Vomiting + defecating motion

To start off, I'm planning on taking my cat into the vet in a couple of hours once they are open...

So I was awoken this morning to some vomiting from my 7 yr old male cat Izzy.  A few chunks of food plus a smallish furball.  Unusual to see a furball from this shorthair cat, could have been grooming his long hair brother, not sure.  Anyways, he's vomited 4-5 times since then, eventually only throwing up bile as his stomach is empty.  While this was going on, he assumed the position several times and made like he was trying to poop.  Nothing came out, but it was the same motion.

So, before I get to the vet, any idea on the symptoms he's showing?  Evidence suggests he's got something blocking in his digestive tract?  Can't figure out what he possibly got into, the place is pretty clear of contraband.  A furball is also possibly, pretty unlikely, but he did throw one up this morning.  Constipation cause these symptoms?

Any idea what else could cause this behavior?  Anal gland infection?  His anus was a little bit swollen, albeit probably from trying to defecate

Classic symptoms of "constipation syndrome".

Once the rectum is sufficiently full, the whole defecation process (including the body positioning) is triggered.

Now, as to the immediate cause ?

Only a thorough physical exam (and, possibly an x-ray) can pinpoint that......and, you should NOT   try any treatment on your own until that is established.

It may well be that the stool currently in the rectum is hardened and that an enema/suppository will be needed to first soften it up....it may also be that there's a concurrent obstruction of some kind in the intestine......but, again, only a thorough exam can determine what's going on.

Dry food is a contributing factor in constipation.

You shouldn't discount  the likelihood of hairball issues with a shorthair cat....and, shedding season will exacerbate that.

There's an absolutely superb website about feline constipation.......I think it's a must-read for all of us. It's this:  http://www.felineconstipation.org/

Hope some of that helps !

Going to the vet in 1.5 hours so he'll be seen later this morning.  He's calm now, just resting.  A bit of fecal mess on his behind, doesn't get too irritated when I pet him.

Very odd for him to be dehydrated; he's one of those cats that drinks from a running faucet and drinks like a camel, always has really large pee spots in the box, so we've always assumed he's getting plenty of water

Fingers crossed that he can be comfortable soon 

Please keep us updated on how things go.

Very happy you are taking him to the vets.   My cats groom each other and they also get hairballs but it sounds like you have a second issue here in addition.  We're thinking of you and Izzy.  Please let us know how you make out.

Quote:

White Shadow said:

 
Classic symptoms of "constipation syndrome".

Once the rectum is sufficiently full, the whole defecation process (including the body positioning) is triggered.

Now, as to the immediate cause ?

Only a thorough physical exam (and, possibly an x-ray) can pinpoint that......and, you should NOT   try any treatment on your own until that is established.

It may well be that the stool currently in the rectum is hardened and that an enema/suppository will be needed to first soften it up....it may also be that there's a concurrent obstruction of some kind in the intestine......but, again, only a thorough exam can determine what's going on.

Dry food is a contributing factor in constipation.

You shouldn't discount  the likelihood of hairball issues with a shorthair cat....and, shedding season will exacerbate that.

There's an absolutely superb website about feline constipation.......I think it's a must-read for all of us. It's this:  http://www.felineconstipation.org/

Hope some of that helps !

Click to expand...

So the symptoms right now seem to suggest constipation over say an obstruction?  He just vomited again some more bile, strained to defecate, and it sort of has me worried... He's never had a constipation issue before and this basically came out of the blue in the middle of last night

I wouldn't jump to the conclusion of an obstruction.  It's shedding season and from what I have seen here many kitties are having more issues than usual.  Kitties can seem to be very ill when they are constipated.  They are nauseated so don't eat and the straining causes the vomiting, or the attempt to vomit.  It's good that you are getting him to the vet today.

Denice said:

 
I wouldn't jump to the conclusion of an obstruction.  It's shedding season and from what I have seen here many kitties are having more issues than usual.  Kitties can seem to be very ill when they are constipated.  They are nauseated so don't eat and the straining causes the vomiting, or the attempt to vomit.  It's good that you are getting him to the vet today.

Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I know this cat, his normal behavior is so regular/normal that even the slightest deviation from that is an immediate red flag.  I just wish he could stay calm until the appt, his digestive tract must really be causing him discomfort

@jman_in_MN: You mentioned that your cat's rectum is/was swollen? It could be that his anal sacs are full or impacted which can prevent a cat from defecating. I hope you will follow through on getting your kitty into the vet to rule out this, and other possible causes.

EDIT: All of my cats are short-haired (two tabbies and a tuxedo) and they are currently shedding. Just yesterday I removed a grapefruit-sized mass of hair from my male tabby, Max.

oneandahalfcats said:

 
@jman_in_MN: You mentioned that your cat's rectum is/was swollen? It could be that his anal sacs are full or impacted which can prevent a cat from defecating. I hope you will follow through on getting your kitty into the vet to rule out this, and other possible causes.

EDIT: All of my cats are short-haired (two tabbies and a tuxedo) and they are currently shedding. Just yesterday I removed a grapefruit-sized mass of hair from my male tabby, Max.

Click to expand...

I may have looked at it right after he was through a bout of straining.  When I cleaned off his backside an hour ago it actually looked pretty normal.  Izzy has never had an anal sac issue like his brother.

This discussion is making much more sense to me now, thanks everyone for contributing!

Izzy is at the vet now- they're doing an exam + xrays.  Depending on what is shown on the xrays, radiology will be taking a look (hopefully not)

Fingers crossed that all he needs is an enema and some fluids to treat mild constipation or something along those lines...

Fingers crossed. 

My fingers are crossed also

UPDATE- vet just called me, xray came back looking pretty good, no real obstruction, she's having another vet look at it for a 2nd opinion but it sounds like that was not the issue.  She did see, however, quite a bit of feces packed in the colon area.  So it seems most likely he'll be getting an enema to clear that up.  Hopefully that's it?

That is positive news.  Let's hope the enema clears it up.  I am also very happy to see the vet get a second opinion.  Two heads are better than one.  When Izzy comes home, give him a big snuggle. Please let us know how Izzy makes out.

It looks like you have an answer, but this reminds me of what happened to two of my cats a couple months ago. One night, one of my cats, Lila, started vomiting profusely. About 7-8 times in very short time span. In addition to vomiting, she'd go to the litter box then immediately come out. She did this on end for a couple of hours before I decided to take her to the emergency vet. $500 later...nothing except for some medications. So I brought her home, tried to feed her - she didn't want any food - and monitored her all night. She continued to vomit and strain for the next 24 hours. As I watched her enter into the litter, I noticed that she had a clear, mucus-like liquid coming from her rectum. It was not from her anal sac as it had no distinct smell - yes...the things we do for our cats. Anyway, I called my regular vet the next morning and scheduled a visit for that day later in the afternoon. Right before I took Lila to the vet, she ate a bit and used the litter box. My regular vet also didn't know what was up, but Lila turned out fine after 24 hours.

What makes this odd is that a few days later, our other cat, Anna, came down with the same exact symptoms. Vomiting, clear, mucus-like liquid from rectum, not wanting to eat. It became apparent that this was some type of bug (I'd just adopted them from the shelter a month prior to this episode so they were still getting used to my home and being with one another so that may have contributed to this bug.). 24 hours later, Anna was back to normal even without the medications that Lila received.

I still don't know what exactly they picked up or how, but it came and went. I only told this story since they both exhibited similar symptoms to your kitty.

Also, you did a great job by bringing your cat to the vet immediately. Repeated vomiting requires immediate veterinary attention.

Glad to hear that Izzy is on the mend. Sounds like he was just really constipated. Hopefully the enema will take care of all the feces that are backed up, and he can start to feel better.

Just something to keep in mind for the next 24-48 hours .. When cats receive an enema, sometimes it can take a day or two to have another BM, so don't alarmed in he doesn't go tomorrow.

Glad to hear. The enema could be a bit messy depending on how much energy the cat has over the next 12 hours or so - it takes time and can be tiring for the cat. You won't see another bowel movement for a day or two after, but you will need to watch for future signs of constipation. Did the vet give you any meds or advice about this?

Izzy is back home now.  Turns out, the vet didn't want to administer an enema.  I guess they felt the stool will be able to come out on its own.  Instead he got a shot of some anti-nausea medication.  The vet thinks he became nauseous, was vomiting, lost appetite, and because his stomach + small intestine were completely empty he didn't have enough pressure to push his bowl movement along.  The straining forced the little diarrhea out that we saw.

So what started as symptoms where it appeared some intestinal blockage was occurring ended up being the cat was nauseous (maybe from throwing up his first furball??)  Veterinary science is a pretty tough thing for me to gauge LOL

Thanks everyone for the well wishes!!!  He's eating and relaxing and behaving quite normal actually.  Now all he's got to do is use that litter box...

Well its good that he didn't get the enema in a way. Sometimes this can mess them up for a few days. Hopefully Issy will go soon of his own accord. Lots of fresh water will help to keep his system hydrated. Did your vet mention anything about laxatives such as Miralax or Lactulose? These work by drawing water into the colon which in turn keeps stools soft when cats are constipated. Something you might want to consider having on hand for the next day or two.

Positive vibes for Issy for a complete recovery.