constipation + sore back?

My 4.5 yr old cat Marvin threw up morning food last Friday 12/30/2011.  His behavior changed from being energetic and exploratative to wanting to sleep the entire day away.  My wife and I give him the benefit of the doubt and decide to wait until the next day to see if his behavior changes.  It does not.  He's lethargic and sleepy for a second consecutive day, plus now he's eating and drinking very minimally while not using his litterbox.  So on Sunday 1/1/2012 we decide to take him to the vet.  He gets put through the barage of testing- bloodwork, urinealysis, and x-rays.  Everything comes back as normal.  The only abnormality is that he's backed up in his intestine, got us thinking constipation?  The vet speculates that possibly he hurt his back somehow (which doesn't show up on the x-ray) and making it difficult for him to use his litterbox.  So the vet gives him an IV for fluids and prescribes an antibiotic in case of some sort of infection that wasn't detected.  So here we are today, day 4, and he's still sleepy and lethargic.  He is eating some, drinking some, and did use his litterbox, although, we detected a little fecal matter with a little blood (straining to go #2 I presume) on the carpet where he sat for awhile.  So here are my questions:

Can constipation cause a cat to be extremely uncomfortable for several days and make him want to just mostly sleep?  Home remedies to relieve him of the constipation?  Been trying hard to get him to drink as much water as he can.

Anyone else ever had a cat that hurt their back?  What kinds of symptoms did that produce?

Just trying to find out what the next step could possibly be.  The vet wants a callback tomorrow night regarding his status and i'm afraid that we'll have no improvement to tell.  It's very frustrating that all the testing that was done came back inconclusive...the vet really isn't sure what's wrong with him.  He mentioned the next step could be an ultrasound, that will mean lots of $$$$

thanks for the feedback Feralvr.  I'm going to make sure to inquire about this with the vet tomorrow when we speak.  While reading some of the older threads on here, sounds like an enima is an option as well, although, that must be an option for extreme cases of constipation...not sure we're there yet.

Diet is mostly dry food- Royal Canin CC + now some Hills I/D (which was just prescribed to us yesterday).  He does get a little wet food each morning- Wellness, maybe a tblsp.  Marvin is a big Norwegian Forest Cat and obviously has weight issues.  Vet is keeping an eye on his bloodwork every 6 months because it sounds like fatty liver disease could become an issue.  He stressed that the tests yesterday did not conclude this was Marvin's current issue...just something we will have to watch for.

The antibiotic he's on is metronidazole, looks like this aims for intestinal issues.

My wife is calling the vet this morning to give a status update and see what our next steps should be...

I'm not sure he's at the severe constipation point yet; the other day while at the vet neither us or the vet were sure of the cause.  It was noted on the x-ray that he had poo in his intestine, however, at that point it had only been one day since he last went #2.  While observing him since coming back from the vet until this morning, I've noted that he has gone both #1 and #2, although smallish amounts.  He's still drinking water and eating food, however, the quantity is down and we've been bringing both to him so he doesn't have to move as much.  I'd describe his condition as uncomfortable.

thanks Feralvr :)  I appreciate it.  This is only the second major issue he's ever had, in his first year he had a bladder infection...boy I wish that were the case again as he was healed easily through antibiotics.  *sigh*

I think Marvin is only urinating small amounts because he's not drinking a ton of water right now.  Yesterday he went a decent amount.  He wasn't as thirsty yesterday so he probably consumed less water, hence, this morning's low amount of urine.

My wife says our normal vet is out until tomorrow.  I think we're going to take him in first thing as opposed to doing a "drop off" with him today (I guess they check him out when they have time in between appointments when you do a "drop off").  I'd rather have him comfortable at home than being stressed out sitting in some cage.  Plus, there is no guarantee they'll get to him today.  The other vet knows nothing about Marvin so if I need a second opinion, I'd rather do it while I'm there with Marvin with my primary vet present.

My wife has a friend who's got access to a vet via a rescue shelter she volunteers at.  The vet there offered to take a look at Marvin's blood test results as well as suggested an ultrasound could show a foreign body obstruction when an x-ray might not.  I'm probably going to push to have Marvin get an enema tomorrow and then possibly do an ultrasound.  I just want to see his behavior if he's all emptied out back there :)

for those of you who've had cats with constipation issues, at the onset did it just come out of nowhere?  and when your cat was healed did he/she immediately resume normal activity or did he/she slowly return to normal?  just trying to get a better understanding of behavior...

Marvin was literally fine one day, the next day he throws up in the morning and lethargy seemed to set in...I was hoping if his constipation is resolved, and that indeed is his issue, that he'll just be his normal self again quickly

@Carolina- Marvin hasn't stopped eating or drinking.  In fact, he still has a decent appetite considering his ailment.  This morning he woofed down some wet food, albeit, a smaller quantity than usual.  Say he normally ate 1 cup of food a day...now he's eating say 1/4 cup.  Still eating but alot less.  Drinking water has never been his strong suit.  He's still getting thirsty and still drinking water.  I held his water dish to him this morning and he drank and drank and drank.  I might try using the eyedropper with him- i'd like to see him drink a little more, even when he's not thirsty.

Marvin hasn't thrown up anything since Friday A.M.  So five days now he's been keeping his food down fine, just doesn't always like walking over to his food/water dish to get it because of his pain.  We've been helping him out some by bringing the food + water to him.  When it's right in front of him he's going to town on it.

I have another vet appt. for tomorrow at 9am with our usual vet.  The vet tech reminded my wife that since he's not eating alot of food his stool size will also be less.  Less going in = less coming out.  They also told her that they didn't recommend we do anything to change the digestion at this point.  They want to preserve his condition so when he gets another x-ray (I presume) or an ultrasound, they can see what's going on and maybe diagnose his ailment better than they did on Sunday 1/1/2012.

Marvin was stable when my wife visited him at lunchtime.  Hiding in the closet though.  He ate a little food and enjoyed some pettings.  I hope we can fix his ailment soon as I really don't like seeing him this way.  It's worn me down over the last couple of days.

@mrsgreenjeens- I really hope its just constipation and stool that is stuck.  Nothing would make me happier for him to get cleared out tomorrow and see him improve just a little with his behavior

thanks for giving me hope Ritz!!!! :)

little update- Marvin just used the litterbox, both #1 and #2.  A little blood in the stool (I expected to see this from the straining) and a little bit of blood leaked on the surrounding carpet as he walked from the litterbox in the bathroom.  Another sign that he's indeed constipated.  A little bit of food I gave him when I got home must have set the wheels in motion.

He even walked around for about 10 secs with his tail up...haven't seen him do that in 5 days

MAJOR UPDATE

Well I now know the source of Marvin's ailment.  Tonight one of his anal sacs ruptured.  Luckily the ER vet was available and we got him in to be treated.  So, for the next two weeks he'll get to wear a cone periodically and we'll be blotting the carpet and anywhere he sits.  One one other potential problem...he has some tissue in the anal sac area that is probably going to die.  On Sunday we'll know if we'll be bandaging him up for 2 months or not (i'm guessing we will)

Getting over the grossness of his wound tonight while Marvin wears off his sedative.  Will be my first experience handling a difficult wound in a pet.  *sigh*  I'm so glad he's going to be alive with us :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feralvr 

OMgosh - this explains also why he is holding his poop in too. AWWWWWW my goodness, how terribly painful this must have been for Marvin. AND to you for all of your worry about Marvin. At least NOW we know what is going on with Marvin and you have a plan to manage this. At least he will be feeling better soon - I just wonder if the vet is going to give Marvin something to soften his stool so he can start to have confidence to try and go again without much pain. What about any pain medication during the next two week's? My thought's are with you, your wife and Marvin

thanks Feralvr, we appreciate it :)  yes, the ER vet prescribed a stool softener, pain meds for 3 days, and gave him an antibiotic shot which should last 2 weeks.  He's doing ok, although, I could use any advice on how to get him to relax and not do the butt dragging.  He doesn't feel like napping which is tough for me because I'd like a nap LOL stayed up most of the night watching over him.

Our regular vet today said those abscesses can come on quickly, even in a 24 hr time period.  Or in our case, 48 hours.  The theory from both vets who've looked at him the last couple of days is the other cat Izzy may have bit him and the chomp on his butt got infected, then festered awhile.  I'll buy that, it definitely explains like Feralvr said why he wasn't pooping.

Wish us luck as we clean his abscess daily and make him wear the cone periodically for 2 weeks while he heals!  Thanks everyone for the well wishes!!

thanks jcat!

@feralvr- might try the diffuser, he's been good this afternoon, I think the pain meds finally made him tired enough to relax and nap some

Marvin's doing great today.  His appetite is back, he's drinking plenty and eating.  He's moving around like he used, well, except for the wound on his bottom.  I can't believe how much better he seems to feel not even 24 hours later, wow!

Marvin returned to the vet today to have his abscess cleaned up and checked out.  They used general anesthesia rather than sedation so they could control his breathing, plus they performed his annual teeth cleaning.  I wasn't to keen on him being put under, but after watching him sedated the other night I agreed with the vet that this method would be easier on him.  Vet tech said he did great today!  Get to pick him up in 1.5 hours :)

Is the typical way to fasten a bandage to use stitches?  Marvin's got gauze stitched to his open wound, seems uncomfortable because it is taught.  Just wondering if this is normal procedure...

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsgreenjeens 

I've certainly never heard of that, but maybe due to where the bandage is...?  I'd give the Vet a call and ask them about it.   It certainly would be uncomfortable though "course, the entire ordeal has had to have been MOST uncomfortable!

 

for a quick healing!

You are correct, the vet confirmed with us tonight that it was due to the location...  He is uncomfortable, but we were allowed to up his meds.  I think he's more tired of going to the vet every day to have the bandage changed.  The wound tonight looked like a divot from a golf course LOL, but apparently the tissue is healing, just going to take awhile.