My 16 year old cat is quite ill

onlooker

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Max is the sweetest cat I've ever known, an overweight half-manx of 16 years of age. He is quite ill, and I'm trying to figure out if he's recovering or if I need to take more action. Here's what happened:

Day 1: My cat is in terrible pain for 6 hours, crying and hiding. The pain is replaced with discomfort.
Day 2: He throws up and stops eating soft food.
Day 3: Vet prescribes pain meds and antibiotics, but cat throws up and only eats a little kibble. This is the last time he pooped on his own.
Day 4: He has trouble eating kibble and shrimp; almost as if he had peanut butter stuck in his mouth
Day 5: He stops eating and we take him back to vet, where he stays overnight.
Day 6: Ultrasound, mouth inspection, and various tests found constipation, so they treat that (enema). He did not eat.
Day 7: He eats soft food off my finger. He can't seem to bite it . He can only lick it. He couldn't even eat small pieces of shrimp (which he loves).
Day 8: It seems like he's learning to eat by licking. His eating is picking up (~3/4 can), but his stomach is sensitive.
Day 9: After two days of light eating (prescription diet canned w/d and r/d), he still has not pooped. Is that normal in this case? He also has had almost no water (but the vet said it's normal for him not to drink because he was heavily hydrated while in the hospital).

Any advice? Thanks.
 

blast-off-girl

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My cat suffers from chronic constipation. Did the vet x-ray his pelvic region? This could be a sign of megacolon. Some cats with chronic constipation cry in pain and won't eat because they feel so uncomfortable. Water is very important too in order to keep hydrated.
 
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onlooker

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Yes, they did bloodwork, xrays, urine test, and ultra sound. They said his heart is quite good and all the other tests came back normal, exception there was evidence of arthritis in his spine. His white blood cell count was slightly high, but the doctor felt that was okay. He nonetheless put him on antibiotics.
 

mews2much

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My 16 year old Cat gets very Constipated also. We have tried some Meds for it but it isnt helping. Is your Cat losing Weight? Mine has lost a Pound since Jan. My Cat also has very bad Arthritis in her Spine and Paws. I hope something will help your Cat.
 

robertm

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Were his teeth and gums examined by the vet?

When I read phrases like "He can't seem to bite it . He can only lick it." and "He has trouble eating kibble and shrimp", my first thought is that something in his mouth might be bothering him quite a bit.

ETA: Oops. Sorry. Just re-read and saw "mouth inspection" on Day 6.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Onlooker

Yes, they did bloodwork, xrays, urine test, and ultra sound. They said his heart is quite good and all the other tests came back normal, exception there was evidence of arthritis in his spine. His white blood cell count was slightly high, but the doctor felt that was okay. He nonetheless put him on antibiotics.
look at this site ...

www.trixsyn.com I used it on my older arthritic cat ... worked great currently use it with both dogs
 

kat89447

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Try feeding some yogurt. I have had cats go thru the same thing and yogurt seemed to soothe their tummy and get them regular. Started with plain, found out strawberry and banana and peach flavors were their favorites. Weird I know, but always seemed to help them when they felt puny.
 
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onlooker

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Thank you all so much. You gave me a lot of good info that I'll discuss with the vet. In the meantime, he seems to be doing a little better, but I'll take it day by day.
 
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