Why Is My Cat Pooping Blood? Causes, Symptoms, & When to Worry (Vet Verified)

Seeing blood in your cat’s stool is scary, no doubt about it. But it isn’t always a five-alarm emergency. There are multiple reasons for this to happen, and even a change in diet can result in a bloody stool. At other times, it may point to treatable issues such as parasites, colitis, constipation, or food intolerance. Join us as we answer the question: “Why is my cat pooping blood?” and what constitutes an emergency that calls for the vet’s help.

Key takeaways: 

• Bright-red streaks usually mean lower-gut irritation, while black, tarry stool (melena) signals upper-GI bleeding
• Mild constipation  or diet changes can cause small red spots in the stool even if your cat seems perfectly fine
• Call the vet if the bleeding repeats and its volume increases 
• Vets will do the blood and fecal tests to determine the cause of bleeding
• Maven’s collar can help you spot subtle changes and tie the bleeding to what triggers it

Why Is My Cat Pooping Blood?

The usual culprits for a cat to poop blood are a sudden food switch, stress-colitis, parasites, constipation or tiny anal tears, food intolerance, bacterial infections, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, polyps/tumors, or blood-thinning medications or toxins.

The blood in poop manifests itself in two forms. The fresh, bright-red blood comes from the lower bowel (hematochezia) or black, tarry poop from bleeding that takes place higher up in the gut (melena). 

Why Is My Cat Pooping Blood but Acting Normal?

If your cat seems totally fine but you’re spotting blood in the poop, it could be that it’s just a mild irritation in the lower gut. For example, it could be a case of constipation or a small anal fissure. Even stress and parasites can lead to these small streaks of bright-red blood or mucus. 

Now, it’s good that your cat is acting normal, but it’s important to call the vet if blood appears in 2–3 consecutive poops or you see clots or lots of blood, or the stool turns black/tarry. These can indicate a deeper underlying issue. If the cat starts to vomit or its gums become pale, take it to the vet immediately. It’s good to snap a photo of the stool and take a fresh sample so that the vet can run some lab work. 

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Common Causes for Blood in a Cat’s Stool

Here’s what usually sits behind blood in a cat’s poop and how it tends to look:

• Constipation & tiny anal tears: Constipation will make cats poop hard, dry pellets with bright-red streaks. That kind of stool can make the yelp from time to time or “butt scoot”, so look for these signs. 
• Diet upset: A change in diet can result in softer stools, accompanied by red mucus. Otherwise, the stool should look normal. 
• Stress: If your cat is under stress, for example, on New Year’s Eve, due to fireworks or you’ve moved homes, it can lead to small red flecks in the stool. 
• Parasites (worms, coccidia, giardia): Intestinal parasites latch onto the lining of the intestine and damage it, which can lead to smelly, soft, and bloody stools. The condition is more common in outdoor cats and kittens. 
• Food intolerance: If you’ve recently introduced a new ingredient into your cat’s diet and you’ve started to notice diarrhea and blood in the stool, eliminate that ingredient right away. 
• Bacterial infection: Bacteria, such as Salmonella, that infect the GI tract can cause bleeding in the stool. Usually, you’ll see a sudden diarrhea with blood and a foul odor, so it’s an immediate cause for concern. 
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): The inflammation in the bowels can lead to recurrent soft stools with red mucus and is accompanied by weight loss, a decreased appetite, and fluctuations in symptoms.
• Polyps or tumors: Polyps and tumors in the digestive tract can cause bleeding and a bloody stool. 
• Foreign bodies: If your cat has swallowed something it shouldn’t have, like a toy or a bone, it can cause red streaks or mixed blood in the stool. 
• Medications and toxins: Exposure to toxins, like rodenticide, or strong medications, like steroids, can cause blood to appear in the stool. 

When It’s an Emergency

You need to seek immediate veterinary help if the bleeding persists over the next 24 to 48 hours, the stool is black, and there’s more than just a smear of blood in the stool. Additionally, if your cat also shows signs of pain, there’s fever, and its gums are turning pale, you need to seek vet care. 

All of these signs can indicate more serious condition, like tumor or poison. Don’t give your cat human medications and bring a sample of the stool for analysis. 

How Vets Diagnose Blood in Stool

Vets usually do a physical exam, followed by some fecal tests to see if there are any parasites or an infection. They may add bloodwork, like a full CBC and do an X-ray of the GI tract to check for foreign bodies or masses. Occassionally, they might do an endoscopy where a small camera is inserted in the digestive track to look for IBD, polyps and tumors. 

They could use all the help they can get, so if you can bring data from a pet health tracker, that can help diagnose the condition faster. 

“Even if your cat seems fine, blood in the stool should never be ignored. It may be the first sign of illness, and early evaluation can make a big difference in treatment.” – Dr. Joana Babo, DVM at Maven Pet

How the Maven Pet Health Monitor Helps Track Behavior and Health Trends

Maven’s cat health tracker won’t “see” blood in the litter box, but it helps you catch the why and when behind it. For example, sudden colitis or constipation often comes with the cat making more restless trips to the box, becoming more lethargic, and not sleeping well overall. 

Monitor heart rate, respiratory rate, activity & rest, itch behavior.

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This can lead to elevated resting heart rate, or a bump in respiratory rate from pain or stress, and that’s something Maven’s pet health app can pick up on and analyse. The app will than flag those shifts in real time and graphs them across days, so you can link a bloody stool to triggers like a food switch or a stressful move.

Conclusion

Blood in cat’s stool will send any cat owner into a frenzy, but the cause can be a simple irritation, so it’s important to learn how to tell the difference. Watch the color (bright red vs. black/tarry), volume, and your cat’s overall behavior to determine the severity of the issue. Tools like Maven Pet’s collar can help you connect the dots by tracking activity, rest, and heart and respiratory rates, all of which can be very helpful to the vet for diagnosing the issue. The sooner you get the data, the better the outcomes, even in cases of serious conditions. 

Maven Pet focuses on improving the quality of life of our pets with technology, using artificial intelligence (AI) to enable proactive pet care. By accurately collecting and monitoring pet data 24/7 and flagging any irregularities, Maven Pet empowers pet parents and veterinarians to stay ahead of potential health issues, ensuring the well-being and longevity of our beloved companions.