Help! Blood In Raw Fed Cat

[CoconutCookie]

Hi everyone! My 10 month old male kitty, Coconut, is currently on his 3rd week of homemade raw food (using feline nutrition recipe). Previously he was on grain-free dry & wet food and his stools are always a tad bit soft. He passed stools once to twice a day. My vet suggested to put him on RC sensitive but I wanted to try raw first to see how it goes. During the first two weeks, the result was great, his stools are firm, the volume significantly decreases, and virtually has no odor. However, earlier this week his stool started to become soft again, but the volume and odor doesn’t change compared to the first two weeks. This morning, I found a small drop of blood outside one of his stool (he passed two piece of formed stools), at the lower end of the stool. I haven’t contacted my vet yet since she’s not pro-raw and probably will prescribe RC or Hill’s to Coconut. The raw food he eats this week is from the same batch like what he ate during the first two weeks. He just got dewormed around 3 weeks ago. He’s been eating, sleeping, and playing as per usual, very energetic, chasing and galloping with my other kitten. Should I be concerned with the drop of blood on his stool? I’m scared it’s salmonella or any other pathogens Thanks before guys, really appreciate your insight on this.

Here's the picture of his stools this morning:
IMG_2189.JPG

Here's the color of the blood stain on the scooper after I dumped the stool:
IMG_2190.JPG


REPLY

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Are his stools usually that dark-ish? I'm wondering if there's actually more blood involved.
I think I'd try a commercial canned food for a couple days. But yeah, blood coming from the digesting system isn't good. Too much calcium/bone for him, where another cat wouldn't have any problems? Pathogens as you've mentioned?

 

[CoconutCookie]

Hi! Are his stools usually that dark-ish? I'm wondering if there's actually more blood involved.
I think I'd try a commercial canned food for a couple days. But yeah, blood coming from the digesting system isn't good. Too much calcium/bone for him, where another cat wouldn't have any problems? Pathogens as you've mentioned?

Hi Furballsmom, thanks for replying. Yes his poop has always been that color. I’ve finally contacted my vet and sent her the picture of Coco’s poop. She said to observe him first since he’s acting normal. She said it’s possibly infection on his lower intestine. I think it’s worth to mention too that Coco didn’t strain when he pooped this morning, nor he cried when he passed the stool. All is exactly like normal except the tiny blood part. I’m gonna monitor him tomorrow, hopefully there’s no more blood (crossing fingers).

As for bone, I put 10% bone from muscle meat I use. Is that ratio correct already?

 

[CoconutCookie]

Hi! Are his stools usually that dark-ish? I'm wondering if there's actually more blood involved.
I think I'd try a commercial canned food for a couple days. But yeah, blood coming from the digesting system isn't good. Too much calcium/bone for him, where another cat wouldn't have any problems? Pathogens as you've mentioned?

As for pathogens, I looked up symptoms of salmonella poisoning and it’s nothing like what Coco’s been behaving (lethargy, anorexia, loss of appetite).

 

[Furballsmom]

I can't answer for the bone as I'm not a raw feeder, but --oh, good for you re; the pathogens!

Do you have any other food in the house? Some tuna, mackerel, unseasoned boiled chicken or turkey? something other than what he's been getting to help his system come back around to normal?

Too much bone?

Feeding Raw To Cats - Safety Concerns

I'm not really finding anything that specifically addresses the percentage of bone but maybe a raw feeder will come on in... @valentine319 can you help the OP?

 

[Furballsmom]

Ah, here, I found this which might help you;
Bone Content %

Feline Nutrition Foundation

lalagimp , you are also a raw feeder, if you have a moment to post for the OP?

 

[orange&white]

No food should cause blood in the stool, whether raw, canned or kibble. The only exception being the possibility of the food causing constipation...then constipation is the cause of the bleeding.

You say your cat is not straining or crying in pain and the stool is passing normally. That does not indicate constipation. I would follow the vet's advice and monitor his poops, which it sounds like you're on top of already. The blood may be a one-off thing, not related to any serious problem. Hopefully it does not reoccur.

10% bone in a raw diet is "normal". Most raw cat food recipes are written based on the 10%. Some cats seem to do better as low as 5%, and some seem to do better with bone content as high as 15%. "Doing better" is based on observation of the consistency of the stools. If you do see straining/constipation over time, you would want to cut the bone back to perhaps 7-8% on the next batch. If stools appear too soft, that would call for a slight increase in bone content.

Fiber is also sometimes added to bulk the stool, but that is starting to go a bit off-topic, and isn't necessary in a young cat who is not constipated.

Again, it doesn't sound as if your cat is constipated, and I don't think the issue is related to the type of diet.

Looking forward to updates, and hoping the blood in his stool was just an anomaly.

 

[Azazel]

I would do another fecal test and just not mention to the vet that you’re feeding raw so they don’t jump to blame that without considering other factors. It could still be parasites or worms even if he was de-wormed.

 

[lalagimp]

If I found blood, I would take the stool to the vet for an examination because parasites come to mind. orange&white pretty much covered it.
10 is the magic number for bone percentage, but it depends on the cat. We have permission from Dr Pierson to go lower, and I don't use math beneficially... I'd guess we're at around 7 percent. Tommy still gets constipation from time to time, and we've added 1/8-1/4 tsp Miralax.
I didn't notice any radical changes in the boys's output except bulk, because they quit getting all the fillers from commercial foods.

 

[CoconutCookie]

Hi guys, thanks so much for the replies. Coco pooped this morning and the stool quality is back like in the first two weeks! Small (in fact he only passed one piece of small stool), firm, odourless, and doesn’t leave poop stain on the scooper after I dumped it. I didn’t take picture because I was rushing to leave for work.

Furballsmom should i still replace the raw food with cooked chicken breast now? I have some sheba canned shredded chicken breast.

 

[CoconutCookie]

Oh I forgot to mention the most important thing: the stool from this morning has no blood on it!

I also forgot to mention that Coco is a strictly indoor cat, so perhaps the risk for pathogen is lower?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! This is very good to hear!!
I wouldn't use the canned food, since all is well again.
Just in case, hang on to the sheba, in case anything odd happens again.
Indoor cats are at less risk from things they come in contact with et al, but there would still be the possibility of food-borne pathogens.

You're probably planning already to decrease the bone a little bit?
Do you still have that poop that had the blood? Could you run that by a vet so they can check it?

 

[CoconutCookie]

Furballsmom i’m not sure if I should lower the bone percentage, since actually this week (except for this morning), his stools were actually a bit soft?

Unfortunately I have flushed the bloody stool yesterday :/ it didn’t occur to me to bring it to the vet, but if any odd thing happening again (which I hope doesn’t!), I’m gonna take the stool sample to vet. Thanks so much for your insight!

I’ll update again here if anything happen, hopefully the blood is really just a one-time only

 

[Furballsmom]

his stools were actually a bit soft?

Oh goodness, well never mind me LOL
Honestly, it's such a balancing act with our fur-buddies, whether raw or commercial!

 

[CoconutCookie]

Hi everyone, Coco pooped again this morning and the stools are good again! Dry, firm, odorless, and blood-free. So perhaps, the blood thing is really just an anomaly?

Also, I noticed since Sunday he pooped once a day as opposed to once every other day, although the volume of the stool is smaller when he passed it everyday compared to when he passed it every other day. Is this normal on raw fed cat?

 

[Azazel]

Hi everyone, Coco pooped again this morning and the stools are good again! Dry, firm, odorless, and blood-free. So perhaps, the blood thing is really just an anomaly?

Also, I noticed since Sunday he pooped once a day as opposed to once every other day, although the volume of the stool is smaller when he passed it everyday compared to when he passed it every other day. Is this normal on raw fed cat?

That’s good! I would just continue to keep an eye on his poop.

It will depend on the cat for how often they go. But I would say small amounts once a day is normal, but every other day is also normal for raw fed cats.

 

[orange&white]

My two young cats poop every day or two on raw. My senior poops about every 2 days, sometimes 3 on raw.

Glad to hear that everything is clearing up with Coco!

 

[furmonster mom]

Every other day is pretty normal but there's certainly nothing wrong with every day if they are well formed. If the poops are dry and crumbly, cut back on the bone; if they are soft and smelly, cut back on the liver... at least for a day or two. After feeding raw for a decade, I've come to realize that sometimes the system just needs to make an adjustment now and then.
I wouldn't be surprised if the blood in the stool was a result of constipation (and therefore a little tearing) due to a higher bone content than what the system was accustomed to. Still, do keep an eye on it... it's good to be diligent.