So I'll start my nightmare from the very beginning. Merlin is a 4 year old short haired domestic cat, 11 pounds. (Is that the term for your average Joe black and grey tabby kinda cat?) He ate an elastic about a month and a half ago. I decided to take him to the vet after him pooping out some strands of the elastic a about a week apart from each other. The vet gave him an antibiotic and some other medicine to help reduce stomach acid. He pushed more elastic out after a few days and we are sure that was the rest of it. Now the medicine made him have some large poops which seemed normal. He did end up pushing out a small really hard and dry poop which had some elastic in it and that was the last piece we ever saw.
After the antibiotics were done he had the worst diarrhea ever. The vet gave him some fortiflora but it didn't help. I continued to give him that and some slippery elm powder for about two weeks. He stopped using the litter box in the mean time but I don't think he even knew when he was about to poop. There was also a lot of it. Like how did you have all of that in you a lot! He was drinking lots of water, eating and playing normally through this entire episode, only hiding away when he had to poop.
Recently about two/three weeks ago the diarrhea stopped and he had firm poops again. But now he poops about every 3/4 days. When he poops they're rather large, not too smelly, a rich dark brown, firm but I can still squish it with minor pressure and it comes out in log shapes. Some are long and some come out a little smaller but still log shaped. When I break it apart there's some hair in it but nothing strange.
Now when he has to poop he will usually not eat too much and not move around a lot that day, he will hide in random places or loaf up on the floor with his tail curled around him. His anus also sticks out a little bit because there's poop there but he just won't push it out. Sometimes I can see some poop sticking out and some of his inner anus will stick out ever so slightly. When he does poop he usually runs around or hides under the bed. But it comes out super easily and quick. There's no pain in his face nor does he make any noises. He s usually scared after he poops but once I pick him up and give him a snuggle hes fine right away and energy levels go right back up.
Everything else is fine with him but I just don't know how to make him poop regularly again or if this is actually a major problem. It seems semi behavioral because he was terrified of his diarrhea and I think he's just afraid to poop. Or maybe he lost some nerve sensitivity after the antibiotics and diarrhea.
Along with the poop problem he stopped peeing 1-2 times a day and only after he pooped and it wasn't in the litter box. I've recently solved that problem and he's using it again just for peeing. Using it once or twice a day. So I've been slowly seeing improvements during this whole episode.
I've been giving him more liquid based foods(he nornally eats dry food, he has a high sensativity problem towards wet food but I found a brand that isn't giving him the runs), probiotics, and slippery elm powder. Sometimes a little dolop of pumpkin. Energy levels are great besides poop day, drinks a lot of water.
My vet has been no help in this situation so I've resorted to asking online to see what people think. I have an inner fear that he has some kind of mega colon from so much poop but the symptoms don't add up besides being 'constipated'.
How can I make my cat poop normally again? Is this a major concern? Did all the meds maybe just set his colon and what not off balance and just needs recovery time? Would time most likely fix this problem? Should I be scared of mega colon? I just want Merlin to be healthy again. I'm so worried and I love him so much.
After the antibiotics were done he had the worst diarrhea ever. The vet gave him some fortiflora but it didn't help. I continued to give him that and some slippery elm powder for about two weeks. He stopped using the litter box in the mean time but I don't think he even knew when he was about to poop. There was also a lot of it. Like how did you have all of that in you a lot! He was drinking lots of water, eating and playing normally through this entire episode, only hiding away when he had to poop.
Recently about two/three weeks ago the diarrhea stopped and he had firm poops again. But now he poops about every 3/4 days. When he poops they're rather large, not too smelly, a rich dark brown, firm but I can still squish it with minor pressure and it comes out in log shapes. Some are long and some come out a little smaller but still log shaped. When I break it apart there's some hair in it but nothing strange.
Now when he has to poop he will usually not eat too much and not move around a lot that day, he will hide in random places or loaf up on the floor with his tail curled around him. His anus also sticks out a little bit because there's poop there but he just won't push it out. Sometimes I can see some poop sticking out and some of his inner anus will stick out ever so slightly. When he does poop he usually runs around or hides under the bed. But it comes out super easily and quick. There's no pain in his face nor does he make any noises. He s usually scared after he poops but once I pick him up and give him a snuggle hes fine right away and energy levels go right back up.
Everything else is fine with him but I just don't know how to make him poop regularly again or if this is actually a major problem. It seems semi behavioral because he was terrified of his diarrhea and I think he's just afraid to poop. Or maybe he lost some nerve sensitivity after the antibiotics and diarrhea.
Along with the poop problem he stopped peeing 1-2 times a day and only after he pooped and it wasn't in the litter box. I've recently solved that problem and he's using it again just for peeing. Using it once or twice a day. So I've been slowly seeing improvements during this whole episode.
I've been giving him more liquid based foods(he nornally eats dry food, he has a high sensativity problem towards wet food but I found a brand that isn't giving him the runs), probiotics, and slippery elm powder. Sometimes a little dolop of pumpkin. Energy levels are great besides poop day, drinks a lot of water.
My vet has been no help in this situation so I've resorted to asking online to see what people think. I have an inner fear that he has some kind of mega colon from so much poop but the symptoms don't add up besides being 'constipated'.
How can I make my cat poop normally again? Is this a major concern? Did all the meds maybe just set his colon and what not off balance and just needs recovery time? Would time most likely fix this problem? Should I be scared of mega colon? I just want Merlin to be healthy again. I'm so worried and I love him so much.