Some Constipation Questions

[missmindy]

Dang, well maybe the Gastro food will help her. Good luck at the vet's today.

Thank you. I hope it gets here soon. I ordered it Friday and am not sure it shipped yet-no email yet. The stress is wearing us both out. I had to restrain her with a blanket her to give her meds this am and she went ballistic growling and snarling. Kept hissing and lunging at me when I went near her afterwards. Then I had to put her in the carrier which made her even more upset and scared. I don't want her to start hating me, but I think she does

 

[foxxycat]

I am sorry things are so hard right now...is it possible all of this is allergy related? Have you tried meat baby food? If Zofran isn't working for nausea they can try Cerenia. I just hope they can figure out what's going on and know whatever you decide she loves you even if she's hissing and growly. Poor girl. Sending you prayers and vibes that she gets better soon.

 

[missmindy]

I am sorry things are so hard right now...is it possible all of this is allergy related? Have you tried meat baby food? If Zofran isn't working for nausea they can try Cerenia. I just hope they can figure out what's going on and know whatever you decide she loves you even if she's hissing and growly. Poor girl. Sending you prayers and vibes that she gets better soon.

Thanks! I feel so bad for her She will eat baby food. Her appetite is really good. She eats and then gets sick several hours later. She actually goes right to her food dish after vomiting to refill. It does seem to be directly correlated with the last time she pooped, although they could be 2 seperate issues.

 

[foxxycat]

if it's vomiting later on it could be allergy related. I wonder if small doses of baby food every hour to gage her vomiting may help figure out and I wonder if sshe's got a blockage in there- vomiting right away usually is eating too fast..but 2 hours later-means it's traveled into the first part of the intestines then back out..which must be so uncomfortable for her. Have the vet do an ultrasound today-maybe they can see the blockage-it could be a piece of poop or? a toy she ate...I can see why wet food would be wanted to get the most moisture in there.

There's another kitty on here that vomits from chicken in their food so that's why I wonder if it's allergy but the way you describe-it's something else going on it seems...so very sorry. Whatever you decide=know you did all you could and yes we don't want to keep doing things if it's not working-but so very frustrating because we want to be sure we do everything we can...and at this point I wouldn't worry about calory intake...

 

[foxxycat]

There's another med you can try.

Ask about Pepcid AC as an injectable. you would do this first thing in the morning-the idea is injectible bypasses the vomiting and may make her more comfortable until we figure out what's going on. The injection is done behind the shoulder blades and is a very small dose. The medical name is Famotidine. It's used when there's too much stomach acid and ulcers inside the tract-it's something they can try. I used this as well as Cerenia in my sick elderly girl in 2016. These two medications together was a god send and stopped vomiting.

You would also do the sub fluids afterwards. or before-the fluids would help keep her stools wet and give her electrolytes at the same time. She may eat better with the sub fluids administered-dehydrated kitties won't eat and do vomit=so maybe for a short term of 2 weeks try this-I am hoping your vet is open to this..this treatment worked very well on my elderly kitty-sadly she had cancer-we didn't know until later on but it kept her comfortable for the time being.

 

[missmindy]

if it's vomiting later on it could be allergy related. I wonder if small doses of baby food every hour to gage her vomiting may help figure out and I wonder if sshe's got a blockage in there- vomiting right away usually is eating too fast..but 2 hours later-means it's traveled into the first part of the intestines then back out..which must be so uncomfortable for her. Have the vet do an ultrasound today-maybe they can see the blockage-it could be a piece of poop or? a toy she ate...I can see why wet food would be wanted to get the most moisture in there.

There's another kitty on here that vomits from chicken in their food so that's why I wonder if it's allergy but the way you describe-it's something else going on it seems...so very sorry. Whatever you decide=know you did all you could and yes we don't want to keep doing things if it's not working-but so very frustrating because we want to be sure we do everything we can...and at this point I wouldn't worry about calory intake...

She's had a number of x-rays at both the ER vet and the regular vet, which showed no blockages, just constipation. She has an appointment next month with a specialist for an ultrasound. They are booked until then. Neither the regular vet or the ER vets see it as an emergency situation yet, but it sure feels like one. There are days when the food stays down fine. She spent 4 days (came home at night) at the vet receiving enemas and didn't vomit for 5 whole days. She hasn't lost any weight throughout this whole ordeal thank goodness. I mentioned my concerns to her vet and she said we are nowhere near looking at having exhausted all our options yet. It sure feels like it to me though. Maybe this week will go better. I hope to get good news later on.

 

[foxxycat]

I would get the ultrasound done-can you find a vet who has ultrasound available?

 

[foxxycat]

I only say this because my girl who had issues-I wish I pushed for the ultrasound sooner otherwise things would have been different. xrays only show so much. The ultrasound is more detailed examination and if there's something going on you will know sooner...around here I had to drive 40 miles away to get the this done seems the local vets claimed they were booked but it was an emergency as we found out she had tumors inside and I didnt get it done. Lookin back I should have done it sooner..maybe that's not what's going on but you know your cat better than anyone else..and it can be frustrating to rack up bills and no answers.

 

[foxxycat]

She's had a number of x-rays at both the ER vet and the regular vet, which showed no blockages, just constipation. She has an appointment next month with a specialist for an ultrasound. They are booked until then. Neither the regular vet or the ER vets see it as an emergency situation yet, but it sure feels like one. There are days when the food stays down fine. She spent 4 days (came home at night) at the vet receiving enemas and didn't vomit for 5 whole days. She hasn't lost any weight throughout this whole ordeal thank goodness. I mentioned my concerns to her vet and she said we are nowhere near looking at having exhausted all our options yet. It sure feels like it to me though. Maybe this week will go better. I hope to get good news later on.

I understand...just hoping things work out!! and they stop jerking you around and your girl gets some HELP!

 

[missmindy]

I only say this because my girl who had issues-I wish I pushed for the ultrasound sooner otherwise things would have been different. xrays only show so much. The ultrasound is more detailed examination and if there's something going on you will know sooner...around here I had to drive 40 miles away to get the this done seems the local vets claimed they were booked but it was an emergency as we found out she had tumors inside and I didnt get it done. Lookin back I should have done it sooner..maybe that's not what's going on but you know your cat better than anyone else..and it can be frustrating to rack up bills and no answers.

She's booked with the best specialist in my area. The other option manhandled my kitty who has since passed away, so I would never take her there. If I show up in the specialists ER, I might be able to get it done, but that's not even a guarantee since she's not sick "enough." A different ER said I could take her to the local university for the ultrasound, but that they may make her wait as well. I have to be careful with my job as well as I've had to take days off, come in late and leave early a lot over the past few weeks. It's all terrible. I've easily spent close to $2000 and don't know much more than when I started. My vet is awesome, spends tons of time with us, calls on weekends from her home etc, I just wish we could get it figured out. My other concern is we are both so stressed that it's going to just make things worse for her!

 

[foxxycat]

well maybe more food will help...at this point I would disregard the calorie restriction. That could be causing the vomiting...try it for 48 hours...got nothing else to loose... baby food... kibble. oh canned pumpkin helps keep poop moving.. I used that in my honeybee because she wants only kibble.. we use miralax now=but it's 1/8 tsp daily which seems to be the perfect dose and she only poops every other day to every 72 hours...some cats don't poop daily.

 

[missmindy]

Well it's not good news. She's still all backed up and full of stool, which is making her vomit. I guess it's obstipation now. Her vet said she has to go every 24 hours but doesn't consider this an emergency still. Even with all the enemas last week, she never got emptied out. She wants her to lose weight. I can't feed her any less. I'm going to have to increase her cisapride even more and continue to add more miralax. She also suggested adding in fortiflora. She said this can't be cured but can be managed and her prognosis is guarded. I just don't know what to do. I really think I'm going to lose her. I can't keep torturing her with medications. She said it's just going to get worse over time.

 

[maggiedemi]

Is she still only eating 120 calories per day? It doesn't sound like enough food to be able to poop every day. I hope the Gastro food gets there soon. I think it will help.

 

[duckpond]

i agree with maggiedemi. The weight loss i think could be put on hold until after the other issues are taken care of. i might get a second opinion from a different vet. I cannot see keeping a cat with this much problem on such a restricted calorie diet for weight loss. Get her healthy again, and pooping, the decide about the weight loss. Especially since the problems only started after the restrictions you said?

 

[missmindy]

She has an appointment at a different practice tomorrow. I've never been there before, but I know people who have and they have awesome reviews online.
She's already about 4-5 pounds overweight and very sedentary, so I am concerned about her getting any heavier. She's been calorie restricted for at least a year, but this problem only presented itself about a month ago now. I suppose it could have been settling in gradually.

The practice I am going to tomorrow also has a nutritionist available. Maybe they can help figure out a good balance. I have been letting her eat whatever she wants the past week or so though-especially on the "good" days. I'm very very frustrated that I kept being told this isn't a huge deal and now it's "guarded prognosis." We are going on over 30 hours with no poops, so it could be an emergency by tomorrow night.

 

[duckpond]

very good. Im glad you are seeing a different vet, hopefully they will have a new approach that will help her. Im not saying she may not need to loose a few, just i dont think it would be top priority. And if she is not loosing on the small amount of calories she had been on i think something else is going on. Best of luck to her, and please do keep us updated. I worry about her

 

[missmindy]

Thank you-I will send an update later tomorrow after getting a 2nd opinion. I'm so grateful for all of you kind people that care about her!!

 

[missmindy]

Reading the notes now from the vet and it says she has the beginning of obstipation and her colon is dilated. I'm so frustrated and scared for my kitty. I don't understand how it went from run of the mill constipation to this so fast.

 

[CatloverinFL]

i agree with maggiedemi. The weight loss i think could be put on hold until after the other issues are taken care of. i might get a second opinion from a different vet. I cannot see keeping a cat with this much problem on such a restricted calorie diet for weight loss. Get her healthy again, and pooping, the decide about the weight loss. Especially since the problems only started after the restrictions you said?

Yes, I agree with duckpond, excellent advice!

 

[duckpond]

Reading the notes now from the vet and it says she has the beginning of obstipation and her colon is dilated. I'm so frustrated and scared for my kitty. I don't understand how it went from run of the mill constipation to this so fast.

sending prayers and good thoughts your way! Hope for good news with the new vet!