a bit of blood in Feces, and now a lot of diarrhea

hi there, i just found this forum so hello to everyone, glad to be here

my male cat is around 7-8 years old, and had the usual urinal problems so he's been on C/D multicare for a few years now. that's his only food.
recently, there's been a new problem:
his feces started getting softer, with occasional tiny bit of fluid blood.

we already took him to a vet, he thought it was some kind of infection and we gave him antibiotics for a week.
well, the tiny bits of fluid blood are still occasionally visible, and now the feces had even shifted into occasional diarrhea..
i noticed Hill's changed the formula recently, maybe it also had something to do with it??

i may add that this crazy cat started wanting to eat all kinds of food recently. he literally eats everything. but we already stopped giving him anything apart form the C/D for a month at least.

he might eat some plants at the house when he don't notice, so...

apart form what i described. the cat acts totally normal, he's happy, energetic, acts perfectly fine.

thanks for any further tips, and ideas. we will take him to the Vet again soon anyway, but just to hear more opinions or similar experience.

I would try another food for a few days, to see if the problem clears up.

Generally, visible blood in the stool is associated with rectal irritation, not some deeper problem. 

thanks for the quick reply..

does anyone else knows if Hill's C/D multicare new formula (and STINKIER, i may add), had caused some weird new problems?

Hi rozroz,

I don't know about the new formula, but have a look at the ingredients.  If it is anything like the old formula, then this is what vet Lisa Pierson says about it:

Other prescription diets such as Hill's c/d, Royal Canin SO, and Purina UR are diets that do not aggressively acidify the urine like Hill's s/d does.

Therefore, c/d, SO, and UR can be fed for life but I would not recommend it due to their cost and unhealthy ingredients.

Hill's s/d, on the other hand, is NOT suitable for long-term feeding and should only be used temporarily. 

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth

The link will take you to a comprehensive write up about urinary health, and also the basics of feline nutrition.

I'd go with MrBlanche's suggestion, and try some different food.  Generally, for tummy upset, I opt for a few day of cooked human grade chicken.  There's definately no nasties like soy, maize, gluten etc in that.  But just for a few days to help him out.  Then opt for some food recommendations on that link.  Glad you will ask the vet too. Blood in the faeces needs to be addressed - it's a sign something is wrong, and it can get worse.

I don't know anything about the prescription food.  I know a lot of people when they are changing diet for a cat with a history of crystals will check the ph of their cats urine to be sure it is staying in the safe range.

While I agree that the blood may just be a sign of rectal irritation, the frequency of it and now diarrhea signal a deeper issue to me. It could be a food intolerance. As mentioned, the Hill's c/d has a lot of ingredients that are not species-appropriate for cats, any of which might be causing a problem. I would second trying a simple diet of cooked chicken only to see if the bleeding and diarrhea stop. If it does, you know it's the food. If it doesn't, then there's something else going on.

thanks for all the replies!

i will definitely try the boiled chicken diet and eliminate the food factor.