Sick/constipated 6 Year Old Cat

[stephanie junca]

My cat Luna all of the sudden started throwing up this morning and frequently trying to go to the bathroom. My fiance was at home with her for part of the day and she threw up one more time but then has just been hiding. I got home a little while ago and she usually will come to the door but only her brother came to greet me. I found her under the coffee table looking sad. I am a bit worried. I put some of her favorite food in front of her with some miralax because I assume she is a bit constipated. She sniffed at the food. But continued hiding. Should I take her to the vet or wait it out?

I have only had her for a month now so I don't completely know her eating/pooping habits. She is 6 years old and is very finicky with her food. Her brother on the other hand will eat almost anything I feed him.

I wonder if she is still stressed with all the changes. Their original pet parent passed away unfortunately so they've been moved around a few times. I took them both to the vet a couple of weeks ago and the vet gave them full checks on health.

My old cat who passed away over the summer had frequent bouts of constipation due to her renal failure so I'm always on high alert with these kitties and not sure if I am over worrying now or if it will be ok and maybe it's just a 24 hour thing. Any advice would be great! Thanks!

 

[molly92]

Take her to the vet now. My guidelines for constipation are: once the cat starts throwing up, stops eating, acts lethargic, or hasn't had a bowel movement for more than 3 or 4 days, it's time for a vet visit.

Miralax will not do anything to the stool that is already in her colon blocking her up. It only softens stool as it is forming, so she will likely need an enema at this point.

My 7 year old cat was like this when I first adopted her a few years ago. We had lots of vet visits and enemas before we figured everything out. Ultimately, probiotics were the only thing that helped her long term, and she still gets them everyday, so I highly recommend that once this episode is handled. Miralax did work well for us for a while but she slowly became more and more resistant to it. But first, take her to a vet. Sooner is probably better than later for her sake if an after hours vet is feasible, but if not go tomorrow morning.

 

[stephanie junca]

Take her to the vet now. My guidelines for constipation are: once the cat starts throwing up, stops eating, acts lethargic, or hasn't had a bowel movement for more than 3 or 4 days, it's time for a vet visit.

Miralax will not do anything to the stool that is already in her colon blocking her up. It only softens stool as it is forming, so she will likely need an enema at this point.

My 7 year old cat was like this when I first adopted her a few years ago. We had lots of vet visits and enemas before we figured everything out. Ultimately, probiotics were the only thing that helped her long term, and she still gets them everyday, so I highly recommend that once this episode is handled. Miralax did work well for us for a while but she slowly became more and more resistant to it. But first, take her to a vet. Sooner is probably better than later for her sake if an after hours vet is feasible, but if not go tomorrow morning.

Thanks for your response!

The weird thing is there has been lots of poo in the litterboxes the past couple of days. Not overly dry or overly squishy but just a lot. I am wondering if one of the foods I gave her made her stomach upset.

I know her brother poops regularly but so far have never seen THAT much in the box until the past few days. So I am assuming she has gone. I did find a little watery poo on my futon in the living room and then another little one in the box when I got home. Yeah graphic cat poo details here.

Also, as I am writing this she came out and started lapping up the food I left for her. But oh that didn't last long. She only ate a bit and then went back to hiding. At least her appetite is coming back a little. I will keep monitoring her closely of course. If I see her vomit again or strain in the box then I will take her in. She has not done that since this morning.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! All of this behavior is new. Please don't wait. The hiding is indicating something more than a new food issue.
She needs to be taken to the vet, the sooner the better.

 

[1 bruce 1]

If you haven't already, call you vet first thing in the morning.
Get an appointment tomorrow. Most vets are open on Saturdays.
Even if she's new, and you've only had her for a few weeks, this is alarming. Not eating a lot, throwing up, and having bowel issues can be serious if left untreated.
We have a cat with bowel issues, and if he throws up once, it's cause for concern, but it if happens more than twice the vet is called. It could be something as simple as an upset stomach or something like an obstruction.
Best not to wait if things don't improve by tomorrow morning.
Sending you a hug and good wishes.

 

[fallandriseandfall]

Take her to the vet at least for a check up and some subcutaneous fluids.

I adopted my cat about two months ago and she’s been fine—until this past weekend. She stopped eating or drinking, continually tried to throw up a hairball, and wouldn’t use the litter box. Our other cat had been having some hairball issues so I figured she just had one she couldn’t get up.

I got some petroleum jelly (100% pure) and some Laxatone hairball remedy. This stuff works wonders. I would put it on her paws quite frequently so she’d have to lick it off, and eventually, she was able to regurgitate a huge hairball. However, she still wouldn’t eat or drink, and she was lethargic and hiding, so I took her to the vet.

After an x-ray, the vet found that she was pretty majorly constipated, with bunching of her intestines suggesting a possible linear foreign body. They gave her some subcutaneous fluids and scheduled an enema for the next day. Worried about the trauma and the cost, I continued giving her the Laxatone hairball remedy, as much as she hated the gel on her lovingly clean, silky paws. The sub-cu fluids perked her up a lot, as well.

And the next day, she had miraculously passed the constipation! The vets were very surprised and told me to continue monitoring her. Over the next two days, she continued to pass very hard, dry stools that were constipating her. Her appetite returned with a vengeance and she began drinking again as well.

So definitely take your baby to the vet, at the very least to get checked out and get dehydrated. In the meantime, pick up some petroleum jelly and that Laxatone hairball remedy and apply it often to her paws. That might go a long way toward helping her and render an enema unnecessary.

 

[stephanie junca]

Yeah she has been very lethargic all night so I sent a note to the vet to see if I could fit her in somewhere tomorrow. They've done that for me before with my old cat and just had the vet techs seeing her so it was faster and cheaper. I think she is constipated and probably a bit dehydrated now. Poor kitty...

 

[fallandriseandfall]

Yeah she has been very lethargic all night so I sent a note to the vet to see if I could fit her in somewhere tomorrow. They've done that for me before with my old cat and just had the vet techs seeing her so it was faster and cheaper. I think she is constipated and probably a bit dehydrated now. Poor kitty...

The vets can check things out but in the meantime, like I said, that Laxatone or petroleum jelly should help a lot. If she’s really constipated, the stool won’t reabsorb very much water and make it easier to pass, so your only options, from what I’ve read, are to lubricate her up on the inside so everything slides easier, or to have an enema.

In any case, the subcutaneous fluids will help with the lethargy, and they’re easy enoughfor a vet tech to administer. My kitten still hasn’t eaten or drank anything, but within an hour of getting the fluids, she was following me around, constantly looking for attention, and playing with toys. They’re a big help!

 

[dkb817]

F fallandriseandfall When my megacolon cat was refusing to eat, my vet suggested that I try things like ham, chicken, meat varieties of baby food (as long as it didn't have onion or garlic as those are highly toxic to cats), etc.

You might try checking with your vet to see if they're okay with you trying this for your little one.

 

[stephanie junca]

I was able to get her in at 8am this morning. The vet gave me a couple of options. I decided to get x-rays done on her. He could feel a little hard something in her colon so he thinks it might be dried up feces but otherwise her colon seemed fine to him. They have her at the vet now. They're going to call me when they are done.

She did seem in better spirits this morning but I was feeling really uneasy about things so I am glad I took her in. The vet said if anything they will give her some Sub-Q to perk her up if it is not anything serious that they find of course.

I did actually by some pro-biotic treats yesterday interesingly enough. I was thinking maybe she needed something to stabilize her belly. Hopefully these help keep her regular from now on.

Waiting for their call. It has been an hour already. *Fingers crossed*

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[stephanie junca]

Thanks!

Got her back a little while ago. They found through the xrays that she did have a little bit of dried feces in her. He said she just seems to be working it through her body. He gave her fluids and anti nausea meds and said to just be sure she eats and plays and she'll be fine. He is going to call me tomorrow morning to check up on her just in case.

We got home and I gave her some wet food and she came running to eat. Poor girl was famished. Now she's playing with her brother. So far so good. Hopefully I will find a nice poo present in the box soon haha...

 

[Furballsmom]

Now she's playing with her brother. So far so good.

This is wonderful - hopefully, by now, things have continued/are continuing in the right direction !!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Thanks!

Got her back a little while ago. They found through the xrays that she did have a little bit of dried feces in her. He said she just seems to be working it through her body. He gave her fluids and anti nausea meds and said to just be sure she eats and plays and she'll be fine. He is going to call me tomorrow morning to check up on her just in case.

We got home and I gave her some wet food and she came running to eat. Poor girl was famished. Now she's playing with her brother. So far so good. Hopefully I will find a nice poo present in the box soon haha...

Playing/moving around will help, too. The worst thing is when they don't want to move, exercise and movement makes things move through much better than if they're not wanting to even walk across the room.