Blood in Stool - Colitis, Food Allergy, etc?

[luminettia]

Hello! I wanted to see if anyone had a similar experience and/or insight to share!

My ragdoll, Mochi, has been having blood in his stool for the past month or two. It's fresh blood, and needless to say, it scares the heck out of me every time I see it (especially because some days are way worse than others). I initially thought it could be stress related--my parents left on a trip, and it was maybe a week or two after when I noticed it start--but when it persisted past a day, I brought him to the vet.

As of Dec 23rd, he's been on RC Hydrolyzed Protein Diet and probiotics. He's meant to be on this for 2 months, but my worry is that this does not seem to have solved his issues; are food allergies typically supposed to solve immediately after the potential allergen is taken away, or can it take upwards of 2+ months? He also went from pooping everyday to once every two days on RC. I was giving him Tiki Cat Pumpkin and Wheatgrass topper for extra moisture/to see if it could help him go more often (and it seems like maybe it's helping?), though the vet has asked me to switch to Metamucil so I'll be doing that.

To summarize:

• Intermittent blood in stool. I've been documenting his litterbox habits for the past 2 weeks or so. Image of my table (there are no pictures!) is below!
• Currently on Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein Diet (+ same brand of treats) and Proviable probiotics.
• Had been getting Tiki Cat Pumpkin and Wheatgrass topper, but vet was concerned about potential cross contamination (with cat food companies that make multiple things) and wants this trial to be as sterile as possible, so she suggested I add water to his dry food for moisture and swap to giving him Metamucil. I haven't done this yet, but will likely be starting tonight/tomorrow.
• Fecal test and xray came back negative for parasites or any visible foreign obstructions.
• Still on this food trial for another month.

If anyone has any insight and/or experience, that would be most appreciated! He seems to be pretty happy otherwise (eats all his food, drinks water, daily urine, playing, and constantly sleeping tummy-up on my bed and rolling off because he likes to sleep on the edge...).

Past 2 weeks:

 

[maggie101]

If You Spot Blood in Your Cat's Stool, Here's What to Do

There are many causes. Keep your vet updated on how she is doing and take aa pic

 

[luminettia]

Thank you for the link! I've been pouring over every online site/subreddit/etc ever since this has happened; I think we understandably all get pretty anxious when something is wrong with our kitties.

I think I've done all I can right at this moment in terms of making sure to go to the vet, keeping her updated, and following her directions, but I was curious to hear if anyone else had similar experiences to share/input!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. How old is Mochi? He looks pretty young - and cute!

Fresh blood means it is coming from the lower intestines and/or anus. Is he having any kind of constipation or hard stools? Not just now, but before the food change? Going every other day vs. every day, if the latter is normal for your cat, could be suggestive of harder stools due to drying out while sitting in the colon. Pumpkin can be used to help with either loose or hard stools, but which way can be somewhat dependent on what is causing a stool issue to begin with. If he was eating wert food before and is now on dry, that will also reduce the level of moisture in his system, which can also lead to harder stools. Harder stools can lead to irritation of the bowel/rectum when defecating. Isn't there a wet hydrolyzed cat food?

It can take some cats longer for their bodies to 'adjust' to a new food, so it might just take longer with him, but I would have thought you would have seen some kind of slight improvement by now.

Did the fecal check for anything other than parasites - such as bacterial/viral issues? Colitis can be caused by these types of things, among many others.

 

[luminettia]

Hi. How old is Mochi? He looks pretty young - and cute!

Fresh blood means it is coming from the lower intestines and/or anus. Is he having any kind of constipation or hard stools? Not just now, but before the food change? Going every other day vs. every day, if the latter is normal for your cat, could be suggestive of harder stools due to drying out while sitting in the colon. Pumpkin can be used to help with either loose or hard stools, but which way can be somewhat dependent on what is causing a stool issue to begin with. If he was eating wert food before and is now on dry, that will also reduce the level of moisture in his system, which can also lead to harder stools. Harder stools can lead to irritation of the bowel/rectum when defecating. Isn't there a wet hydrolyzed cat food?

It can take some cats longer for their bodies to 'adjust' to a new food, so it might just take longer with him, but I would have thought you would have seen some kind of slight improvement by now.

Did the fecal check for anything other than parasites - such as bacterial/viral issues? Colitis can be caused by these types of things, among many others.

Thanks for taking the time to reply! Mochi is a little over 4 years old now!

We did take him in last February for blood in his stool as well, and they checked his anal glands, but that didn't seem to be the issue and they suggested it could just be stress (I take him to a cat only clinic). He was on both dry and wet food for a while, but he seems to dislike most wet food which makes it tricky; I have multiple bowls of water and a fountain around for him to try to make up for his dry diet, and he was getting wet treats prior to all this, but that was it.

He was pretty consistently going to the litterbox once a day prior to this food change; it was mostly after this diet change that he started skipping days. For a while, he was consistently only going every 36-48 hours, but now there have been a few days in a row where he's been going so I'm hopeful that his body is starting to adjust somewhat. The only thing is that I'm going to have to swap out this pumpkin that he loves for water and Metamucil in his dry food, so I'm a little scared that things are going to go down again or he won't eat it...but I suppose I'll have to just try it and see.

And yes, sorry! I forgot to add that: he had a comprehensive fecal test for parasites, bacteria, and viruses. He tested negative for everything except Feline Coronavirus.

I jumped the gun and ordered some wet food tins with rabbit that is more geared towards cats with allergies/sensitivities, but the vet wants me to stick with his current diet for another month, so I'm going to see that through unless things get worse. It's just hard to sit here and see him pass blood, even if he seems mostly/completely unbothered by it!

 

[maggie101]

BTW
She is adorable!

 

[luminettia]

BTW
She is adorable!

Thank you! Trust me, he knows how to use that face to his advantage...

 

[luminettia]

He's has more blood in his stool since; more regularly than before when we started this specialized diet. It's not a TON of blood and he's still eating/drinking/playing, but he's had it for the past 3 days and since we started the Metamucil (so he been more regular with bowel movements now, but...the blood is still there).

I've emailed my clinic today along with another one since I'm at work, but I'm at a loss and am terribly worried. If this diet hasn't helped at all for this first month, I'm not sure it'd be beneficial to stay on it for the second month rather than start doing different testing and change him to a better food?

Any thoughts would be appreciated! I will of course speak to vets about this, but I'd love to hear opinions/experiences from others here too!

 

[luminettia]

Oop, I forgot to add: he has thrown up a few times these past two weeks, but never really food. Fur two times, and what looks like a feather from a toy once (I very thoroughly double checked all his toys after this).

The only thing is that the fur was a fairly small batch; just maybe a little 1-2 inch pellet or blob instead of the occasional big hairball that he gets.

 

[luminettia]

... And a link to my table for anyone who is willing/wants to look at it.

Mochi Records

 

[FeebysOwner]

I suspect that the vet will tell you to give the food change more time. But, even so, ask them to outline what they think would be the next steps in a game plan if nothing changes after another month. I am going to guess that because he is doing well otherwise that the vet won't see any reason not to wait longer.

Not sure if the vomiting means anything if it was primarily hair and that he has done that in the past. The expelling the hair quicker in smaller amounts might have to do with the new diet. Something to ask the vet.

 

[luminettia]

Thank you for the advice! He's been acting okay, but it's obviously super anxiety inducing for me to know something is wrong. I'm waiting to see if my regular vet can get back to me, but I've also booked an appointment with another vet next week for a second opinion just in case. I'm just hoping my current clinic doesn't necessarily take it as a slight.

Added a picture of him just being a silly little (or big....) guy on his new scratcher bed yesterday. I clearly underestimated the size of this bed.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I clearly underestimated the size of this bed.

 

[luminettia]

Just an update! I kept searching online to see if anyone had the exact same issue as me, so hopefully this can help someone else who might be having the same thing in the future.

I was told by my new clinic to take Mochi off the Metamucil because of the increase in blood in his stool, and it settled down. He's still been throwing up small hairballs (~2 a week) which is concerning, and I made sure to let the vet know during our appointment yesterday.

His physical exam yesterday was boring (aka normal) according to the vet, though he does have a heart murmur which we were already aware of. He got a blood and urine test and a rectal exam done; results will hopefully be today or tomorrow. We were also given dewormer because even though he tested negative, the vet thought it would be prudent to try it just in case he hadn't been shedding at the time of the exam and to cover all basic bases.

He also threw up some foam/yellow mucus this morning. I think it COULD be from licking off the rubbing alcohol on his fur from the tests yesterday, but there was a gap of 24 hours between his visit and when he threw up, so I'm not sure if that's possible? I'm just hoping it's nothing serious to add onto his current issues...

Tldr; still having his issues (blood in stool--albeit less lately--and small hairballs), a little bit of vomit today. Nothing in physical, xray, and fecal exams, but blood test and urine test are pending. He'll also be using a dewormer + still on his prescription food and probiotics for another month.

 

[luminettia]

Oop, I keep forgetting to add things: when I mentioned that he likes to chew on/eat soft plastics, our other vet said that they sometimes see that as a result of small intestine inflammation, so Mochi could have more inflammation than just his large intestine/colon where the bleeding is happening. I've never heard of this before (that inflammation = chewing non-food items), but maybe someone else will be able to touch on that?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have never heard of inflammation casuing a cat to eat non-edible items, but I guess anything is possible. A lot of cats do that - including mine who used to love to chew on plastic bags (although I am not sure she ever actually ate any of it) and was never told by a vet that it had to do with intestinal inflammation.

In so far as the yellow foam vomit in the morning, it has been my experience - at least with my cat - that it can happen when a cat has gone too long without eating. The normal bile production, used to digest food, builds up in their tummies and causes nauseousness and vomiting. Once I started making sure Feeby didn't go more than 6 hours without eating, she stopped vomiting in the morning.

 

[luminettia]

It was the first I'd heard of it too! I thought it could be the other way around (inflammation from eating a foreign item), but the vet's exact phrasing was “We do find that this behavior is sometimes a result of inflammation in the small intestine (while blood in the stool indicates inflammation in the large intestine) so Mochi may have several areas of inflammation in his digestive system.”

And thank you for sharing your experience! Mochi usually grazes through the night, but I noticed he finished all his food before bed last night, so that's definitely possible for him as well! I'll keep a close eye on him in the coming days.

 

[luminettia]

Blood and urine tests came back pretty normal/healthy. Apparently we're still waiting on the results of a FIV test?

His results for Feline Leukemia Virus came back equivocal though, so the vet is suggesting we test for it again in another month or so. She assured me that this doesn't necessarily mean that he has it, but... It's definitely a scary possibility.