elderly cat won't eat after enema

[tutubean]

So yesterday I took my 17 y/o foster cat in for constipation and the doc wanted her to be admitted for an enema and IV fluids. She stayed at the vet for 12 hours and "a lot" of poo came out. Vet said after the enema to expect dribbling feces for 24 hours, and it might be approaching that now. And as far as I know, she hasn't eaten anything in 48 hours.

Cat messed herself a lot overnight and got a bath this morning. She seemed relatively content after that. The leakage had stopped and we cuddled for a couple hours. She then acted like she was hungry but refused all food and treats I offered. As far as I know she has barely had more than a few sips of water. She started messing herself again, so I put her stuff in the bathroom again where she has a room to herself. She's definitely doing more poorly than she was earlier this morning. She's peed a few times but no BMs (expected).

I'm letting her rest alone in her room right now where she has her food, water, and litter box. Unfortunately she has to be in there due to the fecal leakage.

I really just want her to eat, but I'm wondering if any sedatives they gave her made her feel sick. (She barfed up the anti-nausea meds, so, dunno what to do about that.)

Perhaps the best thing to do is just leave her be for today?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I would call the vet and let them know that she had stopped the fecal leakage, but it has started back up again, that she threw up her anti-nausea meds, AND that she doesn't want to eat. She is too old to wait this out. Even a younger cat would need to start eating something.

Here is an article of things you might try to get her to start eating again, BUT I would call the vet first.
How To Get Your Cat To Start Eating Again – TheCatSite Articles

 

[tutubean]

Here is an article of things you might try to get her to start eating again, BUT I would call the vet first.
Search Results for Query: eat again

Thanks. I texted them all that info. I'm kind of peeved at the lack of after care instructions I was given. What to expect and when. How long to wait before worrying. I'm giving them the day but will call tomorrow.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Any news?

 

[tutubean]

Yeah sorry i meant to update.

The good news: 2 days after the enema she started to eat, would only accept Fancy Feast. and a little while after that, she started drinking normally. and a lot. and she was... somewhat better socially, still lethargic and loopy.

But yesterday, I had a scare. She was really unresponsive and I thought she was leaving us. But she rallied and I gave her a few cc's of water with an eyedropper in her mouth. I did the same with watered-down canned food gravy. This seemed to have a good effect. Later that night following the advice of a colleague I used the subcutaneous fluid pack I was given for her kidney health and gave her 50ccs.
This morning she still wasn't herself and I was getting really worried about how slowly she was recovering, as if the enema jump-started her organ failure. So she's off to the animal hospital for exam. I'm still waiting to hear what the result is. I had a colleague take her cuz she works there and could get her into the schedule. She actually knows and loves the Dr. They will give her a suite of exams, get her on a diet plan, etc.
I'm really relieved. But we will have to wait on results of exams to see where we're going.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Glad to hear she is being seen by a vet! Hope the news is something that can be easily resolved and she will soon be on her way to recovery. Let us know what happens, if you don't mind!

 

[Elvisrocks]

So yesterday I took my 17 y/o foster cat in for constipation and the doc wanted her to be admitted for an enema and IV fluids. She stayed at the vet for 12 hours and "a lot" of poo came out. Vet said after the enema to expect dribbling feces for 24 hours, and it might be approaching that now. And as far as I know, she hasn't eaten anything in 48 hours.

Cat messed herself a lot overnight and got a bath this morning. She seemed relatively content after that. The leakage had stopped and we cuddled for a couple hours. She then acted like she was hungry but refused all food and treats I offered. As far as I know she has barely had more than a few sips of water. She started messing herself again, so I put her stuff in the bathroom again where she has a room to herself. She's definitely doing more poorly than she was earlier this morning. She's peed a few times but no BMs (expected).

I'm letting her rest alone in her room right now where she has her food, water, and litter box. Unfortunately she has to be in there due to the fecal leakage.

I really just want her to eat, but I'm wondering if any sedatives they gave her made her feel sick. (She barfed up the anti-nausea meds, so, dunno what to do about that.)

Perhaps the best thing to do is just leave her be for today?

I hope you got a plan. My cat just went through the enema thing and not eating although she is a young cat. You should ask about mirataz ointment. You rub it on the pinna of the ear and it stimulates their appetite. It made a big difference for my cat. Also very few side effects.

 

[tutubean]

She's back from the hospital (did not stay overnight). She's SO MUCH BETTER. They did another enema cuz apparently the one wasn't enough. She ate a bit overnight, drank plenty of water, and is soundly sleeping now after taking (with protest lol) her morning meds.

She has stage 3 (out of 4) kidney disease and megacolon. The two combined are a recipe for digestion hardships. But once we get her appetite regulated (should be better soon) we're starting on fiber supplements and renal health wet food.

So, turns out is was not necessarily the enema itself that made her inappetent, but perhaps rather the pain killers that made her so loopy she could barely function as well as an incomplete evacuation.

For anyone reading this in the future, PLEASE make sure they do a scan of her insides instead of just palpate. 48 hours of leakage after an enema is unacceptable. $400 should get you a clean digestive tract, not somewhat-clean tract.