Worried about my cat...

larissa

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...she's going to be a year at the end of this month, and ever since she was a kitten, she's had blood in her stool. The vet tested her back in September for worms, but he didn't find any. He told me to mix wet food with her dry food, so I did.

She steal bleeds in her stool, a lot sometimes. Today, I found what looked like a white worm in the bloody stool as I went to scoop it out of the box. She was tested negative for worms, so did she get them again somehow?

Also, when she's lying down or sleeping, she twitches a lot. I'm worried these are seizures. She also wheezed a couple of times, so I'm a little scared about FIP. I'm so worried about her. Does she sound like she's in danger? She still plays and eats a lot, but her abdomen is very sensitive; I have a four month-old kitten as well, and he pounces on her as they play, which seems to really hurt her.

Do you think she'll be okay? I want her to see the vet again, but I have to pay off the last bill of booster shots for my younger kitten before I can afford to take her. What do you think could be wrong?
 

a_loveless_gem

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There is something very wrong with your cat.

Please, talk to your vet and see whether an arrangement can be made. It is clear that your cat needs urgent attention. There are many things that could be causing blood in the stool.
 

jen

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It is sounds like you need to get the cat to a vet as soon as possible. I know it can get expensive. Try looking around for a low cost clinic, there is one by me that does all kinds of work but the visits only cost from $10-$30, plus the cost of whatever medications they give u. If you need help looking, tell me what city/state you live in and I will help you look.
 

hissy

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The blood in the stool could be a mild form of colitis, it also could be because of the worm infestation, and so a vet visit is warranted. You can try adding fiber to her diet either canned pumpkin uncooked, cooked and mashed green beans with a little bit of butter, or even some bran (uncooked) mixed with either warm water, or cat food juice. Her pouchy stomach and tenderness could be because of the worms, or it could be something more serious. Keeping her with advantage on her will cut down the tapeworm infestation, but if she goes outside and hunts, she can pick up worms from eating field critters.
 
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larissa

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If it is worms, will she pull through? I called the vet's machine and asked to make an appointment for next week, will she be okay until then? *worries some more*
 

hissy

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If it is worms, and you saw little white (like kernels of rice?) those are tapeworms and your vet just needs to know the weight of your cat (which you can weigh yourself) and then he can just give you a pill (drontal) The kernels you saw are the eggs of the tapeworm, the mama worm is still in your cat's system, and the pill will kill off the host worm and kitty will shed the invader in her waste products. BUT with so much blood in her stool, that would be a concern to me and I would opt to find another vet who could see her on Monday a specialist. Without grossing you out, mucous and blood (a little bit in the stool) usually indicates colitis, but you mention a lot of blood and she has been passing this blood for quite sometime, so I would seek out a cat specialist in your area and have tests run. (If I were you)


If you go to our sister site www.meowhoo.com and look under health and then under veterinarians, we only list vets who handle small animals or who are cat specialists, perhaps there is one near you?

Good luck-
 
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larissa

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The white thing I saw was one huge worm-like thing, not kernels. The bloody stool smells funny, too.
I can tell when she bleeds in her stool and when she doesn't from the smell; I had her checked for this once before, and she came up negative for worms, but could she get them from insects hanging out in potted plants?

Also, what's colitis? Is it similar to the human ulcerative colitis and chrone's disease? Is it treatable?

Maybe I should take her to a 24 hour emergency vet?
 

jen

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I am curious about colitis too. Every once in a blue moon, one of my cats will have a little diareha(sp?) with a tiny amount of blood. This rarely happens but when it does, it just seems like my cat has a stomach ache or something cuz she doesn't eat much that day. Then shes back to normal the next day.
 

purrfectcatlove

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I don't know how much you trust your vet , but sometimes looking for a other vet for a 2nd opinion helps a lot . We are all only humans and so do make mistake's , including vets .
I hope everything will be ok with your baby ((((HUGS))))
 

momofmany

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Originally posted by Larissa
The white thing I saw was one huge worm-like thing, not kernels. The bloody stool smells funny, too.
I can tell when she bleeds in her stool and when she doesn't from the smell; I had her checked for this once before, and she came up negative for worms, but could she get them from insects hanging out in potted plants?

Also, what's colitis? Is it similar to the human ulcerative colitis and chrone's disease? Is it treatable?

Maybe I should take her to a 24 hour emergency vet?
The huge worm thing is a tapeworm. They get them from fleas. Like Hissy said, you can get some Drontal from your vet to treat that.

I live in "flea-central" and mine get Drontal throughout the flea season. I have never once had bloody stools from tapeworms, so the blood does sound like colitis. I don't think you need an emergency vet, but you should get her in. Colitis can be hard to diagnose. If caused by stress it's hard to treat. If your vet hasn't been able to diagnose it, perhaps a second opinion would be in order.
 
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larissa

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She does have colitis, as well as "parasites" in her stool, though not worms. The "worms" were strands of mucus. She's on anti-inflammatories and antibiotics; thank goodness she's okay!
I took her to the emergency vet, which cost me a fortune, but I couldn't stand worrying about her anymore!

Thank you for all your help and advice.
<3
 
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