Prayers please

My moms cat Wally is sick. He was one of the 4 bottle babies I raised.
I can't remember all the names the vet used but basically he has very hard fecal matter in his colon and intestines that he can't pass. Upon doing the X-ray they saw his heart was an odd shape or size.
There are no feline cardiologists close by except for the one that's on vacation. My vet did get ahold of him and he will see Wally in 2 weeks. But Wally is so backed up with fecal matter it can't wait. And even if he could see him right away the meds would take time to help protect his heart.
They are currently giving him a very slow IV and oral medicine and basically enemas to try to flush it out. If It doesn't work by tomorrow late morning vet says they'll have to anesthetize him to clear it out. But with his heart issue it puts him at risk with the anesthesia but if they can't clean it out he will be obstructed. So it's a darned if you do darned if you don't.
So please pray for Wally.
Thanks.

Poor baby! My heart goes out to you, him and your family. Keeping my fingers crossed for you that all goes well and sending him

Poor thing!  I'll keep that little darling in my prayers.  Please keep us posted on how he's doing!  <hugs>

Diana

I'll pray that poor Wally pulls through this!  Will be thinking of you and him, keep us posted. Many healing vibes your way!

Poor Wally! Mega he pulls through and you can get him on some heart meds that help.

Good news. By using oral and rectal meds his passed the hard fecal matter clogging him up. He comes home later today!!
The cardiologist will be back in 2 weeks to look at his heart give an echocardiogram and prescribe meds.
Thanks for the prayers that he got thru his poop problem but please keep his heart in your prayers.

That's such great news, BBDOLL22!
 

Now, what is your mom going to do to keep him "going"/"regular"?

Generally, hard stool is a symptom of lack of/decreased hydration....too little water in the stool.

Is this a discussion you're interested in having so you can pass on some prevention tips to her?

I am interested in discussing it.
The vet is giving him lactulose( not sure on spelling) and recommending increased fluid and wet foods. He really only likes dry food tho.
Any tips would be appreciated.
Thanks again

Well, instead of lactulose, which is a sticky mess to give, we gave our old guy Miralax, which has no taste and completely dissolves in a tiny bit of water.  We gave 1/8th to 1/4 teaspoon dissolved in maybe 1/2 teaspoon water twice a day, every day and it kept him regular.  We just added that little bit of water to a tiny bit of anything he would eat...even if that was a crushed up piece of kibble...anything to give it some flavor so he would lap it up.

It was so much less stressful than having to syringe in that lactulose.  Less stressful on everyone, especially the kitty

Plus, we noticed that with the lactulose, after awhile, it quit working.  Not so with the Miralax.  And the miralax if really more like a stool softener.  I can't explain it, but once he started on it, he never strained and threw up from straining again.  To us, it was a miracle.  BTW, our Vet was NOT familiar with the use of it in cats, but she checked into it and gave it the AOK.  That was a few years ago , so most likely most Vets know about it now.

BBDOLL22 said:

......He really only likes dry food tho......Any tips would be appreciated.

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Ah, yes, the dry food is the culprit once again!

Kittens learn about food from their mothers. So, when mom is weaning them and she herself is eating dry food, the kittens learn that kibble is food. Period. Nothing else fits the bill.

We have to retrain out kitties - it takes patience, time and....tricks. Dr. Lisa Pierson has lots of them here: http://www.catinfo.org/#Transitioning_Dry_Food_Addicts_to_Canned_Food_

In the meantime, as mrsgreenjeens suggested, MiraLAX is a much better laxative. And, btw, don't even consider syringing Lactulose into a cat....that's really asking for serious trouble.

More info about MiraLAX here: http://www.felineconstipation.org/prevention.html#OsmoticLaxativesPrevent

If there is any wet food that he will take, the Miralax can simply be sprinkled on top - it's tasteless - and adding a little water will help. Additionally, anything she can do to encourage him to drink will be important - the MiraLAX will get the water into the stool....BUT, there needs to be water in the cat first!