My old cat has bloody diarrhea, drools, and can't balance. What to do?

Related Answers from Veterinarians

• Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

  Veterinarian

  Published on September 27th, 2017

  Hello sorry to hear about Sophie. There could be a many causes for her slow bowel movements. The most common may be in association with dehydration. This could either be because she doesnt have access to adequate amounts of water, she may also have kidney disease, or she may have a primary problem with her GI tract such as megacolon.
  
  You should contact your veterinarian and let him know Sophie continues to have the same clinical signs. If he deems it appropriate, they may recommend obtaining a blood and urine sample to test her kidneys, and obtain x-rays to assess how much stool she may have.
  
  Other causes for her constipation may include some kind of colitis where they may have an urge to go to the bathroom but dont actually have any stools to pass. This could be brought on by several things such as parasites, bacteria, and autoimmune diseases.
  
  Best of luck and hope this helps.

  

  1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

• Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

  Veterinarian

  Published on March 7th, 2019

  Poor Sophie! If a diet is going to cause diarrhea, it usually happens within a few days of the diet change. Also, diets need to be slowly transitioned over the coarse of 7 days. If this is the case, I recommend to switch her to a different diet or even back to her old diet because you know she does well in that. If that’s not the case, pets can get diarrhea for many reasons and bacterial over growth and parasites are the most common. If Sophie is feeling bad enough that she is not cleaning herself, she needs to see the veterinarian. Cats are naturally clean animals so when they allow themselves to have stool on them, they are usually feeling pretty bad. Try to bring in a stool sample for testing.
  I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

  

  1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

• Answered By Laura Johnson VMD

  Veterinarian

  Published on January 27th, 2018

  Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Sophie!
  
  Since Sophie is young I would make sure she is properly dewormed. It would be a good idea to submit a fecal sample as well, but I would deworm her even if she is negative. Vomiting, not just diarrhea, in a young cat can be from intestinal parasites. If the vomiting continues then I would play with her diet. Try to stick with one flavor of fancy feast for a period of time to see if the vomit stays the same or improves. You may have to change brands. Food allergies or intolerance commonly causes vomiting in cats. Vomiting 3-4 times per week is too much, "normal" vomiting for cats is once every 3 months. If the above doesn't work I would have a physical done by your Vet and see if she is losing weight or is too thin.
  
  I hope this helps and I wish you and Sophie the best!

  

  1Pet Parents found this answer helpful