My cat has bloody stool after food change & on meds. Is a vet needed?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Sansa! Since Sansa has been sick for a week you need to take her to the Vet today. Especially with tomorrow being Thanksgiving. Causes of diarrhea and vomiting are: intestinal parasites, viral and bacterial infections, pancreatitis, toxin ingestion, dietary indiscretion, food allergy or intolerance. Blood in the stool indicates inflammation in the colon and makes antibiotics necessary to prevent secondary bacterial translocation in to the blood stream. Call your Vet when they open today, bring a stool sample and have Sansa examine and medications started. I hope this helps and I wish Sansa a speedy recovery. Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so sorry that your pet Debo is having blood in his stool. If the blood has occurred more than a few times, or if she is in any way acting abnormal, then it is highly recommended to take her to your vet to get checked. Bloody stool can be caused by things like stress, intestinal parasites, diet change, or more serious things like a bleeding disorder, pancreatitis, etc. If the pet is ever acting ill and has blood, then this is considered to be an urgent matter in need of medical attention. You can try a propbiotic as well to help restore his normal bacterial flora. Over the counter Culturelle or Fortiflora purchased through Chewy.com can be used. I hope that your pet Debo is able to make a full and speedy recovery soon! Best wishes and take care.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Fig! A diet change absolutely can be a cause of bloody stool. Blood in the stool indicates inflammation in the colon. Other possible causes are: intestinal parasites, viral or bacterial infections, pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, stress. I would change her back to the original food and hopefully the blood goes away. If the blood persists for the next 2 days I would have her examine by your Vet before the holidays. She may need antibiotics to help her get through this. I hope this helps and I wish Fig a speedy recovery!

I suspect food allergy or IBD. I recommend you try the following: 1. Change the diet to Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. I have had a lot of luck with clients using this diet and it has really helped. Change the diet slowly over a week's time to prevent further GI upset. ( https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/cats/sensitive-stomach-skin-cat-food ) 2. Start her on a good probiotic made for cats like Fortiflora. It comes as a 30 day course. I would do all 30 days. ( https://www.proplanveterinarydiets.com/products/fortiflora-cats-probiotics/ ) If after this, no improvement or the problem returns then more testing for IBD would be needed. I would not be worried about the blood unless it persists for days on end. I know it is concerning to you but it is just from the colon being irritated. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello. If the blood appeared after you started the prednisolone, then it is possible that it may be irritating the colon. Since I do not know why the steroid was prescribed to your cat, do not stop the medication until you talk to your veterinarian tomorrow. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for adopting Eli. Blood in the stool without constipation is often due to intestinal parasites. Please take a sample to your veterinarian and they will look under the microscope for parasite eggs. If they find some they will prescribe the correct dewormer for Eli. If there are no parasites and this continues Eli should go in for an exam. He could have an anal infection, rectal polyp or intestinal inflammation causing the blood. Cats do have blood in the stool more often than other animals so if he's normal and this only happens once in a while I would just keep an eye on him, and bring him in if it is a constant issue. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Eli.

Poor Sophie, she looks very sweet. It sounds to me like she is having serious digestive issues and needs to be examined by a veterinarian. She could have developed inflammatory bowel disease or some other internal issue causing the blood stools. She likely is pooping outside the litter box because she has increased urgency to go and can't hold it as long due to a medical issue. It is unlikely the pooping outside the box will resolve until the medical issue is addressed. Your veterinarian may need to do blood work to figure out what is causing the problem. Sophie may need a special prescription diet or a medication like Flagyl to help resolve the issue. If she is drooling it's likely she may have dental disease so your veterinarian can examine her mouth and address the problem. With her balance being off I'm also concerned she may be in pain and require prescription pain medication. Please remember there are no safe over the counter pain medications for cats so you will need to have these prescribed by a veterinarian. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Sophie gets the care she needs and is feeling better soon!