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Blood in Stools

post #1 of 26
9/6/07 at 10:41am
Thread Starter 
We noticed the other day that there was a small amount of red blood in one of our kittens stools, it was a very small amount and it was in a clear sort of mucus. The kittens have been wormed once but need their second amount.. they can't have them until next week though, so the woman who was fostering them before we got them said it's likely to be worms, but for the time being we can't really do anything about it and not to worry. (they will be wormed again next Wednesday) I just wanted some more opinions really. I just noticed some more just a minute ago when cleaning up one of the messes, and there was slightly more than what I've seen before.
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post #2 of 26
9/6/07 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 
I'd also like to note that they arrived here a week ago, and are fine in themselves, playing well, purring well, eating well and going to the loo once or twice a day.
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post #3 of 26
9/6/07 at 10:59am
I suggest taking a stool sample to the vet.

Have you changed foods recently?

(IMO, blood in stool doesn't mean worms)
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post #4 of 26
9/6/07 at 11:04am
Thread Starter 
Well we feed them 3 different foods, Whiskas, Iams and Felix, all kitten wet food, with dried food during the day whilst we're out. We vary the food during the day, they get about 2-3 pouches each and most of the time the pouches are different each mealtime. So in a way yes, we change the food regularily. How does food effect it? We only got them a week ago so they were on a different food at the Cats Protection.
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post #5 of 26
9/6/07 at 11:05am
The changes in food will cause diarrhea, bloody stools, big stink, etc. It is hard on their digestive tracts. I would pick one dry food & stick to that. Rotating wet foods is OK.
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post #6 of 26
9/6/07 at 11:08am
One of the major downsides to feeding so many foods is that it would be very difficult to narrow down which food is causing which kitten a problem, if the food is contributing.

Were they used to so much variety or do you have another reason for starting them out like this?
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post #7 of 26
9/6/07 at 11:08am
Thread Starter 
We only ever rotate the wet food, the dry food is the same all the time. Would it be worth trying to keep them on one brand of wet food for now to see if that helps?

There's no immediate danger though is there? I don't really want to have to get another appointment before Wednesday but obviously if it was necessary I would.
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post #8 of 26
9/6/07 at 11:11am
Thread Starter 
The Cats protection feed them on whatever they are donated so it was varying quite a bit, so we decided to keep it varied to make sure they don't become fussy.

We're going to Tesco tonight to try and find some hilife kitten food for them. Would the higher meat content be richer for them and therefore make something like this worse? Or is that not the case at all?

I have only ever seen one poop that they've done which has actually been solid, and they're all very stinky.
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post #9 of 26
9/6/07 at 11:47am
higher meat is likely richer but they will digest more of it ....
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post #10 of 26
9/6/07 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 
Will it help the stools become firmer? They're runny at the moment but not what I would call Diarroah (spelling, sorry), just not particularily firm.

Sorry about the lovely topic.
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post #11 of 26
9/6/07 at 1:05pm
Blood and mucus in stool is colitis. However, there are several different types, with many causes. Acute colitis is a brief bout lasting only a few days -- and is commonly caused by worms (or worming), or by the cat eating spoiled food, toxic substances, a bad plant or something else. This type will usually go away after a few days. Basically, whatever it was has irritated the intestine.

Prolonged colitis is trickier and would take some work on the vet's part to figure out. Possible causes include viruses, salmonella or giardia, food allergy, or cancerous conditions. But in a kitten (particularly one who had worms) I doubt it would be something that serious.

Colitis is also characterized by the texture of stool you describe -- sort of weirdly soft and mucusy, but shaped almost like normal stool. The stool also tends to be softer at one end.

It's definitely worth going to a vet if the condition doesn't clear up after a few days.

Fiber can be very helpful in cases of colitis; it helps the stool move through and helps the intestine be healthier and heal. Try giving the kitten a spoonful of canned pumpkin (the kind without spices) once a day for three days. And definitely pick one kind of food and stick with it rather than changing things around; don't switch dry foods during this period, unless you suspect that a new dry food triggered the condition (in which case, switch back to whatever dry food they were eating before).
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post #12 of 26
9/6/07 at 1:18pm
Thread Starter 
I have noticed the stool being harder at one end, and along with the other symptoms it does seem like that is a big possibility. Thanks a lot for giving me that information. They are only young and still aren't fully wormed so hopefully (purely because it seems the lesser of a few evils) they just have a little case of worms and when we get to the vets on Wednesday after their second lot of worming tablets they'll be better.

We went to Tesco tonight purely to look for a better quality food for them and there weren't any.. only whiskas etc, so we will have a look tomorrow in marks and spencers and if that fails it's going to have to wait until the weekend before we can get to Jollyes.

They haven't really had access to any spoiled food, toxic substances or bad plants, also haven't had access to anything obvious that I can think of which might cause it. They were kept in pens at the cats protection and there's nothing here for them to eat. As they're only young I'd expect it is more likely to be acute? (at least I hope that's the case)

I'll ask the vet about it anyway, and it reassures me to know that it does sound like something like worms as opposed to something more serious and something harder to treat.

Thanks again for the information, it has put my mind at ease a little.
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post #13 of 26
9/6/07 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 
I forgot to add this to the last post;
What could I use as an alternative of pumpkin? I'm in the UK and it's not quite so easy to find any form of pumpkin. Quite happy to cook up something if it would help.
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post #14 of 26
9/6/07 at 1:27pm
winter squash , sweet potato , yam
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post #15 of 26
9/6/07 at 1:46pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm, all american and not available here! I do a lot of cooking so you'd think I would be able to think of high fibre foods, but nope! Mind's blank.
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post #16 of 26
9/6/07 at 1:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katteh View Post
Hmm, all american and not available here! I do a lot of cooking so you'd think I would be able to think of high fibre foods, but nope! Mind's blank.
How about psyllium husk powder? It's found in health food stores here.

Would that be a good subsitute for pumpkin???
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post #17 of 26
9/6/07 at 2:00pm
Maybe your vet could suggest an alternative that would be safe for a cat. There must be some fibrous tuber in the U.K.

My cat has chronic colitis, and takes a powdered fiber supplement for cats that is identical to human Metamucil (both are psyllium husks). To be safe, you should also ask a vet what would be the right amount for your kitten's size. Because it's pure fiber, you would certainly use less of that than you would pumpkin.
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post #18 of 26
9/6/07 at 2:15pm
Thread Starter 
Do you think I would be okay waiting until Wednesday to find out about this or is it something that should be done before that? I have no idea how serious colitis is, but I'm hoping that having their second lot of worming tablets will sort it out?
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post #19 of 26
9/6/07 at 2:22pm
Someone more knowledgable may say otherwise but IMHO it doesn't sound like anything serious. As long as the only symptoms are a soft stool and a little blood...
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post #20 of 26
9/6/07 at 2:28pm
Thread Starter 
I'm a very neurotic owner and it hasn't worried me too much, as they are so well in themselves. They're eating well and charging around at every given opportunity, I think if they stopped doing those two then I'd be worried. Normally if there's any slight chance something might be serious I'm off down the vets panicing.
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post #21 of 26
9/6/07 at 3:15pm
I agree, it should be all right to wait, so long as the symptoms are mild. But I would start adding fiber to the diet now... my feeling is that it's better to keep the irritation down. Is there really no pumpkin or squash anywhere? Maybe a specialty food store?
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post #22 of 26
9/6/07 at 11:24pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm, I'm going to a Farmers market on Sunday that might have some. They're not in season here though so it's not very easy to find, and I've never once seen pumpkin or squash tinned here. I'll try to find something similar today.
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post #23 of 26
9/7/07 at 4:23am
Thread Starter 
I gave my vets a call this morning as I started worrying a bit (I thought the worrying may kick in at some point. ) and they told me to bring them in ASAP as it can get bad very quickly. They had no appointments for today so I'm taking them in tomorrow morning at 9:30, and I'm worried now! I hope it is easily treatable. The person I spoke to at the vets also said that they can't have their second lot of worming tablets until it settles down because it will hurt them too much. My poor babies! She made me worry more as she made it sound so urgent.
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post #24 of 26
9/7/07 at 9:35am
Glad that they're going in. Even if it is worms, there are different types (and you often can't see them in the stool), so only a vet can figure out which and give the right worming medication.
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post #25 of 26
9/7/07 at 4:04pm
Thread Starter 
Well strangely enough, when I spoke to the nurse when I was asking if I should bring them in before Wednesday (they already had an appointment on Wednesday) I did ask about worms and whether colitis can be caused by worms and she said it couldn't be, and if they do have colitis they won't worm them because it will irritate their stomachs more.

This will be their first appointment that we've taken them to and the vet has been highly recommended from a few people, including the Cats Protection that we got them from, they take their cats there if a second opinion is ever needed.

I'll update this with what they say once we get back tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed please.
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post #26 of 26
9/8/07 at 2:21am
Thread Starter 
Right, just got back from the vets, we've found out it's just Oscar who has this problem and the vet said that it does seem like he has colitis, and most likely caused by worms. He's given him some worming paste and we're to go back if it doesn't clear up soon so that he can get some antibiotics.
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