Getting concerned

HI Everyone.

Don't know if you remember this from last month (I know there are many posts between then and now!!), but Luna had some really bad bloody poo back in June. I took her to the vet, she didn't have parasites.
Since she did have a slight temperature, the vet gave her some anti-biotics and I would give this to her once a day for 6 days. By the end, the poo only had trace amounts of blood in it and for the past few weeks, I haven't seen any in the litter box.

This morning however, I saw on the floor what looked like blood. I thought it could be like red jelly (looks like it to me) but when I picked it up (with a napkin of course), I saw a trace of soft stool in there.

Now I'm REALLY concerned. My poor baby girl! The vet didn't really know what was going on, and suggested either the antibiotics or a laxative. I'm going to the pet store to see if I can't find a laxative today. Can anyone suggest something?
I would like to try the vets second suggestion before I take her back.

I don't think constipation would cause such bleeding, especially the texture you are describing? That dosen't sound right and I would be concerned too. Is the vet getting a fresh sample of stool...ie are they getting a fresh scraping themselves or are you bringing in a sample? Some parasites die in less than 30 minutes out of the body and then are not detectable.

I have no advice - I would be concerned also.

Good luck, my prayers are with you both.

I personally would not give this cat a laxative. A mucousy stool (your "red jelly") indicates lower intestine irritation like colitis, and increased bowel motility might just aggravate it. There is such a thing as antibiotic-associated colitis that happens after antibiotic have been given, too.

I would consider food trials at this point- maybe something she is eating just isn't agreeing?
Has anyone mentioned scoping or barium xraying this kitten to see where any blood might be coming from?
Can I assume that bloodwork has been done? Is the blood bright red, or a darker color? Is there further testing that could be done on the stool?

she did get an x-ray at the last visit. The vet did go over questions to make sure that she didn't swallow anything sharp. Luna's pretty much a mouse and soft-things toy lover.
The X-rays were really indeterminate. There was a ball of something that looked hard, but the vet assumed that because she had a lot of poo in her system, that it could just be a formed ball of poo. She suggested the laxative incase that ball of poo has been in her system for a while.

The blood is bright red.
The last poo sample I took in was about 12 hours old, so that could be why they didn't detect anything...maybe?

How is Luna acting? Is Luna eating, drinking, playing? If she is lethargic, dropping weight and low-grade fever, ask the vet to check for hookworms. What are you feeding her? Most kibble has a lot of grain in it and the grain can irritate the system. Has Luna been checked for giardia, coccidia?

You can give her loose leaf catnip, canned pumpkin or just plain grass to get some fiber in her system to move it along- but that ball could be an obstruction as well, especially if she eats toys, so don't rule that out. Sometimes fresh eyes are a good idea and a second opinion should be sought out-

I would probably run her back and have her palpated- my vet can determine a whole lot just by feeling the gut. If there is a blockage hard enough to cause lower GI bleeding (the bright blood) then I'm not even sure a laxative would move it- sometimes all they do is allow liquid intestinal matter to shoot around the blockage.
I wonder why he assumed that the blockage was feces? That's my main concern.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but if it were me I'd get my cat seen before the weekend.

I agree with Cearbhaill- I had a rescue one time that the vet swore the round object seen in the x-ray was old stool. Turned out instead to be a pebble that the cat had swallowed because he was so hungry. I almost lost him, but took him for a second opinion and that vet did an exploratory surgery. Kitty is fine now rehomed with a lovely couple and doing well.

Hmmm..actually she's been very hyper, running around, etc. I haven't seen her like this since before we got Whitey.

I was worried for a bit that she could be stressing because of Whitey. He's very alpha male and she just in general takes a long time to tolerate other cats.

However I was thinking of the second opinion and possibly driving the 45 minutes to her old vet. i would hate to keep her in the car that long though. I know the current vet was stumped as to what could be causing it. Oh well, she survived a 2 hour ride home when I got her, she can survive this...plus I'd rather go to someone I know and trust rather than someone new that I don't know at all.

Go with your instincts - see the old vet.

Good luck.

Thanks! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get her in tomorrow, so Monday will have to do.
My plan of attack is to hopefully get a stool sample to them that's fresher than the last one. So she'll be getting wet food that morning (luckily I don't have to wait longer than 8 hours with her and wet food ).

But I'm going into work early and leaving early to take her to the vet on Monday.
The first vet I took her to I mentioned that she's on Purina Indoor Chow and she said that sometimes the indoor food builds up too much fiber in the cats, so that would cause a backup in their systems and could be why...so I began giving her and the others more wet food. I don't think its as simple as that though...