Causes & Home Remedies for Skin Bruises in Cats

Cats wash themselves with their tongues on a daily basis not only to stay clean, but to treat injuries. Their saliva contains chemicals that heal minor bruises and cuts without human interference. While bruising can result from minor injuries or run-ins with other cats, purple and blue splotches on your feline can also be the result of a larger, much more serious problem.

  1. Platelet Disorders

    • Bruising in your feline may be caused by a platelet disorder, or when platelets fail to do their job correctly, thus resulting in a decreased number of platelets. Platelet numbers can decrease due to inadequate production in bone marrow or when they are prematurely removed from blood circulation. Disorders that can cause decreased platelet numbers include drugs that interfere with bone marrow, bone marrow cancer, infection of the bone marrow due to a virus or bacteria, spleen disorders and certain parasites.

    Clotting Factor Disorders

    • Another reason for bruising and bleeding in cats is clotting factor disorders, or when blood fails to clot normally. This can occur in cats after consuming rodents that have eaten warfarin products, a toxin often present in rodent traps. Other reasons include liver disease and disseminated intravascular coagulation, or widespread bleeding. Signs of clotting factor disorders, in addition to bruising, include blood in the stool or urine, blotchy or pin point hemorrhages on the gums, breathing difficulty, weakness and depression.

    Other Causes

    • Parasites are another cause of bruising in cats. Parasitic worms can attach themselves at the base of a cat's fur, resulting in minor bruising. Vascular disorders may also cause bruising, which occurs when blood vessel walls are weakened due to inflammation, sugar diabetes or uremia, a condition where waste is not properly eliminated by the kidneys. Other reasons for bruising in cats include fights with other cats or a jump or move that causes slight injury.

    Home Remedies

    • Home remedies for bruising in cats can be as simple as running your hands over your cat's body to check for worms, fleas and ticks. Brush your cat daily to reduce the risk of these blood suckers taking over. Try to minimize your cat's activity level until bruises have healed or if the cat is suffering from a larger disorder. Cease any medications you believe may be causing bruising in your cats. Any signs of bruising and bleeding that are not related to fighting, parasites or other injuries means you must take your cat to the veterinarian immediately.