Why Do Cats Vomit Blood? These Are The Causes, Characteristics, And How To Treat Them!

Your cat suddenly vomits blood? Calm down, don't panic, here are the causes and how to treat a cat vomiting blood that you can do. 

What would you do if your cat suddenly vomited blood from its mouth? Surely you will immediately panic and maybe immediately take him to the vet.

Vomiting blood is a serious medical condition that requires immediate treatment. There are many causes for a cat to vomit blood, so you need to consult a veterinarian to determine the right treatment method.

Therefore, you should know a few things about cats vomiting blood, from the causes, characteristics, to how to treat them!

Characteristics of Cats Vomiting Blood

Vomiting blood in cats (also known as hematemesis ) is actually rare. However, that doesn't mean your cat can't experience it.

Vomiting blood has two distinct appearances. Cats vomit fresh blood if the blood is coming from the esophagus, stomach, or upper part of the small intestine. The color of the blood will appear as bright red streaks. 

Also read: Characteristics of Sick Cats and How to Overcome Them

If the blood is coming from the digestive tract, it will likely appear like coffee grounds. This is because the blood is partially digested before it leaves the cat's body.

In general, the symptoms of vomiting blood are accompanied by other signs such as fatigue, lack of appetite, shortness of breath, fever, seizures, abnormal stools, and diarrhea.

Watch the dirt carefully. If there is blood attached, it is likely that the blood is coming from the large intestine. If it tends to be sticky, it's likely coming from the upper part of the intestinal tract or stomach.

Causes Of Cats Vomiting Blood

If traced, cats vomiting blood is caused by various factors. The bad news is that most causes are symptoms of a more serious illness.

1. Gastrointestinal Ulcers

Like humans, cats can also develop open sores on the mucous membrane that lines their esophagus or stomach. These diseases are known as gastrointestinal ulcers which are actually rare in cats.

This disease is often associated with tumors in cats. However, the exact cause is still unknown. Other characteristics of this disease are loss of appetite, gums look pale, lethargic, black cat litter which is sometimes accompanied by bloody diarrhea.

Also read: How to Overcome Anthrax in Cattle

So if your cat vomits and has diarrhea, it could be that your cat has this disease. You are advised to immediately take him to the vet for special treatment

2. Swallowing Rat Poison

Rats are rodents that often trouble us. Therefore, we often give rat poison to make it die. It's just that sometimes our cat doesn't know this so he swallows rat poison.

Not only that, your cat could swallow a mouse that has eaten rat poison. Not only vomiting blood, your cat will also have difficulty breathing, lack of appetite, lethargy, and excessive dehydration.

When taking your cat to the vet, take as much time as possible to bring along a sample of the vomit so that it can be examined. 

The vet may perform blood and urine tests to determine how much rat poison is in the cat's body.

3. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Cat vomiting blood and won't eat? It could be that he has Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)!

Although the exact cause is unknown, most experts believe that this disease occurs due to food allergies in the intestines. IBD is a chronic condition which means that even vets cannot cure it. 

Even so, they can still cope with the cat's symptoms. The vet may perform blood tests to test the cat's organ function and vitamin B levels before starting IBD treatment.

Cats suffering from this disease will show other symptoms such as diarrhea, weight loss, bloody stools, and decreased appetite. 

Also read: How to Overcome and Treat Inflammation of the Nails in Goats

4. Panleukopenia

Feline panleukopenia is closely related to canine parvovirus because it is a feline viral disease that is highly contagious and can threaten the cat's life.

Cats that vomit blood can get this disease. Fortunately, this disease has a vaccine so you can do prevention early.

If your cat has not been vaccinated and is vomiting blood due to this disease, the vet will treat your cat with a special method.

5. Heartworm

Heartworm infections are often found in dogs. It turns out that cats can be infected with this deadly parasite! The disease caused by this parasite is often referred to as Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD).

Vomiting blood is only one of the symptoms. Others are coughing, asthma attacks, loss of appetite, to weight loss.

Fortunately, cats have a better resistance to this disease than dogs. The vet will usually perform an antigen test and an antibody test to check for adult worms in the cat's body.

6. The Presence Of Foreign Bodies In The Digestive Tract

The presence of foreign objects in the digestive system of cats can also make them vomit blood. Objects such as string and thread are often swallowed and cause intestinal inflammation or in the worst case a perforation (hole or wound) in the intestine.

Foreign bodies can also cause a cat to have intestinal blockages. As a result, they will vomit when the food they have reached the blocked intestine.

To determine if there is a foreign object in the digestive tract, you should take your cat to the vet for further examination. Your cat will be x-rayed and, if necessary, an operation will be performed to remove the foreign object.

Also read: How to Overcome and Treat Mouth and Nail Diseases in Cattle

7. Other Causes

There are several other causes of cat vomiting blood that you need to know, such as:

• The effects of the treatment he's on
• Gingivitis
• There is trauma to the esophagus
• respiratory disease
• Blood clotting conditions and so on.

Vomiting blood is also often associated with certain cancers, especially if the tumor is bleeding. If your cat vomits blood because of cancer, of course the treatment is also different.

There are several options that can be done depending on the severity of the cancer, ranging from surgery, chemotherapy, to radiation treatment.

How To Treat A Cat Vomiting Blood

Bleeding from the intestinal tract can be fatal, depending on the cause and how much the cat lost blood. You need to know that severe blood loss can cause serious problems in the cat's organs.

So, the cat vomits blood what is the cure? You are not recommended to treat a cat vomiting blood independently, especially with only information from Google. 

In addition, cats that vomit blood should be fasted and not given food or drink first.

Now because vomiting blood is a serious symptom, you should immediately take him to the nearest vet.

Generally, the vet will perform a series of tests to determine how severe the blood loss from the cat is, the cat's ability to form blood clots normally, and identify the source of the bleeding.

Don't be surprised if your cat will undergo several procedures such as a blood cell count, stool analysis, X-rays, and other tests that are thought to identify why your cat is vomiting blood.

That's some information about cats vomiting blood, ranging from the characteristics you should pay attention to, what are the causes, to how to treat them.

Although it rarely happens to cats, that doesn't mean you can be careless, yes! Don't let the cat vomit blood and die, as its owner you will definitely feel lost!!