Help! Digestive Issues!

[LaLa12]

Sorry for the long post....My 7yr old Maine Coon Brady is now over a year post-op from PU surgery due to blocking from mucuos plugs, crystals....he had surgery last June and around the time of last August he has developed this poop issue. He only eats wet food since surgery. He has dinner around 7pm and then I usually give him a little bit of canned Purina UR salmon for snack around 1am. Purina UR is the only prescription can he'll eat and I don't like feeding it because it has a lot crap ingredients- for his dinner I'll usually give him Fancy Feast or Purina ProPlan- I have tried going grain free and buying the most expensive food and just won't eat it. I think I have tried every brand under the sun. Anyways, he'll do his initial poop usually after dinner and its formed "normal" but without fail around 1am after eating his snack he cries a little and heads right into the litter box to poop then it'll continue a few times throughout early morning up until about 5am then it repeats the next night. His late night poops are always soft, not diarrhea but soft, smell and small to tiny; he even heads to the box to try and poop occasionally and nothing comes out- kinda like he feels the urge to go. I know he's squatting to poop because he digs and sits differently than when he pees so he's not straining to pee, thank god! There has been instances where he'll go a week and be fine but this issue always comes back.

Two weeks in a row recently, he got constipated and didn't poop for like a day so I gave him pumpkin and some miralax which resolved that problem quick.

Before surgery and after surgery, he was on pain meds, prazosin, amoxicillin a few times...I don't know if his system is messed up from that or what. It was worse last Fall where he would run to box every time he ate so it has gotten a little bit better. I did suspect it was hairball related because in December he threw up a hairball which he rarely does and then had normal poops for about a week.

I have tried everything- my vet is stumped also- he thought maybe B12 deficient so tried shots and didn't work....have tried egg yolk lecithin, laxatone, fortiflora, proviable probiotic, changing food and nothing seems to help this.

I just ordered some Jarrow S.Boulardii with MOS and I'm hoping that helps cause I just feel bad he goes through this nightly which causes me not to sleep either. He is a very nervous cat and the only med he is still on is amitriptyline 1 pill daily in a salmon pill pocket.

Has anyone ever experienced this or have any advice? Hairballs? Constipated? I have read alot about IBS and it doesn't sound like that either.

I have talked to my vet over the phone, I want to avoid a vet trip because right now they aren't allowing pet guardians to go in with pets due to COVID and where he's nervous I'm just not comfortable not being inside with him.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I usually give him a little bit of canned Purina UR salmon for snack around 1am...but without fail around 1am after eating his snack he cries a little and heads right into the litter box to poop then it'll continue a few times throughout early morning up until about 5am then it repeats the next night...Two weeks in a row recently, he got constipated and didn't poop for like a day so I gave him pumpkin and some miralax which resolved that problem quick...he is still on is amitriptyline 1 pill daily in a salmon pill pocket.

Hi. If I understand correctly, it would seem there might be an issue with his digestive tract and the salmon, given the sequence of events. Have you stopped the Purina UR to see if that makes a difference? Maybe the combination of the salmon snack and the salmon pill pocket is just too much salmon for his body to handle.

I do not know, however, how that ties to the mysterious constipation issue, unless for some reason he wasn't eating the salmon during that time. Or, he wasn't really constipated, but just pooped so much from whatever is causing the overnight loose stool that he just didn't have anything left in him to poop for that day.

I doubt that a snack of the Purina UR is making any difference in terms of preventing crystals, since he eats mostly other foods. So, I guess if it were me, I'd try cutting the salmon snack out of his diet altogether, and replace with one of the other foods he will eat. If you can find another pill pocket to use with his meds that he will eat, you might want to do that as well.

 

[LaLa12]

Hi. If I understand correctly, it would seem there might be an issue with his digestive tract and the salmon, given the sequence of events. Have you stopped the Purina UR to see if that makes a difference? Maybe the combination of the salmon snack and the salmon pill pocket is just too much salmon for his body to handle.

I do not know, however, how that ties to the mysterious constipation issue, unless for some reason he wasn't eating the salmon during that time. Or, he wasn't really constipated, but just pooped so much from whatever is causing the overnight loose stool that he just didn't have anything left in him to poop for that day.

I doubt that a snack of the Purina UR is making any difference in terms of preventing crystals, since he eats mostly other foods. So, I guess if it were me, I'd try cutting the salmon snack out of his diet altogether, and replace with one of the other foods he will eat. If you can find another pill pocket to use with his meds that he will eat, you might want to do that as well.

Thanks so much for the response! I was actually going to cut out the salmon UR tonight and see what happens, he's been eating it straight since October for his late night snack and sometimes he evens wakes me up for a second helping. The only reason why I still even give it to him is because it has alot of moisture/gravy and he doesn't drink water typically. He might have not been constipated either, he did poop two kinda hard balls but didn't strain or anything- he did poop alot the night before though. Fingers crossed, I would love for it to be this simple haha

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hopefully, the salmon is the issue and you see improvement with the loose stools after he has been off of it for a few days. Have you tried adding some water to his other foods to give him more moisture that way?

Let us know what happens!

 

[LaLa12]

Hopefully, the salmon is the issue and you see improvement with the loose stools after he has been off of it for a few days. Have you tried adding some water to his other foods to give him more moisture that way?

Let us know what happens!

Adding water to his food didn't work, tried that last summer. He's the type of cat if he doesn't like something he will not eat it even if he's starving. I really wish I could get him to eat better quality food too.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Fancy Feast, especially the pates, isn't bad food really. And, the more canned he eats (vs. dry) the better for moisture. Many cats seem to get most of their moisture through their food particularly when all they eat is canned food. Have you tried a water fountain? There are even versions that mimic a dripping faucet, which seems to be a big draw with some cats.

 

[LaLa12]

Fancy Feast, especially the pates, isn't bad food really. And, the more canned he eats (vs. dry) the better for moisture. Many cats seem to get most of their moisture through their food particularly when all they eat is canned food. Have you tried a water fountain? There are even versions that mimic a dripping faucet, which seems to be a big draw with some cats.

I did buy a fountain and returned it back to Amazon- I had two cats at the time and neither of them went near it. I think I'm gonna try again, worth a shot.