After Effects of an Enema

Hi,

I'm new to this site but I have a question for you.

I have a kitty who is 18 weeks old. She was constipated so I took her to the Vet on Thursday and after a quick exam they gave her an enema. The vet kept her overnight and gave her SubQ fluids and we got to bring her home yesterday afternoon.

My question is, are their any side effects to the enema? My poor little kitty is hungry but she wont eat! I have been giving her kitten formula with a eye dropper to make sure she get's some kind of nourishment and to make sure she does not get dehyrated. I called my vet and am now waiting for a call back to see what they want me to do. I'm really worried about my little baby, she seems very weak and just not herself. Any idea's of what I can do for her? I just want to do what is best for my kitty.

Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Sometimes they will eat wet food that has been microwaved just a little bit to make it really smell. I would try everything I could think of that she might eat. There is a concern with cats who go without eating. They can develop liver disease. It is good you have called the vet and I hope you get some good advice. Normally I wouldn't feed a cat tuna but I would try it with a cat who is not eating. Good luck. Oh, I have never had a cat who had to have an enema but maybe someone else will come along who has that experience.

we used to have to give our cat enemas, but she never had a problem eating afterwards, and she was a much older cat when we started having to do this. I wish I had some advise, but I don't. I just hope the Vet has returned your call by now. This is dismaying on such a young kitten. Maybe she just doesn't want to have to go through that ordeal again, so is showing her displeasure.

Hello and welcome to TCS. It's clear you want to take the best care of your kitten. You are right to be concerned. I recommend you call your vet back, or even call another vet.

It seems odd to me that the vet decided the kitten needed an enema without trying anything else. Were xrays done? Were you given the results of the enema, such as how long it took your kitten (what's her name?) to have a bowel movement afterward, and how much did she go?

I might be looking for a second opinion right about now.

How long had the kitten been without a bowel movement? My concern would be there is some sort of blockage going on.

Please keep us posted. What's your kitten's name?

My Boo had to have an enema from some constipation a couple months ago. Afterwards he was eating fine but had poo nearly constantly running out his rear end in a little stream. Didn't seem he could control that. Did they say she was constipated? My vet squeezes on the bellies of my kittens for quite a good few minutes to examine for any hard objects or stuff.
Try to get in touch with the vet asap again. Like the other poster said, going without eating is very dangerous for cats.

I told her what is happening and she just said to keep up with the formula and see how she is in the morning!

My kitties name is Noddle, she is a domestic long hair that is also a flat chest kitty. Noddle had a bowel movement on Wednesday but it was rather hard and she was making noise when she was straining to go poo. The vet weighed her, she is 1.9lbs she listened to her lungs and heart and felt her tummy, she said she could feel little marble type lumps in her belly and recommended doing an enema but before they could take her in the back to do the enema she needed her shots. So my husband and I said to go ahead and give Noodle her shots and do the enema. No x-rays where talked about or requested by the vet when I took her in. When I called to check on Noodle late Thursday afternoon the vet said everything went well and she had a large bowel movement but they wanted to keep her overnight and give her fluids since they thought she might be getting dehydrated from the enema and she tends to have heavy breathing. They doctor wanted to do x-ray's of her chest because of the heavy breathing, but I could not afford that right now and Noodle has always had some heavy breathing when she get's upset or to excited since she was born, I was told by another vet that it's from her flat chest. When we picked up Noodle from the vet yesterday afternoon, I asked if she had a blockage, the vet said NO. I asked if she needs a special diet and the vet said to feed her wet food and no more dry food and if she has an issue with constipation again to give her a pinch of metamucil in her food.

Could she just not be feeling to good becuase the enema was kind of traumatizing and being stuck in a scary place overnight and the side effects of her shots? She seems to be still sleepy but she get's up and walks around a little bit, not to far from her favourite chair, but at least she is up and moving around some.

I love my little Noodle, she is my furbaby and I want to do what is best for her, but sometimes the vet's think we are made of money and we are not. My husband is on disability and I only work part time so that I can stay home and look after my husband, so finances are tight and we already paid almost $200 for the enema, fluids and shots and the sedation for the enema.

Any other suggestions as to what I can do for her?

Ahhh...she had shots! That's probably what's making her so lethargic and sluggish. I agree with the wet food since that seems to help keep the poop softer and easier to pass. Also, you can add a touch of plain canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) to the wet food and mix together. The extra fiber in the pumpkin will also help her to have softer stools.

aha, vaccines and sedation, no wonder Noodle is feeling yucky! I bet she'll be perking up in a day or two. What vaccines did she get?

I can't imagine why they felt they had to sedate her for the enema, a four and a half month old kitten, and I don't think a kitten who is ill should be given shots.

Metamucil (is a brand name, the stuff is actually called psyllium or psyllium husk) is counterproductive in a cat having constipation, as it draws water to the colon, which makes the stool too large, and thus, even more difficult to pass. I would not recommend giving metamucil/psyllium to an 18 week old kitten.

There are much better remedies, pumpkin, (pure canned pumpkin, not pie filling) as another poster mentioned being one, and a canned diet, specifically LOW fiber, as your vet suggested will help also.

Daily grooming to cut down on fur ingested will help too.

I hope Noodle is feeling much better by tomorrow!

By the way, what do you mean by flat chest, I never heard of that?

I do suggest you question your vet very closely about these practices of giving shots when a kitten is not 100 % healthy, and sedating her for the enema. Just doesn't sound right, to me.

Please keep us posted on your beloved Noodle!

I knew I had seen that somewhere before. Flat chested cat, here is the link from right here in the site: http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/90/...itten-FCK.html

Hope your furbaby feels better soon. Would anybody have any clue as to why they would recommend metamucil and not miralax like my vet did? I know all vets are different, but metamucil seems a tad harsh, especially for a kitten!

But my little noodle is gone to be with the Angels now. She passed away in my arms last night.

I am so heartbroken right now, I miss her so much!!!

Today I am going to spend my day having cuddles with my other kitties and try to explain to them that their little sister is gone.

Thank you everyone for your kind words of encouragment.

Jennifer

Oh no!! I'm so sorry to hear this. So very sad for your loss. Bless you for loving your Noodle-girl.

This is so sad. I'm so sorry. Was hoping to find out Noodles was back to normal today.

Oh my gosh, I am so shocked to read this. After I saw that she had gotten her shots along with her enema, I figured that was the reason she was not eating, as that is how one of my cats reacts to her shots, and now to read that she is gone, I am just so stunned. At least she was in your arms surrounded by love when it happened, poor angel.

Oh, I am so sorry - I also figured a little lethargy from the shots. She was dearly loved, and you couldn't have foreseen this happening.