Cat Coughing, Eating Wet Food, Not Drinking Or Pooping. Advice?

[aknox]

My cat has been coughing and lost his meow. Took to vet, was given liquid antibiotic and steroid we add in his wet food. He eats all of it but he’s not drinking as much as he did with his dry kibble. He’s peeing but hasn’t pooped in 2 days. (He’s 10 yrs old, blood work and chest X-ray came back normal). Any advice on how to help him poop?

 

[stephanietx]

Sounds like he's got a pretty bad upper respiratory infection. If his food intake is less than normal, it will create less output. You can try adding plain canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) to his wet food and see if that helps. If you can get him moving and being more active, that will help, too. Sometimes it just takes time, but if he starts looking uncomfortable, vomiting, develops a hard tummy, becomes sensitive when you try to touch his tummy, or starts to hide and/or becomes excessively lethargic, then he will need to go to the vet because he might be constipated or have a blockage.

 

[FeebysOwner]

There is more moisture in canned food, so it is possible he is drinking less from eating more canned and less dry. If he likes the canned, give him more of it for now. You can also try giving him a 1/4 tsp of Miralax, if he doesn't like the pumpkin.

He might also be eating the canned better because it smells stronger than the dry - since his smell is probably compromised from the possible respiratory issues. You could also mix the dry with some of the canned food, to see if that helps him eat more.

He's older so just keep an eye on the pooping, if goes on much longer you probably ought to let the vet know, and see what they would recommend.