11 week old kitten with blood in stools...

I got my kitten when he was 8 weeks old (a little young, I know, but they were giving them away and I've taken care of kittens younger than that before so I know the routine)

He came from a private owner that had a half dozen adult cats plus mother and litter all living in a basement that had little-no ventilation.

The day after I got him, he went to the vet for his first set of shots, worming, and Feline Luk. test (which was negative, thank god)

However, his stools have always been a little 'loose' ...not diarrhea, but just very soft and not in normal 'clumps' (...or whatever you'd call it )

Today, I found bits of blood in his stools, it was fairly bright red so I'm assuming it's not 'deep bowel' blood from an internal injury. Could this be from worms not killed on the first worming? He is due to go back next week for 2nd round of shots and 2nd worming.

He eats Kitten Chow and also gets a bit of wet catfood 2 times a day (Fancy Feast with no wheat gluten) Sometimes he'll sneak some bites out of my other cats food dish as well, which is Purina Cat Chow Indoor formula. He is not running a fever and seems otherwise very healthy and normal, plays like any kitten, doesn't seem to be in pain, eats with healthy appetite, drinks his water, etc etc.

I do plan on calling the vet tomorrow if I find more blood in feces (they are closed where I am atm) but I was hoping maybe someone here could give me a few hints as to what might be going on. Worms not killed? Food too rich? Considering the kitten came from such an awful environment I've been on pins and needles about his health from day one and am a little worried

I have 2 other adult cats that are healthy and fine, and haven't noticed their bowels changing at all.

if you can get and save the stool sample( a fresh one) for the vet

Yeah, I am going to try to get a fresh stool sample for the vet, even though it'll be interesting trying to find something suitable to keep it in.


A few pictures of kitten (he's an American Bobtail mix)





I hope this is just something simple like worms and nothing too serious

He might have Cocidia....which is common and treatable. It is usually treated with albon. It usually isin't fatal but is highly contageous and spreads easily. It can be very dangerous for very weak, very young, or very ill animals....however. But it should be treated asap.

i just took my new kitty to be spayed and lo and behold, same issue. she has two types of worms that we have to pill her for. they discovered it in a stool sample. two pills, three weeks apart. no harm, no foul. we're doing our other kitty to as a preventative thing as they have been sharing a litter box. vet says it's quite common in shelter kitties because they come from all different backgrounds.

good luck!

First of all, your baby is adorable.

I had the very same issue with Elliott.
He had very loose runny stool and every once in a while it would be bloody.
Turned out he had a tape worm...I didn't see any worms at first, but then the day of his appointment lo and behold I saw one...YUCK!!

Anyway, Doc gave me 1 pill to give him and he's had no problems since.

I'd take the baby back to the Vet and have him checked.

Well, I'm going to call the vet tomorrow morning and try to get him in within the next few days. So far, seeing as how he's acting normal and doing all the usual kitten stuff, I don't -think- it's anything too serious, but you never know, so better safe than sorry.

With kittens, I think worms are the most likely culprit. It could be that the first worming wasn't enough (roundworms, for instance, usually need a few courses), or that the worming medication wasn't for the same kind of worms the kitten has.

Also, when there are worms, it's necessary to worm all cats in the household at the same time, or they just pass the parasites back and forth. You don't have to see evidence of the worms for the cats to have them.

Yeah I know. I've recently wormed my 2 adult cats and probably will again after the kitten gets his 2nd round of worming too.