Dark poop, blood, diminished appetite

maurene · May 13, 2014

My 13 yo male tabby, Louie, is having some problems. I noticed on Friday 2-3 small spots (1-2 inches) of soft, runny poop around his litter box. The poop was very dark in color (not normal) and I noticed blood in some of them. This continued over the weekend (and still this morning) and I noticed that he hadn't been each much over the past week.

I took him to the vet yesterday and showed the vet some fresh stool samples. One definitely had a lot of red blood and the vet noted that the other sample was dark - but I don't know if he thought there was old blood in that one or not. When they took his temp, the assistant noted his butt was red and she saw blood. She also thought his face smelled of pooh -- like maybe he had been licking himself. They took some blood and urine to be tested and I should hear back on those later today. Vet said that the bleeding was a sign of something irritating his intestinal track. And prescribed some antibiotics and another med for coating the intestine. Louie is strictly an indoor cat and the vet didn't think he had parasites.

Louie doesn't look sickly but I'm pretty sure he's lost weight. I feed him Wellness Core and a little bit of Fancy Feast wet food. I'm going to up the wet food because he did seem to eat that last night. Vet gave me some cans of food to try.

Any suggestions or thoughts on what might be wrong with him?

Thanks!!

oneandahalfcats · May 13, 2014

maurene said:
My 13 yo male tabby, Louie, is having some problems. I noticed on Friday 2-3 small spots (1-2 inches) of soft, runny poop around his litter box. The poop was very dark in color (not normal) and I noticed blood in some of them. This continued over the weekend (and still this morning) and I noticed that he hadn't been each much over the past week.

I took him to the vet yesterday and showed the vet some fresh stool samples. One definitely had a lot of red blood and the vet noted that the other sample was dark - but I don't know if he thought there was old blood in that one or not. When they took his temp, the assistant noted his butt was red and she saw blood. She also thought his face smelled of pooh -- like maybe he had been licking himself. They took some blood and urine to be tested and I should hear back on those later today. Vet said that the bleeding was a sign of something irritating his intestinal track. And prescribed some antibiotics and another med for coating the intestine. Louie is strictly an indoor cat and the vet didn't think he had parasites.

Louie doesn't look sickly but I'm pretty sure he's lost weight. I feed him Wellness Core and a little bit of Fancy Feast wet food. I'm going to up the wet food because he did seem to eat that last night. Vet gave me some cans of food to try.

Any suggestions or thoughts on what might be wrong with him?

Thanks!!

Hi there,

I was going to say that diet can sometimes cause a change in bowel movements and cause bleeding, but it sounds more like he may have a bacterial infection or virus in the digestive tract. Dark blood usually indicates upper GI bleeding, whereas if the blood is bright red, this occurs lower in the tract. Hopefully between the blood work, urine and stool samples, they can determine what is going on.

Lots of positive vibes that it is not something too serious

denice · May 13, 2014

It sounds like it could be IBD. Older male cats have the highest incidence of IBD though it's being seen in cats in other groups now. If the antibiotic doesn't clear it up or it it flares again I would ask for a steroid. There really isn't a test for it short of a biopsy but if there is quick improvement with the steroid than it probably is IBD. IBD often will flare, get better and then flare again.

lisahe · May 13, 2014

Denice said:
It sounds like it could be IBD. Older male cats have the highest incidence of IBD though it's being seen in cats in other groups now. If the antibiotic doesn't clear it up or it it flares again I would ask for a steroid. There really isn't a test for it short of a biopsy but if there is quick improvement with the steroid than it probably is IBD. IBD often will flare, get better and then flare again.

We had a female cat (also older) who had similar symptoms that also appeared to be caused by IBD. I hope the change in food helps Louie, Maurene!

ldg · May 13, 2014

Denice said:
It sounds like it could be IBD. Older male cats have the highest incidence of IBD though it's being seen in cats in other groups now. If the antibiotic doesn't clear it up or it it flares again I would ask for a steroid. There really isn't a test for it short of a biopsy but if there is quick improvement with the steroid than it probably is IBD. IBD often will flare, get better and then flare again.

Actually, the cobalamin/folate test is a good indication. Dr Becker has a good article discussing how to discern IBD from blood work: http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...012/09/24/pets-gi-inflammation-treatment.aspx

What antibiotic was prescribed? The coating - is it sucralfate?

When this happens, it's actually a really good idea to put them on a simple, bland diet with a novel protein. Just poaching some pork and feeding it blended with the water it was poached in or shredding it into the water it was cooked in can help provide a "reset" to inflamed GI systems. It's safe to feed for about a week to adult cats. You can also make bone broth: with all the collagen (which is anti-inflammatory), it is VERY healing for any GI upset. Dr. Becker has instructions - any bones can be used, though so many cats develop chicken sensitivity over time, you may want to consider using turkey or even pork (though the larger bones take longer).

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/12/02/pet-bone-broth.aspx

http://www.theorganicview.com/recipes-health/cook-your-pet-a-healthy-broth/

Another healing, soothing addition to his diet that is healing to the GI tract and should stop the diarrhea is a yeast-based probiotic that can be used with antibiotics (increases their effectiveness, in fact), S. boulardii. Instructions are here: http://www.ibdkitties.net/Probiotics.html

When he's done with the course of antibiotics, it's always a good idea to restore healthy gut flora with one of the L. acidophilus-based probiotics, also discussed on the IBDkitties.net probiotics page.

:vibes:

for your boy.

denice · May 13, 2014

Interesting about a blood test that is a good indicator for IBD, I hadn't heard of it before. I have no doubts about my little IBD kitty both because of symptoms and reaction to medication but also the last time he was really sick it was evident on examination. It showed up on the ultrasound and the vet said that his intestines felt ropey when she initially examined him. He was very very sick though so I am sure his intestines were very inflamed.

goholistic · May 13, 2014

Any word on the results of Louie's labs?

This was my "go-to" document for awhile when Sebastian was having all his tests done. It has a good section on cobalamin and folate tests starting on page 3 (88), and talks about it again in relation to bacterial overgrowth on page 5 (90).

Laboratory Tests for Diagnosis of Gastrointestinal and Pancreatic Diseases ([emoji]169[/emoji] 2011)

http://actualidadveterinaria.files....-gastrointestinal-and-pancreatic-diseases.pdf

maurene · May 13, 2014

Thank you everyone! I'm still waiting on the blood results but did do a little reading on IBD and that definitely sounds like a possibility. Looks like I'll have to do more research on diet. My other kitty is borderline diabetic which we've been able to control with food. Luckily it seems like much of the foods and supplements recommended for kitties with IBD also work well with diabetic cats.

denice · May 13, 2014

Yes the same diet that is actually healthier for all kitties, high protein low carb, is good for IBD kitties. Often a novel protein helps, the idea being that there is a sensitivity or allergy to a protein that has been in the diet.

maurene · May 14, 2014

Blood work came back normal! And, I've not seen any troublesome poops for 24 hours!

I did more reading on IBD and it really seems to fit Louie and explains a lot of his behaviors. Thanks again for the help and information!

oneandahalfcats · May 14, 2014

Good to hear that the blood work checked out fine and that Louie is doing better today. What did your vet have to say about what this is?

maurene · May 15, 2014

oneandahalfcats said:
Good to hear that the blood work checked out fine and that Louie is doing better today. What did your vet have to say about what this is?

The vet just said that with the blood work coming back normal that it meant what ever was causing the intestine inflammation was "localized." (I think that was the word he used.) He said to bring Louie back if he didn't have solid stool in the next 2 days and he'd do an xray.

For several years now, Louie usually poops outside the litter box - near it but not in it. Now (in retrospect) I wonder if that he started doing that because of something like IBD. Last week when he started having the blood in his stool, he was definitely pooping outside the box. But for the past two days I haven't seen any poop outside the box. There is poop in the box but it might just be my other cat. I'll check again today to see if I think both cats are using the litter boxes. Louie is eating the wet food (which I've been giving him more of).

Dark poop, blood, diminished appetite

maurene

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oneandahalfcats

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denice

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lisahe

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ldg

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maurene

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denice

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