Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

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vic23
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Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by vic23 »

8 days ago I adopted a cat from the RSPCA. He was previously a stray and had a serious ear infection in the past - this was fully resolved but it had left him with a head tilt and he is a little wobbly from time to time. Every poo he has had since he was with us was solid but had smears of fresh red blood on, but I thought this could have been caused by the stress of the move. He has also been very itchy and overgrooming, which I thought could possibly be because he is in an indoor environment for the first time. He was due to go to the RSPCA clinic on Thursday 29th August for his second vaccination, so I thought I would check these things out then. However, this morning, he passed a stool which was both solid and slightly softer - also with blood. About an hour later, he passed a pile of diarrhoea with loads of blood - like a pool rather than just a smear. I then rung the emergency vet and explained the situation to them and took him in. As it is out of hours, he said he would treat the symptoms first - however, as he couldn't find any troubling signs from the clinical exam, he thinks it could be something like gastroenteritis and prescribed antibiotics. If this is the case, the symptoms should clear within 3-4 days after starting the antibiotics. If no resolution, it is back for a load of tests to try and find out the reason. Obviously, I'm really upset and also, as my insurance was only taken out on 18th August, the day I collected him, this won't be covered - I don't know whether I can manage the costs of the investigation and treatment of something potentially ongoing. I'm really scared about the whole thing.

The irony of it all is I lost my last cat in Sept 2017 - she was also adopted from Cats Protection, but also basically had problems with chronic vomiting, together with numerous other health problems for the 18 months I had here - so I know what I am potentially facing and I'm terrified. Apart from this time, I have the worry of the financial side of things too.

I guess I am sharing as I need to vent my thoughts and fears, but if anyone has been in a similar situation, I would be interested to hear from you.
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Mollycat
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by Mollycat »

So sorry to read of your woes but it sounds like they gave you a very sick cat and they ought to make sure the cat is fit and well to leave their "care" so should now have him back and sort him out before giving him back to you. This may sound harsh but you really should return him to them if he was already like this when you picked him up, or they should be paying these bills. He should never have left them in that state.


Edited to add I'm sorry if I seem a bit off and feel I should explain. The few times I've had anything to do with the RSPCA have been bad experiences and I would never entrust an animal to their "care" so to hear of an animal leaving their care and immediately having health issues might have hit a nerve. Hope you can come to an agreement with them and get this cat back to full health.
Last edited by Mollycat on Mon Aug 26, 2019 6:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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lilynmitz
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by lilynmitz »

Sorry to hear about your troubles. It would be worth you referring this to the RSPCA, and asking them to contribute towards the costs as this does sound like a pre-existing condition that they should have addressed before releasing him for rehoming. However, it may be better for your puss if he stays with you during treatment, if you can face it. Otherwise, perhaps the RSPCA should take him back until it's resolved.

However, most of the rescue cats I've had have arrived with health issues, partly from the stress of the move or associated with their life on the streets/abuse/neglect. Sadly they don't come with manufacturer's warranties! In our case this included two with rampant diarrhea, one turned out to be blind (the rescue hadn't noticed, can you believe) and another collected medical conditions for a hobby. Maybe I was fortunate that I was able to stump up the money for their treatment (most weren't insured, at one time ironically because I couldn't afford it, and with another two because I was keeping them largely as house cats and didn't think house cats would get that ill. Silly me on both counts!) After much perseverance we cured the tummy upsets and learned to manage the other issues.

With the extent of blood your boy is passing, you were right to take him straight to the vet, and I hope he can get him sorted out quickly and effectively. Passing small amounts of blood with pooh isn't uncommon and often nothing to worry about, but this is obviously something much more significant. So it's possible the RSPCA weren't aware of this, ie if it was a slowly developing condition that hit crisis stage soon after you got him.

The itchiness and overgrooming may be a stress reaction - I've had and seen several cats who do this, but ask your vet to check him for skin conditions to be on the safe side. Once you've got his tummy sorted he may find a "sensitive skin" diet is helpful, if he will tolerate that.

I know this is frustrating when you have so recently lost your other puss to similar issues, but don't fear the worst just yet, even if it has triggered old fears. The vet may manage to get him sorted without too much cost and drama. Fingers crossed for you both.
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by Mayday21 »

Hi Vic sorry to read this. Worrying & upsetting. Take on Lilynmitz’s advice. Whenever I’ve spotted blood in stools I’ve immediately wormed them for tape worm .. unsure but could it be parasite related. Keep us posted. Vivian
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by vic23 »

Hi All,
So following my last post, the antibiotics that were prescribed seemed to work and then a few days after the course had finished, I started to see blood again, so today I have been back to the vets. The vet prescribed more antibiotics and anti-inflammatories (not sure about this, but that's another story). She also took some blood. She has just called me back and said the bloods are showing early stage kidney disease. She mentioned two years, but I'm not sure whether this is two years prognosis or two years before anything needs to be done. She doesn't think this is in any way related to the blood, so we are now are dealing with two issues. Obviously, I am devastated by the diagnoses and would welcome anyone's input on this should you have experience of it.

I can't quite believe this is happening to us once again.
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by Mollycat »

Don't panic about early stage kidney disease, it's very manageable with diet and though care can become more involved later as it progresses an early diagnosed cat can have many more happy healthy trouble-free years. My first cat was diagnosed aged 8 and remained healthy just on diet for another 8 years, just slowing down in her last year and had just 2 weeks of being poorly at the end. Now there are many more treatment options than we had back then. if the vet said something about 2 years that shouldn't be a prognosis for early stage. Tanya's Pages is a brilliant, well researched and down to earth guide and I heartily recommend it https://www.felinecrf.org/
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by booktigger »

What anti-inflammatories did she prescribe? I know getting a diagnosis of early kidney failure is a shock, but it is very manageable, my cat was diagnosed at the age of 8, she is 11 now and we actually skipped her bloods this year as she is maintaining her weight and not showing many symptoms but her ones last year showed she'd gone back in normal range, all we have done is change her diet, we haven't put her on any meds.
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by vic23 »

So I haven't updated for a couple of weeks...

A few days after I saw the vet and she told me about the kidney disease and prescribed metacam, I called into the vet and asked to have a quick word with a vet about the metacam. The vet I saw previously was unavailable (that was a relief as I wanted a second opinion!). The vet I saw firstly agreed with me that Metacam should certainly not be given to cats with blood in stool nor with kidney compromise. That was all I wanted to know really, but he asked me for the full history, which I gave him. He suggested that we try an intense dose of wormer, so worms can be completely ruled out. He also went through the kidney results in full with me - he said this blood test alone cannot diagnose kidney disease and it should have really been a fasting test to give an accurate result (which it was not!). He also said that if after more tests, kidney disease is formally diagnosed, the current results would suggest that it is at stage 2. He assured me that this was perfectly manageable, often by diet alone, but if not medication. So this gave me a small glimpse of hope with regards to the kidney issues. It was really good of the vet to spend so much time with me, considering they weren't charging.

However, Wherry still has blood in his stools. This is only really visible when I place the poo on a piece of kitchen paper. So, we have been through 2 rounds of antibiotics and an intense wormer. I was praying that by some miracle the wormer would fix it - he had the last dose on Saturday, so I'm assuming that I would now see a difference if it was worms.

I have been silently struggling over the last few days as I am terrified that this can now only be the worst possible diagnosis - can anyone offer any hope??

I am back to the vets tomorrow with him to see the first vet again - although my faith in her has declined after the metacam incident and the fact that she didn't point out that it should really have been a fasting test. However, I can't get an appointment with the other vet until next week and I feel that we need to start getting to the bottom of this problem (excuse the pun) as it has now been ongoing for around 5 weeks.

I should also point out that he is eating and drinking well, seems happy in himself too. It is really just the blood in the poo, which is bright red and appears to some extent in every poo (there was a period with no blood throughout the first round of antibiotics, but no improvement during the second).
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by Mollycat »

I guess it's a udgement call as to whether to wait for a vet you trust or see a vet you don't trust quicker which surely will mean going back again anyway?

Fresh blood indicates colon, not sure what parasites would be there, i'm not up on parasites. But how about a 3 day stool test?

As for kidneys honestly as I said before it really isn't a panic situation and as vet says very manageable medium to long term these days with diet and plenty more treatment options beyond, blood takes priority.
vic23
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by vic23 »

Hi All,
Looking for some support as I don't know where to turn...
Wherry is still experiencing blood in his stool and the last couple of bowel movements have been bloodier and more mucusy than previously. He went into the vets over a week ago for US and X-rays - However, it was not possible to go ahead with these as his bloods revealed stage 3 kidney disease and subsequent extremely high blood pressure. Therefore, any anaesthesia is very high risk and he either won't pull through or it will further damage his kidneys, perhaps even fatally. He is currently on BP meds to try and bring his BP down and then the vet will decide where to go from there. I was fine with this approach and obviously only so much can be done. However, the fact that his last two stools were either very mucusy or bloody compared to usual has really worried me as I know there is simply nothing else we can do about it. The only thing I can think is asking the vet whether he can try to do an US awake, but even if it reveals something (which I now fear is something really nasty) we can't do anything about it as the surgery will likely prove fatal anyway and there is now the concern that if he starts losing more blood he may become anaemic. I was hoping the blood may be alleviated by the BP meds - say if there was a weak blood vessel and the BP was weakening it more, but he has been on meds now since Friday 4th and no change and perhaps worsening. I just don't know what to do - I was coping ok, but the fact that the blood issue doesn't appear stable anymore is tipping me over the edge :(
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Re: Blood in stool - Newly adopted cat

Post by Kay »

this is all so sad, when you should have been enjoying life with your new companion

he's had a lot of meds in the past few weeks, and I wonder if he needs a calm period on a bland diet of white fish and boiled chicken, perhaps with a bit of cooked chicken or lamb's liver to counter his blood loss a little, and of course lots of fuss

what with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and strong wormers his gut has had a lot to contend with, and maybe he needs a rest from them all for a bit - though having said that, if the BP medication doesn't list any possible gut side effects, I'd keep that going
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