Constipation

How long is safe for a kitty to go between poops in the box? I ask because I was awoken to the hairball hurk noise yesterday at 5am. Abbey had vomited some foam, and was squatting like she needed to poo. Finally she did, a little and it looked sorta constipated. After that, she went for breakfast and was ok all day yesterday. We played

Sick kitties don't purr, right? We had a good purr about 30 mins ago, and I know she's urinated in the box about 10 minutes ago. She's still eating fine.

I've put some hairball gel in her last helping of food in case she's a bit plugged up, it seems to be molting season since our temps are warming up. Should I call the vet when they open just to check and make sure? Abbey's 14 or so and gets very stressed out when we have to go out in the carrier so I want to make sure its absolutely necessary or are we ok to give it another day?

She's looking at me right now like I'm crazy, and I know I rambled.. I'm sorry, 2 hours of sleep and stress of worrying about her are messing with my brain.

With an older cat, I would call the vet. Vomiting foam can be a symptom of some serious illnesses (but can also be nothing)

Vomiting while pooping is a classic sign of constipation and/or megacolon.

Constipation can be a very serious problem and lead to megacolon if not corrected quickly.

Yes, cats purr when they are sick, and when they are in pain, too, not only when they are happy.

Hairball medicine should be given on an empty stomach, at least an hour before serving any food.

Constipation can also indicate other problems. For instance cats with kidney disease often have constipation issues.

I, too, recommend a vet visit for Abbey. I would ask for blood work(superchem), a urinalysis, and an x ray to check her bowels.

Originally Posted by otto

Vomiting while pooping is a classic sign of constipation and/or megacolon.

Constipation can be a very serious problem and lead to megacolon if not corrected quickly.

Yes, cats purr when they are sick, and when they are in pain, too, not only when they are happy.

Hairball medicine should be given on an empty stomach, at least an hour before serving any food.

Constipation can also indicate other problems. For instance cats with kidney disease often have constipation issues.

I, too, recommend a vet visit for Abbey. I would ask for blood work(superchem), a urinalysis, and an x ray to check her bowels.

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to the above

Abbey Update:

I took her to the vet this morning, thank you for encouraging me to get her there today rather than tomorrow. She even woke me up this morning with purrs in my face demanding breakfast so I did think twice, but took her in asap today.

Bloodwork was all great, especially for a 14 year old, I was told, everything was in the normal range. I have a copy of it here. They found a slight heart murmur, which is no big deal for now. But she's totally backed up. The xray showed nothing but poo inside, so that's good news. They're going to hydrate her via IV and give her a bit of lactulose to make her need to go (I think that's what they said). She should get her business done and then be able to come home tomorrow.

I was the crazy woman who cried at everything, I'm so exhausted from worrying about her that I'm totally emotional. The vet was great (this was a new vet, and now our new vet) and the techs were great. They didnt even laugh at me when I started sobbing, though they're probably talking about me now lol

Going to go visit her about 4 or 4:30pm then if she poops she can come home tomorrow, if not, they'll progress on and do an enema if they have to (but the vet doesnt want to if she can get away without it)

Ok I need to stop with the panic and tears and send her some feel better vibes. Thanks for listening.

When you go back, ask them if you need to change her feeding to ensure it doesn't happen again

I went to visit her tonight. She looks great, acted like she was more than ready to go home. They had her hooked up to the IV fluids but she hasnt pooped yet. Said they had another round of meds to give her tonight.

Send potty vibes to my baby please! I want her home tomorrow, I miss her purrs so much!

I keep reassuring myself its gonna be ok, she just needs to do her biznizz.. she wasnt "sick" when she went in, she wasn't "sick" tonight when I saw her.. just needs to go like she's never gone before hehe

Gonna call again tomorrow about 9am as per my instructions.

Just in case anyone is reading and keeping up with us:

Abbey didn't poo last night, so this morning the vet was going to do a small soap and warm water enema, she'll be sedated lightly and the vet is hoping that she'll go ahead and finish doing her business once it starts moving.

She said Abbey is well hydrated now, has peed all night long and scarfed down her breakfast this morning. The vet also confirmed that there was no megacolon involved, just some impacted feces.

Kaeli misses her friend Abbey, she's walking up and down the hall crying and calling to her. She'll get to come home this afternoon if she can defecate on her own, or maybe tomorrow. Its just a wait and see thing now.

Come home soon, we miss you terribly Abbey!

Vibes for your baby I hate it when they are constipated, my Boo had to have an enema last week, and it worked like a charm. Keep us updated

Eating while at the vet is always an improvement, hopefully the enema works for her, will they keep her past that until she has gone without assistance?

See she was never acting ill other than the one vomit and she was trying to poo on the floor one time.. after that morning the whole day she's acted fine, not like she was sick and has been eating like a glutton anyway. So I'm happy that she's not OVERLY stressed out at the vet's being away from home.

The vet wants to see her go on her own before sending her home. She basically said that Abbey will tell us when she's ready but she's hoping for this afternoon or tomorrow morning, that normally the enema will get really dry blocked up part out and then the rest will just come freely.

I'll call this afternoon if I dont hear anything sooner and we'll go visit again if she doesnt get to come home.

All paws crossed for Abbey to have a nice easy poop, after the impacted stuff is got out. Good to know a megacolon has not formed.

has your vet discussed diet with you, to prevent this from happening again? How old is Abbey?

Abbey is 14, and we discussed her diet at the initial appointment. Vet seemed to think the mix of wet and dry we're giving is good, just that we need to reduce the amount fed a little bit (she was 13 pounds including whatever she's holding inside). She also said to try to entice her to drink more water whenever possible to keep it from happening again. I'll ask again about the diet just to make sure I understood correctly when I'm able to go talk to the vet again.

She thought that it was probably just an intestinal slowdown from a whole lot of hair, and this is the first time Abbey's ever had major gastro trouble like this. We've had some temps in the mid 70's the past couple of weeks so all of a sudden I've been brushing entire kittens worth of fuzz out of both of my cats fur. Gotta love it when we skip spring and go straight from winter to summery temps

I couldnt wait any longer, I called the vet's office for an update. I totally love them, they dont think I'm crazy for calling in the middle of the day to check on my furrbaby.

She Pooped! Hooray! I never thought I'd say that.. lol

She was pretty blocked up, lots of solid poo, but the enema removed that and she was able to go on her own in the cage. She'll be coming home this afternoon, I can't wait to go pick her up. Woohoo!

Oh that's lovely, hurray!

You might ask your vet about the possibility Abbey is developing some arthritis. Arthritis pain can affect her squatting ability, and can often be a cause of constipaiton in senior cats.

Starting her on cosequin for cats, and a regular schedule of hair ball remedy (twice a week) can go a long way toward preventing this from happening again.

Remember to give the hairball remedy on an empty stomach at least an hour before food.

And..by the way, a good poop is ALWAYS cause for celebration!

PS I'm glad they are good natured about your calling, it is as it should be.

Thanks Otto, I've added possible arthritis to the list of questions I have to take in.

Gonna ask again about the diet, make sure we're doing everything right. Will see what they say about possibly adding a little canned pumpkin to help with extra fiber too. The vet tech mentioned she'll be coming home with some medication, so gotta find out all about that and why. Will ask about possible arthritis.

They told me there'd be a full consult when I come to pick her up.

I keep happy dancing, its like the weight of the world has lifted. Now to get rid of the headache it left behind hehe

Abbey is home and mad as all get out. As insult to injury she got a half bath because she decided that sleeping in the litter box at the hospital was a good idea.. after she'd used it.

She's pooped twice, lots of poop at the vet's office before coming home. She came home with some w/d science diet and some lactulose for 3 days. Vet recommended a pet fountain and to feed the science diet if she'll eat it that it'd be good for her. We'll see about that.

Very happy to be home, even though she still reeks of pee, she's laying on my bed purring her heart out to my daughter who missed her so much.