# Blood in Stool



## magscat (May 13, 2009)

Hello I'm new to this forum but am not new to pet forum procedures as I am a moderator for a goldfish forum. That's enough insight into me now about my feline friend's problem lol. Today (conveniently after my vet's office is closed) I found blood in my cat's stool. The stool it's self was not runny but still much more loose than usual with very liquid blood on top of it. He is still eating, drinking and acting normal. That doesn't always mean that nothing is wrong though, I know. Most animals will act as normal as they possibly can for as long as they can because showing any signs of illness or weakness makes them a target for predators. I will be making an appointment with my vet first thing tomorrow but I'm wondering what are some causes of blood in the stool for cats?

Back ground info on this Cat:
I've had this cat for about 8 months now. I actually took him from a neighbor's back yard because they were starving him to death. My vet estimated that he was about 9 months old and at his first weigh in he was just under 6 pounds, rating a 4 on the emaciation scale. I had his shots done and he tested negative for feline leukemia and negative for some other virus (cat AIDS I think) Once he was stable and put on some good weight I had him neutered. Now he weighs around 13-15 ponds (I know he's just a little over weight now) I feed him Purina One dry cat food as a staple to his diet. Because his coat is a little dry I also give him a teaspoon of tuna in vegetable oil once a day as recommended by my vet. He's mostly an Indoor cat now. I do let him out for several hours during the day but he has never left my back yard (I know this because I don't leave him or my other cat out there by themselves) They aren't allowed outside at night. He has no access to harmful chemicals either (I have a 3yr old daughter so chemicals are kept up high and behind locks) He did kill a mouse in the garage a few days ago. I don't know if that may have something to do with the bloody stool or not??? We don't keep the cars in the garage nor do we store in chemicals in there (ie. antifreeze, oil, paint, ect.) so no access to any thing like that in there. 

This was him (his name is Kale) when I first got him:









This is Kale now with my other cat Oliver:








If his tail looks a little funny it because the hair is growing back. I had to shave it because the whole tail was matted down to the skin and had some dirty greasy chemical in it.

Sorry this was so long and drawn out but I know that sometimes little details can make life or death differences for sensitive creatures so I'm just trying to cover every thing I can think of.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

There are a couple of protozoal parasites that can cause blood in the stool - coccidia and giardia - both of which are very difficult to diagnose in stool samples. They are typically treated based on symptoms alone.

Irritable Bowel Disease can also cause bloody stool. I'm sure there are other potential causes, as well.

Discuss these possibilities with your vet.

Laurie


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

I'm sorry, I don't know anything about blood in stools.
I just wanted to say that what you have done for Kale is wonderful! The first picture of him is so skinny and he looks so healthy in the second picture. Congratulations and kudos to you.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Blood on the outside of the stool as you describe it can have a variety of sources; parasites, stress (anything change in your home lately?), digestive inflammation, hemorrhoids, or constipation etc. But, very often it's idiopathic. It's not usually anything to be majorly concerned about (e.g. not indicative of cancer) but does need a vets attention. 

What it may be related to this is the Purina food and that teaspoon of tuna you're giving him daily. Purina foods are very low quality and are often the cause of digestive issues. This food is probably the reason his coat is dry. Cats need moisture and good quality animal protein in their diet. In addition, fish is really not good for cats:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... ousforcats

I suggest that you read the nutritional articles on this site: www.littlebigcat.com


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## magscat (May 13, 2009)

Thanks for the info guys. I feel a little better armed to go into my vet's office now. I hate going to the doctor without any previous understanding of what could possibly be going on with my pet. Having a general grasp of it helps me ask better questions. As for the dry cat food issue; I've been preaching at my husband forever now that this wasn't the best thing for him. When I first got him I was buying him NutroMax (the best brand in my area and unfortunately the most expensive) dry food and he was also getting 1 can of wet food (same brand) in the evening. The dry food was provided 24/7 at first just so that he always had something to munch on because he was just so terribly thin. (He's not free feeding anymore because he's getting really fat) My husband got all b*tchy about spending too much money on pet food and he switched them to Purina One. Hopefully reading your nutritional info will help change his mind and make him see that better food is worth the price. Don't get me wrong he does love the cats. He spends a lot of time with them...but he's a cheap tight wad.


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## magscat (May 13, 2009)

katlover13 said:


> I'm sorry, I don't know anything about blood in stools.
> I just wanted to say that what you have done for Kale is wonderful! The first picture of him is so skinny and he looks so healthy in the second picture. Congratulations and kudos to you.


Thanks dear. The situation was pretty unbearable. I found him when I was walking my dog past his previous "home". He came running up to the fence meowing so loud even though he was scared of my dog he was desperate. when I looked through the fence there was a dead kitten laying in the grass. I took my dog home and came back with some cat food. He came out of the yard and almost took my hand off for the food. Once I got may hands on him and felt how thin he was I was furious. I took him home with me and called animal control. I live in an extremely small town right now and our animal control doesn't invest anything in animals that are not readily adoptable. I didn't tell them about Kale but I did report the dead kitten I saw. Sadly animal control officers found other dead cats on the property. Most starved to death but one was...well let's just say he suffered a violent end  The person who did all this did get what the law felt he deserved. It's little consolation.

The name Kale means "a light in darkness". I felt it suited him. Despite all he's been through he's still a joy to be around. I've never owned a more gentle or well mannered cat.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I wrote this post for someone a while ago, maybe your husband can relate to the car analogy....

_So...you have a car that's supposed to run on premium gas, but you put regular in. What happens? The car runs, but it's not right...it pings, it knocks and eventually you can get engine damage. Think about your cat like a car...a cat's premium gas is muscle meat and water, but you feed it corn, rice and soy with a little meat and 10% water. Your cat will continue living, but it may not be doing so well, maybe it vomits, maybe it gets diarrhea, maybe it's coat is dry and it sheds a lot, it's skin gets flaky and eventually it even gets engine damage...like kidney failure.

Cats need good muscle meat as a protein source. Foods that are primarily corn, rice, or soy have protein, but it's not the kind of protein cats are optimized to utilize, their system has to work harder to extract the nutrients and the food will pass through their system without getting all the nutrients out. Which makes them have to eat more of it. In addition, these grains are carbs....cats have a very low level of amylase in their system. Amylase is used to digest carbs. Since cats don't have enough of this enzyme the carbs ended up being converted straight into body fat. So they end up gaining weight and are at risk for weight related diseases like diabetes.

In addition, many cats are allergic to corn, wheat and soy, they can cause digestive issues as well as coat and skin problems.

Then there's the moisture...a cat's natural prey is small rodents, a mouse is 70% water. Dry food is 10%. In order to offset the amount of dry matter in dry food, a cat must drink 1.25-1.5 cups of water for every cup of dry food consumed. No cat drinks that much water, not even close. So it goes through life at some level of dehydration...and that damages the kidneys.

So, the ideal diet for a cat is a high quality wet food. Now, we all need the convenience of dry food at times and it won't kill them. If you can get your cats eating 75% wet food, you'll be doing OK. I would recommend a switch to a high quality brand (Merrick, Innova, Wellness, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack, Nature's Variety etc.) for both wet and dry. Minimize the dry to about 1/8 cup per day and give them 4-5 oz of wet. Some of the brands I recommended are grain free, some have grains...the difference is the amount and they type. They have small amounts of whole grains which do provide fiber and help keep things moving. These grains are also not allergens for cats._


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## magscat (May 13, 2009)

The vet couldn't find anything wrong with him and said to just keep an eye on him :? I'm kind of dissatisfied with that. Not that I _want_ something to be wrong with him but I don't want to just blow it off either.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Did you take a stool sample in to be tested for parasites? If it came back negative and you're no longer seeing blood, then the only thing to do is monitor. If you see diarrhea or blood again, then get him back in asap. Some parasites (giardia and coccidia) are sometimes hard to diagnose, you will get false negatives on the tests. As I said, sometimes there is just no reason for it. 

Here's what Dr. Jean has to say about blood on the stool to another member, the littlebigcat site I suggested you look at is her site:



drjean said:


> Blood on the stool (occasionally or intermittently) is not necessarily a cause for concern, which is probably why your vet didn't get too excited about it. Many cats have small amounts of blood on the stool off and on their whole lives. It's called "idiopathic hematochezia of cats" (aren't you glad you know that now!). As long as the blood is not excessive, and he is okay otherwise (no other symptoms, good energy, appetite, etc.) there is no justification for a colonoscopy or other radical diagnostics.


At this point, I still recommend the diet change (that's just the right thing to do in general) and continue monitoring his bowel movements.


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## magscat (May 13, 2009)

Thanks dear! I got on my cheap husband ( :lol: ) again about the food issue and he's agreed that we need to change the diet after I buried him with all the info I've found here on your site and in researching others. We're doing a gradual switch.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Yay! Cheap hubby ain't so cheap! :lol:


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