's behaving, and get him checked by the vet if you're worried x
Another scenario: Just like humans, cats can bleed when they poop. Straining can cause this if their poop is very hard. They can also get hemorrhoids just like humans. If you see the blood continue, take your fur baby to the vet and the vet can examine his rectum and take a poop sample. Older cats often need stool softeners just like older humans :)
ckelley116
11-01-20, 20:57
Thanks, guys 🙂 I just scooped his litter box and found a poo that seemed to be about the same “age” as the blood, but it looked normal. I didn’t find any blood or anything unusual in or anywhere else around the box, only that one drop of blood. He’s also eating normally, having just howled for his afternoon bowl of wet food and he ate a normal amount. We haven’t changed his food, so I’m hoping it was a one-off kind of irritation. I’ll definitely keep an eye on him, but for now everything seems okay.
ckelley116
15-01-20, 00:14
Sitting at the vet waiting for the doctor. After a few days of normalcy he pooped blood again. Hoping my little guy is going to be okay.
Sitting at the vet waiting for the doctor. After a few days of normalcy he pooped blood again. Hoping my little guy is going to be okay.
Sending...
Positive thoughts
Please update us and let us know what happened. Poor lil guy :S
I hope its all ok.....have been thinking of you and your wee cat.
Thinking of you, and hoping all will be well.
Dying_Swan
15-01-20, 14:35
How did he get on? It's really alarming when they poo blood, but it can be something quite simple. I hope he and you are ok.
Yeah, I'm wondering too. I hope its just some sort of internal scratch or something ?!
ckelley116
15-01-20, 18:33
I don't know yet, unfortunately. I got him there (poor guy was so scared he peed in the carrier) and the vet said he seems generally healthy, but wanted to take some blood. But he was NOT having that, so they had to send us home without answers - but with sedatives that I have to give him before bringing him back tonight. They did run a test on the stool sample I brought with me and ruled out parasites, but there are still a host of other things it could be, including IBD, IBS, a food allergy, a reaction to something he ate and shouldn't have, lymphoma, etc.
If it was just the occasional soft stool, it wouldn't really concern me that much. It's the bloody mucus that's terrifying me. But I'm trying to comfort myself with the facts that it's intermittent, and even when it is happening he's still having no other issues. He's eating normally, pooping on schedule, has energy, and wants to play. Still, though, we were both so upset last night that I got about 3 hours of sleep and instead of sleeping on my bed with me like he usually does, he slept in a corner. Still in my room, but nowhere near me. Tonight will be a repeat, but hopefully we can get some answers. Thanks for all your support :)
Oh goodness, what a naughty boy he was ! LOL I so hope its something simple and easily rectified like food intolerances. Wishing you a better visit tonight.
Dying_Swan
15-01-20, 19:50
Keeping my fingers crossed for you too. I have to avoid giving my cat poultry, or she poos blood. She went through a phase of puking every Saturday too (bizarre), but eventually I found a suitable food and all seems ok. Her allergies didn't start until she was about 9. Hopefully it will be something like that. Thinking of you and your cat and hope you get answers soon.
ckelley116
15-01-20, 20:00
Oh that's interesting! A lot of his wet food does include chicken or turkey; I wonder if that's it. He's also in that age range (he's a rescue, so we don't know exactly how old he is, but a vet tech friend said he has the teeth of a cat who's younger than we thought he was, which leads us to believe that when we first got him he may have only just reached full-grownness, which would put him around 8. But he could be a bit older).
If it is IBD, or even intestinal lymphoma, signs point to it being in the early stages and both are treatable. I hate, HATE to admit that I've been Googling. Trying to think positive!
Dying_Swan
15-01-20, 21:29
I can understand the googling, but whatever it is it sounds like you've caught it early. It's hard to avoid poultry in pet food here, almost all the "normal" cat foods have chicken in. A vet told me that for that reason, poultry allergy is common in cats here, and said in New Zealand that lamb allergy is common as they use it a lot in cat food. I always swore I'd feed my cats on the cheapest food, but ended up with one on prescription food (for the cystitis), and now this one on her special poultry-free diet! The things we do for our pets. Fingers and paws crossed from here x
We had a similar issue with our boy. He started having diarrhea and very loose stools all the time. I didn't notice blood but he was obviously not feeling well based on his behavior. The vet did tests and all came back clear. He gave him a shot of B12 and recommended a kibble for sensitive stomachs. He gets raw chicken as his wet food. Our boy is a rare breed so I did a lot of research and asked around on the Facebook groups. We went with Royal Canin Sensitive stomach. After switching foods things resolved.
Just as an aside, as sweet and loving as our boy is, he turns into a wildcat at the vet (the breed comes from Red Coastal Bobcat). They have to sedate him in order to examine him. In the future, talk to your vet and keep a sedative handy in case you need to take him in.
Keeping my fingers crossed its nothing serious.
Positive thoughts
ckelley116
16-01-20, 01:29
Thanks, everyone! We’re home now. The sedative did the trick and he behaved long enough for a blood draw and urine sample. He came home and immediately went for his dry food bowl for a snack, then to his litter box where what came out looks perfectly normal. He’s grumpy now and wobbly from the sedative but I’m just glad it’s all over. Now I just wait for the vet to call with the results.
*keeping my fingers crossed*
MyNameIsTerry
16-01-20, 04:51
Glad to hear your cat is ok. The fact the vet said he was healthy is a good sign as is all the normality in his life.
When our dog was young he had one night where he was going the toilet constantly with lots of blood. He couldn't keep it in. We had to get him to emergency care. All it turned out to be was some sort of infection picked up and after some meds he was ok again. Since they spend so much time nosing around outside it can just be one of those things that happen to them through their lives just as coughs/colds/minor illness/infection tend to be for us.
My dog loves the vets though so he is very easy to get treated. While the other dogs are cowering behind their owners legs our dog is dragging us into the room because he just sees it as extra fussing! My GF's cats are nightmares so she would understand how traumatic it can be to get them there.
It may just be an infection or something minor like that.
Our dog is the same if he has had a sedative for an op. He will just sleep it off and wobble about a bit for a time and then he's back to normal again.
whispershadow
17-01-20, 15:17
I'm glad your cat is doing better now :hugs:
ckelley116
17-01-20, 15:34
I haven't heard anything from the vet yet. I was told I'd probably hear yesterday, possibly as early as yesterday morning, but so far, silence. After a traumatic couple of days he seemed completely back to normal yesterday - he ate all his dinner, we played pretty vigorously with his feather wand for a good 10 minutes (which is about how long he normally lasts until he gets bored), and everything in the litter box looked the way it should. I'm trying to subscribe to the "no news is good news" notion, but I'm also worried that maybe something came up and they're looking deeper into it before calling me to break the bad news. Is that just the anxiety talking?
My gut feeling is that you're probably okay, particularly if he's his useful boisterous self.
Last year my younger cat (18mos) came home a bit wobbly and by the next morning he'd lost all feeling in his rear half. Even the vet thought he was probably a goner. Luckily the wonderful people here kept me sane and within two days he was jumping up onto the windowsill and we couldn't get him into his carrier to take him back to be checked. These days he's a tiny bit wobbly (you wouldn't know unless you were looking) and spends his days trying to steal my food and picking fights with the curtains.
Cats can be surprisingly resilient sometimes.
Dying_Swan
17-01-20, 15:59
That sounds really scary Iris. Did they find out what it was? So glad he's ok.
Ckelley - I think try not to read too much into the delay. They're probably just busy, although I know how hard it is. Eating and behaving normally are good signs. I hope you get news soon.
Swan, they never did, no, they wanted £600 to run a scan on him and we just couldn't afford it.
Dying_Swan
18-01-20, 11:22
£600! Vet bills can be so extortionate. So glad he's ok anyway x
Have they called you yet ? If not, I would definitely call them by now.
ckelley116
18-01-20, 18:53
They did call, I heard from them late yesterday afternoon. His blood and urine results were, in the words of the vet, “fabulous”. Not only that, but he seemed to be over the poo issue, as everything I saw in his litter box looked normal for a few days in a row. I was ecstatic and could physically feel the worry leave me! Until a few minutes ago, when I saw a fresh bloody-mucus stool in his litter box. I don’t know exactly what they tested for (the sheet they gave me just said “preventative bloodwork”) or if it was extensive enough to detect cancer or something (bloody stools can signal lymphoma) but now I’m worried all over again.
Okkkayyyy, then they need to really provide some suggestions for what is causing this issue, or possible things to try .
Its all very well doing various tests and bloods and giving you a sheet with unuseable facts, but good ole fashioned veterinary work will involve discussion, symptoms and suggestions of possible diagnoses - and a first trial of treating. So, call them back and have a telephone consulation about what the possible reasons could be - it could be something so simple like a fissure, or food intolerances (as we 've brought up here a few times) and just as I will say the same for people with HA ;o) jumping to lymphoma, cancers and terminal illnesses shouldn't be necessary. Yeah - def call them back. In the meantime - why not have a think yourself about anything different that he ate and see if any patterns can be determined ? I dont know what you feed, but my cat had to have absolutely 100 percent grain free.
ckelley116
19-01-20, 00:07
In the vet's defense, when she called yesterday to give me the test results she asked if he'd been pooping normally and I said yes - because for two days, he was. But you're right, I need more information. The vet is closed now but I just e-mailed them asking 1) if what he'd been through was enough to rule out things like IBD, lymphoma, etc.; and 2) for help getting him started down the road of figuring out what, if anything, in his food is causing the problem. I'm trying to remember that the vet knows what to look for and how to find it, but much like when I'm experiencing an episode of HA, I'm worried that something was overlooked or not given the attention it should have been. I'm doing everything in my power not to engage in catastrophic thinking, but it's so hard!
The good news is that I can finally get his antibiotics into him, since he likes the Pill Pockets I bought. So maybe that will help.
It’s hard with cats. It’s in their nature to cover up if they’re feeling bad. You have to rule one thing out at a time. Those pill pockets are the best. I use them with my cats too
Dying_Swan
19-01-20, 16:52
Sorry you're no further forward, although I think your email to the vet was sensible. If the tests can rule out the IBD/lymphoma etc, you can look at other things.
(Long side note: If you go down the food allergy route, Royal Canin does a hypoallergenic kibble made from hydrolysed soy protein. It was helpful for us as an emergency option, but it's expensive and my cat had diarrhoea with it, until I insisted on her having some meat. Paid a fortune for a venison-based wet cat food and she wouldn't touch it, so I fed her small amounts of venison alongside the kibble. As Carys said, grain can definitely be the culprit, and one of the first things to consider. Also, if the US is the same, most "normal" cat foods contain "meat and animal derivatives" which means all sorts of bits of ground up animal. I was advised to try single sources of "novel protein", so just one protein (not a mix), and ideally something your cat hasn't had before...eg rabbit, venison, even crocodile etc! Diets should always be introduced slowly, and give each protein a while e.g a month. Some people suggest rotating single protein sources once a month, but I don't)
ckelley116
20-01-20, 20:47
The vet confirmed that the blood tests were NOT enough to positively rule out lymphoma or IBD. She did say that they didn't show things commonly associated with lymphoma (I assume feline leukemia or FIV, both of which are commonly seen with lymphoma). She said that since this appears to be an acute thing, the best thing to do is to continue giving him the anti-diarrheal and see how he reacts to it. He seems to be doing well with it so far, as things looked normal yesterday, but he also had two normal days last week before reverting, so I'm not getting my hopes up. If it continues, or comes back after he's done the course of medication, we'll investigate a prescription diet and/or an abdominal ultrasound.
Something did occur to me, though, and I can't decide if it's good or bad. It's not a regular occurrence, but it's not unusual for him to have a tiny bit of something left on him after using the litter box that needs to be wiped off. It never registered with me as something to worry about, but suggests that maybe he does have soft stools more often than I'm aware of. This might sound like a complete cop-out but I'm not the one who typically empties the litter box. I work during the day and my husband works nights, so he's home and cleaning the litter box is just one of the things he does while I'm at work. It's possible that this has been going on longer than I know, possibly even with blood. The only reason I saw the blood this time is because it was on the floor, and whenever I've seen it in his stool, it's because I went looking for it, since lately I've been sifting through his litter like I might find gold nuggets. I never would've noticed blood if not. So if this has been going on for several months, and he's not showing any ill effects like lethargy, weight loss, etc., it's probably not something sinister, right? Everything I've read says that cats with lymphoma who don't get treatment typically don't last longer than 2 months, and it's been longer than that. If he was sick, he'd be showing something else, I would assume.
I'm so sorry. I never thought I'd be spending hours talking about my cat's poop on an online forum. Thank you all for being so patient and understanding!
No worries. We all go through this! Glad he's still doing okay.
Something did occur to me, though, and I can't decide if it's good or bad. It's not a regular occurrence, but it's not unusual for him to have a tiny bit of something left on him after using the litter box that needs to be wiped off.
When Socrates was having stomach and stool issues, that would happen occasionally. Especially when he bolted out of the litter box like he was being shot out of a cannon! After we switched to the sensitive digestion food, things calmed down and I haven't seen it happen again. His stool is totally normal. He used to puke more too (hairballs mostly) and shed pretty heavy, and now, hardly at all. Between the new kibble and continued raw chicken (he's been on that since he was 8 weeks old), his coat is beautiful and he doesn't shed as much. He turned nine last Thanksgiving and while he's certainly more chill these days, he still gets ramped up and runs around like a crazy cat a couple times a day. All I can definitely say that was when he wasn't feeling good, it was obvious beside the poo. If your boy is behaving normally, it doesn't lend itself to anything serious.
Definitely hear what your vet has to say but before you go for a prescription food (pricey), check out some cat/pet forums and do a little research. I garnered some really good info that proved quite beneficial.
Positive thoughts and meow...
ckelley116
22-01-20, 19:48
Hey everyone. Just an update that Marley seems to be doing well. He takes his last dose of metronidazole today (he'll be sad not to be getting those yummy salmon pill pockets anymore!) and I haven't seen much of anything concerning in his litter box. Or much of anything, period...metronidazole may have backed him up a little, but I find it preferable to blood! Hopefully he does, too. I guess over the next few days I'll see how he does once the medication is worked out of his system, but for now, he's doing great :)
Dying_Swan
22-01-20, 21:28
That's great news. Fingers crossed the metronidazole has sorted whatever it was. Thanks for letting us know:)
Glad to hear this :)
Positive thoughts
ckelley116
12-02-20, 17:44
We may be heading back to where we started, but I'm trying to be calm and rational. After 3 weeks of things in the litter box looking pretty much normal, I found a loose stool this morning. No blood that I could see, but it was much softer than it had been even when he was having the blood issues. I mentioned it to my husband and he confessed that yesterday and Monday he'd fed the cat some turkey from a roast his mother made us for dinner over the weekend. It was Cajun flavored, and I'm not sure if any of the seasoning was on the bits he gave the cat, but if it was I can see it causing some stomach upset. So rather than flying to the vet I'm going to give it a few days to see if it returns to normal. My husband, meanwhile, is under strict instructions not to give him anything but food that is designated for cats. And he's still acting totally normal, so fingers crossed it was just a bit of bad human food!
I say give your husband some cat food ;)
ckelley116
13-02-20, 14:55
I say give your husband some cat food ;)
Not a bad idea! He hates seafood, so maybe some nice, juicy whitefish 😆 Anyway, things appear to be better this morning. Looks like it was just a blip!
I still think, and this proves it, that your cat is intolerant to certain food types.
MyNameIsTerry
13-02-20, 19:31
I say give your husband some cat food ;)
But make sure you make it very clear it doesn't mean he can use the litter tray as well :ohmy:
If he uses the litter box, he has to scoop it himself!
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