Aa
Blood on Stool 8 Year Old Female Cat
Hi,
My indoor cat, Ella had a normal stool this morning - she did not cover it and there was blood not in the stool, but on top of the stool. This is the first time we have noticed this, should we be overly concerned enough to have her see the vet immediatley, or should we keep an eye on the situation to see if it happens again? Thank you in advance for any advice.
My indoor cat, Ella had a normal stool this morning - she did not cover it and there was blood not in the stool, but on top of the stool. This is the first time we have noticed this, should we be overly concerned enough to have her see the vet immediatley, or should we keep an eye on the situation to see if it happens again? Thank you in advance for any advice.
we feed our cat I'm dry cat food through our gravity feeder and give her one can of Fancy Feast every night. we just noticed that she also has this problem we are taking her off of the Iams thank you for the advice anything else would help.
First of all, Human Grade cat food is pretty much what it sounds like - the food content is fit for human consumption, not just garbage processed with fillers and graded fit for animals.
Cats are a type of animal that is called an "Obligate Carnivore". This means that in the wild they get everything in their diet from their kill - like a mouse eats something, they get it too when they eat the mouse. This is also how they get their hydration - they don't naturally drink water much. The reason house cats drink water is that their food is insufficient and makes them thirsty.
All this means is that most cat foods have ingredients that cats bodies don't process well. When a cat eats, it doesn't eat just for fullness, it's body is "looking" for specific nutrients and when it doesn't get them, the cat keeps eating.
So, when you feed an appropriate food, your cat eats less because it is getting food that it can process efficiently. This leads to your cat being healthier is many ways.
A digestive enzyme is a supplemental powder that you can add to your cat's food, just to help it along with digestion, as even with the best foods a cats natural diet is difficult to copy exactly. This goes for other supplements as well, from vitimins to natural remedies, some of which are very effective.
Usually I don't recommend adding supplements for no reason. You might want to get a digestive enzyme (I use Prozyme, but there are other brands) until your cat is settled on a new diet.
Prettykitty is right about the brands you mentioned. You can google human grade cat food and see what you find. Feel free to message me if you like and I will recommend some brands that would be appropriate (frankly, my husband Savas is the brand expert with this, and he's asleep right now:) If you don't live near a really good, high end, cat/pet food supply store, you may need to order your cat food online to get something really good. It depends on the store you go to, but a lot of them like Petland just have overpriced foods that aren't much better than Friskies.
As to baby food, it's excellent for adding hydration to your cats diet, usually temporarily. Cats tend to love the meat flavors. However, you should know that it has pretty much zero nutritional value for cats, mostly because of that high water content, so it never takes the place of food.
Hope this helps. And, like I said, don't hesitate to let me know if I can help further, with food types/brands or anything else.
Cats are a type of animal that is called an "Obligate Carnivore". This means that in the wild they get everything in their diet from their kill - like a mouse eats something, they get it too when they eat the mouse. This is also how they get their hydration - they don't naturally drink water much. The reason house cats drink water is that their food is insufficient and makes them thirsty.
All this means is that most cat foods have ingredients that cats bodies don't process well. When a cat eats, it doesn't eat just for fullness, it's body is "looking" for specific nutrients and when it doesn't get them, the cat keeps eating.
So, when you feed an appropriate food, your cat eats less because it is getting food that it can process efficiently. This leads to your cat being healthier is many ways.
A digestive enzyme is a supplemental powder that you can add to your cat's food, just to help it along with digestion, as even with the best foods a cats natural diet is difficult to copy exactly. This goes for other supplements as well, from vitimins to natural remedies, some of which are very effective.
Usually I don't recommend adding supplements for no reason. You might want to get a digestive enzyme (I use Prozyme, but there are other brands) until your cat is settled on a new diet.
Prettykitty is right about the brands you mentioned. You can google human grade cat food and see what you find. Feel free to message me if you like and I will recommend some brands that would be appropriate (frankly, my husband Savas is the brand expert with this, and he's asleep right now:) If you don't live near a really good, high end, cat/pet food supply store, you may need to order your cat food online to get something really good. It depends on the store you go to, but a lot of them like Petland just have overpriced foods that aren't much better than Friskies.
As to baby food, it's excellent for adding hydration to your cats diet, usually temporarily. Cats tend to love the meat flavors. However, you should know that it has pretty much zero nutritional value for cats, mostly because of that high water content, so it never takes the place of food.
Hope this helps. And, like I said, don't hesitate to let me know if I can help further, with food types/brands or anything else.
Iams is not species appropriate. It is good you switched her. My advice is to never give her Iams or any product manufactured by them. Stay away from that, Science Diet and Purina. I recommend you only feed her wet foods just because she has had constipation already. It just means she isn't getting enough moisture or too much (or lack of) fiber. When you have a problem like this, the best thing to do is feed the cats separately to monitor her food intake and then take it from there. (increase/decrease accordingly)
As for the canned pumpkin, it works. Cats are finicky, so she probably will not eat it but she may like it. Cats like sweet taste, or combination of sweet tastes, so just give it a try, or mix the pumpkin in her food, little by little, to get her used to the taste. Don not keep her on canned pumpkin forever. If your cat experiences constipation again you need to re consider switching her to better nutrition. It is all about the diet. You find the right one for her, you're all set.
I have not seen digestive enzymes being sold at the pet shops but you can ask them. If not, you can ask the vet. I'm sure they have it for sale. You can also get her PSYLLIUM, which enhances bowel elasticity. Your cat may need a little extra fiber, especially if she has been kept on dry food or low quality commercial foods for years. She will benefit from psyllium husk powder. Now, you may want to check the nutrient content on the can or package. Too much fiber can cause constipation as well as lack of it. So, if her foods lack fiber it is good to add this to her diet. If her constipation is the result of excess fiber then forget about psyllium.
You don't need to give her baby food. Adding a bit of water and salmon oil to her diet is good enough. Salmon oil provides fatty acids. If you will do this, get the capsules instead of the the bottle which contains liquid oil. I buy Carlson salmon oil at the vitamin shoppe. Cats love the fish flavor.
Any other questions, we're here :)
As for the canned pumpkin, it works. Cats are finicky, so she probably will not eat it but she may like it. Cats like sweet taste, or combination of sweet tastes, so just give it a try, or mix the pumpkin in her food, little by little, to get her used to the taste. Don not keep her on canned pumpkin forever. If your cat experiences constipation again you need to re consider switching her to better nutrition. It is all about the diet. You find the right one for her, you're all set.
I have not seen digestive enzymes being sold at the pet shops but you can ask them. If not, you can ask the vet. I'm sure they have it for sale. You can also get her PSYLLIUM, which enhances bowel elasticity. Your cat may need a little extra fiber, especially if she has been kept on dry food or low quality commercial foods for years. She will benefit from psyllium husk powder. Now, you may want to check the nutrient content on the can or package. Too much fiber can cause constipation as well as lack of it. So, if her foods lack fiber it is good to add this to her diet. If her constipation is the result of excess fiber then forget about psyllium.
You don't need to give her baby food. Adding a bit of water and salmon oil to her diet is good enough. Salmon oil provides fatty acids. If you will do this, get the capsules instead of the the bottle which contains liquid oil. I buy Carlson salmon oil at the vitamin shoppe. Cats love the fish flavor.
Any other questions, we're here :)
We had been feeding her Iams, but recently we switched to Soup for the Chicken for the Cat Lovers Soul (it was somewhat slow/weaning) and she shares 1/4 of a can of wet food (Tuna for Cats from Trader Joes) with her brother (who is a big horse and I'm sure he probably gets more than she does!) every night. Maybe we should increase the wet food to a 1/2 canned shared every night. She probably doesn't get enough water, likes to drink out of the sink daily. She sleeps practically right on the heat register, I wonder if that would dehydrate her? I will look into the enzymes - is it sold at pet stores?
Now what do you guys mean exactly when you say human grade canned foods? I know you said canned pumkin, do cat mind that? She is very fussy with her wet food. My neighbor feeds her cat baby food - the Gerber in a jar - I thought maybe she was just pampering him, so I actually never asked her why, but I'm sure that it's to add moisture to his diet.
Thank you - this is so informative, I really appreciate all the advice!
Now what do you guys mean exactly when you say human grade canned foods? I know you said canned pumkin, do cat mind that? She is very fussy with her wet food. My neighbor feeds her cat baby food - the Gerber in a jar - I thought maybe she was just pampering him, so I actually never asked her why, but I'm sure that it's to add moisture to his diet.
Thank you - this is so informative, I really appreciate all the advice!
Mrs_Savas has said it all. I agree 100%. Very, very important to feed your cat a good quality of foods. So, if you haven't done so, we highly recommend that you start switching her to human grade canned foods. This will help her overall health greatly.
I just wanted to add to her advice (and if you're interested) that you can find digestive enzymes anywhere online. I get mine at the dr foster and smith website. You can also talk to the vet about it. They may have digestive enzymes and probiotics for sale but I doubt you'll get it cheaper at the vet. If this was a mild case of constipation, provide canned pumpkin. I know there is something else to help her evacuate but I can't remember it now. I promise I'll post it when I remember. Canned pumpkin is a good, natural stool softener. Hopefully, by now she is fine and the blood was just a one time episode.
Good Luck.
I just wanted to add to her advice (and if you're interested) that you can find digestive enzymes anywhere online. I get mine at the dr foster and smith website. You can also talk to the vet about it. They may have digestive enzymes and probiotics for sale but I doubt you'll get it cheaper at the vet. If this was a mild case of constipation, provide canned pumpkin. I know there is something else to help her evacuate but I can't remember it now. I promise I'll post it when I remember. Canned pumpkin is a good, natural stool softener. Hopefully, by now she is fine and the blood was just a one time episode.
Good Luck.
That sounds like the right advice, PrettyKitty is very knowledgable about this.
If she is only eating dry food, she is going to be dehydrated, at least somewhat, pretty much all the time. Cats just dont' get enough hydration from their drinking water.
Feeding her a good, preferably human-grade brand of canned and dry food will help her digestion, and pretty much everything else, too! Adding a digestive enzyme like Prozyme, to her food will help her digest anthing her body isn't processing properly (which is very common, most cats have this problem, to some degree).
If she is overweight, then constipation is a more common problem than if she isn't. If this is the case, the advice is exactly the same as above. A healthy diet that is processed properly will result in her eating less. Human grade pet foods contain no grains and are low in sugars, both of which are added to pet grade foods and make a lot of cats overweight.
However, if this problem continues or worsens, or if she seems to be straining in the litter box or having discomfort, then a vet checkup is called for.
Good luck. Welcome to the forum!
If she is only eating dry food, she is going to be dehydrated, at least somewhat, pretty much all the time. Cats just dont' get enough hydration from their drinking water.
Feeding her a good, preferably human-grade brand of canned and dry food will help her digestion, and pretty much everything else, too! Adding a digestive enzyme like Prozyme, to her food will help her digest anthing her body isn't processing properly (which is very common, most cats have this problem, to some degree).
If she is overweight, then constipation is a more common problem than if she isn't. If this is the case, the advice is exactly the same as above. A healthy diet that is processed properly will result in her eating less. Human grade pet foods contain no grains and are low in sugars, both of which are added to pet grade foods and make a lot of cats overweight.
However, if this problem continues or worsens, or if she seems to be straining in the litter box or having discomfort, then a vet checkup is called for.
Good luck. Welcome to the forum!
Keep watching her. The blood might have been a result of constipation. Trying to evacuate but not being able to can certainly cause a little bleeding but it isn't serious. What are you feeding her? Try to add more moisture to her foods. Keep an eye on her. It may be constipation but it may also be something else. Hopefully, this was all but an episode of constipation. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Keep us posted!
Keep us posted!
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