Raw food diet switch - blood in stool

I just switched my two cats over to raw food a little over a two weeks ago.  My two babies have had chronic diarrhea ever since I adopted them from a rescue.  Many expensive tests resulted in no issues and the next step was to get them both ultrasounds which would have been very costly.  After reading up on raw diets I decided to try it.  Within two days both cat's poopy was formed and firm, it was like a miracle.  And they stopped going to the bathroom multiple times a day.  I did notice my one cat not going poop for two days straight and when he went tonight there was blood in his stool.  This was very scary to see since there has never been blood in any of their mushy poop before and I'm now concerned that I've made matters worse.  Has anyone whose cats are on raw diets experience this?  Was it constipation?  Please help, thanks.

I don't know if it is necessarily related to the food, but could be part of the ongoing digestive issue. I think that sometimes parasitic worms can attach to the walls of a cat's digestive system and cause the things you describe, including blood in the stool. Colitis can be a cause---a generally irritated digestive system. 

Is it a commercial raw diet, or homemade? My personal concern is if it is the latter, then I'd wonder about maybe salmonella or something like that.

Thank you Laura for your reply.  We have had both Sutter and Dylan checked for parasites twice and nothing.  I am making a homemade raw diet, using Feline Instincts supplement powder.  The instructions are very easy and I'm using ground turkey from the butcher - 85% lean.  Does that make a difference?  The first time I tried the diet we used chicken thighs and chicken breast and we grinded it ourselves.  But my one cat really didn't like it and when trying the turkey they both gobbled it up.  I did make a new batch yesterday - could it be spoiled?  Thank you so much for your help. 

What kind/brand of raw are you feeding? Some raw is high in bone and can cause some constipation and/or blood in stool. Not pooping every day is common and normal with a raw diet. Are you also giving them a probiotic in their raw too? It's usually a good idea to add that to a raw diet to help digestion. 

Edit - oops I just saw your other comment. Is the turkey you're feeding with bone? Is your butcher grinding it for you? Are you making sure he knows you're raw feeding it so it's not exposed to any of the other pathogens that pre-ground grocery store meat has?  I am not comfortable using any pre-ground raw meat that doesn't come straight from a company that makes meat for raw feeding like Hare Today. Unless you are using a very reputable butcher that knows you are raw feeding and is grinding it specifically for you on special equipment I would not feed pre-ground. 

Thank you Missmimz - I am not going to use the butcher ground turkey any longer.  I made a batch this morning of boneless chicken thighs and chicken breast and grinded it myself. I am using Feline Instincts My Natural Cat powder with chicken liver.  I just fed them and they both gobbled it up.  My Dylan has not gone poop again but I am hoping it was the turkey that made blood be in his stool.  I will watch him closely, as always and keep you posted. Thank you so much again - it was so scary to see blood in his stool.  And I'm going to research Hare Today.  Do you have any suggestions of what I should purchase?  I'm a raw rookie.

I would be a little concerned with using raw meat meant for human consumption. The reason being is that it is assumed that the food will be cooked so some pathogens are acceptable. Typically a commercial raw food is frozen shortly after it is processed and most use extremely high pressure to kill the bacteria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascalization 

Thanks Zed - could you recommend a site for me to order the raw food specifically for animals?  I am desperately trying to do right by my babies and need to get this right.  Thanks again.

I think that @missmimz  pointed one out, I only feed Midi commercial  raw and don't make my own so I am not really able to make a recommendation. For raw I feed Midi Nature Variety Raw and sometimes Stella and Chewy's raw.

steph1021 said:

  And I'm going to research Hare Today.  Do you have any suggestions of what I should purchase?  I'm a raw rookie.

Click to expand...

I absolutely love Hare Today and many other members here do too. My cats love whole rabbit fine ground, pork fine ground, beef/bone/venison, beef/tripe, and my older cat that eats boneless enjoys the boneless turkey thighs and boneless duck. I also use boneless beef, venison, and lamb. I mix with alnutrin for bone or boneless (depending on which meat I'm using). The only thing to be concerned with is that some of the bone-in meats that HT sells are high in bone, especially the poultry. I don't like to feed my guys more than 10% bone so I just mix the bone-in meats with something boneless to lower the bone content. For example i mix 1lbs bone-in rabbit with 1lbs boneless chicken breast, or boneless lamb. 

For me the biggest downside is that I live on the West Coast so shipping is really expensive, but it's worth it. 

Another option if you're interested in commercial raw is Rad Cat, which is also excellent quality and my cats love it. I can't feed it exclusively though because it's too pricey for my large brood. 

Thanks again.....I'm definitely going to look into Hare Today........me, Sutter and Dylan will keep you posted!!  You've been a huge help and have calmed my nerves at bit, I just hope there is no more blood in Dilly's poop.  Have a great night!