Cat is bleeding, what could have happened?

cheshire

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First of all, my cat is a female, less than 1 year old, and she hasn't been spayed yet. She is totally an indoor cat, in fact only confined to my room (since we have a dog that she doesn't like, heh) and she eats solid food.

About 4-5 days ago she threw up 3 times. They were small and it just seemed like it was her food. Thought it may have been partially caused by a hairball. Since then she was more mellow and I didn't see her eat much. It was the first time I ever saw her throw-up too, so I just thought maybe it freaked her out.

Gradually she started acting more normal, but I don't see her eat and drink as much as she normally does. Then just yesterday I noticed that her poop had blood in it. And there was a thick dark blood coming from her butt (not continually just after pooping). She's done that twice and only pooped twice in the last day or so. She seems to be eating a little more regularly since the poops, but she still has me worried.

I called some vets in the area, about 3 so far, but they weren't very helpful. Most practically forced me to go to an appointment and pay upfront, but I really don't have alot of money right now, and I still need to continue calling around to find someone who can work around my budget.

Maybe someone has experienced something similar that can help me out. Thanks!
 

jen

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could be worms, could be stress, hard to say. She really needs spayed and for you to figure out what is wrong. Make sure she continues to eat and drink, particularly drink. Animals naturally fast when they don't feel well to help their bodies recover, but you want her to not go more then a day or two. If she has never seen a vet before, I can bet its worms and maybe an illness coming on. Start saving your money and looking for a low cost clinic near you (we can help!) Spaying is really not something you can skip over. And she may need medical attention in the next few days.
 

yosemite

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Jen has given you good advice. Any time your pet has blood in their stool or around their bottom, there is something wrong. It sounds as though your cat is sick (not eating or drinking as much, mellow and lethargic). Also it is dangerous for a cat to go without food for 2 days because they can go into liver failure. The only way to get the liver to resume functioning properly is to get food into them and sometimes they have to be force-fed if they haven't eaten in some days.

I know it's tough financially sometimes, but please let us know what area you are in and there are folks here who can maybe help by letting you know what low-cost clinics are in your area.

Also, your kitty does need to be spayed. Not spaying can increase their chances of cancer and uterine disease.

Please keep up informed of how you and kitty are doing.
 
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cheshire

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Thanks for the help. I was definitely planning on getting her spayed of course, I just haven't had the money recently with everything going on. I'm actually in Bremerton, WA...but I haven't called all the places in the phonebook yet so I will be doing that soon.

She ate a little bit today, but she isn't really drinking water that I notice. I've also noticed her stomach making strange growling noises. Not sure if that's because she's not eating as much or something else...
 
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cheshire

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She ate a bit more today and drank water (finally saw her) and it seems her poop doesn't have blood anymore, but she had a hard time making it come out. Could she possibly be constipated?
 

jennyr

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Anything is possible - it could be something simple like worms and in a worst case scenario she could have a blockage, caused by a number of things. You really need to take her to a vet, with a stool sample.
 

arlyn

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PAWS of Bremerton has a low cost Spay/Neuter clinic, and can probably advise you as to a low cost vet in the area, or a vet that will allow payments.

PAWS of Bremerton
3306 North Perry Ave
Bremerton, WA 98310
Phone: (360) 373-7043
 

laurag

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Sometimes cats with colitis get blood in the stool. It's pretty easy to clear up.

However, cats with colitis don't have blood oozing out of their rectum.

The reason why a vet would want you to bring the cat in for an appointment is because they can't diagnose the problem over the phone. The symptoms you describe can be many things that are easy to clear up, but it will still take an appointment and exam for a vet to figure out. They'll want you to bring in a sample of the stool so they can see what the issue is.

What's worse is that your cat could have eaten something that's causing some sort of issue and the longer you wait, the worse it will become.

The combination of issues you relate seem to require more than simply hope.
 

kiwi kat

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She needs to go to a vet, period. Veterinary care isn't a "nice luxury" for our cats, it's an absolute necessity.
 
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cheshire

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She seems to have gotten a bit better, she's eating more normally now, and there's no more blood in her poop, but she did throw up again (it was her food, only watery). I still really want to take her to the vet of course, but this all just came at a bad time, I really can't afford to take her, I'm pretty poor right now. There's no one I can ask that will loan me money right now...so I'm not sure what to do except wait to see where I can get money from and then take her later. I can only hope she gets better in that time and not worse. I love her dearly and would take her in a heartbeat if I could afford it.

EDIT: Her stomach is making a strange growling noise every so often, it sounds like when you try to get ketchup out of a squeeze bottle when there's not much left.
 
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