Bathroom Behavior

Andy has still not had a bowel movement today. I couldn't get him to eat the pumpkin so I thinned it with water and then gave it to him like I do his medicine [which he's used to so it didn't really bother him]. He still hasn't went though and that was a couple of hours ago. He has ate some and is still drinking and he peed a couple of times earlier [which my mom and I think looked like a little more than he was before], but hasn't went since. He's been mostly sleeping though he was up wanting for attention earlier.

Also, we mixed some of the food the vet gave me, with his old food and he picked out all the old and ate it and wouldn't eat hardly any of the vet food. But we left it in there and just put a little bit of the other with it.

The vet isn't back in until Monday again now so I'll just keep monitoring him and see if they can get us in for the urine test on Monday.

I hope everything will be okay. I really am trying everything I can/doing as the vet instructed.

My best advice: Don't worry too much. Cats are very sensitive creatures, and he'll pick up on you stressing out.

Keep a very close eye on him in regards to the dryer sheet. I can offer no advice there.

As for UTIs, I do also think that a urinalysis would be best. If has a UTI with no crystals present, then it's just a simple course of anti-bitocs. If he has a UTI with crystals present, then he will need to be on a prescription diet to dissolve the crystals. Crystals in the urine are what commonly cause blockages. (I had a kitty who had no bacteria, no crystals, nothing in his urine that blocked up)

Andy has peed a good bit and is still drinking and he's ate some but even with the pumpkin he hasn't pooped. He pooped once since he had a piece of the dryer sheet but not again. I am going to take him to the vet in the morning if he doesn't pass it tonight.

Will they have to cut him open to take it out or how will they get it out if he doesn't pass it?

I'm not sure how they'd proceed if it turns out the fabric sheet is blocking him, but I think it'd be a good idea if you take a sample sheet with you - heck, take the box so they can read the description, etc. I'm sure the vet has seen/heard this before, but better to take too much data with you than not enough.

It never fails - things go well for months and months, then suddenly you're at the doctor every other day.

He's still acting pretty normal and playful, though?

A&As Mommy, exactly how many days ago was it that he had a BM?

He has been very playful and normal acting today. He is sleeping right now actually though.

He had his last bowel movement [which was pretty large], LATE Friday night. I have talked to the vet since then and that's when they said to give him the pumpkin.

There was poop in that litterbox earlier today, which seemed like a lot, but my mother is pretty sure it was from the other cat, and not Andy.

Well, I think you're panicking too early. With a blockage there would be other symptoms as well and you're not seeing any.

This article tells you about diagnostics for a suspected obstruction
http://petcare.suite101.com/article....n_body_surgery

Symptoms of an obstruction
http://hubpages.com/hub/Signs-of-Int...ockage-in-Cats

To find out for sure whether he is pooping or not you should separate him from the other cats with a litter box and food and water and see what happens in the next 24 hours.

(Normally vets will not even treat constipation unless a cat hasn't had a BM in three or four days.)

At this point you can't be sure what's going on, whether he's even constipated. So you should find that out first. Since your kitty is eating, drinking, acting fine, there is no immediate danger that should make you act in sheer panic.

so i should put him the bathroom, overnight perhaps? with his own litter box, food and water?

other than locking him in there, there is no other way to seperate him from the other cat.

or how long should i keep him seperated

What about your bedroom? Couldn't you put him in there?

He should have a comfy place where he feels safe and secure while you wait for poop, which might take longer than overnight. It might take a whole 24 hours.

And yes, with a totally clean litter box filled with totally fresh litter because that encourages a cat to use the litter box. And food and water. A dirty litter box can make a cat "hold" it, refuse to use it, so in a situation like this a clean box and fresh litter are especially important.

Tonight I will put him in their bathroom [it's big and they have bedding in there], with his own food and water and litter box and check in the morning. I still have to call the vet to keep them updated.

I also wanted to note from information read about constipation and blockage in cats, that:

+ Andy's stomach isn't bloated or hard and he isn't in pain when you touch his stomach [in fact he wanted it rubbed earlier]
+ The last known BM he did have [late Friday night], there was a good bit and it was not hard or dry. It was squishy etc.
+ He hasn't had a loss of appetite [at least any more loss than how he's been eating since the UTI].
+ There hasn't been any straining in the litter box etc, he just hasn't went to poop. He has went to pee.
+ He hasn't been sleeping anymore than usual really, and has been playful etc.

Does any of this mean anything?

Yes. That right now there is really no reason for panic and that it should be safe to wait and see if he'll poop in the next 24 hours.

A vet can always take an X-ray to see whether a cat is constipated and if so how bad the situation is. (When you take in a severely constipated cat the vet starts with an X-ray and won't let the cat go home until a followup X-ray shows the cat is completely cleaned out and in no danger of not being able to poop again as soon as he is back home.) From your description it would be too early to go in for an X-ray, especially since there are no worrisome symptoms to even suggest constipation.

The fact that the last time he pooped was Friday night isn't a cause for concern. Admittedly I don't know how frequently he used the bathroom prior to all of this stuff going on. I clean the litter box regularly but have been doing it even more often since the UTI troubles etc. So I guess it just seems odd that he hasn't gone since then?

When I call to update the vet, I'll see what they think too, and won't worry about it too much til then.

Thank you <3

After a large stool it can take longer for a cat to poop again. In general anything between 24 and 48 hours is normal, so it's always necessary to wait to see whether a cat is constipated.

When a few cats (and a dog) I know of had an intestinal blockage (or just plain severe constipation), there were definite symptoms in each case that served as a serious warning that something was terribly wrong. You haven't seen anything like that at all, that's why I'm confident Andy is in no immediate danger and you shouldn't have to do anything out of panic.

Just checking - and, gee, from scanning the forum, seemed to be a big month for kitties eating dryer sheets! What's in those things - eau de tuna?

I called the vet at 8 this morning and they said both doctors were doing a big surgery this morning and they'd call me when they were done to see if I needed to come in/what time [they didn't want to offer me any solutions/advice via the telephone]. So I waited and they never called back so I called to the vet in our town [they have no vet on Mondays], and they said the big animal doctor was in town checking some farm animals and when she stopped in they'd talk to her and call me back.

THEN the other office [the next town over] called and said that I could bring Andy over at 9:15 tomorrow morning just to have an exam and then if the doctor suspected any problems they would do blood work/xray. I feel like telling them to do a urinalysis on him too just as a precaution for the UTI issue we've dealt with recently.

He still has not pooped, though he did pee and was drinking and eating [not a lot of food still but Idk if he's still just not eating a lot cause of everything that's happened or what]. He's acting pretty normal as far as how he's been acting the past few days but this morning he did throw up a little. It was just a small amount and he has been acting fine since. Even telling the vet office that, didn't seem to influence their thoughts on what's going on.

Why can't someone just tell me what to do or help him out? It can't be good for a cat to go this long without having a bowel movement, regardless of whether or not he's producing other symptoms of blockage etc.

I'm going to develop an ulcer from worrying!

As I told you before, it takes a long time to decide whether a cat is truly constipated or just not pooping for a day or two. Since he is eating and drinking, the colon is filling up and sooner or later the body will have to do something with the "stuff" that is collecting in there. Eventually kitty will make an attempt to pass it. At that time he will either have a normal BM, or you'll see repeated attempts in the litter box and most likely in various places in the house outside the litter box with no results. If that happens, you'll know he needs to be seen. Until then relax and be patient. It hasn't even been 24hours since we last talked about this. It's simply too soon to worry your head off. 24 hours is the absolute minimum you should wait.

When you take in a constipated cat diagnostics and treatment add up to big money. I had many bills between four and eight hundred dollars for cleaning out a severely constipated cat and eventually the cat had to have costly surgery for permanent relief.

So, anyway, I'm trying to say, don't rush into a vet visit before you're absolutely sure a vet visit is indeed needed.

He just threw up again. He ate a little bit and then threw it up. Today is the first day that he's thrown up, but he's done it twice now.

I wasn't too worried [after you last talked to me about this], but this concerns me. He still hasn't made any attempts to poop in the litter box or elsewhere that I've seen, but he still hasn't went and now the 2 times he's thrown up.

Also, if and when you take him in, be sure to ask questions about the diagnostic procedures and the bill you should expect before the vet gets started. The diagnostics wouldn't be inexpensive but, on the other hand, you wouldn't want a vet to skip the necessary diagnostics either because that could and would endanger your cat's life. (This happened to someone I know.) So be very careful.

Should I be concerned about the vomit?