Posted: Oct. 17, 2008, 3 a.m. EDT
Q: I have a 3-year-old cat who was spayed as soon as she came of age (6 weeks old, I think). She has never had any problems thus far, but when I picked her up yesterday there were a couple of blood droplets left on my arm.Is it normal for her to be bleeding, or should I be concerned and take her to the vet? I didn’t see or feel any cuts or scrapes on her that could warrant the blood. There wasn’t a ton of blood and I haven’t seen any today, but I just want to make sure she’s OK.
A: It is never normal for there to be blood coming from a cat. Dogs may bleed a little when in heat, but cats do not. Your cat is spayed, so this is not even an issue here. Certainly, examining your cat for any evidence of cuts, scrapes or other trauma is the first thing to do. You did that, and didn’t find anything. I would say that the most likely origin is the urinary tract (i.e. this may have been a drop of bloody urine), or the gastrointestinal tract (i.e. a tiny bit of blood from the anus). If this was one episode only, and your cat seems fine, I think you could hold off on taking her to the vet for now, but I would keep a close eye on her litterbox and her litterbox behavior. Any evidence of blood in the urine or stool does warrant a veterinary visit.
P.S. If there’s blood in the stool, bring the stool sample with you when you go to the vet. Also, I think you meant to say 6 months old rather than 6 weeks old. Early spay/neuter programs have become more popular at shelters and humane societies, but the kittens have to be at least 8 weeks old; a 6-week-old kitten would be too young and small to spay.