Our 8yo male SHD (linx), Ollie, had a bowel resection on January 4, 2022. Our surgery was 4500K; however, we panicked when he experienced post-op anorexia and took him back to the ER. They inserted a nasal feeding tube and hospitalized him, which added another 1500K. Our diagnostics which revealed the mass were 1K. He might have started eating again at home but had already become quite thin due to complications from the mass that was removed before the surgery and we felt we couldn't wait it out any longer. Our concern now is chronic, acute, liquid diarrhea. I was livid at how swollen and raw his rectum was when we brought him home. I got a large e-collar for nighttime that prevented him from licking his rear end and applied Desitin. We are using the Rx clay and Benefiber. The vet also recommended a fiber diet but Ollie is finicky and wont eat it. We've seen literally no change in his stool, which is frustrating.
On the positive, Ollie always makes it to his litter box, but the liquid stool runs right to his rear paws at least 50% of the time depending on how he's positioned himself. If we are home, we've taken to racing to the box when we hear him and standing there with the scoop to push litter over the stool and prevent it from running. If we get there too late or he is on his own, he will track litter and stool everywhere. He has also licked his back paws raw to clean himself. Similar to [IMG alt="missko"]https://thecatsite.com/data/avatars/s/89/89721.jpg?1491959058[/IMG] missko , wipes are irritating the raw skin on his paws when I try to clean them when he leaves the litter box. He tries to bolt from the box because he knows I'm "coming for him."
Also like [IMG alt="missko"]https://thecatsite.com/data/avatars/s/89/89721.jpg?1491959058[/IMG] missko , I was shocked by how little information I was given about what to expect after surgery and how unresponsive the clinic was to my questions and concerns. The attitude from the surgery team seemed very much as if "our work is done" without a lifeline during the first few days of recovery after a major surgery. Unfortunately, the mass that was removed was cancerous- an adenocarcinoma. The oncology team we were referred to has given some suggestions (the clay and Benefiber) but the oncologist said the diarrhea could be related to the amount of colon that was removed but also be due to the cancer. It is hard for me to believe it's cancer related because he didn't have liquid diarrhea BEFORE the surgery--it started immediately after the surgery. Nonetheless, the recommendation for the cancer is chemo, and we've completed one round so far, three weeks after the surgery.
I don't know if the solution to Ollie's diarrhea will be time, chemo, diet, etc., but in the short term, I need a solution to the litter box. If we could just keep his feet clean somehow, life would be a lot easier (and cleaner) and I think Ollie would feel better. He is a cat after all and the poor guy is trying to keep himself clean.
I know this is long-winded but I want to add that while I definitely cannot say Ollie is back to normal, I still think he has a fairly good quality of life right now. A former indoor/outdoor cat, his trips outside are supervised and short, but he rolls on the sidewalk and sniffs a few things before coming back in. He still cuddles and purrs, and is eating and drinking a lot, no doubt to account for the loss of nutrition and hydration from the diarrhea. I think I would do the surgery again-- we've already exceeded the time we would have had if the mass had obstructed his colon which was likely to happen very soon based on how rapidly the mass/tumor grew (In July 2021 he was diagnosed just with IBD with moderately thickened intestinal wall).
Our second round of chemo is the end of the month (Feb 2022).
On the positive, Ollie always makes it to his litter box, but the liquid stool runs right to his rear paws at least 50% of the time depending on how he's positioned himself. If we are home, we've taken to racing to the box when we hear him and standing there with the scoop to push litter over the stool and prevent it from running. If we get there too late or he is on his own, he will track litter and stool everywhere. He has also licked his back paws raw to clean himself. Similar to [IMG alt="missko"]https://thecatsite.com/data/avatars/s/89/89721.jpg?1491959058[/IMG] missko , wipes are irritating the raw skin on his paws when I try to clean them when he leaves the litter box. He tries to bolt from the box because he knows I'm "coming for him."
Also like [IMG alt="missko"]https://thecatsite.com/data/avatars/s/89/89721.jpg?1491959058[/IMG] missko , I was shocked by how little information I was given about what to expect after surgery and how unresponsive the clinic was to my questions and concerns. The attitude from the surgery team seemed very much as if "our work is done" without a lifeline during the first few days of recovery after a major surgery. Unfortunately, the mass that was removed was cancerous- an adenocarcinoma. The oncology team we were referred to has given some suggestions (the clay and Benefiber) but the oncologist said the diarrhea could be related to the amount of colon that was removed but also be due to the cancer. It is hard for me to believe it's cancer related because he didn't have liquid diarrhea BEFORE the surgery--it started immediately after the surgery. Nonetheless, the recommendation for the cancer is chemo, and we've completed one round so far, three weeks after the surgery.
I don't know if the solution to Ollie's diarrhea will be time, chemo, diet, etc., but in the short term, I need a solution to the litter box. If we could just keep his feet clean somehow, life would be a lot easier (and cleaner) and I think Ollie would feel better. He is a cat after all and the poor guy is trying to keep himself clean.
I know this is long-winded but I want to add that while I definitely cannot say Ollie is back to normal, I still think he has a fairly good quality of life right now. A former indoor/outdoor cat, his trips outside are supervised and short, but he rolls on the sidewalk and sniffs a few things before coming back in. He still cuddles and purrs, and is eating and drinking a lot, no doubt to account for the loss of nutrition and hydration from the diarrhea. I think I would do the surgery again-- we've already exceeded the time we would have had if the mass had obstructed his colon which was likely to happen very soon based on how rapidly the mass/tumor grew (In July 2021 he was diagnosed just with IBD with moderately thickened intestinal wall).
Our second round of chemo is the end of the month (Feb 2022).
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