My ten-year-old (diabetic, controlled with caininsulin) golden tabby (Frobisher, also known as the sweetest kitty in the land) has recently had constipation, but the presentation is unusual and it's troubling me.
Starting at the middle of last week, he atypically vomited several times over 24 hours. After an x-ray (Weds. of last week), the vet diagnosed constipation and gave an enema, but the resulting stool was not particularly hard, in part because he was on a pumpkin-supplemented diet. He did not begin natural bowel movements after, and the vomiting continued. A repeat visit on Thursday, subcutaneous fluids for mild dehydration, and another round of enemas later, a little bit of hard stool and "mostly liquid" was produced, leading the vet to think that the constipation should be cleared.
Unfortunately, that hasn't yet happened. His vomiting has improved somewhat since then -- what was once a large amount of mostly-watery vomit has turned into what I'd consider "more normal" vomit, and he's doing it a bit less frequently. However, he still hasn't had a normal bowel movement despite lactulose and mineral oil as laxatives; he also doesn't seem to be straining or trying for a bowel movement at all. The vet drew blood on Saturday for a workup with the results back for Monday, but that's just likely to rule out liver and kidney diseases.
Frobisher is still eating, but noticeably less than usual (thus he's on a bit less insulin than normal to prevent hypoglycemia). Likewise, he still acts normally when he's not nauseated but is probably more fatigued than usual -- it's hard to be sure what's his behaviour and what's imagined from worry.
He also shows no signs of abdominal tenderness, nor could the vet feel any unusual masses, with the caveat that he's overweight so it might be difficult to tell. There's no particular pattern to his vomiting, except that it seems more likely 4-7 hours after he's eaten. Also, there's no blood in his vomit or (enema-produced) stool, nor is there any unusual amount of bile in his vomit. He's been on metoclopramide (2.5mg twice daily) for about 36 hours now, but that hasn't made any dramatic change yet.
At this point, my financee and I are both confused about what this could be. He's not acting typically for simple constipation, but his symptoms also aren't severe enough to immediately say there's an intestinal obstruction, cancerous or otherwise.
Presuming he doesn't improve spontaneously in the next day, we'll have an ultrasound done, but it feels like we're shooting in the dark. Has anyone here had a cat with similar symptoms, and if so what was the diagnosis?
Starting at the middle of last week, he atypically vomited several times over 24 hours. After an x-ray (Weds. of last week), the vet diagnosed constipation and gave an enema, but the resulting stool was not particularly hard, in part because he was on a pumpkin-supplemented diet. He did not begin natural bowel movements after, and the vomiting continued. A repeat visit on Thursday, subcutaneous fluids for mild dehydration, and another round of enemas later, a little bit of hard stool and "mostly liquid" was produced, leading the vet to think that the constipation should be cleared.
Unfortunately, that hasn't yet happened. His vomiting has improved somewhat since then -- what was once a large amount of mostly-watery vomit has turned into what I'd consider "more normal" vomit, and he's doing it a bit less frequently. However, he still hasn't had a normal bowel movement despite lactulose and mineral oil as laxatives; he also doesn't seem to be straining or trying for a bowel movement at all. The vet drew blood on Saturday for a workup with the results back for Monday, but that's just likely to rule out liver and kidney diseases.
Frobisher is still eating, but noticeably less than usual (thus he's on a bit less insulin than normal to prevent hypoglycemia). Likewise, he still acts normally when he's not nauseated but is probably more fatigued than usual -- it's hard to be sure what's his behaviour and what's imagined from worry.
He also shows no signs of abdominal tenderness, nor could the vet feel any unusual masses, with the caveat that he's overweight so it might be difficult to tell. There's no particular pattern to his vomiting, except that it seems more likely 4-7 hours after he's eaten. Also, there's no blood in his vomit or (enema-produced) stool, nor is there any unusual amount of bile in his vomit. He's been on metoclopramide (2.5mg twice daily) for about 36 hours now, but that hasn't made any dramatic change yet.
At this point, my financee and I are both confused about what this could be. He's not acting typically for simple constipation, but his symptoms also aren't severe enough to immediately say there's an intestinal obstruction, cancerous or otherwise.
Presuming he doesn't improve spontaneously in the next day, we'll have an ultrasound done, but it feels like we're shooting in the dark. Has anyone here had a cat with similar symptoms, and if so what was the diagnosis?
