Having a cat is like having a baby, you must notice the little details about them and take care of their health. For cat parents, a cat’s behavior is an essential indicator of its health, and so is their litter box. Many pet parents emphasize checking your cat’s litter box from time to time. They check if their cat is urinating large amounts, or if there are any abnormalities in the feces when it defecates. That way, you can notice if their bowel movement is healthy or not.
Checking your cat’s poop could help you diagnose your cat’s condition much sooner in case it has an underlying health problem. Sometimes, a cat’s feces could be accompanied by blood or mucus, and you can notice your cat’s behavior changing whenever they defecate if that is the case. So, what could be the explanation behind this mucus or blood in your cat’s feces? What health conditions could underlie this symptom? Why is your cat bleeding from rectum?
NOTE: We want to inform our blog readers that before we publish any article, the team “Proudcatowners” does deep research based on experience and knowledge about cats and everything related to them, to guarantees reliable and precise information, satisfy the readers is our first priority.
Why is my cat bleeding from rectum?
Numerous health conditions can cause your cat to bleed from its rectum, such as constipation, inflammation, and even diarrhea. Blood, in these cases, might be hard to identify, because the litter can either change the color or create some changes in the appearance as well.
Possible causes your cat is bleeding from its rectal are:
A change in your cat’s diet:
If your cat is used to a specific food, and then you change it, especially without consulting with your vet first, it might lead to complications with your cat’s health. Your cat might develop food tolerance, or it might have an allergic reaction to one or more ingredients in the new diet.
Allergies in cats are most commonly related to protein sources in their diet, such as beef, dairy products, and different types of fish. There are certain breeds, which are likely to have food intolerances more than others are, however, for all kinds of cats, it can happen at any age. This can disturb their digestive system, causing internal damage, which would lead to rectal bleeding.
How do I know if my cat has food intolerance?
There are some symptoms and common signs, which could help you identify this issue:
- If your cat is young, it will grow poorly.
- If your cat has food allergies or intolerance, it will develop chronic ear disease
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Repetitive sneezing
- Flatulence
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Hair loss
- Your call will constantly scratch its skin, which could lead to red skin and bald spots
- Skin inflammation
What should I do?
If you notice that your cat is displaying any of these symptoms, especially after a recent change in their diet, make sure you stop providing that diet, and you take your cat to the vet immediately. In addition to that, avoid changing your cat’s diet, or giving it any new nutrients before consulting with your veterinarian first.
Inflammatory bowel disease:
Inflammatory bowel disease in cats is when the walls of the cat’s gastrointestinal tract are thickened by inflammatory cells, making it harder for the tract to do its regular job. The cat’s GI tract becomes inflamed and unable to digest and absorb food properly. Even though this disease can affect cats who are old or middle-aged, cats of all ages can have this unfortunate health condition.
Symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease:
The symptoms of IBD differ from one cat to another, and it depends on the severity of the disease and the cat’s condition? It also depends on the frequency of this disease in your cat and the area of the gastrointestinal tract that is infected.
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Diarrhea
- Lethargy
- Stains and traces of blood in the stool
Constipation:
If your cat is constipated, it would be hard for it to defecate, and you might find evidence of blood in their litter box. Dehydration, stress, a dirty litter box, colon obstruction, an underlying disease, or any other health or hygiene reasons can cause constipation.
Symptoms of constipation in cats:
- Painful defecation
- Using the litter box less than once a day
- Not defecating for two or more days
- Swollen anus
- Loss of appetite
- Traces of blood in their litter box
- Hard and dry feces in small amounts
- Yowling while trying to use the litter box
- Occasional vomiting
Rectal tissue prolapse:
Constipation or other digestive diseases could use more strength to strain whenever utilizing the litter box, especially to defecate in case your cat is constipated. This extra force and pressure might affect its inner intestinal lining, and force some of it outward to the point you can see it externally. Rectal prolapses are extremely painful for your cat, especially whenever it tries to use the litter box.
Symptoms:
- Extreme pain during your cat’s bowel movements
- Bleeding from rectum
- Traces of blood in your cat’s poop
- Crying sounds whenever using the litter box
- The cat’s inability to control its bowel movements much
- Using the litter box less, and defecating less
What should I do?
If you notice your cat’s tissue on the outer surface of its rectum, avoid touching it or trying to fix it alone at home. Do not try to put it back inside using your hand and take your cat to the veterinarian for proper medical care.
Rectal tumors and rectal polyps:
Rectal tumors are not very common in cats, they constitute only 10 % and 15 % of cases in cats. Most rectal tumors in cats are benign rectal polyps.
Rectal polyps are noncancerous growths that occur in the cat’s rectal area. This later is not very common in cats, a veterinarian can discover them via a rectal examination, and he or she may use an endoscopic examination to see them. These polyps can also bleed frequently and efficiently, especially when defecating, which causes bold in your cat’s stool.
Symptoms:
- Difficulty in defecating
- Your cat would make baby like crying sounds when using the litter box
- Diarrhea
- Traces of blood in your cat’s stool
Rectal tumors are likely to have other motivating causes, however, many vets confirmed that these tumors and rectal polyps are best treated by complete surgical removal. The surgery outcomes are usually good to excellent, and the cat has higher chances of a better recovery.
Internal parasites:
If your cat has internal parasites such as worms, you will notice a change in your cat’s behavior, in addition to finding traces of blood in its stool. Infections such as Tapeworms and Hookworms in cats attach themselves to the inner intestinal lining of the cat and feed off its blood.
These worms eject their eggs into the digestive tract, and they would move to the outer environment after that through the cat’s feces whenever it defecates. Hookworms will cause internal bleeding in the intestinal tract of your cat because of their feeding method, leading to blood loss.
How dangerous are hookworms for my cats?
Internal bleeding and severe infection due to these worms could be lethal to your cat if they are not taken care of as soon as possible. These worms can also affect humans by penetrating the skin in case you step on them when walking barefoot in an area where cats tend to defecate, such as the beach.
Symptoms:
- Diarrhea
- Traces of blood in the stool
- Weight loss
- Experiencing some pain
- Internal infections
What should I do?
If you suspect that your cat is infected with parasites, you should schedule a veterinary appointment immediately. Neglecting your cat’s condition could lead to its death. You can try to prevent your cat’s infection as well by keeping your cat’s surroundings clean as well as their litter box. You should also take your cat to the vet and get it checked up regularly. Usually, if your cat is 3 to 9 weeks old, it should be checked up and treated for hookworms every 2 weeks.
Colitis:
Colitis is a bowel condition and disease, which makes the cat’s colon lining thinker, causing various ulceration and tissue loss in the superficial lining of the colon. Parasites, bacterial infections, water-based infection, also known as algae or fungal infection, can cause this health condition in cats. When this happens to the colon, and it becomes inflamed, it makes it harder for it to absorb water or keep the cat’s feces, which is why this disease causes frequent diarrhea accompanied by blood and/or mucus.
Symptoms:
- Small amounts of feces
- Frequent bowel movements
- When your cat is straining, it takes a very long time
- Traces of blood in the stool
- Your cat’s feces are accompanied by mucus as well
- Diarrhea
- Decreased appetite
- Loss of weight
- Vomiting
Anticoagulant poisoning:
Any ingredient that could prevent the clotting and coagulation of blood is called an anticoagulant. These agents are usually found in poisons used for rats. These poisons are the most used in households, and it has been reported that many cat accidental poisoning cases were because of them.
If your cat ingests this latter, it affects their vitamin K by blocking its synthesis. Vitamin K is essential for regular clotting, and any malfunction with it leads to uncontrollable bleeding. The leading cause of this condition is the ingestion of rodent poison or toxins.
Symptoms:
If your cat has a mild anticoagulant poisoning, it will not show signs for a couple of days, after that, the poison would start to affect the cat’s system, and you would notice the following symptoms:
- Unpredicted nosebleed
- Internal or external bleeding
- Traces of blood in your cat’s vomit
- Bleeding from rectum
- Specks of blood in feces
- Excessive bleeding in the gums, also known as hemorrhages
- Your cat becomes weak and wobbly
- Loss of balance
- Bruises under the cat’s skin
- Hematomas, which are blood clots, or a blood mass that is related to a particular organ or tissue
- Difficulty in breathing due to internal bleeding
- Fluid retention in the abdomen would be abnormal
What should I do?
You must keep any poisons in your household away from the reach of your cat. In case your cat has access to poison, and it digests it, make sure you go to the veterinarian immediately, even if your cat does not show any symptoms at first.
Hematochezia:
Hematochezia is when your cat’s stool is accompanied by blood, and it usually related or concurrent with colon diseases in your cat. A rectal disease, causing the cat to bleed from its rectum, such as a trauma, an injury, a rectal parasite, can also cause this condition or that the rectum is hanging out of the anus.
Other causes of Hematochezia in cats may include extra-intestinal diseases such as an injured or fractured pelvis, cancer, a hind limb, having hernia around its anus, or condition of the prostate.
Symptoms:
- Lumps around that cat’s anus
- Blood and/or mucus in stool
- Diarrhea accompanied by blood
- Hard feces
- Difficulty to defecate and straining when doing so
- Making crying noise when using the litter box
- Whimpering during defecation
Anal sac disease
This disease occurs in cats when their anal glands fail to release fluids out properly. This would lead to infections in the rectal area, which would cause your cat to bleed from its rectum whenever it tries to defecate.
Perianal fistula
Your cat’s immune system reaction could cause this disease. It usually occurs in the area surrounding the anus, and it is excruciating for your cat. You would notice your cat experiencing pain and expressing it physically and verbally whenever it tries to defecate, as well as excessive licking of the bottom and the rectal area.
Physical injury or trauma
Your cat could swallow small sharp objects by mistakes, such as needles or cooked chicken bones. This latter would tear up through the tissue while passing through the cat’s intestinal tract alongside feces, and consequently, causing the cat to bleed from its rectum, primarily when it used the litter box.
Symptoms
- Your cat would avoid using the litter box as often as it used to do.
- Occasional tears whenever your cat defecates
- Struggling to defecate
- Biting and scratching wounds around its anus
- Licking its bottom more often than usual
What should I do?
You should avoid leaving any tiny sharp objects around your cat, and make sure you debone their cooked chicken before serving it. If you suspect that your cat swallowed a sharp object, make sure you take it to the vet immediately. Wounds resulting from this around the anus usually require a small surgery to help it heal, because the pressure of defecating prevents it from healing on its own like other wounds.
Cat bleeding from her female genital
In some cases, you might suspect that your cat is bleeding from rectum, because you would find traces of blood in stool and with feces. However, your cat might be bleeding from its female part due to a urinary tract infection or a vaginal infection.
Could my female cat be bleeding from its vagina because it is going into heat?
According to prtMD, female cats do not experience vaginal bleeding when they go into heat. Therefore, if you notice your female cat experiencing such bleeding, or suspect it is bleeding from its rectum, you should take it to a vet because it is abnormal bleeding and requires medical treatment and immediate veterinary care.
How do I notice if my cat’s poop is healthy or not?
The majority of cats defecate once a day. Your cat’s normal feces would usually be about 7 centimeters, well-formed, brow to dark brown, and not too strong in smell. According to U.K’s Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition, there is a Feces Scoring System, which they developed. Checking this chart would help you define whether your cat’s feces are abnormal or not.
How do I notice if there is blood in my cat’s stool? Is it always clear?
Blood or mucus in your cat’s feces can be hard and challenging to spot for many reasons. The litter in the litter box can conceal it, or create some changes and deformations to its appearance. Blood can also be different in color depending on which part of the body it is coming from.
If the bleeding were from the small intestines, in the higher intestinal tract, the blood would be darker than the usual blood we know, it would be either black or brown. Digestive enzymes in the small intestines cause this change in color. You would notice these brown or black blood spears like coffee grounds or specks in your cat’s litter box or around it.
However, if the blood were coming from the lower intestinal tract, the large intestines, or also known as the distal colon, it would be more like the blood we are all familiar with. Blood from the lower intestinal tract would be red or pinkish, you find these blood spots on the feces, in the litter, or even around the litter box.
What should I do?
If your cat displays any of the mentioned symptoms, you must take it to the veterinarian immediately. If these conditions are ignored, they could become complications and risk your cat’s life. Make sure you check your cat’s stool occasionally for any abnormalities.
How to treat rectal bleeding in cats?
Most cases in cats, which cause bleeding from the rectum, can be treated with medications, and only a few of them require surgery. It is better to tale a sample of your cat’s feces to the veterinarian before your prior appointment. Your vet would run some tests to identify the source of the problem and check for worms as well.
Conclusion:
Our cats would try to tell us whenever they are facing a health problem. They would display a change in behavior or vocalize some abnormal sounds. However, your cat’s feces would tell you a lot about your cat’s health conditions as well. Many pet parents check their cat’s litter box occasionally looking for any abnormalities in their cat’s feces. Your cat’s poop says a lot, and sometimes, you can find traces of blood in the feces or around the litter box.
This can be due to many health issues such as the following: a change in the dietary system, rectal polyps and tumors, physical injury or trauma, anal sac disease, internal parasites, anticoagulant poisoning, and other reasons that can cause your cat to bleed from its rectum.
Your cat’s blood color would depend on where it is coming from. If it is coming from the higher intestinal tract, the blood will be dark brown or black, while if it is coming from the lower intestinal tract area, the blood will look red or pink. The blood color could tell a lot about your cat’s condition.
If you notice your cat displaying any health conditions such as vomiting, weight loss, or difficulty in breathing in addition to blood in the stool, you should take it to the veterinarian immediately. Ignoring your cat’s condition could lead to severe complications, and eventually kill your cat if you do not provide it with the proper medical care when it is bleeding from its rectum.
