ASK THE VET: Cat with Bloody Stools

Seeing fresh blood in a pet’s stools means it is coming from the lower intestines (colon or rectum). Fresh blood in a cat’s stool can occur for a number of reasons. The most common cause is due to hard or dry stools. If this is the case, identifying the reasons for the hard stools and fixing this, will often resolve the problem. Feeding diets with higher moisture content such as canned foods rather than all dry food may help. Changing your cat’s diet to a commercial ‘high fiber’ diet may also help. Feeding more fiber such as a tablespoon of bran, with whole grains (barley, oats, or whole wheat) may help. For older cats (10+ years) it is often a good idea to get them checked by a veterinarian 1-2 times a year to make sure there is nothing more serious going on.

Other more serious reasons include:
• Infectious agents, such as bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and intestinal parasites
• Dietary intolerance/allergy/indiscretion
• Cancer (neoplasia) of the lower bowel
• Polyps (benign masses) in the colon or rectum
• Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as colitis
• Trauma to the lower bowel or anal area
• Clotting disorders (coagulopathy)
• Intussusception (the telescoping of one part of the bowel into another)
• Miscellaneous diseases of the anus, rectum and colon