Have you ever looked at your cat’s litter box and found out blood in it? What does it mean and what are the reasons of it having blood? Blood in cat’s stool might be bright red, dark red or even black.
Each color of blood in your cat’s stool underlying different meaning. Blood can also appear while your cat is vomiting, so find the reasons your cat is vomiting blood.
Bright red blood in your cat’s stool indicates that the blood is fresh.
It might look darker as it is digested or partially digested by your cat. Black
blood on your cat’s stool is an emergency which alarms you to contact your vet
immediately.
Keep reading this article to see further information about the presence
of blood in your cat’s stool, including the reasons why your cat’s stool has
blood and what to do.
Reasons Why Your Cat’s Stool Has Blood
Blood in cat’s stool is commonly caused by inflammation of the colon. You can also tell what causes the presence of blood in your cat’s stool by looking at the color of it.
Red or pink blood indicated the lower intestinal tract, especially the large intestine. In contrast, blood coming from the higher part of the intestinal tract, particularly the small intestines, will be black or brown.
The dark color is caused by the digestion by some enzymes in the small intestines. It will appear to be dark flecks, coffee grounds or specks.
Blood in cat’s stool has various causes. The first one is diarrhea. Diarrhea is able to cause irritation to the lining of the lower gastrointestinal tract. This condition leads to bleeding. If your cat experiences diarrhea, then the blood will appear after a few days. Diarrhea is also one of the reasons why your cat is drooling.
Another reason is constipation, lack of fiber. Your cat’s stool will
appear hard and small, having blood on the outside. These two reasons of blood
in your cat’s stool can be caused by the other reasons, too, such as stress,
parasites, infections, toxin exposure, inflammatory bowel disease, dietary
changes or intolerance and other sickness.
What to Do When Your Cat’s Stool Has Blood in it?
The followings are the list of the conditions and the things you need to
do while facing those conditions.
- Small amount of bright red blood in your cat’s stool
Take a look at your cat, if she seems to be
normal and not acting sick, then you can do another observation for another day
or two. Even if your cat looks normal, you still need to contact your vet to
have consultation about what is observed in the stool.
- Dark colored blood (dark red or black)
This condition is emergency, you need to see
your vet immediately. Your cat might experience internal bleeding and this
condition cannot wait any longer.
- Presence of blood and your cat looks sick showing some other symptoms
Do you know that a cat’s health can be told a lot from its stool? You should rely on it to make sure that your cat is fine and healthy. If you see bright red blood in your cat’s stool and your cat experiences vomiting or diarrhea or other signs that she is feeling sick, then you need to bring her to your vet.
When you visit your vet, also don’t forget to make sure that your cat is vaccinated. See the essential vaccines for cat. Make sure she gets these essential vaccines regularly.
Besides getting vaccines regularly, you also need to control your cat’s diet. Make sure your cat gets enough nutrients and fiber, so that her stool is not hard. Most blood in cat’s stool is caused by digestive system problem.
So, the key of preventing it is by making sure that the digestive system working well. If you are looking for the best food for your cat, you can see these yummy recipe of homemade cat food and how to make a homemade cat food. They are yummy and healthier!
For this case, you really need to go to your vet immediately. This condition cannot wait any longer. Bring the sample of the stool if possible so your vet might be able to observe it.
Blood in your cat’s stool is considered a serious problem for your cat. Don’t wait to visit your vet until it is too late. Once you find out that there is blood in your cat’s stool, then directly contact your vet so that you can do something to prevent it from getting worse.