Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

IMPORTANT: If your cat is in any distress or discomfort, please consult your own vet as your first priority.
Post Reply
Joe_Danger
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 537
Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 9:04 pm

Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Joe_Danger »

Hey everyone, sorry to be coming on such a bad note lol didn't know where else to post to get some more opinions. We scheduled a vet visit immediately but we won't be going there for at least two hours from now.

I assume it was Milla as the other two were fast asleep, she went to the litterbox, pooped, then I heard her/a cat throwing up, didn't think much of it since they normally do that and throw up hair worms. Her stool was perfectly normal but on the opposite side of the litterbox there was a gooie black blob, pretty big too.
No food, no hair, nothing just the black blob which was clearly blood, it smelled of nothing too, very weird. Of course instead of keeping it I threw it in the toilet because panic mode kicked in.

Vet said it could be anything some kind of gastrointenstinal ulcer or a sotmach ulcer, Milla does have a chronic respiratory infection but I doubt that could form such a big blob of blood.

After that she went to eat and sleep, now she is next to me purring, I'm worried because over the past month she became a lot more affectionate than she normally is.
But she is active, playful, heck just this morning all three were running around wracking the heck out of the house like they usually do.

I'm just posting here to hopefully find some peace of mind until the vets give their verdict
Antonio
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 482
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 1:17 pm
No. of cats in household: 0
Location: Orbassano (TO) - Italy

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Antonio »

Just don't panic!
If that was blood, it should have smelled like blood too.
You said it smelled of nothing. And you say that Milla is acting normally, so I think there's nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately you threw the vomit away.
My cat had two episodes of black vomit, I took pictures of them before cleaning, and showed the photos to the vet who said it mihgt have been blood or even something else.
In fact nothing else happened.

So, take a deep breath, go to the vet and see what he/she will tell. Then tell us what you have been told.
Best of luck.
Joe_Danger
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 537
Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 9:04 pm

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Joe_Danger »

Thanks, Tony
I've had cats my whole life never seen anything like this.
To make things worse now she went to the spot where she raised/kept her kittens couple years back and she rarely sleeps there so that's something too.
User avatar
Lilith
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 3600
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:00 pm
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: West Yorks

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Lilith »

Oh Joe, good luck and to Milla.

Were there any red stains round the blob? Like the stains you get with flea droppings? I do feel it's a promising sign that there was no smell, as Antonio says.

Is there anything she might have chewed, such as dark coloured paper - they're such little devils for finding stuff we never think they'll play with.

Good luck at the vet's and please update!
Antonio
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 482
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 1:17 pm
No. of cats in household: 0
Location: Orbassano (TO) - Italy

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Antonio »

Lilith is right.
Milla could have chewed on something else. Or you could have seen stains or different hues of colour in the vomit.

Did you see any changes in the colour of her poop?
Let us know, please!
Joe_Danger
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 537
Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 9:04 pm

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Joe_Danger »

Hey
No nothing, the blob was just there, nothing around it and other than a wet spot it left nothing after I picked it up, but it sort of dissolved in the TP I was holding it and it definitely looked like very dark red blood.
Milla seems fine tho, she begs for food, drank water.

She never eats anything that's not her food, both her and Kala are very difficult about eating new foods as is let alone putting anything that isn't food. Casper on the other hand...lol but he was sleeping when all this took place.
Antonio
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 482
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 1:17 pm
No. of cats in household: 0
Location: Orbassano (TO) - Italy

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Antonio »

I am positive that the vet will tell you that everything is fine.
We'll be waiting for news from Milla ;)
Joe_Danger
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 537
Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 9:04 pm

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Joe_Danger »

So far it's looking good, my vet looked at her stomach, intestints, chest, throat and everything and determined it was an cold she's had for a month or so and from what he told me basically since cats don't spit out mucus and stuff they swallow it then throw it up or it comes out the other way.
In this case what happened was her stomach was trying to digest the mucus but since it can't be digested in trying so some minor fractures showed up and the bleeding from those fractures was absorbed into the mucus which she eventually threw up.

He thoroughly looked at her, even showed me pics and all her insides seem fine.

I really do hope this is the case.

A month ago Milla, Kala and Casper were all stuffed up for a 2-3 days and we were about to start giving them antibiotics when it all stopped, but it seems Milla's has been going on inside her without any noticeable symptoms.
Antonio
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 482
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2017 1:17 pm
No. of cats in household: 0
Location: Orbassano (TO) - Italy

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Antonio »

Wow!
It sounds wonderful, it is very good news.

I'm no expert, but what your vet said might be true. The very thing that Milla isn't showing any major symptom and is eating and playing as her usual should give you some comfort.
Please, keep us posted.

Warm kisses to Milla and her friends! :D
User avatar
Ruth B
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 1998
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
No. of cats in household: 3
Location: Wolverhampton

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Ruth B »

Glad to hear it doesn't sound serious.

One thought i had had was my Tiggy has had an respiratory infection which has left her very snuffly on and off for several weeks. We finally got her to the vets while she was having problems and the vets sent swaps away to identify the cause, the results mean that she is now on a 3 week course of antibiotics to clear it up (the vet started her on them before the result came through as she thought it was the most likely suspect for the symptoms). The reason I'm mentioning it is that the vet was very insistent that Tiggy had something to eat or a couple of mil of water syringed into her as if the tablets are swallowed fully they can irritate the throat and possible cause sores. It's possible that the antibiotics Mila had caused a similar reaction and that meant she swallowed some blood with the mucas and it has just taken a while to come back up.

It doesn't take a lot of blood to look like a big blob, particularly if it was mixed with the mucus.

Fingers cro;ssed that was the last you'll see of anything like that and she will be fine from now on.
User avatar
Lilith
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 3600
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:00 pm
No. of cats in household: 1
Location: West Yorks

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Lilith »

That's true, and I've known of a case in a human where black (digested) blood was seen in vomit (probably as a result of boozing and painkillers on an empty stomach which was slightly irritated and inflamed as a result.) No medical help was needed. But digested blood, from whatever source, looks scary of course.

Hope Milla goes from strength to strength now :)
Joe_Danger
VIP Cat Chatter!
Posts: 537
Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 9:04 pm

Re: Mila threw up a blob of black blood, I'm terrified

Post by Joe_Danger »

Thanks everyone
Milla didn't take any antibiotics then tho, she started this morning but her throat, chest and stuff was probably irritated regardless.
I hope all is well, she seems perfectly fine.
Vet didn't charge anything, vets here often don't for check ups which is great.
Post Reply