Vet Appointment tomorrow, Rectal Issues

Hey all,

I promise, I am taking the Widget to the vet. She has had a couple stool issues in the past with her bowels, but it cleared up when she was switched to Life's Abundance. She has been doing well for the past two months or so (I got the baby in June).

About 2 weeks ago, I noticed her rectum was a little irritated, so I cut back on some of the treats and other items. This week, she started to have a real problem with a "dirty butt"- that is, fecal matter in the rectal area. I have been wiping her down every day, several times a day. Today, the discharge included what looked like mucus, and was a bit more severe than normal. There was also blood.

I called this morning (I know a little blood is not a big deal for a cat, but this had gone on long enough, and I could sense she was getting frustrated). In the afternoon, I noticed a new symptom, that was pretty disturbing. My cat (who is normally 200% all about the litter box) was walking, and started to actually have some soft stool coming out of her butt as she was wandering. Obviously, I did not yell at her or anything, but, I did wipe her butt.

Does anyone have any idea what is going on here? Has anyone had prior experience with the latter symptom? What kinds of questions should I ask the vet?

Have you had a fecal sample analyzed at all? I would suggest that if you haven't had one tested in the past few weeks.

Has she had issues with loose stools before (you said issues with bowels, but I wasn't sure what you meant)?

I second the fecal ... also the current food is likely to high in fiber or too low in fiber ...

I have not had a sample analyzed yet. She had a few issues transitionally, and the shelter said that she sometimes had some problems- usually a little regurgitation post feeding, occasionally some loose stool. I have only seen it transitionally- once when I got her, once when I moved (long story- wasn't intended). She puked once when we moved, had loose stool once when she saw the moving boxes come in. I thought that transitioning her from the low quality stuff they were feeding in the shelter to Life's Abundance was responsible for the change.

The dirty bottom/irritation/ inadvertant production of stool when walking is brand new, and just emerged.

I would test a fecal, to be sure.

But I wonder - has anything changed in her or your environment? I have one kitty who stresses easy - and when she stresses she has loose stool & goes outside the box. Guests, moving the litterboxes, vacuuming - silly things can set her off.

Well, I moved a little over a month ago, but she had a chaotic early life from the sounds of it. She took to it like a champ. The only change has been i have been in classes, and I had a couple fourteen hour days (but they were one offs).

Just some more data on the regurgitation issue: it seems as though it was due to her having been declawed in a multicat environment at the shelter- she's very submissive with other cats, and was probably the last at the food bowl. I brought her home and started free feeding, and all issues with regurgitation cleared right up.

do you have rescue remedy??

From a shelter volunteer perspective, vomiting/regurgitating in easily stressed cats in the shelter environment is common.

I have a very sensitive little dog, who, when I am gone for a long day (like 12-14 hours), goes ballistic. So don't rule out the long days as part of the cause.

To create a less stressful environment, have you tried Feliway diffusers? That might help some.

I think you've gotten great suggestions already - my only addition would be, before you go to the appoitnment, to try and write down a calendar of when you noticed differences, when and how food was switched, and any little thing you can remember, including changes in environment or your schedule and her reaction. For me at least, it's handy to just hand it to the vet in addition to answering their questions - otherwise I tend to forget something until I'm out in the car again Also, I try to do a list of my questions for them, again, so I don't forget anything - I do this with my own internist as well!

Also, ask the vet to run a full fecal panel beyond the usual tests. I asked this for my boy at his last check-up, as sometimes his poo gets a little soft (starts out fine, but sometimes ends in a little mushy blob, and has occasionally had a trace of bright red blood). Of course, nada showed up, but at least it ruled out some items. My vet mentioned what Sharky said - sometimes it's a balancing act between too much and too little fiber. Gosh, if there were just some way to figure out exactly what food works with each cat, wouldn't we all be happy.

Hey Guys!

Thanks for the suggestions! The doc found nothing wrong on visual inspection, we are running tests at the moment. He found inflammation in her ear, so we are handling that, and we are also looking at food allergies. We'll know more when the tests come back.

My Margo doesn't have food allergies, per se, but rather food intolerances. She can handle certain foods in certain quantities, but for whatever reason that specific combination of ingredients will give her the runs. I mix 3 dry foods together to "balance" each other out & so far it's worked for her - with a lot of wet food thrown in there as she seems to tolerate wet food better.