My cat might be constipated

[noahshavingfun]

Hello everyone!

I'd like to get some insight from others, as to what I should do, considering the current situation of my cat. (Note: I'm not a native English speaker. I hope you are able to understand everything.)

*This is a long thread!*

He is still very young, 6 months old. He's been vaccinated, and I also want to castrate him soon.

However, here's the thing. He, since last Sunday, has been pooping every 2-3 days.

Prior to this, two weeks ago, he got sick. He had diarrhea and vomited once a day, for 3 days. My plan was to call the vet the third day, but then he suddenly stopped. Two days later and the cycle started repeating once again. I called the vet the next day immediately.
(Mind you, he, apart from the vomiting and diarrhea, was acting completely normal as usual. He was playing with me, eating normally... And drank quite a bit of water (and cat milk), so I wasn't too worried about him being dehydrated.)

The vet examined him, his temperature was alright, wasn't dehydrated, everything looked okay to them. (He was also given two injections to calm down his stomach.)

So, I was told to bring a stool sample in the upcoming days, with which they could check the state of his stomach and if there are some inner parasites.
And I did, three days later I gave them the sample.
They told me the tests were negative (everything was fine.)

Meanwhile, after the vet visit, he was back to normal. No more throwing up, diarrhea or any other symptoms.

Before the illness, he pooped every day. Last Sunday, it switched from every day to every second or third day.

He eats canned food over the day, and over night I leave him a bit of dry food, so he doesn't wake me up too early begging for his meals.
He drinks, as I already mentioned, water and cat milk (more milk, but every now and then he will drink more water).

He also has cat grass next to his bowls, incase he feels like eating it (as I've heard it helps with digestion and hairballs?).

I also, once every day or two, give him a little treat.

He is mostly an indoor cat, but he does go outside every day for a few hours.

Also, maybe not so important, but just incase the info can help, I clean his litter box daily, and he usually pees 2-3 times a day.

Oh, and my dad informed me that he peed outside once, so he told me that the cat might have done his business there. I'm skeptical of this, as the weather at the moment in my country is freezing cold, and he doesn't stay outside for very long.

Now back to his stool. On the Sunday, it looked fine, long and brown... Normal poop as it should be.

Next time, on Wednesday he pooped.. twice? I guess you could call it? First pile it was like little.. balls? And the second poop looked normal.
I wasn't at home when he pooped, so I don't know if he was straining or not? If it went okay?

Today, his poop was "normal" looking, and he didn't strain or anything. He went in and out of the toilet, as per usual.

In between the pooping, he doesn't seem to have the urge? And he doesn't randomly go to the toilet to try and poop. If he does go, he just pees (or poops) and leaves. There hasn't been an instance in which he went, tried, and did nothing.

Now, my questions are - could it be that this sickness he had, is somehow connected to his current "problem" of pooping less?
And would this then be considered constipation? If so, what should I do? How can I help him?

And lastly,
A big thank you to everybody who is willing to help and who has helped. I appreciate each and every one of your comments.

Thank you!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

The "balls" would be indicative of constipation, but if that has past and now his stools appear normal, and you don't see him straining,then it doesn't sound like he's constipated.

I don't see how this "fewer poops" could be related to his previous sickness. Could you try calling your Vet and simply asking the question?

I would suggest just continue feeding him wet food with plenty of water to the side and things should be ok. Plus, since you don't know absolutely that he isn't going outside, I'd say don't stress too much about it unless he starts straining or starts pooping "marbles" again. If that happens, you might try adding a little bit of plain canned pumpkin to his food. Maybe 1 teas. per meal for extra fiber.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Yes, to mrsgreenjeens suggestions. Exactly what I was thinking, with one addition. If canned pumpkin is hard to come by where you are, 1/4 teaspoon of olive oil may do the trick for you, as well. I'd give it twice a day until he starts having more regular stools.

 

[noahshavingfun]

The "balls" would be indicative of constipation, but if that has past and now his stools appear normal, and you don't see him straining,then it doesn't sound like he's constipated.

I don't see how this "fewer poops" could be related to his previous sickness. Could you try calling your Vet and simply asking the question?

I would suggest just continue feeding him wet food with plenty of water to the side and things should be ok. Plus, since you don't know absolutely that he isn't going outside, I'd say don't stress too much about it unless he starts straining or starts pooping "marbles" again. If that happens, you might try adding a little bit of plain canned pumpkin to his food. Maybe 1 teas. per meal for extra fiber.

Thank you for these recommendations.
I kind of found myself in a sticky situation once again. If possible, could you give me your opinion on this?

So, since monday he hasn't been pooping.
On monday, he had strained a bit while doing it, but it was still a normal looking poop (.."long and brown").

But since that day, he hasn't pooped into his litter box at all.
And the worst thing is, I really can't tell if he's constipated or not.

Firstly, he goes outside.
Secondly, I play with him, so it's not like he just sits all day long and does nothing.
Thirdly, he drinks a lot of water and (cat) milk.
Fourthly, he looks just fine. He eats the normal amount and his behavior hasn't changed.

On day three, after I've noticed he hadn't pooped, I cooked some pumpkin and, as Mamanyt1953 said, also added some olive oil into to the mix and gave him that together with his usual wet food. I removed his dry food, and instead of giving him that overnight, I just left a bit of the wet food mix for him to eat (I know wet food should be thrown away after a few hours, but at that point, it was most probably already eaten by him).

I've been doing this for about 2 and a half days now, yet he still hasn't pooped in his litter box.

One thing that really confuses me is - if he always peed and pooped inside, why would he, if in theory we said he goes outside to do it, not do both out there then? Yes, I know pooping is a one time thing a day, but his peeing amount hasn't gone down.
And, after he comes from outside, he usually goes into his box and pees. So, once again, it doesn't really make sense for him to be pooping outside... Or at least I think so.

And today, something strange I've noticed. There was white... liquid (? Not quite in a liquid state, but I don't know what the word would be in english) near his bum.
I read that it's from his anal glands, and that he could possibly have an infection? But I'd appreciate it if you explained it to me a bit further (if you yourself even know about it)?

So how does this connect to his constipation problem? *Does* it connect, or is it a problem of it's own? Or is it actually not a problem at all?

Also, he hasn't been castrated yet, if that has anything to do with it.

I hope you and Mamanyt1953 can help me make some sense out of this situation. I am really, really grateful for the help that's already been given to me, and thank you both so much.

Oh and plus, should I give him some cow milk instead of cat milk? As most cats are lactose intolerant, maybe this will trigger him?
I really don't know what the best thing to do here would be.

(Unfortunately, I don't have much money, I'm still in school, and in this Corona situation my family hasn't been able to gather up a lot of money, so going to a vet would be our last course of action.
I really want to help my baby though. So, if you guys say I should seriously visit a vet, then I'll do so. Thank you once again.)

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Sorry to be so long in responding. Has there been any change since you posted yesterday? Unfortunately, since he does go outside, there really is no way of knowing whether or not he may be pooping out there. The only way of knowing whether or not he has a problem is to keep him inside so you can really monitor his output. You really should keep him inside anyway, for his own good, since he's not neutered. He is of an age where he could easily get a female pregnant, and also could end up being on the short end of cat fights, as if he does encounter a female in heat, I'm not sure he would be able to win a fight with the other Toms who would be wanting to mate with her. This could cost him dearly, I'm afraid

As to the white substance you saw on his rear end, was it stinky? Usually any anal gland issues will be extremely smelly. I don't know what exactly they smell like because I've never had to smell it, but I've heard horror stories about it. Are you still witnessing it? Could it simply be he sat in something? I think if he had issues he would be constantly licking that area. But in answer to your questions, yes, anal glad issues and pooping issues can be related. Regular pooping with a firm stool help express those glands. But I've not heard of a kitten having anal gland issues. Anything is possible though. I still say if he's having issues there he would be licking at them.

Wish I could tell you more, but that's really all I know. Hoping he just sat in something and hadn't bathed yet. Do think about keeping him inside, at least until he's neutered. My first two cats used to be indoor/outdoor cats until one was killed by neighborhood dogs . Since then they have all been indoor only cats. Maybe you could build you little guy a "catio" (a screened in outdoor area)

 

[noahshavingfun]

Sorry to be so long in responding. Has there been any change since you posted yesterday? Unfortunately, since he does go outside, there really is no way of knowing whether or not he may be pooping out there. The only way of knowing whether or not he has a problem is to keep him inside so you can really monitor his output. You really should keep him inside anyway, for his own good, since he's not neutered. He is of an age where he could easily get a female pregnant, and also could end up being on the short end of cat fights, as if he does encounter a female in heat, I'm not sure he would be able to win a fight with the other Toms who would be wanting to mate with her. This could cost him dearly, I'm afraid

As to the white substance you saw on his rear end, was it stinky? Usually any anal gland issues will be extremely smelly. I don't know what exactly they smell like because I've never had to smell it, but I've heard horror stories about it. Are you still witnessing it? Could it simply be he sat in something? I think if he had issues he would be constantly licking that area. But in answer to your questions, yes, anal glad issues and pooping issues can be related. Regular pooping with a firm stool help express those glands. But I've not heard of a kitten having anal gland issues. Anything is possible though. I still say if he's having issues there he would be licking at them.

Wish I could tell you more, but that's really all I know. Hoping he just sat in something and hadn't bathed yet. Do think about keeping him inside, at least until he's neutered. My first two cats used to be indoor/outdoor cats until one was killed by neighborhood dogs . Since then they have all been indoor only cats. Maybe you could build you little guy a "catio" (a screened in outdoor area)

Thank you for answering me once again.
My condolences for your little fur friend.. May she or he rest in peace.

I'm monitoring him closely, but no, there hasn't been any change in his behavior or anything else.
I believe after 6 days, surely there would be a change, if he wasn't pooping, right?

I would love it if I was able to keep him inside at all times, but my parents insist on letting him out, because "he's a cat and cats have never been animals for inside"... Also, at this point I think it would be troubling to keep him inside, he would meow and beg me to let him out constantly. My parents don't want to hear that...

But, to make you a little less worried possibly, there are no female cats in heat here, as almost all cats have been neutered. Females most definitely.
And, he's kind of afraid of roaming too far away from the house, or going near the older cats. He just watches them from the distance.

I want to neuter him, but I have yet to convince my parents that it's the right decision. My mom isn't too against it, but she worries that after being neutered, he will just be a fluff ball with no energy, and all of his sparkle will disappear.

As for the white substance thing, it wasn't smelly, I haven't smelled anything at all. So I'm assuming it's probably nothing, as I also didn't see it more than once on that day.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, six days of not pooping, especially in a kitten, would definitely cause some changes. Slowing down in eating, possibly some lethargy, and certainly a bigger belly. I think he must be going outside.

As to your mother's concern that neutering would cause him to lose his "spark" and energy, one of my guys just turned 12 years old, and he still acts like a kitten. And he has the best personality of any cat I've ever had. Yes, as he ages he has slowed down a bit and does sleep a little more than he used to, but it doesn't take much to get him up and running around. And he was neutered when he was VERY young (9 weeks old) Plus he is the most loving cat I've ever had too. Of course every cat is different, but neutering should not change their personality other than to possibly lessen any aggressiveness if they tend that way. And it will not make them fat! Eating too much does that and that's all up to their caregivers!