Hi my cat Simba is about 7 years old and has for the last three or so weeks become severely constipated, only having bowel movements every 4-6 days. For the last two weeks he has also become very picky with what he'll eat. Over the course of six weeks he has slowly become fed up with his regular food and two weeks ago stopped eating it altogether. But he will eat something novel for a bit, only for 2-3 meals of it though. So I've had to change his diet over and over again in the last two weeks. This has caused diarrhea twice but he goes back to being constipated for days afterwards. He's also more depressed and lethargic and no longer jumps on the bed or tables and is also less affectionate and energetic.
For the constipation, I put him on a fiber supplement for a bit called Vetasyl which seemed to help at first but then he went back to bad constipation. He's getting miralax now and is a little more regular, going every 3 or so days but that's still far from ideal. I've taken him to the vet three times now in the last two weeks, having bloodwork, urinalysis and xrays done. His bloodwork was abnormal for pancreatitis but he has no vomiting, diarrhea or weight loss. All other tests were fine but xrays did show some mineral deposit possibly in his kidneys. He's on buprenorphine, gabapetin and Prozac, the latter two long term and buprinex for about 10 days now to manage pancreatitis discomfort. I did give him Cerenia for a few days but it did not improve the pickiness with food. I've tried two appetite stimulants and neither have improved the pickiness. He won't eat his prescription food for neither pancreatitis nor urinary issues (got FLUTD back in January and had PU surgery after two blockages). He has been recovering with me in my parents basement for the last three months from a second surgery to remove skin folds that caused bacterial growth in the PU site that was not going away despite weight management and anti bacterial cream and chlorihexidine wipes. I am wondering if he has become depressed being in this small basement or if the issue is medical and I should get an ultrasound done next. He has one scheduled for next week but I wanted to know if anyone's cat has experienced this food pickiness and chronic constipation as well? The vets all seem perplexed what could be causing these issues because pancreatitis does not seem like a satisfactory explanation, and the typical treatment for pancreatitis hasn't helped him. He has been assessed for osteoarthritis as well and the xrays did not show any joint inflammation.
I feel terrible for how much he's been through this year but up until recently remained in good spirits. Seeing how depressed he's become is making me consider letting him go if I can't figure out how to get him to enjoy life again. I still have to move back to my apartment so I'm going to do that in a few days after he's had time to recover from this most recent vet visit. Also going to try putting him on a raw diet after consulting with a nutritionist next week. Will do an ultrasound if both of those things fail but wanted to see whether anyone has had similar issues with their cat and also if I should get the ultrasound done first before moving him back to my place where he has more space and can run in the halls of the building.
For the constipation, I put him on a fiber supplement for a bit called Vetasyl which seemed to help at first but then he went back to bad constipation. He's getting miralax now and is a little more regular, going every 3 or so days but that's still far from ideal. I've taken him to the vet three times now in the last two weeks, having bloodwork, urinalysis and xrays done. His bloodwork was abnormal for pancreatitis but he has no vomiting, diarrhea or weight loss. All other tests were fine but xrays did show some mineral deposit possibly in his kidneys. He's on buprenorphine, gabapetin and Prozac, the latter two long term and buprinex for about 10 days now to manage pancreatitis discomfort. I did give him Cerenia for a few days but it did not improve the pickiness with food. I've tried two appetite stimulants and neither have improved the pickiness. He won't eat his prescription food for neither pancreatitis nor urinary issues (got FLUTD back in January and had PU surgery after two blockages). He has been recovering with me in my parents basement for the last three months from a second surgery to remove skin folds that caused bacterial growth in the PU site that was not going away despite weight management and anti bacterial cream and chlorihexidine wipes. I am wondering if he has become depressed being in this small basement or if the issue is medical and I should get an ultrasound done next. He has one scheduled for next week but I wanted to know if anyone's cat has experienced this food pickiness and chronic constipation as well? The vets all seem perplexed what could be causing these issues because pancreatitis does not seem like a satisfactory explanation, and the typical treatment for pancreatitis hasn't helped him. He has been assessed for osteoarthritis as well and the xrays did not show any joint inflammation.
I feel terrible for how much he's been through this year but up until recently remained in good spirits. Seeing how depressed he's become is making me consider letting him go if I can't figure out how to get him to enjoy life again. I still have to move back to my apartment so I'm going to do that in a few days after he's had time to recover from this most recent vet visit. Also going to try putting him on a raw diet after consulting with a nutritionist next week. Will do an ultrasound if both of those things fail but wanted to see whether anyone has had similar issues with their cat and also if I should get the ultrasound done first before moving him back to my place where he has more space and can run in the halls of the building.