Blood in kitten's stool

Long time no see, while I've been MIA I've added a new addition to the family but the introduction is for a different time.

I've had Momo for 2 weeks today and since I adopted him, he's had off and on diarrhea since I've gotten him. When he doesn't have diarrhea, his stool is still realatively loose.  About 80% of the time, when he poops, there is blood in his stool.    It is a bright red, indicated that the issue is lower in the digestive track, and is usually only visible on what comes out in the last push or two. 

I took him to the vet during his first week. I notified the vet of the diarrhea and bloody stool and they did not seem too worried about it.   They told me that the dewormer that the shelter used didn't treat many of the common parasites that kittens often got and parasites could cause the diarrhea and the blood in stool. They prescribed him a different dewormer that took care of a wider range of parasites and gave him the first dose there and I am to give him the 2nd and last dose today. His diarrhea has gotten better, only about 30% of the time its diarrhea, although the other 70% its still loose.    I'm just still concerned about the blood.  I still have to give him the final dose today but I would have thought that the first dose should have pretty much taken care of everything and the 2nd does just is a precautionary dose.  

He's been tested and vaccinated for everything except for his rabies, which can't be done until he's older. He's due for another vet visit for his next round of boosters in 2 weeks, my plan was to just wait until then to ask the vet if it still hadn't gotten better but I'm starting to think I should maybe at least call and talk to the vet over the phone.

What do you all think?

Momo is a otherwise perfectly healthy 2 month old male kitten.  He had been in foster care up until the night before we adopted him and had been fixed just two day prior to that. His eyes are bright and clear, no discharge from both the eyes and nose. Clean ears.    Active, loves to snuggle with people and other cats.  Very healthy appetite.    There's no obvious reason, besides the vet's original thought of the cause being parasites.

I think it's a good idea to call the other vet and talk. Something else is going on here. The kitty could have IBD or colitis or something else could be going on. They may have to do x-ray or ultrasound to find out. But I'm not sure. I'd definitely not let it go though, blood is serious and consistent diarrhea is an indication of problems. What are you currently feeding him? I'd switch to an all grain free diet if you can. Grains can wreck havoc on all cats but especially kittens. A good grain free, high quality protein diet would probably help.

Right now he's on a mix of dry and wet food.    The dry is Science Diet Healthy Development Kitten food and the wet is the NutraMax Kitten food.  

Minus the brand of wet food, its what he was fed at the shelter. His foster mom spoiled him with feeding him Fancy Feast.      I do have the Foster mom's name and phone number and I am tempted to call her also to see if this was something that has just started since adoption or it this was a problem she had.  I actually was able to speak with her the day of adoption but she didn't mention anything like that.

I will call my vet today and see what they have to say.

I would feed Fancy Feast, the grain free ones, any day over Science Diet and Nutro Max. Those are the WORST offenders and often do this to kittens! Please get him off these foods and onto a high quality grain free food like Nature's Variety or Evo. Those are much better and do not contain all the bad carbohydrates and sugar producing foods that can cause diarrhea. 

The amounts of corn and grains in these products astound me and not even a person can digest all of that corn, never mind a cat who's natural diet never, ever consists of corn unless it's predigested in a prey's stomach. 

Sadly, I don't think I can afford to change both the wet and dry food to the more expensive grain-free foods.    I will try substituting the wet nutramax with the grain-free fancy feast.       With the possibility of expensive vet bills for Momo, I have to watch spending even more.      

Then get her off the dry food as well. You are better off doing grain free Fancy Feast (the ones with NO gluten in it) and that's it, then doing Science Diet at all. That stuff is so full of additives it's a wonder it's not poison. If you have to stay with dry, then I still say go with something like Merrick. It's not anymore expensive then Science Diet and is MUCH better for this little baby. And grain free fills them up faster so they don't eat as much. All carbs do is make them want to eat it like it's a bag of chips and it's about as nutritious. 

Thanks for the food suggestions, I will have to discuss things over with my boyfriend and my vet.  We have another cat and he is healthy and happy on the adult versions of both foods and I dont particulary want to feed them different brands on all their food and I don't want to put Chacho through the stress of switching foods and risk any extra issues.    If smaller steps like swapping out just Momo's wet food doesn't help then I'll try swapping both.    The amount of dry food I feed them is very small, not even 1/4 of a cup at the bottoms of their bowls after they finish their wet food.  They perfer wet food and will only eat dry if they are truly hungry so the small amount of dry is just to give them something to tide them over between meals, (they get fed twice a day) and plus the dry is a little better for the heath of their teeth.   Everyone that I know personally feed their cats science diet and even one of my parents' cats, who has digestive/stomach and urinary track issues have found that Science Diet is the only food that doesn't make her throw up or give her urinary track infections.  My parents have used Science diet for most of their adult lives and all of their cats have lived long and healthy lives, one living for 23 years, one for 19 years and a third for 18 years, with that track record, I am wary to switch from it.

I really do appreciate the suggestions though and will keep everything in mind, if no other solutions can be found then I will switch but until then I would like to look into other options first.

I understand, but I do not agree. There are tons of and tons of sick kitties out there with allergies, food allergies and intolerance, IBD and other inflammatory diseases and many are caused by too much grains in food. I have to deal with this every day with tons of emails from parents with sick kitties and some with the exact symptoms you're telling me about. Cats never, ever were grain feeders. They are obligate carnivores and truth be told raw food diets are the best. They cannot get their protein, vitamins and minerals from grains, it's impossible. They can only get it from meat. That's how their bodies are designed, as hunters! www.catinfo.org.

MBcat, what were the dewormers administered?

Has his stool been checked for T. Feotus, coccidia, and giardia?

When we adopted Sheldon, he had bloody stool. It was determined to be "colitis," and unfortunately, diet is the ONLY way to address that.

I know you don't want to switch your other kitty's food, but he can have his free fed kibble using something like this: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/239771/...hope-to-raw-challenges-galore/30#post_3157561

She has instructions on how to make it.

TheMBCat said:

..plus the dry is a little better for the heath of their teeth.

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Actually, this is a misunderstanding that even many vets have. Kibble shatters when crunched, so provides no dental benefit UNLESS it is specially formulated to do so. There are seven dental kibbles on the market. But unless you're buying a dry food designed for dental health, your kitties aren't getting any dental benefit from kibble. You're better off feeding greenie's dental health treats. Even better, a chicken wing tip bone (with the meat on it) a couple of times a week.
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TheMBCat said:

Everyone that I know personally feed their cats science diet and even one of my parents' cats, who has digestive/stomach and urinary track issues have found that Science Diet is the only food that doesn't make her throw up or give her urinary track infections.  My parents have used Science diet for most of their adult lives and all of their cats have lived long and healthy lives, one living for 23 years, one for 19 years and a third for 18 years, with that track record, I am wary to switch from it.

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Of course you're wary, with that track record. :nod: But not all kitties are able to tolerate the ingredients in those foods. Just keep in mind that cats are obligate carnivores, and some need to eat a species-appropriate diet to resolve GI/colon problems. Obviously not all of them do! But for some, it's the only option that provides them relief from these conditions that get us pulling our hair out trying to find a solution, despite other diets working "for everyone else." Sometimes our kitty isn't "everyone else." :rub:

There is some really great advice that's already been given on this thread.  Just chiming in that though some kitties live long lives on subpar foods (likely due to great genetics), many kitties are not so lucky.  Dry food is extremely over-processed and not good for cat health.  It will cost more to make the switch, but may save you hundreds of dollars in vet fees in the long run.