Cat has digestive distress

[mommytobuck]

my 14 year old cat is sick. Unfortunately it all started with me. Tuesday night he was constipated and had a close call not getting the poop out, but he did. So I gave him some Miralax. Well I am not sure what happened but he hasn't been the same since. Total Diarrhea. I have done what I could.. making sure he has food and water to make up for it but just now he was crying hard and visiting the litter box... he finally threw up well and good. He also has a recurring problem of swallowing congestion from his lungs and about every 6 months he will do a massive puke of 'flem. That just happened.

He seems ok now... even considering eating again, but I took it away from him to give him a chance to rest.

Usually I can stop diarrhea with Fori Forta but this time it isn't working. But perhaps the flem was contributing to the diarrhea.

Is there anything I can do? I know you will say take him to the vet but typically with digestive distress they just tell me to give him rest and let it work itself out naturally.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!

but this time it isn't working.

I think, because things are different this time, that he should be seen by a vet. Diarrhea, vomiting, there's no way to know for certain what's causing all this.

I would suggest a different vet, preferably a cat-only clinic, who isn't influenced by anything from previous visits and can look at him with fresh eyes, so to speak. There's something going on with him that needs to be addressed.

By the way, are you feeding him canned food?

 

[mommytobuck]

Yes I am feeding him canned food. He is sleeping now. If he doesn't recover tonight I will take him tomorrow. After throwing up he drank a ton of water and did eat some dry food. Now he is sleeping which I take as a good sign as last night he was up most of the night crying. But a bad sign is that he is sleeping next to me, a sign he might still feel uncertain about going upstairs to bed. Of course he could just be tired.

 

[Furballsmom]

This is going to keep happening, there's something wrong that needs to be pinned down. When you take him in, do see about finding a different vet

 

[mommytobuck]

Why do you say that? It seems to me that his flem was the issue causing the tummy ache and the diaherrea. The Mirilax could have just made the situation worse. If it is for the flem, I know what causes that... it is asthma. He unfortunately does not always take his full medication dose and it builds up over time. I will wait one day to see if this issue has largely passed.

Also my cat is a terror at the vet. Honestly I have tried lots of vets... they are all the same. Once they find out he is going to be fractious, they do the bear minimum. (or in the past they have hurt him buy he fought so hard he pulled out a nail)

I had vets come out to my home in september for an examination. I drugged him as they specified, it didn't work, they didn't examine him because he ran away.. and then, they were like, well does he have a problem... I am like, I don't know, they are like, don't worry about it then. They didn't take any blood... What a waste of my time. I have taken him to the emergency vet for digestive problems in the past and they gave some intravenous fluids and that was it.

If he is sick he is sick but I need to balance his sickness with the disaster of a vet visit.

 

[mommytobuck]

ok he is doing a little better. He went to the bathroom and only did #1. He had a good 4 hour nap and then got up. He has had a lot to drink and he has eaten a little wet food with fori fora in it and some hard food. Now he has gone back to sleep. Seems promising.

 

[1 bruce 1]

The first time he went, it might have been a harder than normal stool that he had to work at to pass and not quite to the point of true constipation. Miralax is gentle but it will move things along, and if he wasn't very constipated to begin with I bet the miralax just made things move a little too fast for him.
A lot of cats that strain (either due to constipation or diarrhea) will throw up. The straining sends their stomach into reverse!
If he's quieted down, drinking water and feels good enough to eat some food that's a good sign. Keep an eye on him and if he seems off tomorrow, of course call the vet but hopefully all is well and the bad things have, uh..."passed"

 

[mommytobuck]

No. Overnight he went poo again and it was watery and I found evidence of throw up (but it wasn't a lot). He isn't crying and he is sleeping so that is good, but I am disappointed. It has now been about 5 days. Is it possible I gave him too much Miralax? He drinks plenty of water but I can't seem to get him to stop doing watery stools. Today I have a medical appointment I can't miss and I will try to reassess after the appointment. He is eating and drinking so..that seems like a good sign. Thanks for that answer, it was helpful.

 

[Furballsmom]

I copied this information from a post by Mamanyt1953 ;

.... Here are some articles to help you choose the best veterinarian for you.

How To Choose The Best Veterinarian For My Cat?

How To Talk To Your Vet

Cat Vet Checkup - What To Expect

Also, I think this may be something for a feline specialist.
This link will take you to a site that has a search engine to find one in your area. Tap on the option Find Veterinarians and Practices Learn More, then fill in the required info:

AAFP | American Association of Feline Practitioners

Another alternative...if there is a University near you with a Veterinary Medical School, that might be your best bet. They will NOT usually be cheaper than a regular vet, sometimes more expensive, BUT...they are practising cutting-edge feline medicine with the latest in treatments and diagnostic tools. They can do things that most vets just can't.

 

[mommytobuck]

My appointment got cancelled. So I called the vet this morning. First, I couldn't get through for 1/2 hour after they opened. That tells me the person didn't come in on time. Then, I asked to speak to a vet about the issue and the the girl said "oh I can make an appointment for you." I told her I didn't want an appointment I just wanted to speak to the vet. She told me she had a 2 pm appointment available. I hung up. Money grubbing. I truly think that it is just better to take the cat to a vet ER. At the moment though I just don't feel like I should.

I fed my baby this morning with the probiotic and he didn't throw up or cry. He is now sleeping upstairs (which is a good sign) because I have noticed he didn't seem to want to go upstairs to sleep before (I think due to fearing he would need to use the litter box). He is doing things that he doesn't do normally when he is sick. Such as cleaning himself and scratching his nails on the box. He is hungry and eats and thirsty and drinks.

I went out and got some Metamucil. I am not sure if I am going to give it to him as I feel like I have done enough. But at least it is an option. On line says it will bulk up the stool and absorb water.

 

[Furballsmom]

Can you email the vet?

There are a couple of other possiblities, that there was an emergency at the clinic that required "all hands on deck" and nobody was available to answer incoming calls due to that.

The receptionist may be new and not realize that sometimes clients really don't want appointments, or the vet has asked the front desk to make appointments because s/he feels that way the person can get better, more focused information.

Whichever the situation, if it were me I'd try calling again, and also an email, and in it explain that you requested to talk with a vet and weren't able to. If the vet/office manager don't hear about front desk issues they have no way to fix things.

Or try a different clinic if possible. Hang in there!

 

[Furballsmom]

Such as cleaning himself and scratching his nails on the box.

However things are with him, this is great!

You could possibly try a little pumpkin instead?
Metamucil (Psyllium) For Cats | Cat-World

 

[mommytobuck]

Or try a different clinic if possible. Hang in there!

Yes I think they are toast. On that cat friendly website I found a place close to me. The only drawback is that the place has terrible hours. But, when this crisis passes I think I will see about that place.

Thanks for the support. Buck does seem better today. He is very hungry, he is sleeping upstairs, he is interested in playing and so far, hasn't pooed. He has an overall brighter look to him. He seems to want the hard food so I am giving him that but not a lot at a time so that he doesn't trigger a salty digestive system.

 

[mommytobuck]

However things are with him, this is great!

You could possibly try a little pumpkin instead?
Metamucil (Psyllium) For Cats | Cat-World

Probably going to have to ... he turned up his nose at the metamucil.

 

[Furballsmom]

He has an overall brighter look to him

Buck baby!! Hang in there!

 

[mommytobuck]

Well, he did another poop and it was a water works. But at least one end had some formation. He also didn't want to eat the pumpkin. So I took some tuna juice and put it into the pumpkin. He ate that. So he at least has a table spoon of it in there. I am wondering if I am giving him too much water. Now that he has the pumpkin in there I am just going to give dry food. He seems to be turning his nose up at wet anything but not dry. Again maybe I should just let him lead.

 

[amandag1]

I would def think about going to see a vet and maybe a different one. If he has a phlegm vomit every 6 months they should check more into that...

 

[mommytobuck]

I emailed the vet that I have been seeing. I will see what she says. I would take my cat in but I have to go back to work and I won't have another day off until Saturday. 100 bucks says that if I try to see a regular vet on Saturday they won't have an appointment.

 

[stephanietx]

My cat has diarrhea when we change food. He is on rx food which helps, but sometimes he will still have really bad diarrhea. We use s. boullardi and a daily probiotic to help his stool get back to normal. This article gives more information. We order it from Amazon, but you might be able to find it at a health food store. We also add plain canned pumpkin to food to help.

My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?

What are you feeding your kitty? Could you ask the vet for some cans of rx tummy food?

 

[mommytobuck]

Thanks all, I had to take the cat to the vet. He went during the night threw up and was crying. It was shockingly easy to get him in the carrier both utter surprise and I tried the trick with putting the carrier up high and lifting him in. I put a hand over his eyes and shoved him in. It may not work in the future. He was good in the carrier for about 10 minutes. He has been sedated and the are checking him out now. Because he hasn’t been seen in a while they are doing the full work up. That is a relief.