Aa
Food Intolerance?
I really can't figure out why the heck I see blood in my cat's butt every time I feed him wet foods. Already two vets have told me nothing is wrong with him, so my guess here is he is either constipated or is having food intolerance. I feed him Science Diet. The food is high in fiber. When he eats dry food he does great but I really don't want to keep him on an all-dry-food diet. I know it isn't good for kitties to just eat dry foods. My husband suggested changing him to a raw food diet but I don't know.....it's not convincing me at all. I've let him smell raw meat but he just gives me this face like "eeww". This morning, while his tail was way up in joy because it was feeding time, I saw the hole filled with blood. He doesn't seem to be in pain. He is active, playful, nothing has changed. What is wrong with my cat? He has been having these issues since he was born!!!! I wonder, if he cannot handle wet foods which he totally loves, how would his life turn out to be if he was stray or ferral? Is this normal for a cat to bleed EVERY SINGLE TIME he eats wet foods?
Come on woman!!! let me see you lol. I love it when you say you're too old lol what's with you? I bet you look good. The only reason I say my good ol' April is because I've been interacting with you since forever. I used to post a lot on the relationships forum, back when I used to remember all my passwords lol. You too used to post a lot on that forum and I remember me agreeing with every single thought you'd post. You know I too work nights 7 days in a month. It kills me. I feel like I'm missing out on so many things when I sleep during the day. I even stopped working out. I too feel like a zombie and tend to lose track of the date and time lol. I feel like I'm getting old. This new job is a killer but it's better than not having a paycheck, right? I guess if you are in the power industry working for a utility company you HAVE to do shift work at some point, especially if you have to operate the energy side of it. That's the culture in the power company I work for. I should have gone to Hollywood instead of becoming an engineer lol. Engineering ***** lol. I'll try American Idol sometime...you'll see.
Good 'ol April, lol. Old is right! Now I really feel old now that I've seen a picture of you, lol! Do you know you're only 4 years older than my oldest son? Now I'm depressed! :(
Great pictures! I guess I need to get some more of mine up. And no, I'm not loading any of me, lol.
Great pictures! I guess I need to get some more of mine up. And no, I'm not loading any of me, lol.
Thanks! One thing's for sure. I love my pet very much, and I worry about him. I have no kids so I guess that makes him the center of attention. He's watching tv with me right now. If you're going to have pets you might as well care for them. It doesn't make sense to have a pet and not care for it. Mr. Greedy is also a happy fish.
I'll keep you and my good ol' April updated on Abby's progress.
I'll keep you and my good ol' April updated on Abby's progress.
Glad that I could help!! Let me know what you find out
Good Luck to you and Abby!! Abby is lucky to have you, I can tell you're a good, caring mommy to HIM!!
Staci
PS-My gut tells me that it's not food related either
Good Luck to you and Abby!! Abby is lucky to have you, I can tell you're a good, caring mommy to HIM!!
Staci
PS-My gut tells me that it's not food related either
April, I witnessed all that you had to go through to get your cats the care that they needed. Have you heard anything from sweetpea? How's she doing?
Staci, I saved the page you provided and it's on my favorites. Thank you very much for helping me.
I'm curious as to what could be causing Abby's digestive system to reject wet foods. I mean, he does awesome when he is eating dry foods only. His stool comes all dry instead of runny. When cats have giardia, do they have diarreah all the time or just when they eat certain foods? He only gives me a hard time when he eats wet foods, no matter what brand. Even Natural Balance wet foods upsets his tummy and this food appears to be better than most brands because it is closest to what they would find in nature. My obvious conclusion is the food isn't the cause. Abby may just be intolerant. A trip to the vet wouldn't hurt now would it? I'll take him......again.
Staci, I saved the page you provided and it's on my favorites. Thank you very much for helping me.
I'm curious as to what could be causing Abby's digestive system to reject wet foods. I mean, he does awesome when he is eating dry foods only. His stool comes all dry instead of runny. When cats have giardia, do they have diarreah all the time or just when they eat certain foods? He only gives me a hard time when he eats wet foods, no matter what brand. Even Natural Balance wet foods upsets his tummy and this food appears to be better than most brands because it is closest to what they would find in nature. My obvious conclusion is the food isn't the cause. Abby may just be intolerant. A trip to the vet wouldn't hurt now would it? I'll take him......again.
PrettyKitty, do you remember the mess I had when I had three cats all with Giardia? Remember I took my friends cat in and she exposed my other two? Well, it's not fun! I had three cats with diarhea. They lost a lot of weight. My friend's cat was the worst. She had pure liquid diarhea. I had all three cats on antibiotics for months. The vet prescribed a special diet that was easy to digest and I gave a little canned chicken mixed with white rice to them to try to put on the weight again. We didn't think they'd ever get better! It was awful. It finally worked it's way out of their system, I guess, but it took months.
It's a good idea to get Abby tested for Giardia and get him on the antibiotics right away if that's what it is. I wish you the best! I hope it's not that. :( But it's good to get to the bottom of this (whoops, no pun intended, honest!) I hope Abby feels better soon. Take care and keep in touch and let us know how he's doing. (((Hugs)))
April
It's a good idea to get Abby tested for Giardia and get him on the antibiotics right away if that's what it is. I wish you the best! I hope it's not that. :( But it's good to get to the bottom of this (whoops, no pun intended, honest!) I hope Abby feels better soon. Take care and keep in touch and let us know how he's doing. (((Hugs)))
April
HI
Giardia caused a lot of throwing up and sometimes it was bloody, and she was VERY picky with food-she only ate people-food like salmon and chicken, which wasn't healthy either because there were no essential cat vitamins added.
There are many possibilities with your kitty, and I sure hope you get to the bottom of it.
Check out this website that I use all the time for medical advice about my cats.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/toc_20600.htm
Giardia caused a lot of throwing up and sometimes it was bloody, and she was VERY picky with food-she only ate people-food like salmon and chicken, which wasn't healthy either because there were no essential cat vitamins added.
There are many possibilities with your kitty, and I sure hope you get to the bottom of it.
Check out this website that I use all the time for medical advice about my cats.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/toc_20600.htm
April2, thank goodness you read my post. You are always there when I need you hun. What would I do without you lol. You're the best! Well I already bought 2 packages of Science Diet, definitely did not know about the fiber. However, if you notice how wild cats behave, when they have tummy problems they just eat grass, and that is fiber. I think they are programmed to already know they're supposed to eat that in order to evacuate and get better. My husband has seen how the stool looks when cats eat grass, and you can see the grass barely digested so that tells me right there that grass is fiber. The doctor said to keep giving him Science Diet. I did some research on fiber and felines. Not one article saying felines aren't supposed to eat fiber. One of the links I found was the following:
www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7619161
There are many more. My vet says fiber is good for cats. April, what I don't understand is why people have so many different opinions on EVERYTHING lol. You don't know who to believe anymore lol!!!!!!! Have you had any bad experiences giving your kitties fiber? Well it may just be Science Diet is waaaayyy too high in fiber and it is already out of balance.
When Abby eats the entire food I'll look into Natural Balance, which it's better I believe, less fiber, more protein and fat. I thought cats were low maintenance lol.
zodiacqueen, "Natural Health For Dogs and Cats" by Dr.Richard Pitcairn and Susan Hubble Pitcairn huh? I'll search for it online and I'll definitely keep the Giardia in mind. I'll make an appointment with the vet. Right now I am not able to take my silly goose anywhere because there is a tropical storm approaching Florida and it might turn into a hurricane tomorrow Tuesday. I am already on call to report to work sooner than I am supposed to, which totally *****. As a lil update, Abby is doing fine as I am only giving him dry food. He likes it, he eats it with no problem and he doesn't bleed. He only bleeds right after eating wet foods, like isnt that odd? He was playing with me a while ago. He always wants to play. What are the symptoms of Giardia? Are there any behavioral changes when your pet is infested with that thing?
www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7619161
There are many more. My vet says fiber is good for cats. April, what I don't understand is why people have so many different opinions on EVERYTHING lol. You don't know who to believe anymore lol!!!!!!! Have you had any bad experiences giving your kitties fiber? Well it may just be Science Diet is waaaayyy too high in fiber and it is already out of balance.
When Abby eats the entire food I'll look into Natural Balance, which it's better I believe, less fiber, more protein and fat. I thought cats were low maintenance lol.
zodiacqueen, "Natural Health For Dogs and Cats" by Dr.Richard Pitcairn and Susan Hubble Pitcairn huh? I'll search for it online and I'll definitely keep the Giardia in mind. I'll make an appointment with the vet. Right now I am not able to take my silly goose anywhere because there is a tropical storm approaching Florida and it might turn into a hurricane tomorrow Tuesday. I am already on call to report to work sooner than I am supposed to, which totally *****. As a lil update, Abby is doing fine as I am only giving him dry food. He likes it, he eats it with no problem and he doesn't bleed. He only bleeds right after eating wet foods, like isnt that odd? He was playing with me a while ago. He always wants to play. What are the symptoms of Giardia? Are there any behavioral changes when your pet is infested with that thing?
Almost forgot, you asked about Giardia, that is a special test and I think that there is a special medicine to get rid of it. Actually Giardia is a protozoan and not really a parasite. I can ask my mom, her cat had Giardia and was on meds for over a month. By the way, my mom has 8 cats.
HI!! Sorry it took a while to get back to ya. The book is called "Natural Health For Dogs and Cats" by Dr.Richard Pitcairn and Susan Hubble Pitcairn. They tell you exact quatities of vitamins and minerals to put in the food, which is good. Before you try it, I'd test your BOY Abby(LOL) out with some pieces of raw red meat or try cooking it. I'd hate to see ya waste money on all these extra supplements if you can't get him to eat it. Or you can try cooking the red meat, maybe he'll eat it that way.
I am totally with you in thinking that there is a reason for this soft food intolerance. Do you think maybe it's just a coincidence? Maybe you can try the hard food for 3 or 4 days to see if there's any bleeding. I am wondering whether there really is a connection betw. them. My gut feeling tells me that it's coincidence. You'd thing that hard food would be harder on the system to digest than the soft food. Don't you think?
Also, the vet can't tell much of anything by feeling up on the cats. I'm pretty sure that ultrasound or the colonoscopy will be next. Doesn't your vet have any ideas? He can't think that this is normal.
Let me know how this goes! Your cat sounds really cool and he's young, and I really think that you'll get to the bottom of this.
Hugs
Staci
I am totally with you in thinking that there is a reason for this soft food intolerance. Do you think maybe it's just a coincidence? Maybe you can try the hard food for 3 or 4 days to see if there's any bleeding. I am wondering whether there really is a connection betw. them. My gut feeling tells me that it's coincidence. You'd thing that hard food would be harder on the system to digest than the soft food. Don't you think?
Also, the vet can't tell much of anything by feeling up on the cats. I'm pretty sure that ultrasound or the colonoscopy will be next. Doesn't your vet have any ideas? He can't think that this is normal.
Let me know how this goes! Your cat sounds really cool and he's young, and I really think that you'll get to the bottom of this.
Hugs
Staci
Ok, I found it. It's pretty long but if you go to the Ask A Vet Forum and type in "kitten not acting quite right" in the search bar you will be able to pull up the post. Even though this pertained to constipation the vet talked about how cats need a high protein, low fiber diet because that greatly mimics what they eat in the wild. She said she's studied nutrition in pets which is a lot more than most vets. She might be able to help you out. Anyway, you can look and see what she said to me and see if any of it applies to you or if you can use any of her suggestions.
Hope that helps!
Hope that helps!
Prettykitty, other than the blood do you notice any other changes in his bowels? Does he get constipated or diarhea?
The vet online here told me awhile back that cats need a high protein diet with very little to no fiber because that greatly mimics what they get in the wild. I'll see if I can find what she wrote to me and copy it for you. It was pretty informative. Check back with you later.
April
The vet online here told me awhile back that cats need a high protein diet with very little to no fiber because that greatly mimics what they get in the wild. I'll see if I can find what she wrote to me and copy it for you. It was pretty informative. Check back with you later.
April
Staci thank you so much. Would you give me the title of the book, please?
Well actually, Abby is a boy lol. He is very young and wants things his way. He is my 1 year old number 1 baby, well he is a little over a year, like 2 months. My betta fish, Mr. Greedy is my number 2 baby boy lol.
The vet just tells me he runs samples and checks his heart, tummy, ears, butt, rectum, coat, skin etc, as a normal routine check-up, very general I think. He has been having this problem since he was just a few months old. He'll be fine with dry foods but don't you dare feed him wet foods. My poor thing, how he loves his wet food with chicken flavor and gravy lol. Before spending more money on vets I'll see if I can try the raw food diet. I've already tried different brands, Premium and Ultra Premium... and it all comes down to that poor thing bleeding through the rectum. If he doesn't get any better I'll take him to the vet and I myself will suggest them to do the colonoscopy and ultrasound. Perhaps my cat's problem needs to be addressed from the inside, not just by touching him and feeling his vital signs. If it was Giardia or any parasite it would have come out when the vet took stool and blood samples, right? (tell me if I'm wrong about this specific parasite). Besides, he had me taking Abby to the hospital two times to give him special doses of "something" (weird name, can't recall) that kills parasites, including Giardia. I'm very pleased with my vet but this is the one thing I cannot understand: Why the heck should I keep my cat on an all-dry food diet??? I refuse to believe that this is the only solution for my pet.
Other than that he is just the most annoying, happy, playful, grumpy, stubborn lil thing the world has ever known lol. Even when he is bleeding you'll see him runnig around, touching you with his white paw every time you walk by him to tease you and always wanting to eat. Overall a cat full of energy. Perhaps that is why the vet thinks My boy is also fixed. He was actually neutered when he was 5 months.
Do you think the raw food diet will help out?
Well actually, Abby is a boy lol. He is very young and wants things his way. He is my 1 year old number 1 baby, well he is a little over a year, like 2 months. My betta fish, Mr. Greedy is my number 2 baby boy lol.
The vet just tells me he runs samples and checks his heart, tummy, ears, butt, rectum, coat, skin etc, as a normal routine check-up, very general I think. He has been having this problem since he was just a few months old. He'll be fine with dry foods but don't you dare feed him wet foods. My poor thing, how he loves his wet food with chicken flavor and gravy lol. Before spending more money on vets I'll see if I can try the raw food diet. I've already tried different brands, Premium and Ultra Premium... and it all comes down to that poor thing bleeding through the rectum. If he doesn't get any better I'll take him to the vet and I myself will suggest them to do the colonoscopy and ultrasound. Perhaps my cat's problem needs to be addressed from the inside, not just by touching him and feeling his vital signs. If it was Giardia or any parasite it would have come out when the vet took stool and blood samples, right? (tell me if I'm wrong about this specific parasite). Besides, he had me taking Abby to the hospital two times to give him special doses of "something" (weird name, can't recall) that kills parasites, including Giardia. I'm very pleased with my vet but this is the one thing I cannot understand: Why the heck should I keep my cat on an all-dry food diet??? I refuse to believe that this is the only solution for my pet.
Other than that he is just the most annoying, happy, playful, grumpy, stubborn lil thing the world has ever known lol. Even when he is bleeding you'll see him runnig around, touching you with his white paw every time you walk by him to tease you and always wanting to eat. Overall a cat full of energy. Perhaps that is why the vet thinks My boy is also fixed. He was actually neutered when he was 5 months.
Do you think the raw food diet will help out?
Hi, Now that you've described it better, it really does sound like it's blood. You must be soooo worried. I was hoping for your sake it was as simple as a dirty butt. I agree there is something obviously wrong with Abby. Hasn't the vet suggested any ideas or what other test can be run? A few tests that I can think of-colonoscopy and ultrasound. YUP, they do colonoscopys on animals too. My mom had it done for her himalayan, and found out she has ulcerative colitis. She was on steroids for that, but later discovered that she had a weird parasite called giardia-she's fine now. Also, how thorough was the vet testing for parasites?? Something else to look into.
Other than the bleeding, are there any other symptoms???? And, you never mentioned whether your cat is a he or a she and how old. I figured it was a she-Abby sounds like a girl. And, one more thing, is she fixed?
Keep me posted!
Staci
PS-If you ever want to try the raw food diet, there are some good recipes that you can probably find on-line(not sure though). I've got a book here written by a holistic vet, it's really good. It also tells you about the vitamins and minerals you need to add to the meat. And, pretty much, that's the only good thing I can say about these commercial foods is that they DO add the right vitamins for proper nutrition for the cats. If you want I can give you the title of the book and the author so you can learn more about it.
Other than the bleeding, are there any other symptoms???? And, you never mentioned whether your cat is a he or a she and how old. I figured it was a she-Abby sounds like a girl. And, one more thing, is she fixed?
Keep me posted!
Staci
PS-If you ever want to try the raw food diet, there are some good recipes that you can probably find on-line(not sure though). I've got a book here written by a holistic vet, it's really good. It also tells you about the vitamins and minerals you need to add to the meat. And, pretty much, that's the only good thing I can say about these commercial foods is that they DO add the right vitamins for proper nutrition for the cats. If you want I can give you the title of the book and the author so you can learn more about it.
Thanks for your reply hun !!!!
That is precisely why I don't want to keep him on an all-dry-food diet. It'd be devastating for me to hear my cat has kidney failure in the future due to his diet. I know what you say and I totally agree. Even premium foods, like Iams add fillers, preservatives and by-products, plus the carbs content is very high and cats function with fat, not carbs.
It isn't a dirty butt you see, well actually it is dirty. Like I'm able to see blood on the floor, yes he also has a leak, and when I clean him all I see is blood in the towel, not a lot, but enough to worry me. It is definitely not worms because he was tested for those recently. Results came back negative. He was, anyways, given dosis of de-wormers, something that kills not only intestinal parasites but also ear mites and all that. I take my cat to the vet for regular check-ups to monitor his health and most importantly his digestive system. Up until now the vets haven't said anything about it. They just tell me to keep giving him dry foods. They've done blood tests and oh my God so many tests on him, and nothing. I cannot believe he is intolerant to wet foods. Goodness Gracious he is a cat!!!
About the raw food diet, I don't even know where to get the meat. He doesn't even like the smell of it, and I don't know about the stool which would come out runny I guess. He is indoor you see, and sleeps with my husband and I. I've had to clean up my sheets so many times because Abby leaves either blood or runny stool in the bed, not that he poops in the bed. He just jumps in the bed with a dirty butt. I have posted about this before.
I have never seen him cleaning his behind but he cleans the rest of himself. Vet told me he can't reach because he was a bit overweight. I was going to have to clean him myself. I just don't know what else to do. I don't even know if I should see a third vet.....I've basically done everything. One of the vets charged me $300.00 just to run a simple test. My vet charged me $14 to run the same test, plus vaccinations against parasites, more tests, medication, more appointments and all that, I've had to basically give up an entire pay check, no biggie. It doesn't actually bother me to pay for my cat's health, but I just feel like I'm wasting all this money so that they can tell me Abby is fine when I actually find blood in him everytime I feed him wet foods. Can it actually be normal?
It'd be so nice to just know what his condition is even if it's just a minor little thing so I know how to address it and prevent it from happening. I hate dry food....hate it!
That is precisely why I don't want to keep him on an all-dry-food diet. It'd be devastating for me to hear my cat has kidney failure in the future due to his diet. I know what you say and I totally agree. Even premium foods, like Iams add fillers, preservatives and by-products, plus the carbs content is very high and cats function with fat, not carbs.
It isn't a dirty butt you see, well actually it is dirty. Like I'm able to see blood on the floor, yes he also has a leak, and when I clean him all I see is blood in the towel, not a lot, but enough to worry me. It is definitely not worms because he was tested for those recently. Results came back negative. He was, anyways, given dosis of de-wormers, something that kills not only intestinal parasites but also ear mites and all that. I take my cat to the vet for regular check-ups to monitor his health and most importantly his digestive system. Up until now the vets haven't said anything about it. They just tell me to keep giving him dry foods. They've done blood tests and oh my God so many tests on him, and nothing. I cannot believe he is intolerant to wet foods. Goodness Gracious he is a cat!!!
About the raw food diet, I don't even know where to get the meat. He doesn't even like the smell of it, and I don't know about the stool which would come out runny I guess. He is indoor you see, and sleeps with my husband and I. I've had to clean up my sheets so many times because Abby leaves either blood or runny stool in the bed, not that he poops in the bed. He just jumps in the bed with a dirty butt. I have posted about this before.
I have never seen him cleaning his behind but he cleans the rest of himself. Vet told me he can't reach because he was a bit overweight. I was going to have to clean him myself. I just don't know what else to do. I don't even know if I should see a third vet.....I've basically done everything. One of the vets charged me $300.00 just to run a simple test. My vet charged me $14 to run the same test, plus vaccinations against parasites, more tests, medication, more appointments and all that, I've had to basically give up an entire pay check, no biggie. It doesn't actually bother me to pay for my cat's health, but I just feel like I'm wasting all this money so that they can tell me Abby is fine when I actually find blood in him everytime I feed him wet foods. Can it actually be normal?
It'd be so nice to just know what his condition is even if it's just a minor little thing so I know how to address it and prevent it from happening. I hate dry food....hate it!
Hello, I've had cats a long, long time-that problem I've never seen before. I do wonder if it's really blood-could be just a dirty booty?? Some cats are lazy like that-heck, I've had some that are so lazy that they don't bother washing their bellies-everything else will be clean except their booty and the belly.
I wouldn't get overly worried just yet!! I would ask your vet's opinion though. Maybe it's worms.
Let me know what the vet says, if you ask.
Staci
PS-I totally agree with your husband about the raw food diet-that's what the animals eat in the wild. Have you ever read the nasty ingredients in commercial foods-even the supposed "premium" brands? You'll see "meat by-products"-google it, you'll get the definition. It ain't pretty. Not fit for human consumption. I totally believe that it causes our cats(prob. dogs, too) to get kidney failure and cancer. Kidney failure and cancer are the top causes of death in cats. Had cats for over thirty years(3 or more at a time). I know first hand about this.
I wouldn't get overly worried just yet!! I would ask your vet's opinion though. Maybe it's worms.
Let me know what the vet says, if you ask.
Staci
PS-I totally agree with your husband about the raw food diet-that's what the animals eat in the wild. Have you ever read the nasty ingredients in commercial foods-even the supposed "premium" brands? You'll see "meat by-products"-google it, you'll get the definition. It ain't pretty. Not fit for human consumption. I totally believe that it causes our cats(prob. dogs, too) to get kidney failure and cancer. Kidney failure and cancer are the top causes of death in cats. Had cats for over thirty years(3 or more at a time). I know first hand about this.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Cats Community
Members of our Pet Communities share their Halloween pet photos.
Like to travel but hate to leave your pooch at home? Dr. Carol Osborne talks tips on how (and where!) to take a trip with your pampered pet
Ooh and aah your way through these too-cute photos of MedHelp members' best friends
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
