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I hope your kitty recovers. Quick prayers her way......
You may want look at her diet. Has she been eating dry kibble as a basic diet? Can you switch her to canned? If she's that blocked she may need the enema to get the blockage out so she can eat. I am really surprised they let her go home still blocked. She needs to eat and cannot if she can't pass her stool.
Thanks! She's 1/2 and 1/2 on the dry and canned. I think I will go to more canned if and when she gets back to normal and cut back on the dry. My other cat only eats dry and won't eat canned though so it'll be tricky because Patches is sneaky usually when it comes to food.
I too wanted her to go before I brought her home but they thought an enema might be too much since they almost lost her this morning. Hopefully the lactulose will help her, if not I already decided to drop her off Monday morning for them to do the enema. She has eaten a little bit of her canned food since I brought her home, and I also gave her a little chicken which she ate, which I'm not sure if I should give her but I did because she ate it.
Everyone here sends their best wishes for Patches to feel better ASAP.
Olivia had problems pooping when I first got her, hair balls it turned out was part of the problem, but there has to be something else going on as well, her poops are beagle-sized and beyond stinky ... my point was going to be that, Olivia Never misses a meal and actually lays in front of the refrigerator most of the time, because that's where the leftovers ie. dinner comes from, but when she's stopped up, she loses interest in eating.
Would it even be a good idea for them to eat if they can't eliminate what's already there?
If Patches doesn't poop soon, you might want to look for a clinic that has Sunday hours, hence no emergency room visit charge, and get an enema done before Monday (morning? I hope)
OH, your vet was considering her difficulties this morning against giving her the enema today. That makes perfect and solid sense. Disregard my last thoughts.
I don't think such a clinic exists around here except emergency clinics. I asked my vet if she would be okay until Monday even if she doesn't eat and they said yes, given the iv fluids she had the last 3 days. Of course I will monitor her until then.
flkingfan, have you thought about olive oil? every single animal i have ever owned, lived with, or housesat/petsat for, i have given them olive oil. alot of people balked until they read about it. its FANTASTIC for constipation, hairballs, and a luxurious coat. since so many cats eat mostly dry food, its ESPECIALLY good for cats, but EVERY pet owner i know, i recommend this, and all of them see benefits within a day or two. i had to really twist my sister's arm to get her to try it with her cat doolittle, because she is paranoid about anything she gives her cat (as she should be), but she gave it to doo and now doo gets it every day, hops up on the counter, and happily laps it right from the spoon. it makes their coats sooooo glossy and soft, and doo has far fewer hairballs now than she did (she is a hairy lil maine coon). a lighter olive oil seems to make most animals the happiest, alot of them don't like the extreme olive oil flavor. it absolutely will not hurt, and if she doesn't like it straight, mix it in with her food. you WILL Notice a difference. when i gave it to edgar his coat was glossy and his dry flaky skin gone in three days. its WAY better than an enema.
i'm sorry your husband has to be so matter of fact. that's tough to be around when you are in a panic or worried about your fuzzy friends. or anything else for that matter. i'm sure he thinks he is just trying to do what's best and so on, just wish sometimes the fellas could be a little sweeter and less damn PRACTICAL!
i hope you have more time with peaches. you know, i think it would help if you could put a pic of your kitty up so we can visualize her when we think good thoughts? it always helps me!!!!!
I don't think such a clinic exists around here except emergency clinics. I asked my vet if she would be okay until Monday even if she doesn't eat and they said yes, given the iv fluids she had the last 3 days. Of course I will monitor her until then.
she was in our prayers last night. In fact after hubby prayed for our pets, I added Patches, he thought I had lost it cause he didn't know who she was, so I did explain...Can't pray for her tonight cause we are having friends over for dinner and the husband is an athiests thus we don't say grace when he is here.
Nita
Thanks nighthouse66! I'll definitely check into the olive oil. For the long term, I'll just have to make sure it doesn't affect her diabetes.
Here's Patches(on the left) with my girl Lily.
Praying for Patches. I sure hope she has pooped by now. I'm not surprised she doesn't want to eat, being so blocked up. Be careful with the lactulose. It is extremely sticky, so make sure you wash her well around the mouth and neck after giving it to her, the water chaser is a good idea too.
Personally I prefer mineral oil, given in a tiny amount of canned food. (never sryinge mineral oil) I really dislike the use of lactulose in cats, and most cats really hate it, too. Give 1 ml in about a teaspoon of canned food, mix well and warm it slightly (by running hot water over the dish before putting the food and mineral oil in it)
You have beautiful kitties.....and I second all the prayers for dear Patches that she poops on her own today for you!!
I do hope you follow the recommendations to feed her canned food only....this is so very important, that dry food is so dehydrated it leads to complications such as constipation as well as FLUTD (just to mention 2)
can I also make a suggestion to add to the canned food. PUMPKIN....not the pie filling, the pure pumpkin, you can also buy this canned or make your own, with no sugar and no spices....pumpkin is an insoluable FIBER, most cats like the taste of it...but even if they don't they don't detect the small amount mixed in with their food....this usually works great and would be much healthier than using lactulose or laxatives.
Olive oil is another good idea, but I'm not a fan of mineral oil....for it is a petroleum based product.
I will send you a link to a very good site with info on constipation and lactulose also miralax.(the pros and cons ).. I'm not a big fan of using any of these products long term....
I don't like to ask anything of anyone, but I'd like some good thoughts coming my way for my cat Patches.
Long story try to make short, she wouldn't eat Wed. night or Thurs. morning, and she's diabetic and recently diagnosed hyperthyroid. Both were under control and numbers were good as the previous week I had blood work done. I dropped her off at my vet Thurs. morning, they did full panel blood work (glucose was a little off but normal because of the diabetes), they have been giving her fluids as she's still not eating. They did an xray yesterday, says she's full of poop. They were hoping she would poop once the fluids got in her, and they also gave her a couple pills to help, but it hasn't helped as of yet. They're deciding what to do this morning.
Anyway, this morning at 8 they called me and said the dr. wants me to come in because she's going into respiratory failure. And me, I can't handle anything anymore, and just start crying the whole way there, because I know she will not make it. She's 18yrs old too. I walk in, and the girl tells me she's doing fine now, which makes me even cry worse because now I'm relieved. They're not really sure what happened. Said she went in the litter box, fell head first into the litter and onto her side. Her gums turned white and she turned cold and stiff. They gave her some oxygen, then she just turned around and came back. Don't know if she had a seizure, a stroke, or was just so stressed. I know my poor girl is stressed just by being there, but there's nothing I can do for her at home until they figure out what is wrong with her.
Anyway...I thought maybe something bad was wrong initially when I brought her in, then they tell me she is full of poop so I'm somewhat relieved, and I thought maybe once she gets it out she would be back to normal, then this happens this morning. I can never get so lucky. And I know at her age I probably won't be hearing good news, but I can keep hoping. If everyone else here hopes the same, maybe, just maybe I might have my Patches home again. Thanks everyone!
the site I just sent you also has a few lines on Vasovagal syncope....IMO this is most likely what happened to Patches, not a stroke but a vasovagal incident....
I've seen this happen many times with elderly people....especially when constipated...and attempting a bowel movement.
[SIZE=-0][SIZE=-0]Harpsie once had an episode of fast breathing and fast heart rate. He had severe constipation, and his problems resolved once he had been given an enema. If a cat is very severely constipated, toxins can back up in the cat's system causing such problems; pain or discomfort can also cause fast breathing, and severe constipation can be extremely uncomfortable. Alternatively you might see lethargy and fainting, known as vasovagal syncope - syncope means to faint. Medicine Net discusses this. Obviously you do not want your cat to have such severe constipation that these problems arise![/SIZE][/SIZE]
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