Hey guys,

I will firstly apologise for always being on this site reading, while laughing/worrying/being interested in, all the threads but rarely replying. I am a first time kitty owner and don't feel knowledgeable enough to give advice... yet!

A little while ago I posted about Chicken having mucus on his poop, yesterday morning I noticed blood and mucus on his solid stool. Made an appointment with the vet. They're used to seeing us monthly as we panic at the slightest hiccup (which reminds me, Chicken's started hiccuping last couple of days. Not sure why but it seems odd to me?!)

Vet checked temperature and heart rate and all was fine. Also checked weight and said Chicken is at his maximum. Almost had to cover Chicken's ears when the vet said I should consider feeding slightly less... He didn't want to give any anti-inflammatory as he wanted to find out what the deal was first. Asked about diet, I just mentioned Grau and Orijen, though I also feed Cosma, Macs, Pfotenliebe, Applaws (wet) and raw treats. He'd not heard of either of them but was happy that I'd researched into what to feed him. Actually he's been the best vet I've seen to date at the surgery and I've almost seen them all...

Today, I saw Chicken use his litter tray and strained the whole way, checked his poop, blood and mucus, mostly fresh blood. Called the emergency vet who said as Chicken is himself (i.e. bouncing off walls, eating everything in sight) apart from feeling a little sorry for himself, I should wait till tomorrow and book an appointment with my surgery.

I'm trying to think of what could have caused this. Does anyone have any ideas? The vet mentioned colitis and worms. Chicken was wormed 2 months ago although last month had a spell of fleas, vet was fine that I rotate brands for his diet but asked that I keep him on one brand for the time being as it might be diet related. Have also checked other symptoms online but seriously they can all be taken out of context. Drooling, for example. He has started this recently when I give him a particular treat, or if he's really, really happy and purring while being stroked.

I doubt it's food related as he's been off the whiskas and on this stuff for about 4-5 months now. The only main thing I've changed is instead of cleaning his eyes with Diamond eyes (he's a white Persian) I now use Eye Envy which I saw recommended on here. And it's BRILLIANT! Chicken sometimes tries to lick it, must be so much nicer for him than that potent Diamond eyes which never seemed to work. He currently has no staining whatsoever. Anyway, I digress (also why I try to keep posts to a minimum), I wonder if it's this that could have caused it. I've been using this product for about 2-3 weeks now.

The last point I have is regarding the raw treats I feed. Liver, mince, heart, (I'm intrigued, would unsmoked bacon be any good?) every now and then, but on Sunday I'd fed him two tiny (2cm x 0.5 cm) strips of raw, fresh, chicken breast. Do you think he could have contracted salmonella from this? I hope not as have been planning on giving him a raw egg soon... Well I'm not sure if I should mention the raw chicken to the vet. I want him to know everything but I don't want him to automatically say it's because of that. It's really strange though as he said he'd have expected Chicken's stool to be loose, not solid. So I'm confused. And tired.

Look forward to hearing from any of you super people.

Cats have much shorter digestive tracts than humans and so are able to cope with bacteria better than we can - so salmonella is very very unlikely. He sounds more a little constipated - try sardines or mackerel in tuna sauce all that straining may have given him a little tear.

I also doubt that is is the eye stuff. Fleas can transmit worms so it could be he needs worming again.
Sometimes the meat rich foods are very 'thick', try adding extra water with them to make a sort of gravy to get more fluids into him , that would help with constipation too.
Obviously if it carries on back to the vets. Don't be worried about mentioning some raw threats either. As they are treats I'm sure the vet will be fine with them.
Is his diet all wet? Or is some of that dry? If it is I'd stop the dry for the moment as it is dehydrating.
Drooling, especially when happy, is completely normal, unless accompanied with a foul smell and loss of appetite when it could be teeth trouble - but not in your case.

Hope that helps.

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Thanks Spid, that does help in reassuring me.

I do mix in a fair amount of water with the pate foods as that was the only way I could get him to eat it. Actually since taking him off whiskas and putting him on the pate texture foods I don't notice him drink much water anymore. I was thinking constipation or some sort of blockage too, hairball maybe.

Vet seemed to think it was mostly likely worms as you've said and suggested re-worming one month early, was planning to wash Chicken on the weekend then worm him after.

Well, hopefully it'll all be clear soon as emergency vet asked me to refrigerate his poop from tonight at drop it at the vets tomorrow for testing. My partner is out with work tonight and I've told him there are leftovers in the fridge for him when he gets in. Depending on how many drinks he's had he may be in for a nasty surprise!

I agree with your vet about the colitis-the blood and mucus are classic signs of this. Basically it's inflammatory bowel disease ( reversible once cause eliminated ) but only involved the colon and not the small intestine. This inflammatory resonse in a reaction to the food or some ingredient ( or protein source or flavour eg chicken ) in it. Grains are very often the trigger with colitis. You feed such an array of foods it's difficult to know which one is causing this so I can understand why the vet is suggesting feeding just one for the moment though I wouldn't expect it to go overnight even if you managed to isolate the offending food as the colon wall will need time to heal. I'm wondering about the rice in the Grau? Is Orjen grain-free? If it isn't then I would also eliminate this. In fact being a dry food I would be inclined to cut this out also.

You could also speak to your vet about an elimination diet where a novel protein food ( eg venison ) is fed for a number of weeks. The body not recognising this new food will not produce the inflammatory response. Later other foods are gradually re-introduced and if symptoms recur then these foods are triggers and should be avoided. It can take some weeks though before any results are seen! There's a thread on here about foods which are suitable.

No I was hoping no one would say that...

Well I've made a food order (that actually includes some new brands... is there such a thing as too much rotation?!) but as it's taking ages to arrive I've only been feeding Grau (some fish flavour) and Cosma (sea bream, he's only been having this brand for about 2 weeks with other brands, and in the last week solely with the fishy Grau) as that's all I have left. Actually maybe every third day a pouch of Purely or can of Encore is thrown in. If it's diet related I'd say it's the Cosma as that's the main new thing.

He always loved dry and wet although now is going off the dry (boredom I think) but I have to admit it's convenient as I'm not home to give him lunch so the pet feeder spits out some dry food around midday. Yep, it's grain-free.

That's very interesting Ianthi, I'll mention it to him. I've actually got some venison food in the order I've made so would be more than willing to give it a try. I guess it would be asking too much for the results of the stool sample tests to pin down exactly what the problem is, if in fact it is diet related.

Hmm.....not sure about the Cosma as cats develop an allergy to foods they've been fed a long time as opposed to a new one. However, considering it's fish and the Grau contained fish I'd be inclined to suspect fish as a trigger or at least bear it in mind. Of course you could try eliminating fish completely and see if symptoms reduce or subside.

Which venison have you ordered? Do remember it must be exclusively this one protein source with nothing else mixed in. If you do a search for Elimination Diets you'll find thread with list of suitable foods.

Inflammatory bowel isn't diagnosed via a stool sample except in very advanced cases where protein and fat loss show up it can point to it. Is the vet testing stool then?

Ccat2005 - Regarding the 'eye envy' - did you get the type which requires keeping in the fridge or the other type which is OK out of the fridge? Where did you get it from and is there a date on the bottle?


Scarlett

Hi Scarlett, I bought it from toe tufts online. I have the liquid that I keep in the fridge and the powder too. I currently am lazy with it, as it's so good, and use it maybe every 2-3 days. Just had a look and I can't see a date on the bottle...!

Unfortunately the stool sample won't show anything at all if it's diet related, this will only identify parasitic or bacterial causes.

Going along with what Spid suggested if you've been feeding a lot of Cosma, Encore and lean raw meat these are all very low in fat and a diet low in fat can cause constipation. If you are going to stick to just one food as advised then pick one that's well balanced and grain free.

Hi Ccat, hope you get your lovely Chicken sorted, lots of good advice on here as always.

Just wanted to say, I adore Persians, and white cats, so am doubly envious of your little furby ! Wonderful name too, soooo cute! If you have time to post some pics I will be lapping them up

I have a white Maine Coon kitten and was wondering if there was anything I could use to clean the staining off from underneath his right eye which is a bit runny. So very glad I read your post as I've not heard of Eye Envy or anything like it. Thanks!

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Rescue cats for many years, currently one moggie and 3 young Maine Coons.