What food helps my cat who bruises easily and has blood issues?

Blood in the stool can occur secondary to food sensitivity, but it can also be a sign of parasites or even occur secondary to stress, so I'd recommend seeing your veterinarian first to rule out these medical problems. Unfortunately if you're switching foods frequently it can be difficult to determine which is or isn't helping, so if your vet recommends a food trial you should stick to one specific food for at least 6 to 8 weeks before deciding if it is or isn't helping.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend withholding food for at least 8 hours and then initiating a bland diet as outlined below. The blood is likely due to gastritis with irritation in the stomach / GI tract. If the vomiting does not resolve or it worsens, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps and that he feels better soon! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

OH my. I am not sure where she is bleeding from, but a coagulation disorder or bleeding disorder is likely the cause of her illness. A toxin ingestion or immune mediated condition is typically the cause for bleeding disorders in pets. I would highly recommend taking Miaw in to your local vet right away for treatment! She is in need of medical attention right away to hopefully stabilize her condition quickly. A blood test will likely be recommended to gather more clues as to the underlying cause for her bleeding problem and inappetence. I hope that your fur baby Miaw is able to make a full and speedy recovery. Best wishes and take care.

Since cats are obligate carnivores, they do not need the carbohydrates in dry food. Even grain-free dry food have carbohydrates since they are necessary to make a dry food. This is the best website I have found about cat nutrition. http://catinfo.org Merrick is a great food, so you might try stopping the dry food before you make any other diet changes, but my cats have been doing well on Wellness as another option for you. I have not had a chance to try it yet, but since you are in CA, Just Food For Dogs has started making food for cats as well. https://www.justfoodfordogs.com For a probiotic suggestion, I would consider VetriScience probiotics. https://www.vetriscience.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=900714120 Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your questions. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I suspect food allergy or IBD. I recommend you try the following: 1. Change the diet to Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. I have had a lot of luck with clients using this diet and it has really helped. Change the diet slowly over a week's time to prevent further GI upset. ( https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/cats/sensitive-stomach-skin-cat-food ) 2. Start her on a good probiotic made for cats like Fortiflora. It comes as a 30 day course. I would do all 30 days. ( https://www.proplanveterinarydiets.com/products/fortiflora-cats-probiotics/ ) If after this, no improvement or the problem returns then more testing for IBD would be needed. I would not be worried about the blood unless it persists for days on end. I know it is concerning to you but it is just from the colon being irritated. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

We always say that it doesn't matter how good a food is if the pet won't eat it. This is especially true with cats. Your goal with a diet for a kidney patient is to avoid foods that are too high in protein, so you will want to avoid any kitten foods. Most non-prescription diets are very similar in their protein levels because they are made for the needs of an average adult cat. If Cricket was previously on a dry food, I found the best way to get my cat to eat canned food was to grind up dry food, then sprinkle it on the top of his canned food to get him eating. I am attaching a link to a handout below with tips to transition a cat onto canned food. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=3041 Since Cricket has been a fussy eater, the most important thing will be to find a food that she likes. I have found that cats tend to like Fancy Feast the best, so that might be an option if you can't find something else that she will eat. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. One day (or honestly any number of days) of a new food is very unlikely to worsen injuries. If you’re worried, simply stop and go back to the other food. But more likely it is just a natural part of the healing process such as the natural inflammation associated with a wound or the scab coming off. If it gets worse or worrisome to you, see your vet sooner. Otherwise, keep your appointment for 4 days from now. Best wishes to you and Skye!