Cleopatra may have IBD(otherwise cancer).

I know you have a couple of threads around here and I may have missed something somewhere but has your vet checked for parasites, bacterial infections (like salmonella, ecoli, which is completely possible to get from kibble somethimes), blocked anal glands? Having blood in the stool is definitely not normal and while I do totally agree that this diet change is in order, I would also want to check on those other things.

Also, here's a link that may be helpful though I'm sure you have already looked this stuff up, I'm just grasping at straws here...

http://m.cat-world.com.au/?url=http...16608/blood-in-stool-after-negative-test#2631

Thanks for the response! I brought her into a vet last November, and they gave her Albon, even though nothing showed up on the fecal sample(swab to her butt). I gave her it for several weeks and nothing changed. So, I brought her to a new vet, and they suggested she had an allergy to a food. They also tested her stool that we provided, and everything turned up normal. So we tried Rabbit and Peas Royal Canin. On the 12th we brought her back. They suggested we do blood work because her heart was beating at 220. The bloodwork came back after in house testing. Everything was fine except for her calcium, which was slightly elevated. They suggested that it could be cancer.BUT, they said since she was never tested before, she may always have had it. So they prescribed Prednisolone and probiotics. Several days ago I saw tapeworms in her stool, so we took care of that.

So, would anything show up on a blood test for a bacterial infection? Like white blood cells? They did not test her stools, as we could not provide a sample. But we tested her stools twice in three months. So, I have no idea.

The STRANGEST thing is, I remember she developed all of these symptoms after eating two mice.

Could constipation alone be the cause of this issue? Perhaps because of her diet? I know she was constipated, but I don't know why, apart from that issue. I will wait another week or so(giving her water flavored with her food), and just take it from there. That is all I can really do.... Also, I do remember that while giving her Albon the blood diminished for a short while.

I dislike posting updates so much, because I feel like people will start to ignore the thread and all that, but(crazy thoughts, right???) I have an update. It is a good one.

So I followed everyone's advice, and decided to wait to transition to a home cooked diet. She has gone to the bathroom multiple times since my last post, and I have now just decided to post it, after making sure I wans't just lucky once. Everything is NOT 100% better, and I hope it WILL be over time. However, I have seen a major improvement in her stools. All of her stools have looked normal, apart from a small, small area(the last piece of her stool) that still has a dab of blood in it. That means that her intestine STILL is swollen, but it is significantly less, if I understand everything. So I feel that there is an improvement. However, it NEEDS to be 100% better!!! Do you think there is a chance it WILL continue to be better? I really really hope so, and I will give it another week before I make my next decision.

Please, please, please send some vibes and prayers over here! We REALLY need them!  

I'm sending my best vibes to you!! It's always great to see good updates...

Keep doing what you're doing and I still recommend switching to EZ complete with cooked or raw food after some time has passed JUST in case it is something in the commercial food (some grain or pea or potatoe) that she's having a reaction to.

Abby2932 said:

I'm sending my best vibes to you!! It's always great to see good updates...

Keep doing what you're doing and I still recommend switching to EZ complete with cooked or raw food after some time has passed JUST in case it is something in the commercial food (some grain or pea or potatoe) that she's having a reaction to.

Click to expand...

It's great to hear about these improvements!

I agree with Abby2932 (no surprise!) on this, too. I'd probably start with some little snacks of homemade, maybe starting with cooked, to see if Cleopatra likes it, then move on from there to more food per day and/or raw food if she does.

I can't even begin to tell you how much our cats love EZcomplete, especially with chunked, sliced, or shredded cooked meat: they get one medium-sized meal of it each day, about the same as if they were splitting a small can of food. They both eat it right up and I swear Ireland's just been a happier eater since I started them on it; I wonder if it might be the digestive enzymes they put in the supplement. (Ireland's always been a little picky, sometimes acting as if she might be slightly nauseous, though she'll generally always eat if it's s a favorite food or I entice her in various ways.) The leftover poaching liquid goes into their freeze-dried raw food so nothing goes to waste. I've been making small batches of food (4.5 ounces of meat per batch) that last for about three meals/days but it's so quick (and truly EZ) to make that I don't mind.

Here's hoping the improvements continue!

Yes, I agree with all of you! I am glad I have not yet, just so I did not overstress Cleopatra's system(and my own!). I just needed this time to think, and not worry about anything other than pouring some dried food into her bowl. I think that it was the right decision for me to change her onto a better dry diet, because transitioning her over to something like homecooked or canned would take a long time. Wellness has potatoes AND peas, so even without grains, soy, artificial colors, and wheat, she could still have a reaction. Giving her her probiotics is now very easy, and she eats quite a bit more now. I know it is partly Prednisolone, but I truly believe she enjoys this food better.

I really feel guilty when I think about the past month or so. Despite the bloody stools with Iams, she had gained weight, and she was doing fine. But I transitioned her over to Royal Canin, and everything soon became worse. She was displaying hunger signs quite a lot. I know that it partly had to do with her hating the RC because she had free ranged food, but she would ignore and just paw and paw at my emergency stock of Iams. If I had given her it, she would have eaten the whole bag, but she ignored her RC. But I was told to feed her STRICTLY RC and nothing else, and so I listened. So, I have learned she dislikes Royal Canin, quite a bit.

The card had still not come, and I do not trust the scales at our stores, so I am still waiting to order a baby scale and EZcomplete for future use. In general, she seems a little more "full" around the stomach area, because she actually has food in her stomach. Oh, what a fool I was. 

Just quickly, before I forget: I got the Ozeri Pronto digital kitchen scale (recommended by @LisaMarie12) and like it a lot. It's very reasonably priced, small, and easy to use. (Here it is on the Walmart site: you can order it just about anywhere, I think.)

And don't beat yourself up for what feel like past food sins. I know we all do but it's nigh on impossible to know what will set off a cat's sensitive digestive system without doing a fair bit of observation, even food trials of a sort. You know Cleopatra better than we do and you're the one who has to do the work to switch her foods (which isn't always easy) so I'm glad you're taking things slowly and thinking about how to make things work for her and for you!

Do you use that for weighing your cats? How does it work? Cleo moves a lot, so does the weight automatically fluctuate? If you do use it for your cats, I shall buy it tonight!

I use it to weigh meat for food, not cats! [emoji]9786[/emoji]

That's what I thought, lol! I was so confused when you mentioned it. I was like, "how do you fit a cat on there? I guess it is possible!" Lol!  

I actually need a scale for Cleo, but I guess I should buy one for meat, too! Lol!

It's only an eleven-pound scale, too!

Well, Cleopatra is only six, so it may very well work for that, lol!  I want to get a scale, but at the moment I cannot buy a baby scale, but I feel that measuring her every three ounces may not even be enoough.  Do you thin that is fine, or should I get something that measures even less? Like .1 pound?

I have this scale:


It measures down to 0.1 OUNCE. It's pretty accurate. I weigh my 2 cats once a week and keep a log just so I know if something is amiss.

Well, for some reason the past few days have been horrible for my emotions. I feel so helpless and confused.

Several days ago she got into a tiny bit of syrup and some ice-cream. That night she pooped and it was soft and had blood in it. The night before last she had a soft poop with blood in it. This morning she had a soft poop with less blood in it. And then, she pooped again tonight. It was soft and had blood in it.

This is not normal stool behavior for her. She does not poop twice a day at all! I feel so helpless. I thought Pred would work no matter what she is on.a So Tuesday(vet is closed Monday), should I as for Leukirin? Or should I try another food change, or stay on it? It doesn't seem like this is working, although she can contain her stools for hours now. Any suggestions? I really need them. Ugh,,... I really need her to gain some weight,,,,but if it is IBD I don't want to give her something like that gel because she may be allergic to it.

I'm sorry to hear that you and Cleopatra are having issues. I know so well how hopeless that can feel. I don't have any answers for you but wanted to send some moral support your way until someone else comes along.

If it were me, I would probably keep the same routine going until a vet visit when they open. I wouldn't make any sudden changes right now. But I don't even know if that's the best advice.

When you do visit again, I would ask the vet if the SEPCIFICALLY tested for salmonella, listeria, giardia, tritrichomonas foestus, coccidia. I know you mentioned that a fecal was done but lots of times they are just looking for worms and not the above list. I think any one of the above items could have diarrhea and blood in stool as symptoms. Maybe bring it up and see if an of that stuff is worth checking out.

Thanks for the response! Several months ago they gave her a fecal exam. Two weeks ago they took the blood test, and her calcium was a little high. They said they may think it was cancer, but they could not be sure. I opted out of the biopsy, so they gave me Prednisolone. They did not test for those above diseases specifically, but I thought it may show up on the blood test. Nonetheless, the high calcium worries me with everything se has...

Cleo had diarrhea last night, so she is worse than about a week ago when she was on it. She doesn't even take 5mg of Prednisolone, though. So, I do not know. It is so hard making decisions...but I am going to have a talk with the vet again next week, after tomorrow, and discuss higher dosage options with leukirin.... Just in case.

Abby2932 said:

I have this scale:

http://smile.amazon.com/ZIEIS-Capacity-Z15P-DURA1216-Platform-Accuracy/dp/B0040I0U7G?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

It measures down to 0.1 OUNCE. It's pretty accurate. I weigh my 2 cats once a week and keep a log just so I know if something is amiss.

Click to expand...

Jolly smart looking scale.

Hello everyone, her stool looked better today. I have decided to order Alnutrin, and talk to the vet about everything. However, on her blood test she had high calcium. I do not want to feed her a diet higher in calcium thanthe maintanence. Do you think, with pork, it will exceed that?