Cat occasionally has bloody stools?

sophiee

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Messages
2
Purraise
1
About 3 months ago I adopted a cat who had been abandoned in my apartment building. She seemed completely healthy and was fine for the first month of owning her. In the past month I've experienced three occasions where she has had a small amount of blood in her poop. The stools are typically a little softer (not diarrhea) with a little bit of blood. She poops about one or twice a day and it seems every 7 days or so she has had a bloody stool in the past three weeks. She's eating normally, drinking water, and is very energetic but it's still concerning. I'm definitely going to switch her food and see if anything improves but a lot of websites have been saying that it could be an infection/parasite so I am a little concerned. I don't want to rush to take her to the vet since the tests are crazy expensive and she doesn't seem to be in any pain. Does anyone have any advice on what could be wrong? Should I be worried?
 

LotsOfFur

What greater gift than the love of a cat.
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
1,621
Purraise
634
Location
Texas
Has your kitty been to the vet since you got her?

If you have an established vet and she has been seen you can probably just take a fecal sample to them.
If not, call around and ask what the price is for a check up on a pet you have just adopted.
This will give you peace of mind and enable TCS members to give more suggestions based on what the Vet has said.

Also a vet check is important so she can be spayed if she isn't already.
This kitty was lucky you came into her life, thank you for taking her in. :)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

sophiee

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Messages
2
Purraise
1
No I never took her to the vet since I've gotten her. She seemed to be very healthy so I didn't think it was necessary. I'm not positive if she's spayed. I believe she has a scar on her tummy but she has a very fluffy belly so I can't be sure. I'll definitely bring her in for a check up now that she is showing signs of some problems.
 

lisahe

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
6,149
Purraise
4,968
Location
Maine
 
No I never took her to the vet since I've gotten her. She seemed to be very healthy so I didn't think it was necessary. I'm not positive if she's spayed. I believe she has a scar on her tummy but she has a very fluffy belly so I can't be sure. I'll definitely bring her in for a check up now that she is showing signs of some problems.
I'm glad you're going to take her to the vet: beyond the loose, bloody stool, something we faced with our previous cat, it will be good to get her her shots and a general checkup. It's good to have a baseline, in case the stool problem gets worse.

Personally, I think it's important to sort out the source of the stool problems now: for our cat, it was most likely her first symptoms of IBD, something she had on and off for years. She was active and lived a long life but I wish we'd figured things out for her. (Our vets convinced us it wasn't of concern; I wish we'd switched to a cat specialist who knew better!) If there aren't any apparent parasites or infections, definitely ask the vet for ideas and experiment with her food to see if you can make the blood go away. It can be difficult to pin down a cat's food sensitivities but things like grains or even a protein source, like chicken or fish, can cause problems for them. FWIW, our cat seemed to be sensitive to grains and, most likely, fish.

Good for you for adopting the cat! My first cat was a stray and she was a wonderful cat!
 
Top