I Hate It When She’s Sick - Blood Covered Stool

[MargoLane]

So my best pal, Business Cat, has a working diagnosis of IBD. I’ve had her since April and she’s in the middle of her third flare up since then. Usually, she loses interest in food and vomits almost all of one night. We get her to the vet (usually twice over the 3 or 4 days that a flare up lasts, though the first time she was hospitalized for 3 days) and they give anti-nausea, appetite stimulant and pain killers. She’s on a regular mantainance dose of Pred and we up it as soon as she loses her appetite.

Anyways, this flare up seemed so much more mild; she only threw up once and ate on and off. But now she hasn’t eaten in days and is clearly in pain. The vet gave her the usual round of stuff - as mentioned above, but she is not yet eating and still in pain. And she just passed stool, and it was covered in bright red blood. This is a new symptom. I’ll be taking her back to the vet first thing in the morning, so not too much advice needed. I’m just sad. I hate it when she’s sick, and I really felt like I was getting a hold on her issues. Now i’m just afraid it’s lymphoma or some other type of cancer and I’m going to lose her before we’ve had that much time together. I just want her to feel better and to be healthy.

 

[Alinalou]

I had a young cat that ended up being euthanized because he had lymphoma in his lower intestine and colon and the symptoms weren't like this. He never threw up and there wasn't any blood.
Bright red blood isn't always a sign of something terrible, sometimes cats can have blood in their stool just as a sign of stress.

I can empathize though, having a pet unable to eat is the worst feeling in the whole world and I wish you and your pal the best. Keep us updated though even if you just need to vent here I'll be reading it, I've currently been having a time keeping a cat healthy too and I can relate to how scary it all is.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Let us know how the poor baby is, and what the vet said.

 

[MargoLane]

Thanks for the support! She followed her usual pattern, and is back to normal after three days of flare-up. The vet gave me some medications in liquid form so I can treat her at home a much as possible, so that was a new development. Plus, we're adding some Sulcrate to her weekly routine in case the prednisolone is irritating her stomach or GI tract.

Sooo...really, it was the most mild flare-up she's had, so that's something to be grateful for. It means I am getting it under control. My goal is for her to keep eating during a flare-up. It's just so hard in the moment, and I wish I knew what triggered them. It would be nice to prevent a few of them. Thanks again.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Keep a log, or a diary of sorts. Make a quick note of anything unusual that happens, the date and time. That might help you pin it down.

I'm really glad that she's responding well!

 

[fionasmom]

Just wanted to add that I lost a cat to lymphoma and those were not the symptoms either. Hope things improve and you turn a corner on this whole thing.