Hi,

I pretty much covered this in my last post. Upper GI bleeding CAN cause dark stools, but significant bleeding would be more likely to cause soft, or what is called "tarry" stools. If I were worried about possible bleeding in one of my cats, I would have a PCV done to see if the cat is anemic. All cats with IBD lose some blood but it is from the colon, not the upper GI system. Blood from the colon would not be dark and digested, but fresh.

If there is upper GI bleeding, it would take additional testing to determine the cause. Once that is found, your vet will decide what is to be done. There would be many possible causes of this kind of bleeding.

You might want to ask your vet about adding Pepcid AC to Sola's medication routine, since steroids are hard on the stomach. They can even cause ulcers if given without food. This CAN cause stomach bleeding, but would be most likely to cause vomiting, rather than travel throughout the GI tract.

My cat, Timothy, who had IBD for many years, remained mildly anemic and had some bleeding, but from the colon only. I was able to see the blood in his stools, but he never needed treatment for the anemia.

Regards,
PHKitkat

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