Snowball is in the Veterinarian Hospital

CatLover49

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Ok...My precious snowball went to vet today cause hes been sick..larthargic..and loosing weight..hes almost 12yrs in July..The vet said his stomach was swollen..And did an exray...and the vet said my baby was full of poop..But hes been pooping at least 2× day...but I noticed when he would poop recently..it was way more than usual..at one time...So the vet was going to do an enema..And if that didn't seem to work enough..shes going to put him under anesthesia and do a full cleaning she said..And of course doing senior complete profile bloodwork..and she said she wanted to keep him overnight...to monitor him...And probably give him some iv fluids...Anyone else been through this with a senior cat??I need comfort...support..and how other members cats that were older like 12yrs or 11yrs or so did with this sort of issue and how did things go???And what was the cause in the first place of swollen belly and tender belly and loosing weight and had exray done and it showed the cat was full of poop...Vet explained to me...But I want yas opinion and has it ever happened with your kitty or kitties...Im really sad right now..Missing my boy and I know hes missing me...:(:petcat::whitecat:😔😥
 

daftcat75

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Losing weight concerns me. With the bloodwork, I'd add fPLI (pancreatitis) test. It's not typically part of the standard senior screen. But it's maybe $20 or $30 add-on. Better to test it than miss it. I'd also ask the vet about possibly scheduling an ultrasound. Lethargy and losing weight could be a lot of things. I don't want to scare you ahead of time. But an ultrasound would give you more visibility into why he's full up. X-ray doesn't give the kind of detail to determine that like an ultrasound would.
 
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CatLover49

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I have only ever heard of this happening with mega colon. Never had an animal who had it before but basically its when the colon becomes backed up. Has ibd been ruled out as a cause?
Thats why hes staying at hospital..running test..How do they check for ibd
 
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CatLover49

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Losing weight concerns me. With the bloodwork, I'd add fPLI (pancreatitis) test. It's not typically part of the standard senior screen. But it's maybe $20 or $30 add-on. Better to test it than miss it. I'd also ask the vet about possibly scheduling an ultrasound. Lethargy and losing weight could be a lot of things. I don't want to scare you ahead of time. But an ultrasound would give you more visibility into why he's full up. X-ray doesn't give the kind of detail to determine that like an ultrasound would.
She said she was going to do things to find u out whats causing it..got to call in morning at 9:30.. to talk to her..and see whats going on...and she was the one didn't want me to take him home today cause she wants to monitor him..and see if cleaning him out..helps n see what caused it..But I will definitely bring up these other tests you all are talking about and the ibd...cause wont be picking him up til around 3:30_4:00 tomorrow ..Im gonna cover anything you all mention while hes there...
 

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Yeah, but he needs to poop all that stuff out. Surgery will be harder on his body. It's best if the enema works. What are you feeding him? Does he get any kind of fiber? I would research IBD in the health forum and/or megacolon. You might find someone who's been in a similar situation and also ways to manage it.
 

daftcat75

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Thats why hes staying at hospital..running test..How do they check for ibd
Ultrasound is how they check for IBD. Or lymphoma. Don’t get ahead of yourself worrying about that possibility. It could be other things. But an ultrasound is the next logical diagnostic to order if it’s not clear in blood tests or X-ray. X-Ray has limitations. It can say he’s full of poop. But it lacks the detail to say what might be causing it.
 
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di and bob

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I know how worrying this is, I'll pray that it is a one-time thing and doesn't happen again. I gave my senior 1/4 tsp. of Miralax mixed in a beaten egg yolk to get him going with constipation, ask your vet if occasional use would clear him out if needed. He could be constipated and is forcing some out because he has to, I hope the enema works! Healing vibes sent your his way! :vibes:
 
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CatLover49

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I know how worrying this is, I'll pray that it is a one-time thing and doesn't happen again. I gave my senior 1/4 tsp. of Miralax mixed in a beaten egg yolk to get him going with constipation, ask your vet if occasional use would clear him out if needed. He could be constipated and is forcing some out because he has to, I hope the enema works! Healing vibes sent your his way! :vibes:
I just talked to the tech at the vet hospital...and she said the enema didn't work...And they going to have to do surgery..putting him under anesthesia...Said his blood work came back good..So I guess during this surgery it would show some things..I guess..meaning whats caused it in first place...I forgot to ask...but I will...Said they couldn't tell me if snowball could come home today or not...Had to wait and see...Why is that????:(:disappointed::whitecat::petcat:😥
 

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If they are doing surgery they will be able to see if it is ibd or mega colon. Typically it is diagnosed with an endoscopy (camera inserted in the colon) because it is less invasive than surgery but since he is already under the knife they will be able to look for it that way.

Often observation is the best way to monitor an animal since they can't tell us what they are feeling. They probably want to see if there is any bowel movement overnight.
 
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CatLover49

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If they are doing surgery they will be able to see if it is ibd or mega colon. Typically it is diagnosed with an endoscopy (camera inserted in the colon) because it is less invasive than surgery but since he is already under the knife they will be able to look for it that way.

Often observation is the best way to monitor an animal since they can't tell us what they are feeling. They probably want to see if there is any bowel movement overnight.
Just found out the.
Sometimes they like to keep them after surgery to make sure they eat well, use the litterbox properly and have no side effects from the anesthesia or treatment.
I know..I just miss him and I know hes scared..and misses me...And they didn't do the surgery..they sedated him and did a more in depth enema they said..and his blood work came back good
 

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Ok...My precious snowball went to vet today cause hes been sick..larthargic..and loosing weight..hes almost 12yrs in July..The vet said his stomach was swollen..And did an exray...and the vet said my baby was full of poop..But hes been pooping at least 2× day...but I noticed when he would poop recently..it was way more than usual..at one time...So the vet was going to do an enema..And if that didn't seem to work enough..shes going to put him under anesthesia and do a full cleaning she said..And of course doing senior complete profile bloodwork..and she said she wanted to keep him overnight...to monitor him...And probably give him some iv fluids...
What dont make sense is hes been pooping twice a day...but more at one time than usual..So how could he need clean out
And they didn't do the surgery..they sedated him and did a more in depth enema they said..and his blood work came back good
Maybe your Vet figured an enema was needed, because she felt and saw poop on the x-ray, so figured that a full clean out was better...and would provide immediate relief.
It is strange that Snowball was still pooping twice a day, yet still had more inside...but hopefully with doing the full enema under anesthesia, she could get it all out.

(My cat needed an enema a few weeks ago, but she stopped eating, drinking, and pooping. Vet first did bloodwork and urine analysis...all within limits, but showed dehydration. Then taken in again for x-ray and enema two days later, because I was worried about constipation. With mine, the enema did work as well as mirtazapine and cerenia to get her to eat again.)

(This page talks about how the enema is done:
Treatment of the constipated cat | VETgirl Veterinary CE Blog
It's done over a few hours, and it really helped my cat to poop. She also had a partial obstruction, but it did not show up on X-rays.
The Vet found what looked like a piece of scouring pad, which is highly strange, since my female cat will not eat anything except 'wet pate cat food', and some dry,...and the poop was not sent out for any analysis, ...so I don't really know how big a piece, or what it was from, or what colour, etc.)

With your Snowball, the Vet probably just wants to make sure that he is well hydrated, and like the others said, that he is eating, drinking, using the litter box and recovering well.

My worry would also be about Snowball losing weight, and how much, and the lethargy part.
But Vets do things in steps to rule things out, ...so I'm really hoping that your Snowball gets to feeling better very soon, after his full enema.

For the future, I would ask about what di and bob di and bob mentioned, about adding the miralax
I know how worrying this is, I'll pray that it is a one-time thing and doesn't happen again. I gave my senior 1/4 tsp. of Miralax mixed in a beaten egg yolk to get him going with constipation, ask your vet if occasional use would clear him out if needed. He could be constipated and is forcing some out because he has to, I hope the enema works! Healing vibes sent your his way! :vibes:
and also ask if a fiber diet would help.
 
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