Blood in stool?

[milliesmom]

Hi everyone -- my cat Millie is about 9 months and I adopted her about 3 months ago. Shortly after I first got her she was experiencing loose stool (not completely diarrhea) that soon developed small amounts of blood and mucus. The vet dewormed her again and was prescribed a medication for parasites. When that did not help, they did a stool sample and did not find anything. That's when we went for a diet change. The vet switched us to a prescription food and said that I should probably switch her to something else after finishing the bag. Her stool firmed up very quick! There were a couple times where her stool still had some blood, though.

After finishing the bag, I switched her to a new gastrointestinal food that seems to be working well. She's been on that for a couple weeks now. I hadn't seen any blood for several weeks and then this morning, there was the slightest trace of it. I will monitor it because I know it could've been a fluke or something she got into, but I am just worried that it is back again. Her stool looks completely healthy otherwise.

I have seen her scoot twice over the past week and a half and am wondering if there's something going on with her anal glands. The two times she did scoot, however, seemed to be because she had some leftover stool on her bum. If anyone has any ideas on what else this could be, please let me know...

 

[pipperoo]

Just my two cents: did the vet do a full diarrhea panel (IDEXX labs?) or just an in-office look-see with the microscope? I believe it is a good idea to do a full panel just in case she has a gut bacteria that needs addressing. I had similar symptoms in my kitten who was adopted from a shelter--where she must have picked up highly contagious c. perfringens - loose smelly stools on an off - cured with 2 rounds of antibiotics + s.boulardi probiotics.

Good luck with everything!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I agree about the full PCR fecal panel. It will check for bacterial and viral conditions that a fecal smear or float will not.

The other thing to do is compare the ingredients in the foods you have given her. It is possible that the previous food had more than one ingredient in it that she is allergic to and when you switched her to another food, it didn't contain one of the ingredients that affects her the most, but still has other stuff in it that her system doesn't tolerate well. So, it just took longer to upset her system. The ingredients and their variations are noteworthy if down the road you need her tested for food allergies. It could also have been a fluke as you said, if she has access to other things she can get into that she really shouldn't be eating. Let's hope it is the latter.

Finally, I think the butt scooting is very well likely to be what you said - anything 'left behind on the behind' can cause a cat to resort to scooting (aka wiping) it off. Anal glands express naturally, and one of the ways they do so is through the evacuation of firmer stools, so it is still something to keep in mind.

 

[milliesmom]

Thank you pipperoo and FeebysOwner for your comments! Unfortunately, there was a small amount of blood again this morning. I was able to talk with one of the doctors at my vet and they recommended that we start with putting her back on the prescription GI diet for longer than last time to see if it clears up again. Fingers crossed!

 

[FeebysOwner]