Cat has bloody stool

[jmn]

Lately my cat has been going outside of the litterbox. Sometimes these stools have a lot of blood in them. I was wondering if the problem could relate to the fact the she cannot get to the litterbox when she needs it because she is trying to avoid our dog. Can there be any reasonable explanations for this?

[Tina B and crew]

Your best bet is to get your kitty to the vet as soon as possible. Blood in the stool could be a sign of parasites, virus or a foreign object in the intesting. I'd call my vet tomorrow and take the kitty in ASAP. As long as the cat is acting normally I don't think you have an emergency, but I'll leave that to Traci to answer.

As far as the dog bothering the cat...is there anywhere you can put the litterbox so that the cat can use it in peace? Litterbox problems will often stem from issues like this and you will save yourself many headaches in the future if you can make sure your cat has safe passage to the litter box now. Good luck...keep us posted

[Traci]

How old is your kitty, and how long has this been going on? If over a week, time to see your vet immediately to rule out health conditions.

Stress can induce blood (as well as mucous) in the stool. However, there are various other health issues that need to be ruled out, try to get a fresh stool sample and take it with you and kitty for your exam appointment. Don't wait on this, best to get this nipped in the bud immediately.

Tina is right, you need to prevent your dog from from getting to kitty's litterbox area, cats prefer privacy, an area free from distractions/traffic/etc. If your dog is by chance intimidating to your cat, you need to take appropriate training measures with your dog to curb that behavior. Otherwise, simply provide a more secure area for the litterbox.

[jmn]

I thank you both so much for your response!! I will definitely call the vet tomorrow. As far as the dog is concerned, she is just over 1 year old and simply wants to play in her own way. My cat is 12 years old, and while intimidated by the dog somewhat, she still chases her out of my bedroom when she gets a chance.

That is the problem. We moved in December, and for the first 6 months, she barely left my room. At that time, her litterbox was on the main floor, next to the kitchen. I noticed she mostly went at night only, so I moved the litterbox upstairs in the spare bedroom. This worked for a while; she then started spending her days in the basement, and her nights in my room. Soon we were finding piles all over the basement rug.

I then moved her litterbox downstairs, dog free mostly, and now she started leaving her calling cards upstairs. The only thing I can think to do is to put an additional litterbox upstairs too.

I will let you know what happens with the vet, and once again, thank you for you help.

Take Care

[kate & kobi]

Another litter box is a good idea and will probably help a lot - it's sometimes hard for cats to "make it" all the way to their box if it's a long way away. Some cats actually prefer to have two boxes, one to pee in and one to poop in.

Good luck and let us know how the vet visit turns out!