Black poop?

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dianajune

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Our Vet gives us a listing of our cats weight from last several visits whenever we go see them. I just had one in there yesterday and looked at his weight for the last 6 visits. He is about the size of your guy, and the same age. His weight fluctuates like you guys with every visit. It could be the time of day, whether he has just eaten, or had something to drink, or peed or pooped. Our Vet is never concerned about it.

And, to me, his poop color wise, look just fine. It just looks a little dry. Do you add any water to his wet food. You might try doing that. Are you adding his "meds" to his food, or syringing it into his mouth? I found I could add icky meds to foods like FF broths (fish flavors). Their broths aren't just broth, but also have chunks of salmon, tuna, whatever, and I was able to get one of my guys to take his meds in there last time he needed antibiotics. Giving you boy broths would also give him a little more hydration.
Pumpkin seems to be doing better today. He had some poop in his box this morning and more this afternoon. The color wasn't as dark as yesterday but is still dark brown. It wasn't hard but on the soft side. That he went twice in less than 24 hours is a good thing. I'm hoping his appetite will improve.

I grind his antacid and mix it in Laxatone along with some miralax. I normally put it on my finger and let him lick it off. He won't take it willingly any other way. When he fights me on this (like today) I have to wipe it on his paws so he'll lick it off. I wish there was a better way to do this.

I ordered him a few things from Chewy including a high calorie gel similar to Laxatone. I thought about getting that broth for him but do they have any without fish? His vets recommended no fish in his diet.

I feed him dry food every day (Purina Kitten Chow to help with his weight) and I take some of that and add water to it. He also gets canned food and has multiple water sources. I'm doing everything I can but it never seems to be enough but maybe it's just me!

Should I be concerned about his weight loss? Pumpkin weighed 14 pounds when I first adopted him about 10 years ago and he's been gradually losing weight ever since. He was a stray that I took in during the Winter of 2012-2013 and I have no idea how long he was staying outside. Getting him to transition from being outdoors all the time to just indoors has been challenging. To this day he still tries to run (not as often as at first) .

Thank you!
 

Furballsmom

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About the broth, your might check a product by The Honest Kitchen, I don't remember for sure, but I don't think it has fish.

Pumpkin weighed 14 pounds when I first adopted him about 10 years ago and he's been gradually losing weight ever since.
It depends on his body condition.

Here is a chart to help you;
Body Condition Scores | VCA Animal Hospital
 

mrsgreenjeens

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The Fancy Feast broths do come in chicken flavor with chunks of chicken, it's just that fish hides bitter tasting pills much better than chicken.

So you aren't dissolving the Miralax in water before giving it to him? From what I've heard, that's a no no. It has no odor or taste, and doesn't gel up like Metamucil and other of those type of products, so you should be able to simply add that directly to his food once you've dissolved it in a little bit of water. I give it to one of my cats and he takes it just fine in his food, but he always knows if anything else is in there. For our cats when they seem constipated, our Vet recommends the Miralax (1/8th to 1/4 teaspoon dissolved in about 1 teaspoon water twice a day) and hairball gel to "grease the pipes" if it's bad.

How much does your Vet say Pumpkin should weigh? Was he overweight when you first got him? Did they say he needs to gain weight? Why did the Vet say no fish? Does he have health issues?
 
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dianajune

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About the broth, your might check a product by The Honest Kitchen, I don't remember for sure, but I don't think it has fish.


It depends on his body condition.

Here is a chart to help you;
Body Condition Scores | VCA Animal Hospital
I read about how vets check a cat's body condition but for the life of me I can't figure it out. I am getting worried.
 
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dianajune

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The Fancy Feast broths do come in chicken flavor with chunks of chicken, it's just that fish hides bitter tasting pills much better than chicken.

So you aren't dissolving the Miralax in water before giving it to him? From what I've heard, that's a no no. It has no odor or taste, and doesn't gel up like Metamucil and other of those type of products, so you should be able to simply add that directly to his food once you've dissolved it in a little bit of water. I give it to one of my cats and he takes it just fine in his food, but he always knows if anything else is in there. For our cats when they seem constipated, our Vet recommends the Miralax (1/8th to 1/4 teaspoon dissolved in about 1 teaspoon water twice a day) and hairball gel to "grease the pipes" if it's bad.

How much does your Vet say Pumpkin should weigh? Was he overweight when you first got him? Did they say he needs to gain weight? Why did the Vet say no fish? Does he have health issues?
Pumpkin's vet knows I don't dissolve it in water. And if I was to put it in his water he probably wouldn't drink it. He has multiple water sources all over the place. Adding it to his food won't make him eat it. He'd probably be less likely to touch it

He loves his laxatone w/o the medicine and he loves the high-cal get we had delivered from Chewy yesterday. I'm going to place a grocery order this evening and include extra stuff for him, including broth if I can find something suitable.

I'm getting really worried about him. How can I get him to drink that teaspoon of miralax water? What if he won't touch it? I'm getting very worried about his appetite. He hasn't eaten much today. I even offered him a small piece of butter cracker, a treat he used to love (I'm careful not to give him too much of that) but he hardly touched it. He can eat his crunchy treats but he only had a few today. I'm starting to really panic.

I found only one small piece of poop in his box this morning about 1 1/2 inches in length.

I"m going through alot of health issues and am under stress 24/7 and I'm worried that my worries and stress are rubbing off on him.

I don't know what to do. I wish I could get a vet to come here and draw blood. I can't find anyone who's willing to do this. I tried. I could call the vet tomorrow and beg them, literally. Maybe I could get a telemed appointment but the fact remains that something appears to be going on and I don't know what to do.
 

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what if you crush up a treat and make a tiny paste out of the mirilax water?
re vets: I have had the runaround trying to find a vet that would address the problem and put a finger on it.
If you can afford considering the high cost of a vet that does house calls, then for the same money you could call your local animal hospital and ask if they have an INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST. Those 3 words made a huge difference in the help and answers I got as compared with my General Prac. Vets at the small neighborhood clinics.
 
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dianajune

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Here's another update, and it's not looking good:

When I did Pumpkin's box this morning I found that he did not poop overnight. He ate some but not much. So, I called the vet's office only to find they no longer have Saturday hours. I spoke with someone on call who suggested I give Pumpkin some clear unflavored Pedialite. One of my neigihbors will be picking it up shortly.

I asked about giving both doses of his medicine together instead of spaced apart and she said she couldn't authorize that because she's not a vet but a veterinary technician. I find it hard to believe that I can't speak with one his doctors on call.

Anyway, I can call back later if I want but I don't know if he can wait until Monday to be seen. I have no way to get him there and I am confined to a wheelchair. The bus service requires at least a couple of days notice but under the circumstances I'm hoping I can get him there by Monday if need be.

I have no idea how much this will cost. I have some money saved up but not a whole lot.

They used to accept payment arrangements but I don't know if that's changed since the pandemic.

Please pray for not only Pumpkin but me. The stress is doing a number on me and I have serious health problems going on. This is making it worse but I'm trying not to let him see how stressed I am.

One thing this woman told me was that oftentimes cats get dehydrated this time of the year. He's got water bowls all over the place, something I've been doing for years. I ordered a humidifier and am having it delivered today. I hope this will help him.

I don't know what else to do. I am so scared.
 
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dianajune

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what if you crush up a treat and make a tiny paste out of the mirilax water?
re vets: I have had the runaround trying to find a vet that would address the problem and put a finger on it.
If you can afford considering the high cost of a vet that does house calls, then for the same money you could call your local animal hospital and ask if they have an INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST. Those 3 words made a huge difference in the help and answers I got as compared with my General Prac. Vets at the small neighborhood clinics.
I will try what you suggested about the Miralax. I didn't know I could make a paste of it. HIs vet knows how I usually gave it to him and never told me I was wrong for doing it this way.

I spoke with someone on call (a veterinary technician, not a vet....can't reach a doctor there) who suggested clear unflavored Pedialite, which someone is picking up for me this afternoon. I didn't know that cats could drink that stuff.

I am very scared.
 

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If there is ANY wet food that he likes, you can try adding that teaspoon of dissolved Miralax to it. As I mentioned, it has no taste, no odor, and doesn't gel up, so adding it to a food that he likes and stirring it around should not be a problem. That's why I mentioned adding it to the FF broths, because they are very liquidy already, along with a couple chunks of fish or chicken (or both) and so I'm certain he would not know it was there. By not "rehydrating" the Miralax first, it's probably pulling water from elsewhere in his body, which can actually cause dehydration, thus causing constipation instead of alleviating it :frown:

Do you not have any friend or family who can take you and him to the Vet (with advance notice) to get his blood drawn. I think he really needs it as senior cats can have so many issues. The fact that he is loosing weight and not eating as much could be a thyroid issue, diabetes, kidneys, or simply that he's getting old. But it's better to rule things than wonder, or find out if it IS something so you can treat it.

Yes, unflavored pedialyte is fine for cats to drink. The question is...will he. It's hard to make cats drink water. Did you ask your Vet for the Mirataz (appetite stimulant) or is the main issue that he is constipated? See if you can get some hairball gel. Since he likes the high calorie gel, he'll probably also like the hairball gel. It's good for constipation. Petco and/or Petsmart should sell it. Maybe your neighbor will pick that up for you too. It works pretty well.


Deep breaths. You need to take care of yourself so you can take care of him :alright:
 
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dianajune

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If there is ANY wet food that he likes, you can try adding that teaspoon of dissolved Miralax to it. As I mentioned, it has no taste, no odor, and doesn't gel up, so adding it to a food that he likes and stirring it around should not be a problem. That's why I mentioned adding it to the FF broths, because they are very liquidy already, along with a couple chunks of fish or chicken (or both) and so I'm certain he would not know it was there. By not "rehydrating" the Miralax first, it's probably pulling water from elsewhere in his body, which can actually cause dehydration, thus causing constipation instead of alleviating it :frown:

Do you not have any friend or family who can take you and him to the Vet (with advance notice) to get his blood drawn. I think he really needs it as senior cats can have so many issues. The fact that he is loosing weight and not eating as much could be a thyroid issue, diabetes, kidneys, or simply that he's getting old. But it's better to rule things than wonder, or find out if it IS something so you can treat it.

Yes, unflavored pedialyte is fine for cats to drink. The question is...will he. It's hard to make cats drink water. Did you ask your Vet for the Mirataz (appetite stimulant) or is the main issue that he is constipated? See if you can get some hairball gel. Since he likes the high calorie gel, he'll probably also like the hairball gel. It's good for constipation. Petco and/or Petsmart should sell it. Maybe your neighbor will pick that up for you too. It works pretty well.


Deep breaths. You need to take care of yourself so you can take care of him :alright:
I will talk to his vet about the Mirataz on Monday. He's been on it before and it seems to help him.

When my neighbor came back, she brought the store version of Pedialyte. I wanted the brand name. Here are the ingredients:

Water
Dextrose
Less than 2% of Potassium Citrate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Acid Sulfate and Zinc Gluconate.

Is this the exact same thing as Clear Pedialyte? The label says "compare to pedialyte."

35 calories a serving, 100 calories in the container which holds 33.8 ounces, which is a little over one quart.

It also has 9 carbs and 370 mg of sodium, which seems rather high to me, per serving.. 280 mg of Potassium per serving and 2.8 mg of Zinc per serving and 440 mg of Chloride per serving.

Is this ok? I can attach a picture if you want.

Thanks!
 
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dianajune

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I examined the online label for the brand name version of Pedialyte and there are slight differences. I wish that my neighbor got the exact one I wanted and the store assured me they had the brand name in stock.

I don't know if I can give this to him. I'm attaching pictures of the label from what my neighbor brought and a screenshot of what's on Walmart's website for the brand name version.

What do you think? I am scared to give this to him. The person who told me to get Pedialyte for him told me to put it in a bowl but didnt' say how much to give him. I should have asked but I was and still am too shaken to have thought of that. The picture on the far right is the brand name version, which has more calories. I'm currently on hold with them and it's taking forever for them to pick up this call. I am in full blown panic mode now.
 

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dianajune

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I just got off the phone with the vet's on call vet technician. This was a different person and she told me to not give him the Pedialyte.

Great....just great. I'm getting conflicting answers from these people and it's making me angry...and I'm bouncing off the walls here because the stress is literally making me sick. I was advised to cut back on his dry food and increase his soft food.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to lose my baby.

I managed to get him to take his medicine but it was in that high calorie gel instead of his laxatone.

I wish I had a car...I'd take him to a veterinary ER if I could.

Of course, money is an issue. What if they find something horribly wrong and they will charge too much to fix this? I'm having a panic attack as I write this and my asthma is kicking in. When this happens, I am not able to function. Please help us...thank you.
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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Did they say WHY not to give him the pedialyte. I don't understand that at all because as long as it's unflavored, it should be fine, generic brand or not. There's even recipes on line for it if you want to make your own. Pedialtye

I do agree that feeding wet food when a cat is constipated is better, but, of course, if he won't eat much of it, then dry food is better than nothing.

Yes, emergency vets are very expensive, and as long as he's eating (even the kitten chow) and acting pretty normal, personally I don't think this is an emergency. Try getting him to drink more, see if you can get some oil in him, even get a little butter in him if he'll eat it. Just a bit on your finger if you cant get hold of the Hairball Gel. If you have a can of tuna, pour some of the tuna juice in with some water and maybe he'll drink that up.

Again, deep breaths. He will pick up on your emotions and freak out too.
 
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dianajune

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Did they say WHY not to give him the pedialyte. I don't understand that at all because as long as it's unflavored, it should be fine, generic brand or not. There's even recipes on line for it if you want to make your own. Pedialtye

I do agree that feeding wet food when a cat is constipated is better, but, of course, if he won't eat much of it, then dry food is better than nothing.

Yes, emergency vets are very expensive, and as long as he's eating (even the kitten chow) and acting pretty normal, personally I don't think this is an emergency. Try getting him to drink more, see if you can get some oil in him, even get a little butter in him if he'll eat it. Just a bit on your finger if you cant get hold of the Hairball Gel. If you have a can of tuna, pour some of the tuna juice in with some water and maybe he'll drink that up.

Again, deep breaths. He will pick up on your emotions and freak out too.
I don't understand the deal with the pedialyte either and I intend to clarify that with the vet. If he does well overnight I will wait until Monday to call. If not, I'll try to reach an animal hospital in Syracuse tomorrow and see if they can at least answer questions over the phone about the pedialyte.

He has food and water all over the apartment, mostly soft food. I checked our security camera and found he was walking about overnight last night between 5:45am or so until just before 8. He appeared 8 times. I could have sworn he went towards some of his food and water during this timeframe.

The previous night he kept nearly the same hours and appeared on camera 10 times.

I set up an extra litter box for him, thinking this would help like it did a few years ago. So far he's used it just once and the funny thing is, Pumpkin was staring towards the bathroom and could see his other litter box from that spot! No poop though. He's peed twice today so far since I cleaned out his regular box.

I ordered some broth etc from Walmart and had it delivered today. I'm attaching a picture. The one on the far right is the worst....the meat was very dry and stringy and this surprised me, given it's made by Fancy Feast (shredded chicken and beef with some broth). I ran it through his little food processor many times and kept adding water but the meat still came out all chunky and stuck together. I fished it out and kept the juice/gravy/whatever you call it.

I'm going to take a nap for a couple of hours and will get up later to take my medicine, have a very late supper and do his soft food and change his water again.

I like the humidifier I had delivered today except it's taking forever to put more humidity in our apartment. It's a cool mist kind of device. I like the one I had years ago better. I wish I knew what happened to it.

I'm trying not to let my stress get the better of me because I know it can have a negative impact on my baby. However, Pumpkin is very intuitive and he knows when I'm not feeling well. He stays closeby when that happens.

This evening, just a short time ago, I had to use the bathroom and Pumpkin joined me in there. He likes to jump on my wheelchair and wait for me. Sometimes he will sit there while I'm taking a shower too. He seems to be able to jump onto both beds and our couch w/o any problems except for his arthritis. It's harder for him to make those jumps.

Sorry this was so long. Thank you for listening.
 

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dianajune

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Update:

Still no poop but my baby has been up and around and playing. He had some kibble, water and some of his Laxatone and Hi Cal nutritional gel too. I took a nap and when I got up it looked like he got into a little of his soft food too. At the moment he's doing sentry duty in our living room window.

It's like a light switch was flipped. He wasn't doing much for the past day or so and now this evening he seems to be doing more. I'm hoping this is a sign that he's improving. I'll keep everyone posted. Thank you for much for your support!
 

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Update:

Still no poop but my baby has been up and around and playing. He had some kibble, water and some of his Laxatone and Hi Cal nutritional gel too. I took a nap and when I got up it looked like he got into a little of his soft food too. At the moment he's doing sentry duty in our living room window.

It's like a light switch was flipped. He wasn't doing much for the past day or so and now this evening he seems to be doing more. I'm hoping this is a sign that he's improving. I'll keep everyone posted. Thank you for much for your support!
This all sounds good 👍 Is it possible he pooped somewhere other than his litter box? Sometimes when cats are constipated, they will go anywhere the urge hits them. I know with one of my long gone cats who was chronically constipated, I often wouldn't find his little "gifts" until I was vacuuming.
 
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This all sounds good 👍 Is it possible he pooped somewhere other than his litter box? Sometimes when cats are constipated, they will go anywhere the urge hits them. I know with one of my long gone cats who was chronically constipated, I often wouldn't find his little "gifts" until I was vacuuming.
Pumpkin doesn't do that very often. There were times in the past when I would find poop in one of his playboxes for who knows what reason. Maybe he thought that he wouldn't make it to his bathroom in time? His playboxes usually come from Chewy or Walmart and I like to include some of his toys in each box and packing paper. He loves it!

I set out more soft food than crunchy again and noticed that of all the different ones I gave him, the one he liked most was the Friskies gravy in a pouch. When I washed his dishes today I found that he consumed about half the pouch, which isn't too bad. He also had some kibble and some kibble mixed with water.

Tomorrow he's going on the scale and I will update his vet. If he continues to do well I may not have to take him there but I will let them decide.

Thank you!
 

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Pumpkin had a decent poop overnight and is doing much better. I spoke with the vet and we agreed to put him on a topical medication for his appetite. I paid over the phone and one of the clinic staff was supposed to drop it off today after they closed but they never showed up. i left a text message for them, a vm and an email and am hoping this will get straightened out. They were supposed to call before coming over but no one bothered to.

I am worried that they might have stopped by and handed the package to whoever was in the lobby, contrary to my instructions. If they did, it has been stolen because I looked all over and couldn't find it. I could scream. I so didn't need this nonsense now. It's been a very long week and it's only Tuesday.

If they don't fix this I will find another vet for him.

I wish my days would get better. Nothing seems to be working out and I'm worried that Pumpkin might be affected by my stress. even though I don't want him to. I've got alot going on that isn't good.
 

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I'm glad he's doing better. I'm sure your Vet will make it right on the delivery, especially if they didn't follow your instructions on how to get it to you.
 
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