Please HELP! It's been days.... not having a bowel movement!

Our 6-ish y/o tuxedo, PollyAnna, just spent her second night at the vet after going in on an emergency call because she was vomitting and not pooping. Apparently she hasn't peed since she went in, either.

First of all, I feel like a complete idiot for not bringing her sooner because now that I look back on things, she had diarrhea-like stool for a few weeks and they STUNK -- one night we had to open the windows in the house because she had just used her box. I chalked it up to her just having not-the-greatest innards because she was a stray for so long... plus we just got her in July and she's been kind of stinky ever since - bad breath, etc.

So her fecal float came back positive for Roundworms. This will be her third and final dose of her worm meds today. Plus she's on antibiotics. She's eating very well, and when they did fecal sticks on her, the poo was soft.

Why would she not be pooping!? I scared myself half to death by reading the internet ... about how worms can get bad enough to just totally infest the entire cat.

Is my baby going to die?

They've fed her ID food, she's eaten it like a champ for the most part, and they said that should speed things along... but what if the worms are getting that, too, and it's not helping her? I just feel like I'm frazzled.

My cats are my children. We can't have children of our own.... so they are our children and if anything ever happened to them I would die.

She seems alert, and when I visited her yesterday she licked my hand and let me pet her for a long while. She puts up a fuss when they did the fecal stick, which made me happy because she was not being lethargic.

She hasn't vomited since she's been there. The first night they had her on anti-nausea meds, but since then they've left her alone in that department to see what she'd do. She's heaved a few times but never actually vomitted, according to her chart.

NOW I have to say... that two days ago (the day we ended up bringing her in later) I took away her food, so could that have an impact of what she is NOT pooping now?? I don't get it! How can she be eating and not moving it in ANY direction!?!?

I'm waiting for her vet to call me back. He is off but it going in to check on his patients and will call me as soon as he looks at her. What do you think I should ask him? Should I ask about x-rays to see if she's blocked?

If her case of roundworms is really terrible, will she make it through okay??

I'm sorry your baby isn't well.
I'd ask for an xray if she doesn't pass something soon.
Spyder was constipated last year and they found that out with an xray.
He did have an enema and was fine after...but your baby sounds a bit different than that.

Sending lots of good vibes to PollyAnna.

Just got back from visiting her at the vet. She ate very well yesterday but turned her nose up at the food thismorning. When we were there we offered her very bland, wet food (forget what they called it) and she ate it up.... she ate two little paper trays full! So she still has an appetite. STILL hasn't poo'ed or peed, but they ran a chemistry panel on her and x-rayed her.

Have to wait til tomorrow for her vet to read the x-ray and give me the results of the blood panel. He said he anticipates the b/w to be normal, but it's better safe than sorry. The vet tech didn't know if there was a blockage but she did say that she knows there was stool in there. That's a positive thing, right!? Still hasn't vomited, so she's gotta get rid of it sometime!!

She was in a very bad mood when we visited her. I am hoping it's just the stress of being at the vet. Plus, she is next to a really annoying yappy poodle who would not stop yapping the whole time we were there. She doesn't do well in a cage So we'll see!!

Does running around help stimulate a bowel movement? The vet mentioned that he thought about sending her home to see if that would help her go... but opted for the xray so she stayed.

You said she'd been eating well, but how has her water intake been? Has the vet been closely monitoring her fluids. Because you say she's not peeing either, and if she's not taking in enough fluids, it will also cause her stool to firm up and could constipate her.

I'm not certain of her fluid intake but I do know that they gave her 7 fl oz worth of subcutaneous fluid two nights ago. She has water in her crate there and when they do her fecal sticks (yesterday) it was soft still in there.

I hope the xrays turn out well.
I had one cat (stray) who had among other things a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE case of worms-in fact he vomited and I think the vet was really grossed out at the size of the worms!! I think his BM's were ok.
Perhaps her being in a strange place is affecting her bowel movements.
Sending get well vibes to PollyAnna!!

was the stray okay? Did he/she recover well?

Thanks for the support I really need it right now. I know things can always be worse, but she's my little girl and I love her dearly.. and I am just so worried about her!

Do roundworms ALWAYS come out as long worms? I didn't see ANY in her vomit when she was home, and she hasn't vomited at the vet. So I guess she HAS to get rid of them soon!

I read that the worm medication (hers is a yellow liquid for three days - so I guess today would be the last of it) does something like paralyze the worms so that she can pass them.... but if she isnt passing anything, then what happens then?! Do they just reactive and keep laying eggs? Is there a time frame where she MUST pass them!?

Actually Tommy had became will and was diagnosed with Feline Lukemia and was PTS as his other health problems were too much for him.
One of my cats gets worming meds 4 times/yr as she is and indoor/outdoor hunter and we would see worm fragments on her butt (gross). If your cats are now kept strictly indoors I would think one treatment should do it-but the vets can check the stools for sure. However the eggs can be in the litter boxes so they ned to be dumped out, cleaned and filled with fresh litter before she comes home.
If you have the name of the medicine you could look it up on the internet to see how it works (or ask the vet). The liquid wormer my vet gave me was Nemex which I had to give once every two weeks for 5 treatments.

I don't have the name of it... will ask tomorrow... all I know is that it killed the hookworms she had two months ago. Didn't know I had to follow up, so here we are. Anyway, it's light yellow liquid, kept at room temp, and given by weight once daily for three days.

Just a thought -- if she is not going because it hurts her to go, will she eventually HAVE to go anyway? Or are cats experts at keeping it in?

Would an enema help her if there is no blockage? How about if there is a blockage?

The past few weeks, on occassion, she will cry at her litterbox. Not while she's in it, but either before or after (not sure which - just noticed her standing in the laundry room where her box is, crying, then went on about her day)

You need to likely get this cat back to the vet and maybe a new one... This could get dangerous for the cat ....

oh she's at the vet now -- took her in on an emergency call two nights ago.... still there now. They did an xray, vet is reading it tomorrow. Doesn't think its a blockage but xrayed her to be sure. Has roundworms, being treated for them... but hasnt passed any yet. Eats well, looks healthy but very annoyed (I think it's from being in a noisy vets office - I hope)

But she's there with 24-hour staff and I've been calling every few hours during their normal business hours checking on her. Our vet is great, I trust him and his staff. I just worry myself sick when my critters don't feel well, you know?

Ohh I feel much better knowing she is at the vet...

Originally Posted by sharky

Ohh I feel much better knowing she is at the vet...

Click to expand...

Me too! That's why she is there... I know she is unhappy about being there.... but I don't feel right having her home when I don't know what's going on. Her vet said earlier that he had thought about sending her home, thinking that running around a bit would help get her bowels moving better than being confined would, but he wanted to xray her and do a chemistry panel on her to be safe. So she's there still. I'm a paranoid pet parent!! But it's better to be safe than sorry

***UPDATE***

They gave her an enema today and a ton or hair and worms came out! She also peed. They are thinking it might be a megacolon problem, but we'll see if she "regulates" on her own. Still at the vet.

Well at least some "stuff" came out. I hope she is doing better today!!

Gosh, I sure hope the little one regulates on her own and gets all better.

Sending get well wishes to her

Called to check on her this morning, urinated on her own, hasn't had a bowel movement on her own since she got there Sunday night, but did expell those worms and hair with the enema yesterday. Eating well, still. I'm assuming she is drinking b/c she is urinating. Going to visit her this afternoon. Our other kitty has taken to hording her toys and sleeping on them b/c they smell like her - she misses her.

How long does it usually take roundworms to pass??