Came home from vacation to this....(graphic)

Hi,
I just returned this evening from a 6 day vacation. All of my pets stayed at home and were visited by the pet sitter at least twice a day. He reported no issues with any of my cats during the week (the pet sitter is the breeder of my wirehairs, so he knows cats.)

I, however, found an issue. The sitter doesn't come upstairs, and when my daughter went to take a bath, this is what she found in her tub:


I don't know exactly WHO did it and I'm not exactly sure WHAT it is. I'm 99% sure it's diarrhea, but there was no poo odor whatsoever. The drain contained liquid and clots (sorry if TMI).

As for who I suspect did it-- it's Ziggy, my newest kitten. He's been on 2 courses of antibiotics since I got him (upper respiratory infection) and has some NASTY gas and I did notice "putty puddles" in the catbox before we left. Ziggy's been taking probiotics since I got him, to help balance his intestinal flora.

I'm definitely going to be playing "poop detective" the rest of the weekend. No one seems to be feeling bad, and there were no other spots anywhere else in the house, other than 2 pee spots on the bathrug in front of this tub. Just need some support and opinions on what could have caused this. It was quite a shock to find that mess, although whoever did it was extremely thoughtful to do it in the tub and not on the carpet.

Thanks in advance.

Cally

WOW, that is alarming!

There is quite a good amount of blood in that, and the actual presence of clots is what is causing me concern. It looks however like it is red, so the bleeding is not deep in the intestinal tract. ( if it was, the result would be more black/brown/ tarry looking)

Are you sure this is not vomit? The "pattern" doesn't look like a vomit spot though.

It looks like it was VERY liquid and ran down the tub and pooled by the drain. That makes me think urine instead of feces. Feces that wet and bloody would stink outrageously. Bloody poop of any kind has the raunciest smell. Was it dried already or still wet/moist?

I have had kitties that had no symptoms but were urinating what looked like bordeaux wine.

Anyway you can set a litter box in front of you and see if you can entice the kits to pee and catch it in a baggy? This is what I have to do with my 7 when I suspect one has a UTI.

I hate to be an alarmist, but I would want to get whichever one did that to a vet ASAP. Just too much blood there for my comfort.

Please keep us posted.


PS. I just love your screen name! Hits very close to home for me here, LOL

Thanks for the quick response. Yes, you may very well be right about the pee, especially with the absence of odor. And yes, it was still wet where it pooled in the drain. When I opened the drain (using toilet paper) it was rusty appearing on the paper. If THAT is the case, I would suspect Felix, my former feral. He is still very much feral with anyone other than immediate family, and the pet sitter reported not seeing him at all for 2 days. When we got home, Felix was literally screaming for me in the backyard (we have a catfenced yard and flap) and has been stuck to me like glue ever since (and purring louder than I've ever heard before.) Perhaps the stress of us being gone caused some bladder issues???? I know now I should have collected some of the fluid, but my daughter was totally grossed out by the state of her tub, I'm exhausted from a week walking NYC, and not thinking well.

I'm watching all 3 like hawks right now. I cleaned out the litter robot and will check it after every use to try and pin down who is doing this (although the contents of the robot looked normal when I changed it.) When I find the offender, he/she will be headed to the vet's (with photo of tub in hand.)

Yes, pee-cleaner is a perfect name for me. With 5 pets and a daughter with autism, I have much experience. Sigh...

Thanks for the input, I'll keep you posted on any developments.

This looks like urine to me (with blood). One of your cats might be having a urinary issue. Cats, when they have urinary issues, like to pee in the tub (and everywhere else for that matter) rather than their litterbox. This could be very serious.
Whoever it is needs to go to a vet ASAP.

I hope you are able to figure out who did it and get them to the vet fast! Please keep us posted.

o my... scary...
good luck, hope it's nothing TOO serious

one quick question, are all the cats spayed? I had one of my girls slip outside (without showing any signs of a heat) and then she had a miscarriage about 3 weeks later. we didn't even know she was pregnant until she started the miscarriage. But the discharge looked very much like what is in your tub, and it had no odor. (BTW she will be spayed as soon as I can get her in after Christmas)

That looks very much like when Bootsie (the cat we had when I was growing up) had crystals in his urine and was becoming blocked. For some reason, he always urinated in the white sink in the basement when this was happening, and the blood was very noticable. Keep a close eye on everyone, blockages are not something you want to miss!!!

Oh my! I hope you figure out who the sick kitty is soon. Poor baby.

You poor thing - that would be horrifying. I was thinking urine crystals too. I would bet whoever did it would return to the tub rather than the litter box, so I would watch for that.

Well, I've had a day of playing pee detective and I've narrowed it down to Felix, as I initially suspected once I agreed it was urine. He peed on a blanket on the futon in the study overnight and it was clear. He's not drinking as much as I'd like, either. I bought him a regular litter tray and put it in the study this afternoon and I found him sneaking around in the closet, etc, looking for a place to go and I showed him the new box and he used it---too fast for me to get a cup under him, tho. I did get a look at the urine and it looked normal, but there wasn't a whole lot of it. Interestingly, as soon as he finished peeing, he went downstairs to poo in the robot as usual. He's clearly telling me that something is amiss.

Otherwise, appetite is good and he seems to feel OK, but is sleeping more than usual. It's also cold and rainy so we're all a little lazy. In any case, I will call the vet tomorrow.

Thanks for the input. I'll continue to keep you posted.

Cally

Sound like you have found your patient. Please keep a really close eye on him until you can get him to a vet. Because he is a "he" blockage risk is very high and will be an emergency if it happens.

( I am positive you already know this, but just in case had to add it )

Hopefully he just has a UTI with some crystals and no stones.

Lots of blood from one of the kitties always gets me in worry mode. Thanks for keeping us posted on how he is doing.