My cat has bloody stool, mucus, and is vomiting. Is he constipated?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Mickey! I would contact your vet for more medication and change Mickey's diet. Constipation is a symptom of something else not a primary disease. In a 5 month old cat it is likely dietary but there can have motility issues that are genetic with their colon. Be sure he has been dewormed appropriately and is vaccinated. Increase water intake by feeding a canned food diet and slowly adding water. There are also prescription diets available (royal canin gastro-intestinal until 1 year of age then fiber response). I wish you the best

Seeing your vet ASAP is definitely a good idea to make sure there isn't an impaction causing the severe constipation that may need an enema or stool softeners to resolve. In the meantime, you can try offering a little bland yogurt to try and help the soften the stool, as well as make sure he's drinking plenty of water by mixing some into his food, but if Booboo is in severe distress, hasn't passed any stool at all, or is having other symptoms such as abdominal pain or stops eating, you should seek out veterinary care from your vet or a local ER clinic immediately.

Poor Eddie! Before doing anything else, make sure that Eddie is urinating normal volumes in the litter box without straining. Urinary obstructions in male cats can easily be mistaken for constipation because these cats will strain in the litter box, go in and out of the litter box, vomit, and sometimes vocalize. It is extremely important to assure that he is urinating normally without straining because urinary obstructions are a life-threatening situation that require emergency veterinary attention. If Eddie is urinating appropriately and does not have a bowel movement at home tonight, you should take him to the vet in the morning. The vet will be able to examine him and may need to take abdominal x-rays to determine the degree of constipation or stool impaction. Based upon those results, the vet may need to perform an enema or provide Eddie with prescription-based stool softeners. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

There are many things that could cause his symptoms. Unfortunately they are non-specific and could be a symptoms of almost anything. Bleeding from the anus frequently signifies a serious disorder. Possible causes of bleeding from the anus can include polyps or tumors of the colon or anus, abscess or infection of the anal gland, constipation, blood clotting disorders, autoimmune disease or even certain types of poisoning. Any chance he ate a toxic plant or was exposed to any toxins? Intestinal parasites are another possibility. Whipworms are intestinal parasites. They are about 1/4-inch long and live in the cecum and colon of the cat, where they cause severe irritation to the lining of those organs. This results in watery, bloody diarrhea. They can also have weight loss and general debilitation. Whipworms are one of the most pathogenic (harmful) worms found in cats. Has a fecal sample been tested? Whipworms can also cause vomiting. Any chance the blood is dripping from his penis and not the anus? In younger cats a common cause of bloody urine is the presence of crystals in urine (crystalluria). When left undiagnosed and untreated, these crystals can lead to blockage of the urethra in some male cats. Has a urinalysis been done? This is the best I can tell you at this time. If you have more detailed questions or want to speak one on one you can also opt to do a private consultation with me. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

It is possible that this particular stool was difficult to pass and you helping to remove it may have caused a small amount of bleeding from the rectal tissue. Cats can become constipated, and if she has been passing less stool than usual, straining to defecate and had a decreased appetite I would recommend seeing a veterinarian. There are some other things that can cause blood in the stool as well including intestinal parasites, colitis or even inflammatory bowel disease. If the blood is persistent you should make an appointment to see your veterinarian as well.

If he is still vomiting then he needs to be examined by a vet for treatment. If he is constipated, he may need an enema and medication to help soften his stool. He might also need an anti-vomiting medication.

Your cat could be severely constipated and the straining can make him nauseous. For severe constipation, your pet should be seen by a vet. Hard stool building up in the colon stretches it out of shape, and it also causes stretching of the muscles around the anus, causing perianal hernias that trap the collected feces, effectively making a plug. Your pet may need more than one enema and even manual extraction of the feces in order to relieve this episode. To help avoid this in the future, you can add Miralax to the food. Miralax is a very gentle, easy to give treatment for constipation, available over the counter at any pharmacy. The dose of Miralax is 1 tsp per 50 lbs mixed in with food once a day. You can also add a tablespoon of vegetable or olive oil to his food once daily, or add a couple of teaspoons of canned pumpkin (not pie filling) to his food daily.