Why is my 5-month kitten's loose stool bloody after diet changes?

I am sorry to hear about your kitty! With blood present I think it is time for a vet exam (and bring a stool sample along). We can have intestinal parasites that are not treated by dewormer (such as Coccidia and Giardia). We can also have things like colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, or food allergy cause these issues. The vet can examine your kitty and based on the exam and history make recommendations and possible test and treatment options.

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.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The photo is very helpful- I can definitely see the blood and mucus in the stool. Certain liver and pancreatic conditions can cause this, as well as intestinal inflammation. Additional tests I recommend are pancreatic and liver function tests, bloodwork to determine nutrient absorption by the intestines, x-rays, and even an ultrasound. The most aggressive diagnostic would be an exploratory surgery with biopsies. You can talk to your vet also about changing your cat’s diet and adding probiotics. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you have!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This really depends on a lot of factors. It depends on how much blood Tiger may be losing and if this is truly from diarrhea being caused by the parasites. If a diagnosis of parasites was established and you are giving the deworming as instructed by a veterinarian then it would be reasonable to see if this was just a one time episode of bloody stool and to have him examined if it continues. However, if a diagnosis has not been established by a veterinarian, I think it would be best to have a veterinarian look at Tiger as this diarrhea and bloody stools may be unrelated to parasites in which case it is not going to improve with the dewormer. Good luck and have a great day!

Hello, sorry to hear about Chatran. Often frank blood arises from the colon or large intestine, as bleeding from the small intestine more commonly results in dark, tarry stools (melena). Its likely that the small amount of blood you are noting is coming from persistent colon irritation which can be seen with parasitic infections. It would be ideal to have his stool re-tested for parasties to ensure the albon has treated this infection completely. Some pets, despite being treated may continue to be infected or have re-infections that require longer treatments. Have your veterinarian test another fecal sample. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Congratulations! It is good you brought a stool sample in. Some worms do not shed eggs often and do not respond to routine dewormers so I would put in the back of my mind that he may need a thorough stool panel done at a reference lab. Other thoughts include: stress colitis (especially if Onyx came to you very recently!), diet changes, bacterial overgrowth (typically respond to antibiotics and probiotics), and irritable bowel syndrome. I would ask your vet about basic diarrhea treatments and if that does not help, then I would want to pursue bloodwork and a send out stool panel. If you still do not get an answer I would consider imaging like an ultrasound. I hope this helps and that Onyx is better soon!

Casper needs to be examined by the veterinarian. Bloody stool can be present for many reasons including parasites, bacterial over growth, improper diet, viral infection or poisoning. Bring in a fresh sample of the feces for parasite testing. The veterinarian may recommend an antibiotic, probiotic and a bland diet. You need to start ruling out the potential causes so that Casper gets the correct treatment. I hope this helps.