Conference misery::feline_v1

    Hi Karen,  before you panic, try this.  Place the cat on a
    white towel.  Ruffle his fur up.  Look at the towel.  Are
    there little black specks on it?  If yes, then your problem
    may be fleas.
    
    The reason I suggest this first, is that I had a very similar
    'scare' myself.  My cat used to sit on the sink vanity in the bathroom
    while I was in there and one day I notice a little speck of blood
    on the vanity.  Convinced that he was bleeding I rushed him to
    the vet.  Turns out that flea 'dirt' is actually dried blood
    When the specks get wet, you'll see a little red blood spot.
    
    Could this be what you saw?  If you're not sure then bring
    kittie into the vets to make sure all is okay.
    
    -Donna

    or it could be just a simple (non-FUS) bladder infection, like if
    the cat got a cold that settled in the bladder. Alex passed this
    on to three of the other cats. The vet was able to clear it up with
    a few days of anitbiotics.
    
    Deb

    
    
    	Re: .1
    
    	Definately not fleas.  This really looked like bloody urine,
    	it was fresh blood, not old stuff.  
    
    	Re: .2
    
    	My kitten was sneezing a few weeks ago.  Since then he has stopped
    	but maybe the cold moved to his bladder.  We have an appointment
    	tonight.  I asked the vet if I should bring a sample then I laughed
    	and asked how the heck could I even get a sample.  They told
    	me that they would just draw the urine out of the bladder themselves.
        Sounds painful and I wouldn't want to watch but they said it
    	doesn't hurt the kitten at all.
    
    	Got my finger crossed!!
    
    	Karen  
    	
             

    Spooky, my 2-year old male, had blood in his stool.  I took him
    to the vet who told me that it could be as a result of Spooky's
    not being able to tolerate certain types of food.   The vet asked
    me if I had changed food and what I was currently feeding him. 
    I was feeding him Agway low ash and before that I had had Spooky
    on Science Diet - the vet said try going back to Science Diet and
    do not feed Spooky anything else, including no "human" food to see
    if the problem clears up.   I was nervous because I was worried
    that it could have been cancer, like in humans, but the vet reassured
    me that there is no correlation between cat and human illness in
    this particular case.   Well, anyways, I switched Spooky back to
    just the Science Diet and everything is just fine now.   Spooky
    could care less anyways, just as long as there's food, he's happy.
    So now it's just Science Diet for both him and Ashes.
    
    -Paula
    

    
    	The results of T.K.'s uninary analysis came back last night
    	and he is fine.  Still don't know where the blood came from
    	because the vet checked him for fleas and he is free of them.
    
    	I guess I won't worry about it unless I see it again.
    
    	Karen
    

    
    
    I found some blood in urine on the floor next to the litter box.
    I'm not sure which cat did it (I have two), but they both seemed
    normal all morning.  Could extreme heat be the problem?  I plan
    on taking her or him into the vet as soon as I find out which one,
    but I am rather worried...  oh and Whicket has been vomiting,
    but that's normal for her.  Any ideas would be appreciated.
    
    Katie
    

    Blood in the urine is never normal, especially if there is enough
    for you to notice, coupled with the fact that the urine is outside
    of the box. That is an early sign that something is wrong, usually
    FUS. CATS with FUS seem to act "normal" until they are really pretty
    sick (almost blocked). If you aren't sure who has the problem, I'd
    bring both cats into the vet ASAP. Take it from one who has two
    FUS cats, it it cheaper to pay now for office visits and urine samples
    and possibly an antibiotic and special food for two cats than to wait
    until you find out who's doing it and paying for a cathertization and
    possible surgery. Also, if you wait, the sick one might begin
    indiscriminatly urinating all over the house.
    
    Also, it could be a simple bladder infection, but these seem quite
    contagious (since Feb. 5 of mine have been passing a bladder infection
    to each other).
    
    Deb

    re:.6
    
    If it's a female, chances are it's cystitis - CHECK WITH YOUR VET
    AS SOON AS POSSIBLE  - your vet will want to check the urine and
    start her on medication -   good luck... it's a problem that can
    really cause you to worry!
    
    E.T.

    Speaking as someone who's had alot of this type of trouble herself....
    GET THEM TO THE VETS ASAP!  I know of nothing more uncomfortable
    than a Urinary track infection.
      Nancy DC
    

    To the vet.  If a cat with this problem gets completely
    blocked, it can die within 24 hours.
    

    Thanks a lot for all suggestions.  They are headed for the
    vet (both of them) with a urine sample (if possible).
    
    Katie
    

    don't worry about bringing a sample with you. The vet can either
    express the cats bladder or board them for the day with a sterile
    litterpan.
    

	Did you read 775.1 about flea dirt?  As it turns out, that was
	exactly my problem when I wrote the base note.  It might save
	you some time and $$ if you check this possibility out first.

	Karen

    
    
    Karen - yes I did consider flea dirt, but since both my cats are
    indoor cats and get deflead on a regular basis, I don't think that
    that's the answer.  There weren't any messes on the floor this 
    morning, the kids are both going in tonight.
    
    
    Katie
    

Last night I noticed blood in my cat's stool.  The stool was softer than 
normal, although it wasn't quite diarrhea, and also lighter in color than
usual.  I have a routine vet appt. for him and my female cat on Thursday.
Do you recommend rushing him in today rather than waiting??  What could
this be - I've never seen it before.

Thanks,
Sue

    My cat, Carrie, has chronic colitis.  When I see things like you
    described in the litter box I know it is acting up again.  I have
    been feeding her Science Diet Lite Maintenance since we discovered
    the problem and she seems to be fine now.  The vet said SD Lite
    is good for her problem because it is high in fiber.  I don't know
    if this is what is wrong with your cat but it does sound similar.
    If you could get her to the vet earlier than Thursday, I think it
    is a good idea.
    
    Jan

    I second the idea of taking her in earlier.  Or, you could call
    the vet, talk to him about it, and see if he feels that he needs
    to see the cat right away.
    
    Jo

    I would call the vet's office and see what they say.
    

    When we got Tristan he had blood in his stools.  It was coccidiosis,
    a parasite in the intestines.  It cleared up with a couple weeks of
    pills.  Make sure when you bring your cat in that you bring a stool
    sample for analysis.  Actually, you should be able to drop off a
    stool sample any time, without waiting for the appointment.  Then
    you might know something sooner.
    
    Karen.

    
    Be aware that when you treat one cat for coccidiosis, you need to
    treat your whole feline family.
    
Deb
(who_had_to_pill_seven_cats_for_three_weeks_immediatly_following_foot_surgery)
    

    Just told by my Vet's office I can pick D.P. up tonight after work; he
    has a "chronic infection".  Don't know any more until I pick him up and
    talk with Vet.  Boy, did I miss him around last night and so did his
    buddy, Thai.  
    
    Pat
    

I brought stool sample in this morning, and waited for the analysis results.
Turns out to be negative.  The doctor says that since the stool was soft,
she could have broken a blood vessel or something from straining.  He said 
it was not uncommon and nothing to worry about, since she is feeling and
acting normally.  Thanks for your advice.

    I have a similar problem with Boogie.  My vet
    says she has a "nervous colon" and strains too
    much when she uses the box.  It crops up every
    one in a while.  The blood is a bright rather than
    a dark red in color.  The vet said this is one way
    to tell that it is not an internal bowl problem.
    Boogie gets, of all things, Metamucil sprinkled on
    her dinner every other day.  It seems to help, as does
    regular exercise.  Boogie and I have a 15 minute session
    with a Galkie "kitty tease" every night, and it seems
    to have virtually cleared up the problem, although it
    cropped up again briefly last week, as I was away on
    vacation.
    
    Mary-Michael   
 

    Well, D.P. came home last night and he's still fighting the "chronic
    infection" (bladder).  Vet is trying change in diet (he's now on Hill's
    Prescription Diet S/d) and medication before extreme of surgery.  He
    also said operation is not always successful in curing this problem.
    
    All 4 of my cats (3 neutered males, 1 spayed female) are now eating
    the canned S/d and seem to like it.  Vet said it was okay for all of
    them to eat since I couldn't separate them for feeding (unless I put
    D.P. in a cage while sick and I didn't want to do that if not
    necessary).  Have to contact Vet again before Sept. 28th to let him
    know how D.P.'s doing (he's going out of town 28th so wants to check on
    his condition before he does).
    
    D.P. slept in his carrying case last night in the livingroom; probably
    felt more secure in it when his friend, Thai, wanted to play tag.
    
    Pat