Cat so sensitive that seemingly anything new causes blood on stool

[gabicards]

Hi all,

I honestly just want to vent a bit. I'm still on my mission to try and find a way to make my cat's stool a little softer - he's on a home cooked diet and poops every 3-4 days, very well formed stools that are on the dry side.

He has presumptive IBD and the inflammation is on his colon, and seemingly anything new causes a flare up that results in bright red blood on top of his stool - which resolves soon after the new irritant is removed from his diet.

I've tried: egg yolk powder, Royal Canin's Fiber Response (which is a big hit in the Feline Megacolon group on Facebook), and Miralax. Yes, even freaking Miralax, which apparently is used by everyone's and their mother's cats when they have constipation issues, causes blood on the stool of my cat. Vet puts it down to the inflammation, and I know she's right because, like I said, as soon as I stop whatever I just tried to introduce, the blood is gone (well, it can take a couple of bowel movements for it to clear up completely, but it always does). It rarely comes back unless I try introducing something else - the exception is when his stool is on the large side and dry, but then I know it's more that it's hurt a bit on the way out.

It's so frustrating... how can I possibly find something that could help him when he reacts so poorly to everything? When it comes to food, I've been told by another vet (his old one) that I could insist on it a bit and it, if he wasn't actually intolerant to it, it could be just the initial reaction and would soon go away. But I get nervous when I see it, so I always stop. He seems to have become slightly more tolerant to egg yolk powder, for instance, if I don't over do it (overdoing it these days caused vomiting, actually, not blood on stool).

As long as I don't try anything new, we're grand. It's like he's doomed to eat this turkey recipe forever - which would also be bad, then, since it could eventually lead to an intolerance. We can't win.

 

[Kris107]

Could the blood on the stool just be from his poops being hard? Fiber can actually make you constipated without enough fluids. Can you increase his fluid intake?

 

[gabicards]

Could the blood on the stool just be from his poops being hard? Fiber can actually make you constipated without enough fluids. Can you increase his fluid intake?

When no changes are made to his diet, it's very rare that there's any blood - but, when there is, it's for sure related to the stool being hard. The blood is usually caused by irritation in his colon though, you would have been shocked at how much blood was in his stool as a kitten, before we changed his diet. And then months and months of nothing - once you remove the irritant it really does clear up completely. The problem is I'm still not fully satisfied with his diet, and I do need to find a way to rotate the protein every few months, so I am constantly messing with it some way or another... it often results in a little blood (we're talking about drops now, nothing like what used to happen when he was younger). It's really frustrating, though. By the way, he's had full pcr panels of his stool, and he's never had any problems with parasites. He's had a few abdominal ultrasounds too, and there haven't been any changes on the inflammation of his colon, never any kind of mass spotted (no tumors or polyps that could be bleeding). Nothing abnormal in his blood panels. He really just is very, very sensitive.

He eats soups for every meal, and the amount of liquid makes no difference in the consistency of the stool. I add about 30-40 ml of water each time, and he eats 4x day - that's his limit, too. I've tried increasing that during a couple of days when I was unsure about how much pee I was seeing in the litter box, and he was visibly annoyed. That, plus the moisture from the cooked food, should put him in a good hydration range. He had a bad reaction to medication this year that caused a lot of vomiting, and even then he wasn't dehydrated, which impressed the vets at the hospital (we're talking vomiting 10-15 times due to Meloxydil, for instance, which was horrifying). He just pees a lot (I don't mean this is an unhealthy way, I mean that he pees 3-4 a day). I don't give him extra fiber beyond the veggies in his diet, but the amount of liquid should definitely be enough.

His nutritionist recommended rehydrated psyllium husk, and my fear is accidentally blocking him with it, despite the high water intake.

 

[Jabzilla]

Hmmmmm, perhaps you could try Gut Soothe | Adored Beast Apothecary and Nordic Naturals - Pet Omega 3 fish oil. My cat had inflammation throughout his entire colon along with blood on his poop which later turned into rectal prolapses. His internal medicine specialist put him on those two supplements in February and when he had a colonoscopy in July, the inflammation had been drastically reduced to mild along with areas of normal tissue. So maybe the Gut Soothe and fish oil will help your cat as well. Also, there's a feline version of the gut soothe, but it had beef liver in it which might be a potential allergen. The dog version doesn't have that and is what my cat uses. As for the fish oil, the specialist chose Nordic Naturals because it's purified to the point where all fish proteins have been removed so as to not trigger any potential fish allergies in pets.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Did your nutritionist come up with the turkey recipe you are using? I ask because if there is just a tad too much calcium in a recipe, it can cause constipation, which it sounds like may be happening . Since the nutritionist did recommend the psyllium husk and you have reservations, have you discussed those issues with them? I would and see what they say. Perhaps they are unfounded. Or perhaps they are spot on. It certainly is worth a discussion though.

 

[gabicards]

Hmmmmm, perhaps you could try Gut Soothe | Adored Beast Apothecary and Nordic Naturals - Pet Omega 3 fish oil. My cat had inflammation throughout his entire colon along with blood on his poop which later turned into rectal prolapses. His internal medicine specialist put him on those two supplements in February and when he had a colonoscopy in July, the inflammation had been drastically reduced to mild along with areas of normal tissue. So maybe the Gut Soothe and fish oil will help your cat as well. Also, there's a feline version of the gut soothe, but it had beef liver in it which might be a potential allergen. The dog version doesn't have that and is what my cat uses. As for the fish oil, the specialist chose Nordic Naturals because it's purified to the point where all fish proteins have been removed so as to not trigger any potential fish allergies in pets.

We're on Gut Soothe now (feline version)! Low dosage of 1/8 tsp daily, split in two, for my 6kg cat. When I initially started a that dosage, he pooped every 2 days for a week, and then as I increased he had a bout of constipation, but it was also during food transition I don't know if either one of them caused it, or if it was something else. We're back at that initial dosage and the poops every 2 days continue - but then, of course, I gave him Miralax during the bout of constipation, so it could be due to the laxative as well. It's rocket science.

His vet did suggest fish oil last time I saw her, 1tsp per day, but I didn't want do add that at the same time as Gut Soothe in fear one of them could cause a reaction. That's amazing to read that your kitty's inflammation was so reduced! I do want to try that too. I have fish oil here, but probably not that brand you've mentioned, so I will look into it.

The rectal prolapses are scary I didn't know it could progress to that!

Did your nutritionist come up with the turkey recipe you are using? I ask because if there is just a tad too much calcium in a recipe, it can cause constipation, which it sounds like may be happening . Since the nutritionist did recommend the psyllium husk and you have reservations, have you discussed those issues with them? I would and see what they say. Perhaps they are unfounded. Or perhaps they are spot on. It certainly is worth a discussion though.

It was created by a nutritionist, yes, but through a calculator on their website! His vet prescribed it for me. The recipe doesn't have any bones, and it uses Vit'i5 meal completer. Now I'm curious about the calcium level... it did occur to me that something in this recipe could have contributed to the odd pooping schedule (not caused it though, it was already different when he was on commercial wet food, though we usually stayed more in the 2-3 days range, rather than 3-4... the change was expected given that home cooked meal is lower in residue), which is yet another reason why I want to try a different one. This new one uses veal parts that are fattier, so less oil is added to it.

The new nutritionist didn't use a calculator though, she makes the recipes from scratch. I did tell her about my concerns regarding psyllium, and she answered: "Psyllium contains a mix of soluble and insoluble fiber, in case of diarrhea the soluble fiber will absorb the excess fiber making the stools firmer and in case of constipation when fed rehydrated it will soften the stool helping them pass more regularly."

I definitely want to try it, but I will wait until he's back on his regular pooping schedule now that I've stopped Miralax. Since it did make his stool a bit softer (still well formed, far from diarrhea, just not *as* dry as before), I'm pretty sure it could take longer than usual for him to poop next time, so it might take 1-2 weeks for him to settle.

 

[rubybagonia79]

Just out of curiosity, what foods are you feeding at the moment? What is it about the current food choices that you are unhappy about?

Perhaps a slow process of trial by elimination could be in order if not done so already?

Start with basic, complete nutritional requirements, then each week, add a new ingredient and assess. Yes it's long, but contrary to popular belief, some high fibre foods can actually have the opposite effect, which can be really frustrating. (I have IBS).

If you already have a set recipe that causes no reaction, perhaps consider it recipe number 1... and work towards 1-2 others so you have peace of mind.

I have a household of fussy eaters, so can empathise with wanting a great diet and good heath outcomes.

I'm not sure what can be done for animals regarding blood work and allergy testing (haven't looked into it), but could this be an option if it hasn't been done, and is available?

I have a client who's dog almost perished after a vaccination. Spent a month in hospital. He now has major gut issues including blood in the stool and vomiting etc (the vet stated no more vax for him). His diet is very very restrictive, and while he can tolerate some foods, meats such as Turkey, cause flare ups. Even with a good, consistent diet that he can tolerate, he still has issues from time to time unfortunately.

If you can cover the basic nutritional requirements (taurine etc), and for the most part, they are tolerated well, then sometime simplicity is the best solution.

It can be really stressful when trying to provide wholesome nutrition and variety also, however, if some foods are working really well... stick with it.

Good luck. It can feel really overwhelming sometimes! Our animals have better access to good nutrition than ever before, yet it seems that allergies, inflammation etc are on the rise.

Makes you wonder sometimes doesn't it!!

 

[gabicards]

Just out of curiosity, what foods are you feeding at the moment? What is it about the current food choices that you are unhappy about?

Perhaps a slow process of trial by elimination could be in order if not done so already?

Start with basic, complete nutritional requirements, then each week, add a new ingredient and assess. Yes it's long, but contrary to popular belief, some high fibre foods can actually have the opposite effect, which can be really frustrating. (I have IBS).

If you already have a set recipe that causes no reaction, perhaps consider it recipe number 1... and work towards 1-2 others so you have peace of mind.

I have a household of fussy eaters, so can empathise with wanting a great diet and good heath outcomes.

I'm not sure what can be done for animals regarding blood work and allergy testing (haven't looked into it), but could this be an option if it hasn't been done, and is available?

I have a client who's dog almost perished after a vaccination. Spent a month in hospital. He now has major gut issues including blood in the stool and vomiting etc (the vet stated no more vax for him). His diet is very very restrictive, and while he can tolerate some foods, meats such as Turkey, cause flare ups. Even with a good, consistent diet that he can tolerate, he still has issues from time to time unfortunately.

If you can cover the basic nutritional requirements (taurine etc), and for the most part, they are tolerated well, then sometime simplicity is the best solution.

It can be really stressful when trying to provide wholesome nutrition and variety also, however, if some foods are working really well... stick with it.

Good luck. It can feel really overwhelming sometimes! Our animals have better access to good nutrition than ever before, yet it seems that allergies, inflammation etc are on the rise.

Makes you wonder sometimes doesn't it!!

We're "sort of" doing an elimination trial with him. I say sort of because, as he's prone to hairballs, at any given time I am also giving him malt paste, so he's never just on the prescribed food. His current recipe only has 4 ingredients: turkey, zucchini, Vit'i5 (which is a meal completer used here in France, formulated by the same team that runs the website in which the vet got the recipe: cuisine-a-crocs.com), and canola oil. The new recipe uses veal, zucchini, Vit'i5, omega-3 capsules from Now and an Iron supplement (we don't know that he has any deficiencies, but the nutritionist mentioned that, overall, the recipe is low on iron, so she'd rather supplement that too). I was concerned about iron supplementation causing constipation (a problem that I, being forever anemic, am very familiar with), but I tested them on myself for about 2 weeks and had zero side effects, just as the brand promises. The quantity of that in the recipe is very low, too.

As far as we know, the turkey recipe doesn't cause a reaction, but the verdict is pending a thorough test with another recipe, so that we can see if the odd pooping schedule was positively or negatively affected by it. As of now, the only basis for comparison I have is a commercial diet, which did make him go more often (still not everyday), but that isn't a fair comparison since we know cats on a raw and home cooked diet tend not to poop everyday anyway.

He still scratches his ears occasionally, but vets have told me it's difficult to assess whether this is diet related - it could be environmental, too, and it could also be a habit, if it doesn't happen too often (I don't think it does anymore. I had noticed he was doing it more when I was giving him egg yolk powder). But this recipe doesn't give him diarrhea, doesn't make him vomit, and he went from having hairballs every 4-5 weeks to 14 weeks last time around - granted, he gets malt paste everyday, so I wouldn't necessarily put that down to the diet. Seeing as he's a longhaired cat with known intestinal inflammation, I'm not willing to "test" removing the paste (he used to get it as a kitten and he's been on it daily for 4 months, there's nothing that would make me think he has any kind of reactions to it - if anything, it has helped).

As for allergy testing, I'm told it's not very useful in cats.

I honestly am not expecting a perfect outcome, but I want to do my best to ensure this bowel schedule isn't going to result in Megacolon. For instance, even though right now he does have a bit of blood on his stool, likely because Miralax made it quite soft (like I mentioned, the same thing happened the only other time I tried giving him this medication), I still don't regret giving it to him, because I needed to make sure his bowels really were empty following that bout of constipation. He just pooped again this morning (4th time he goes on the 2nd day, which is probably the week in which he's pooped the most since January this year), and there's less blood than what was there on Thursday, so fingers crossed it will soon clear up. It's still much, much softer than usual (still formed), but it's only been 2 days since I stopped Miralax. I expect the next time he poops it will be close to his normal in terms of consistency - we'll see how long it takes, too.

And thanks for wishing me luck! I know my cat is doing well, but it really does get super frustrating.

 

[rubybagonia79]

Sounds like you are doing everything you can. Just out of curiosity, do the support have additional taurine?

If not, he will definitely need this added to diet, but I'm sure his nutritionist has covered everything

Good luck with it all... fingers crossed he continues to improve.

 

[stephanietx]

Have you tried adding extra water to his food to make it the consistency of a thick shake and adding plain canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie spice)?

 

[gabicards]

Sounds like you are doing everything you can. Just out of curiosity, do the support have additional taurine?

If not, he will definitely need this added to diet, but I'm sure his nutritionist has covered everything

Good luck with it all... fingers crossed he continues to improve.

Yes, yes. The meal complement, Vit'i5, has taurine, and all the other nutrients that should be added to the food - the nutritionist plans the quantity of it according to what's in the recipe.

Have you tried adding extra water to his food to make it the consistency of a thick shake and adding plain canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie spice)?

He eats soup for every meal. He gets 4 meals a day, with 30-40ml of water added to each one of them, plus the moisture that's already there from the vapour cooked zucchini and turkey (or veal, for the new recipe). As a result, he doesn't drink water on his own - he gets plenty through his food. He was pretty good at drinking water as a kitten, when he would still get a little bit of dry food on the side as a complement to the wet, but now that he only eats wet with added water, he never does. We're at a point where, if I ever caught him drinking water from his bowl (we no longer have a fountain), I'd take him to the vet immediately.

The only instances where I remember him drinking water from his bowl in the past 6 months or so was when he had a bad reaction to medication and vomited a lot, or when I tried Miralax with him the first time and accidentally gave him diarrhea... both of which made sense.

I'll be honest, though - I'm sure the water intake is great for him in general, as it is to humans, but it doesn't make a difference in his stool at all. The "fairly high" amount of water I add is mostly for his bladder... back in April-May when I wasn't doing this, we had a bit of a scare, so I implemented this routine. His stool has been the exact same before and after. I honestly think that's because this bowel schedule has nothing to do with dehydration.

As for the pumpkin puree, I tried it with him for a few weeks earlier this year, and it also made no difference. He didn't love it, so eventually I just stopped.