Blood on my cat's anus

Hey cat people:

I just noticed bright red blood on my cat's anus. I haven't been able to locate any of his feces in the little box.

* Does anyone have any idea what may be causing this?


* How serious is this concern -- enough that I should visit the vet?


Our cat, Azreal is a neutered domestic long hair that is about 4 years in age. He is acting normal -- except maybe for increased meowing during the evening.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Best,

Darrell

YES! Go see a vet! Your cat may be constipated and might be straining to go to poop. Blood coming out of anywhere doesn't sound like a good sign at all.

Go to the Vet.

Welcome to TheCatSite Darrell...

If you have an emergency vet in your area, call and get your kitty seen asap.
My opinion is that blood from an unknown source is always a matter of immediate concern.
I hope your sweetie is OK.

Not to contradict but a small amount of fresh, red blood in feces (and transferred to the anus) is no reason to panic, especially if there are no other symptoms. Coco had chronic loose stools for over a year occasionally with a small amount. There would sometimes be a small amount of blood on her anus. Once I found a solution to the loose stool, no more blood.

My vet told me that a small amount to fresh red blood in feces is a symptom of bowel irritation and can be caused by something as benign as hair in the feces. Definitely consult a vet but don't panic.

Call the vet now - its not a good thing to see blood when peeing or pooping!

Yes, agreed to the "don't panic" thing... very hard stool could easily cause a scratch and so could diarrhea... I'm not sure if kitties can get hemorrhoids, but that's another explanation. I would be more worried about the black, tarry sort of blood in the stool, because that's a sign of really serious stuff. Bright red blood means it's coming from the rectum or anus, which means usually a minor injury of some kind, or hemorrhoids.

The one exception to 'don't panic' is if you have reason to believe the cat might've suffered trauma of some sort--a fall, for example--to the abdomen. In that case it's an emergency. Also, if he has ingested ribbon or string.

You might feel his belly to see if he is sore there, or if he has got a lot of poo backed up. Either one is cause for a vet visit... and of course if he's acting out of sorts or loopy then get in the car right now.

I think it depends on the quantity of the blood and whether there have been any sudden diet changes. Zek had blood just after producing stool a few days ago, and for once I didn't panic. He had gotten into two samples of dog food that I brought home to eventually give my parents' dog. I was late coming home that night, so Zek decided he didn't want to wait for me and would feed himself. A small amount of bright red blood, especially following a bowel movement means that you should watch carefully for other signs of problems or additional incidents, but one isolated incident (especially due to a dietary indiscretion) may simply be a one-time thing.

Thanks everyone for your responses.

My wife and I decided to monitor Azreal over the next few days. He seems unaffected by the situation. Since I've been working from home the last few days, I've been able to monitor his behavior and condition constantly.

We'll continue to monitor him and take him to the vet if anything changes.

Thanks again for your support!

D

Are you still seeing blood?

Sending Azreal more healthy poo vibes.

Thanks for the update.

Originally Posted by mschauer

Not to contradict but a small amount of fresh, red blood in feces (and transferred to the anus) is no reason to panic, especially if there are no other symptoms. Coco had chronic loose stools for over a year occasionally with a small amount. There would sometimes be a small amount of blood on her anus. Once I found a solution to the loose stool, no more blood.

My vet told me that a small amount to fresh red blood in feces is a symptom of bowel irritation and can be caused by something as benign as hair in the feces. Definitely consult a vet but don't panic.

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I think they said it was on the cat's anus and they can't find any poop in the box.

I agree don't panic. But a vet visit is definitely in order! Hopefully it is just a matter of being constipated and straining, diet or something else simple! I'm glad to hear he seems to be doing alright. And by the way... Welcome to thecatsite!

is it possible that my cats could be having anal sex? i have three male cats, one of them showing blood on anus..?

phatigue said:

is it possible that my cats could be having anal sex? i have three male cats, one of them showing blood on anus..?

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I've never heard of cats doing that!  And since they are presumably all neutered it's unlikely any of them have enough sex drive to attempt such an act.

HELP!!?  ( a huge mystery!?) my cat had blood around the anus and his rectum seemed sore or to be swollen, (not poo! BLOOD!?)  we cleaned him up and brought him to the doctor.. got him some antibiotics, he turned out to be ok..    

Last night while cooking, we let this cat outside, and ate dinner, came back to find 2 huge piles of blood the cat stumbled in on his own recognizance his whole butt and back legs where full of blood.!?   

 ok first I thought, well could have been a snake, (large beetle etc?), or another cat chasing him!?  I'm thinking the little guy ate a stick or something!?  

My problem is why cant' our doctors find a problem on x-ray etc? 

(another part of this is, he is neutered, when going inside and or outside, his does the tail movement for marking his territory!? He looks like he been in a fight!? I dont think a cats penis is capable of this!? IS IT!?  I hate thinking of such bad things at all.. but could it be?) 

Neutered males can have sex, I've caught my male, Hobbes, doing my female, Kakashi, a number of times (when she's in heat).

This morning I found blood on L's anus. L is slightly smaller male than Hobbes, and also neutered. And Kakashi is in heat... so I too was wondering if maybe Hobbes decided to mount the other male instead.

I'm going to keep a close eye on the situation and bring L to the vet if there's more blood or if his mood or appetite changes.

Everyone says take you cat to the vet ASAP well what happens if you don not have money???

I don't have money for the vet.

Then don't have a pet.

My cat has cancer and I don't have $5,000+ for chemo treatment.  Should I still have a pet?

Not having $5k for chemo, and not having $100 for a vet visit are two entirely different things. I'd hope you had the money to have your cat PTS if it was deemed her quality of life was terrible.