A Vet Explains What To Do If You See Blood in Your Cat's Poop

Has this ever happened to you?

You’re scooping out your cat’s litter box when you see something alarming: blood in your cat’s stool. Just what does it mean if you see blood in cat poop? And how worried do you need to be?

Blood in your cat’s stool can vary in appearance. Bright red blood in stool (hematochezia) is fresh and black blood (melena) is older—it appears black because it’s been digested or partially digested by the cat. Black or tarry looking stool is an emergency.

Video Navigation
0:00 Introduction
1:47 Hematochezia (Fresh Red Blood in Poop)
2:31 Melena (Dark, Digested Blood in Poop)
3:56 Causes of Hematochezia
5:20 Causes of Melena
8:35 What to Do If You See Blood in Your Cat’s Poop
10:12 Treatment of Blood in Cat Poop
11:39 Conclusion

[markharrisllb]

When our cat was 21 he started with hematochezia we went straight to the vet. He started him on antibiotics and did blood tests etc but it was only when he did more evasive procedures did we find out it was the start of a cancer on his lower bowel. Because we acted early that we managed to have another year with him and maintain a decent quality of life. I can't sing our vet's praises enough, in fact everyone in the practice is phenomenal.

[susangrande]

One of my cats had blood on her poop, hematochezia, for years, and the vet found nothing wrong with her anus nor rectum, nor any parasites. Recently I changed her food from Hills Science Diet i/d kibble, to Feline Natural pouches (which are all animal parts), and no more hematochezia. I believe she had problems with the corn gluten in the kibble irritating her digestive tract, which is the 2nd ingredient, and possibly the other grains in it. Cats are obligate carnivores, and they have no business eating a lot of grain!! The moral of this story is: check your cat’s food for irritating ingredients, like corn gluten, wheat, rice, and corn. Also beware of “meat by-products.” Please do research on what the proper diet for cats is. Just because a cat food is “scientific” and “premium” and expensive, doesn’t mean it’s healthy for your cat to eat. One of my cats, who ate that Hills i/d her whole life, died of kidney failure at age 10.

[elizabethmartinez]

thank you for taking the time to explain these cat problems.
was very helpfull to me.🙏

[NoGoingBack]

I heard a kitten crying in my backyard. I found a maybe 3 week old kitten that actually rushed toward me from its hiding place. I know it had been there all night alone and crying because I heard it but was too dark to find it. I gave a tiny bit of coconut milk and some chicken broth and ordered bottle and kitten milk to be delivered the next day. I kept her warm, holding her most of the night. When the heating blanket arrived I gave her a light bath and it was pink with blood. She pooped out something long and hard like a sticker/stick, but my husband threw the mess away before I could exam it. I have never owned a cat/kitten and watched several videos to identify age and learn about care. It's been almost a week and she appears to be thriving, but today I actually saw the bright red blood dripping out of her little butt. I live on a very small fixed income and have spent close to $100.oo already. I will take to the vet as soon as she can get her in. I have a dog so I know my vet and she is good; but I was hoping to find out about what would happen if the problem was from being thrown over my six foot fence. If it's internal bleeding, what will that mean. How can I make her comfortable? She is playful, eating well and very loving. She purrs and cries at the same time. I wish I could find her momma. Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[cherylmcnutt]

Wish this had come out before my cat got non-small cell lymphoma and had to be put to sleep because he was suffering and the vets couldn’t help him. I kept bringing them stool samples and all they tested for was parasites, so tests always came back negative. Then, with vet shut down due to COVID, and he missed his annual check up. A year later, he’s dead and my heart is broken, as is his brother’s.

[giovannisynthesis]

Wish all vets were like you. Learning so much watching your videos than from my vet. My vet recommended Hills for my fat cat but I keep seeing bad reviews. They can’t even recommend a high quality cereal I can buy on my own.

[mariasher]

My cat had hemacotezia when she was about 1, off and on for months. Poop tests all ok, blood tests ok, no pain. Unknown cause. I suspect it was from eating coarse grass, as that’s what I was noticing her doing before it happened. And I think she was wanting to do that because she is fluffy and has never brought up a furball so I think she was feeling rubbish. She now has Fortiflora daily and a malt furball paste as well and she hasn’t had a problem for a few months. So I’m hoping we have got to the bottom of it 🤞
Great video, thanks

[Artist-qg]

At the first part of the video, she said “beautiful subject” and I’m over here having my cat suffering from it

[sherfinley]

Thanks for all this great information
All your videos are very helpful. 🐱🐾

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[TT-eyon]

My 2 year old cat has had fresh blood on his poo for a month now, i took him to the vets 3 times they didnt help much and he gets too stressed when i take him there. Ive now booked for a vet to come to my house unfortunately i have to wait a week. They will do a stool sample & more hopefully it all clears up soon I’ve been so worried its making me sick. On the plus side he eats and drinks well, he’s playful so he’s not suffering. I cant wait to get this sorted and leave it behind us!

[dory_]

Thank you very much, it was very helpful! 😊

[shannonmagin]

I'm going through some issues, like this, with my precious cat Oreo, right now. Your video was so helpful to me. I've made an appointment with my vet already and my fingers are crossed.

Additionally, I loved your videos (I watched 3) are so informative and I liked (so much) how you lay out information, that I just became a NEW Subscriber or yours. I look forward to exploring your channel further.

BTW, what city are you based in? I'm hopin' somewhere close to me LOL.... 🙂. I'm in CA.

[killmewhileimahead]

I rescue & foster kittens mostly & sometimes adult cats so their poop is a big part of my life 😂 I do appreciate this video

[jacquelinescargill]

This is very helpful as my cat has small amount of blood in his stool recently . Hermatochezia I think. But he is 18 has dementia and Is very thin now. My vet won’t treat him due to his age. I hope he isn’t in any pain, he doesn’t seem to be. There was a drop of blood outside his litter box tonight but his poop looked fine and I squeezed it in the tissue and no blood in it at all. Should i be worried?

[crystal]

I could’ve used this video about a month ago when I saw some bright red blood in my kitten’s poop after changing him to another dry food, I have since just returned him to his original diet that was given to him by his previous owners and started giving him wet food, blood is gone but now I’m worried about trying to change his dry food again

[cherylmcnutt]

Hate how an ad comes on first, doesn’t announce it’s an add and viewers watch because they don’t realize it. Very troubling.

[lmtt]

My cat started to have blood in his poop and diarrhoea 3 years before he died. The free vets kept putting me off. In the end they said he had chronic kidney disease and was pts. I'm sure he could have been treated.

[jessebilla]

12 min video for her to say what everyone else says... "call the vet".

[chrisendezzm]

My two year old black 🐈‍⬛🖤 boy has fresh blood in his poop only when he eats dry food. Meat nothing on his poop

[mariehargrove]

Quite enjoy your presentation, learned a lot.