Cat hit by car and on pain meds. Doing on but no poop for 5 days

[RangersMom]

A neighbor's cat got hit by a car Thursday morning. Neighbor was not home so I took the cat to an emergency vet. X-rays showed Pelvis was fractured in one place and legs were scraped up pretty bad, but they said surgery wasn't needed and cage rest for 6-8 weeks could heal her. She's on antibiotics for her leg wounds and pain meds. She's been doing great and eating, drinking and peeing on pads. But no poop. This happened Thursday morning and it's now Monday night. The neighbor has been keeping me updated. The vet says probably will need a vet administered enema soon, but I've already spent $1,440 on her and missed work. She's not my cat but I'm really worried. She's eating wet food and drinking water.
She's acting fine but I know it's not normal.

Has ANYONE had a cat go 5+ days without pooping? What did you do? Do pain meds slow down intestines this bad? I'd really like to hear from people who've dealt with this kind of constipation first hand. Please be kind, thanks.

 

[FeebysOwner]

OK, I cannot speak to this on a first hand basis, but I would be concerned about nerve damage that isn't allowing her to evacuate her bowels. I am so sorry for her predicament. You could ask the vet about administering something like Miralax to see if that would help, if it were the pain meds causing the problem - and, they certainly can cause constipation. But, I am not sure you are going to be able to get around taking her in for a possible enema.
Bless you for helping out, and I so hope to hear that she totally recovers. Will be watching for other members to respond with more helpful information.

 

[RangersMom]

OK, I cannot speak to this on a first hand basis, but I would be concerned about nerve damage that isn't allowing her to evacuate her bowels. I am so sorry for her predicament. You could ask the vet about administering something like Miralax to see if that would help, if it were the pain meds causing the problem - and, they certainly can cause constipation. But, I am not sure you are going to be able to get around taking her in for a possible enema.
Bless you for helping out, and I so hope to hear that she totally recovers. Will be watching for other members to respond with more helpful information.

Tha is for replying! The emergency vets did a ton of tests with her, they were confident she has no nerve damage. Her pelvic fracture I'm sure is making it hurt at least somewhat to poop, and they did say the pain meds would cause constipation for "a few days". But since it's been 5 days I'm worried. I'll ask them about miralax, thanks.

 

[ArchyCat]

Some pain medications can slow down if not stop gut peristalsis. Call the vet or do a google search on t he medication to find out.

 

[daftcat75]

Egg yolk can get things moving. Maybe more than you'd like. But that's something cheap you could try before taking her back to the vet. 1 teaspoon of yolk is sufficient to get my Krista moving but she's especially sensitive to egg yolk. Maybe try 1 tsp to 1 tbsp since you have a few days of back-log (so to speak ) to get through, and wait 24 hours before giving more.

 

[ailish]

Some pain medications can slow down if not stop gut peristalsis. Call the vet or do a google search on t he medication to find out.

Not to mention the fact that she's probably getting zero exercise to keep systems moving. If vet is informed and on top of it I'd probably go with that for the near future.

 

[daftcat75]

If she can walk without pain and she’s still interested in food, a simple way to exercise her is ask her to follow you around the home with her food plate in hand before you set it down for her.

 

[RangersMom]

If she can walk without pain and she’s still interested in food, a simple way to exercise her is ask her to follow you around the home with her food plate in hand before you set it down for her.

Good advice. She still has not pooped and its going on 5-6 days so she has an enema scheduled for tomorrow morning.

 

[RangersMom]

Not to mention the fact that she's probably getting zero exercise to keep systems moving. If vet is informed and on top of it I'd probably go with that for the near future.

Yes for sure. She still has not pooped and its going on 5-6 days so she has an enema scheduled for tomorrow morning.

 

[RangersMom]

Some pain medications can slow down if not stop gut peristalsis. Call the vet or do a google search on t he medication to find out.

Thanks for the reply. She still has not pooped and its going on 5-6 days so she has an enema scheduled for tomorrow morning.

 

[RangersMom]

A neighbor's cat got hit by a car Thursday morning. Neighbor was not home so I took the cat to an emergency vet. X-rays showed Pelvis was fractured in one place and legs were scraped up pretty bad, but they said surgery wasn't needed and cage rest for 6-8 weeks could heal her. She's on antibiotics for her leg wounds and pain meds. She's been doing great and eating, drinking and peeing on pads. But no poop. This happened Thursday morning and it's now Monday night. The neighbor has been keeping me updated. The vet says probably will need a vet administered enema soon, but I've already spent $1,440 on her and missed work. She's not my cat but I'm really worried. She's eating wet food and drinking water.
She's acting fine but I know it's not normal.

Has ANYONE had a cat go 5+ days without pooping? What did you do? Do pain meds slow down intestines this bad? I'd really like to hear from people who've dealt with this kind of constipation first hand. Please be kind, thanks.

UPDATE: I took her to the vet for an enema, they sedated her and she immediately started pooping on her own, no enema needed. They were confident that she got it all out. Its now been 2 weeks since she was hit and is using her litter box, walking a bit, and mostly resting overall doing great. She is so tough!

 

[FeebysOwner]

 

[FeebysOwner]

New update???

 

[RangersMom]

New update???

Its been 4 weeks since she got hit, and shes doing GREAT. Shes been eating, drinking, peeing, pooping normally. And she has been walking around the house a little, while supervised. Pretty good for having a broken pelvis and scraped up back leg! Thanks for asking

 

[FeebysOwner]

That is SO great to hear!!! Thanks for letting us know!