After Today's Ultrasound and Meeting with the Vet...I've chosen to do the colon resection invasive s

Wasabipea

You know I am a very funny girl naturally....You think that was funny well tonight the Vet called me at 9pm to give me an update on her behavior today. So he tells me he made Nala wear the lamp shade all day long and when they first put it on her and put her back in her cage she stared at the top of the cage neck straight up and just fell over and wouldn't move...I said oh yes that is what she does as soon as you put it on her neck she freezes and falls over like she is dead and doesn't move and he said yes that is what she did. He said she also was throwing herself backwards in her crate he said they never seen anything like it he and the techs were videoing her with their cellphones....So she gave them quite the show today...He said after several hours with it on she gave up and didn't fight it even ate and drank AND another stool tonight so since surgery Saturday she has gone every day so far which is great...

So I thought if my other post made you laugh this one will to, I told him Siamese are stubborn and sneaky but a load of fun they are thinkers and she is one who will look right at you knowing she is doing wrong and look at and say screw you mom and go back to being bad that is how she is and it is hysterical. I love this breed so much they bring a whole lot of laughs. When I yell the word No or her name she will hunker down hot the ground and crouch like a hurricane is passing through she does not like when I yell lol. I rarely yell at her unless she just wont listen like this morning...

I miss her though...He said he is keeping her till Friday and see how the incision looks and if she will need the lamp shade still. He said we will keep her the full 10 days till she is in the green totally but he wants he home with me she has been through a lot of trama over 6 weeks time frame...I like this vet he calls me every single day with updates not his techs he calls me personally and I love that about him on top of the fact he is a bade what a hottie.....

siameselove03 said:

 
Hey Raintyger my buddy ol pal....

So you had Siamese cats before so you know what I am talking about? By the time 4am came I was screaming at her this morning NO every time I caught her licking her stomach after she ripped the lamp shade off her head a total of 6 times. Every time I screamed NO she stopped looked and me and basically gave me the middle finger and went to town on her tummy. They are stubborn and ever so smart your darn right they will look at you when they know they are doing something wrong. But that is what makes them so unique as I told Historian, Siamese cats are not for everyone and the breed must be researched before a purchase is made. Siamese is the only breed I will every own I love the personality and human like ways and affection especially the talking...So Poppy had chronic constipation...Nala was told for years she had IBD and this new vet diagnosed her with Mega Colon not IBD so my question is what symptoms did Poppy have and was there surgery if any and why did he pass away and how old? Trying to learn as much as I can so I am aware if I ever get another Siamese again in life, I need to be one step ahead of these vets...I should have gotten a second opinion a few years back and I feel guilty I did not...

You are the best thank you for the Mega Colon support group link...Thanks for looking out for me...xxoo

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Haha. Well, you must have a lot of patience because when those foster kitties left for their adoption event AND got adopted, I was relieved! They were mischief makers for sure, and kitten ones at that! They were smart, though. One of them would watch the computer monitor and try to figure out what was going on.

Poppy passed from lymphoma, which can morph from the IBD. She was a little young, 10.5 years, but her disease didn't really have anything to do with megacolon, so don't worry about it. I would just concentrate on finding out how best to feed Nala. She will need really good food now that part of her colon is gone.

siameselove03 said:

 
Ok Raintyger......

Well I cant figure the darn mega colon group out and how it works, why do simple things have to be so complicated? I clicked on the button that says messaged and wrote a post about Nala being post colon resection and advice on the best canned wet food and flavor to buy her that she can live on the rest of her life once stool is stable and when I clicked send I went to the board and it didn't show up and I cant even find where it is so. Oh well I tried maybe it is there some where and someone will answer? Who knows I don't even know where to answer them at...I will bug the vet to help me I hate forums I can never figure them out...I know Royal Canin is a good prescription brand not sure what she would live on if they even have anything...

Ill figure it out eventually...

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Your message might've been delayed due to new membership. I forget how the Yahoo! groups work, but it is common for there to be a delay for new members while moderators approve the first few messages.

Either that or it has something to do with the revised board system. Back in the fall or winter Yahoo! redesigned its group bulletin board system and it was awful. I do vaguely remember posts disappearing or taking a long time. Or the system just plain acting weird.

Raintyger...I am sorry about Poppy it hurts my heart to hear it. Yes I know IBD can onset the cancer. My first vet of many Years if you remember told me my cat had IBD not Mega Colon and tested her a few times over the years for cancer in the colon or stomach they were always looking for a thickening of the wall which indicates cancer so I can imagine what you went through she was so Young. I don't know how long ago it happened but it always hurts I am concentrating on Nala and will find the best food for her...I miss her I cant wait for her to come home Friday hopefully..Read the post I wrote to Wasibpea about the phone call the vet made to me tonight a 9pm about forcing nala to wear the lamp shade and what she did lol he video taped her so he knows I was not exaggerating ..Yes I had patience loved every second of her mischievous antics like I said Siamese are not for everyone xxoo

siameselove03,

I just peeked at the Yahoo! group and your message is there. Did you know there is someone else asking a similar question and their kitty is also siamese?

Unfortunately I do not see Julia from Florida there anymore. I went back to the last month I was there and found a message by her, she went by hauteshotkitty (her kitty was called "Hotshot" or "Hauteshot"). You might ask Yuki (owner of Zoey) or supersoulowner (mario, owner of Elton) if they know how to contact her. Julia had some holistic vet come to her house, and she would often ask questions of him on behalf of other group members.

Raintyger....I will go back to the site and look for my post...Your to good to me Thank you...So Julia is the owner of the Siamese cat your talking about will have to get on there and look for those names Thanks pal

siameselove03 said:

Raintyger....I will go back to the site and look for my post...Your to good to me Thank you...So Julia is the owner of the Siamese cat your talking about will have to get on there and look for those names Thanks pal

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No, Julia owns another cat (not the siamese). I'm not sure, but I think Hotshot is an orange kitty. Julia lives in Florida.

Raintyger....Ok I will go back and look....Thank you...

Siameselove03- Are you talking about trying to get on the Yahoo forum for mega colon? I had difficulty too and finally said screw it ! I hope Nala is healing well at the vet .do you have any idea when you bring her home?

I will pray she makes a full recovery!

I was struck down with stomach and intestinal paralysis over 4 years ago. I saw multiple doctors and was not expected to recover.  I am now on a medication called mirtazapine. It is an appetite stimulant. The doctor did not think it would help me, but it was a miracle drug. I went from being half starved to gaining weight, and now I am very happily overweight! After 4 years of not being able to eat solids and being completely disabled.

If she continues to have nausea/vomiting or gastrointestinal motility problems, ask about trying her on mirtazapine. Mirtazapine is usually used for cats with end stage kidney failure, but if it comes between that and having her put down, try the mirtazapine first.

I'm telling you this just in case she does not fully recover. Mirtazapine works best at improving motility in the stomach and small intestine.  It does not work very well for constipation, but the surgery should take care of that.

The problem with gastrointestinal motility issues is that visually everything looks fine (no tumors, no lesions in the intestines, no inflammation). However, when a full thickness biopsy is examined with a microscope the pacemaker cells (also known as ICC cells) are missing or damaged, and there is often nerve damage within the intestines. The stomach and intestines do have pacemaker cells that control contractions (similar to the heart).

 With that kind of damage it becomes difficult for the stomach/intestines to move the food through the digestive tract.  Sometimes this is a progressive disease, in that only the large intestine is affected now, later on it may be the stomach and small intestine. Motility disorders other than megacolon are rare in cats, so I would be hopeful that it does not progress.

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dv...isorders/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/10982

Many prokinetic drugs (to improve GI motility) are not available in the US. My doctor often had me order medications from overseas (which is considered compassionate use). You can order some motility drugs with a prescription from Canadadrugs.com.  Domperidone or prucalopride can be ordered for instance!

Goodluck! Hopefully you will not need any of this extra information, but considering I was never supposed to recover, I thought I would share it with you!

The more people who know that there is hope, and that gastrointestinal motility disorders are treatable, the better! 

Katruble....

Happy Saturday to you, thank you for checking in on Nala As far as the Mega Colon group, Yes it is the Yahoo Mega Colon Group and it is very complicated I don't understand why when it should be simple like this forum is but it is not....I deleted the group and said screw it, no one responded to my posts so I will work with my vet to figure out things on my own. I picked Ms. Nala up yesterday and I tell you it has been non stop, my daughter and I are on baby sitting patrol taking shifts. I picked her up yesterday about 200pm and 20 10 minutes after having her home with the E collar cone thing around her head, she stretched and her tummy opened a little and started to bleed. I got sick to my stomach like I wanted to vomit the stress on me with this whole thing in unreal I cant take much more so I called the vet and asked the nurse if they had a psychologist to see me.. She laughed and could not believe again after just getting home it happened again just not as bad.

I told then she wasn't bleeding like the 1st that I did not want to bring her back again she has been gone to long I needed her home emotionally I missed her so much so vet said if she has e collar on she wont jump don't worry if it opens more call him...So I got butterfly Band-Aids out and closed the wound. Well vet was wrong the Collar/cone thing what I call a lamp shade did not stop her from jumping on our beds. So all evening we were taking collar on and off letting her eat and drink, making her sit with us, taking her on and off the bed etc it was the worst baby sitting job I ever had and will be for another week till she is healed. We locked her In the laundry room where her food/water and litter box and bed is small room with collar on and went to my moms a few streets over for dinner and I could not relax worried leaving the cat with e collar on. Vet said leave it on and confine her so we did but I worried.

My mom could see I was not myself and she said go home to the cat and thank god I did because Nala vomited with the E collar on that hold her head up straight and when she vomited it was pooled all inside the collar up to her nose she was spitting she could have aspirated vomit in her lungs and died, I was a wreck shaking ripping her collar off her and cleaning her up it was so pathetic. The vomit hit the wall I guess from the way the collar forces her head up. I cant catch a break for nothing. I brought her in my bed about midnight and she was licking so I put the collar back on then she kept trying to jump down I took the long sofa cushion laid it on the kitchen floor with a blanket and slept in the kitchen with her so she was low to the ground. I mean the things I do for the cat but she is going to be the death of me. Since my daughter got up this morning it is her shift to baby sit and I took a nap I was beat and still am tired.

So stomach closed back up with the butterfly I put on it so I took it off today it is crusted dry so that is good. This weekend and all next week the cat cant be left alone thank god minimal is planned and my daughter is home because we cant leave her alone with the collar it is dangerous and wait till I tell the vet what happened Monday when he calls me and we cant leave her without a collar on her even in a small room because she will lick her tummy open and its healing now so we are stuck basically home all week long next week hoping by next Saturday the stomach incision will be closed and dried and she can be set free to roam and jump unsupervised. Today is a week since surgery and next Saturday it will be two weeks so next weekend I would think she should be fine...Not sure why she vomited like that scared me I cant handle any more issues with her emotionally or financially. She didn't vomit today and ate good so hopefully that passed....

Right now I am on babysitting watch till my daughter gets home then it is her turn till bedtime, how lucky I get the all nighters with her... Anyways that is my dramatic story, aren't all my stories dramatic?? People said it sounds like a movie hard to believe...but again I own a Siamese and she lives up to EVERYTHING that is discussed about this breed but I love her endlessly...

I hope Gracie is doing well Kathi and stable. Thank you for reaching out it means a lot. Karin....

Raintyger, Wasabipea, Peaches08, GoHolistic, AbbyNTim, JClark, Bonepicker, The Histiorian, Sarah Ann, Denice, Braysnaner & Mosimom: Happy Saturday to my cat forum friends....Here is an update on Nala...I picked Ms. Nala up yesterday (Friday) and I tell you it has been non stop, my daughter and I are on baby sitting patrol taking shifts. I picked her up yesterday about 200pm and 20 10 minutes after having her home with the E collar cone thing around her head, she stretched and her tummy opened a little and started to bleed. I got sick to my stomach like I wanted to vomit the stress on me with this whole thing in unreal I cant take much more so I called the vet and asked the nurse if they had a psychologist to see me.. She laughed and could not believe again after just getting home it happened again just not as bad.

I told then she wasn't bleeding like the 1st that I did not want to bring her back again she has been gone to long I needed her home emotionally I missed her so much so vet said if she has e collar on she wont jump don't worry if it opens more call him...So I got butterfly Band-Aids out and closed the wound. Well vet was wrong the Collar/cone thing what I call a lamp shade did not stop her from jumping on our beds. So all evening we were taking collar on and off letting her eat and drink, making her sit with us, taking her on and off the bed etc it was the worst baby sitting job I ever had and will be for another week till she is healed. We locked her In the laundry room where her food/water and litter box and bed is small room with collar on and went to my moms a few streets over for dinner and I could not relax worried leaving the cat with e collar on. Vet said leave it on and confine her so we did but I worried.

My mom could see I was not myself and she said go home to the cat and thank god I did because Nala vomited with the E collar on that hold her head up straight and when she vomited it was pooled all inside the collar up to her nose she was spitting she could have aspirated vomit in her lungs and died, I was a wreck shaking ripping her collar off her and cleaning her up it was so pathetic. The vomit hit the wall I guess from the way the collar forces her head up. I cant catch a break for nothing. I brought her in my bed about midnight and she was licking so I put the collar back on then she kept trying to jump down I took the long sofa cushion laid it on the kitchen floor with a blanket and slept in the kitchen with her so she was low to the ground. I mean the things I do for the cat but she is going to be the death of me. Since my daughter got up this morning it is her shift to baby sit and I took a nap I was beat and still am tired.

So stomach closed back up with the butterfly I put on it so I took it off today it is crusted dry so that is good. This weekend and all next week the cat cant be left alone thank god minimal is planned and my daughter is home because we cant leave her alone with the collar it is dangerous and wait till I tell the vet what happened Monday when he calls me and we cant leave her without a collar on her even in a small room because she will lick her tummy open and its healing now so we are stuck basically home all week long next week hoping by next Saturday the stomach incision will be closed and dried and she can be set free to roam and jump unsupervised. Today is a week since surgery and next Saturday it will be two weeks so next weekend I would think she should be fine...Not sure why she vomited like that scared me I cant handle any more issues with her emotionally or financially. She didn't vomit today and ate good so hopefully that passed....

Right now I am on babysitting watch till my daughter gets home then it is her turn till bedtime, how lucky I get the all nighters with her... Anyways that is my dramatic story, aren't all my stories dramatic?? People said it sounds like a movie hard to believe...but again I own a Siamese and she lives up to EVERYTHING that is discussed about this breed but I love her endlessly....

Thank you for ALL your support and I will keep you posted on her progress now that she is home to say...Today is one week post op since Subtotal resection and Monday vet will call me to discuss what we foods we will begin to try...She has been passing stool every single day since surgery sometimes twice a day and loose so we are so pleased that this is the first in years I am so glad I did the surgery.. Vet is thrilled and we pray this continues long-term....It is awesome no meds, meds free first time in years so happy, again I pray we pray she will continue to pass stools daily or at least every other...xxoo

Hi siameselove03,

It is good to hear that Nala is well enough to cause all sorts of trouble!

I do have one suggestion for you, but it is kinda weird. My friends have a cat that injured its front leg. Instead of having an e-collar, they wrapped her leg in bondage tape. Yes, the stuff you get at the sex store. Bondage tape sticks to itself but not to skin or hair. So you can wrap it around a wound and then easily take it off when necessary. If there are areas that need to be clean, I'd use something like hospital gauze or bandage between the tape and the cat. Nala sounds like a handful, though, so if you try this I'd do it for the first time while you're home and make sure she can't figure out how to undo the bondage tape.

Sarah Ann....Thank you for taking the time to write me after reading my post about Nala...Since that post as your read she has had the colon resection surgery and today is post op one week and she is having a stool daily and not 2 times which is great. The vet left 3 to 4 inches of colon I forget exactly how much but about that enough so she will not have diarrhea the rest of her life because that is a sin....So far do good we are praying this continues and the little bot of colon that is left will remain healthy and not become diseased...He said god forbid in the future if the remaining colon is diseased Cisapride with Miralax as I used before should help the motility of the rest of the colon since its only dealing with 3 to 4 inches and not 12 inches which was cut out...But I don't even want to go there yet it could never happen to her. I know one person on this site she got 4 good years before the little bit of colon let became diseased but she gave her cat a second surgery to remove the rest of her colon and it lives with diarrhea, accidents and a burnt rectum from the liquid so sad. I would never even consider a second surgery even if my cat was young I will not put her through the after math of living with no colon, no way so I will pray at 11 1/2 she gets some good years with her colon she has left and can poo normally or at least every other day not 4 or 5 days later like she did for years...

I wrote an update to all my friends on this forum that wanted an update on Nala and I added your name so you will see the post after I brought her home yesterday from the hospital...

Regarding your post to me and the information...WOW I am shocked and never knew any of that at all. I am glad your kitty was diagnosed and treated with success. That sounds pretty serious and scary when I read it my heart sank I cant handle any more problems with Nala I want peace and a healthy rest of her life I pray she does not have that and does not get that. When the vet went in to do the colon resection before he touched her colon he looked closely at the stomach, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and small and large intestines and he said had any cancer, tumor, thickening or anything negative was to be seen visually he would have not done the surgery on her colon and at that point I would have put her to sleep while sedated but thank god he said her small intestines worked great moving food along and all other organs look great. He said he was not going to lie to me he believed he would find cancer or something else wrong with her and happy and surprised he did not. He said Nala's problems are a bit different than the average Mega Colon cat but he feels this resection will work and will pray he is right and surgery was a success..

I am going to copy and paste what you wrote me on that medication and issue your cat experienced and print it out bring it to my vet on my next visit so he can read it and research it even for other cats and keep it for mine just in case but I pray not...Thank you for sharing that with me and the information it is kind of you. Thank you for wishing Nala well, I will keep you posted

Sarah Ann....Oh and thank you for the website!! Great information to keep just in case....Great knowledge you can help so many, there are so many people on this forum with IBD or Mega Colon problems xxoo

Hi Raintyger

Bondage tape you say? At the rate things are going I will be arrested for using sex tape on my cats incision...LMAO!!

I am pretty worldly but bondage tape I never thought of possibly because I never used it in my bedroom? LoL...Sorry I love to play if throw me a ball I will run with it Well we don't have any sex stores around here at all unfortunately I am in the country. If I lived home in Miami where I am from there is one on every corner Id be in business. I did buy gauze and surgical tape and that didn't work. I did buy special surgical wrap and wrapped her with Velcro and that didn't work......She is frigen impossible..

I will say I just checked her belly it looks good still dry and crusted. My daughter and I are on catch watch till next Saturday which by then she should be safe to return to normal unrestricted activities...We are watching her like a hawk when we leave the house she goes on her leash in the truck heck she loves going out I think we are on the right path I don't think her belly will open again if we keep taking turns watching her. Thank you for the idea of bondage tape but no store in sight...

She is so funny she runs into the walls and the chairs and falls over with the collar on lol pretty funny. I was just sitting on the ground eye level with her and she kept banging into my face talking up a storm to me it was hysterical...That collar is a sin cant wait for her to be done with it...

No stool yet today I hope she goes later though. She has gone everyday so far so anytime now that she doesn't go by a certain I am going to panic and think the surgery didn't work. I am always going to worry about her stool it stresses me out to always worry...

Hi siameselove03,

How's Nala today?

I was thinking about the bondage tape...what about first aid tape? It does the same thing. They use it on me when I get blood tests done. They tape a piece of cotton around my elbow. Or is the same as the surgical tape you bought?

http://www.drugstore.com/dome-coher...aid-tape-roll-2-inches/qxp374187?catid=184356

Also for her diet--I don't know what type of vet you have now, but holistic and integrative medicine vets are usually more well versed in nutrition. If you don't have one in your area, some of them do phone consultation if you send in the medical records.

Hello Raintyger.....

 Hope you had a good Sunday...I am exhausted since we brought Nala home Friday, it has been my daughter on day shift baby sitting and me on night shift and she is full of piss and vinegar. Vet said the E collar would stop her from jumping?? That is false she jumps even more. This morning I was so tired I barricaded her in the kitchen a sofa cushion, chairs and pillows. I made it 5 ft tall....I got in bed and just started to fall asleep and all of a sudden she is banging me in the face with her collar. She jumped and jumped pushing the stuff down and then sailed through the air over the sofa cushion and chair....I rest my case I have tried it all and failed this cat is whoodini....

Good thing is her stomach is closed and crusted with all the jumping I failed to stop her at it has not opened at all thank god but the incision is shrinking and definitely healing so I think we are on our way but my daughter and I will continue to watch her closely till Saturday which will be 2 weeks post op.. Yes first aid tape is surgical tape basically same material and you know I tried gauze and tape and bandage wrap it ALL failed she is unstoppable period.

There is a problem though, she has been vomiting the past few days, I don't know why most of the time it is yellow liquid like bile many hours after she has eaten. I think twice it was shortly after she ate where the food came up but mostly yellowish liquid. Friday night she vomited a clear liquid with a tinge of yellow and a few specs of blood I guess from irritation...I am to the point of being depressed, the surgery is done and she is having a loose stool each day thank god but now she is vomiting once a day since Friday I don't understand why but I am upset and just tired of it all I cant keep doing this It was in the middle of the night last night she starts swallowing I knew she was going to vomit so I run with her to my bathroom to get her on the floor and not my carpet its taking a toll on me now...

So I have to call the vet to discuss her food options and this is priority on the list and I am not happy. Could this be due to this surgery for some reason? I don't know....I also noticed ever since surgery every time she falls asleep she shakes and twitches like she is dreaming and she has never done this ever. She may dream once in a while but this is every single time, just strange to me...I am just tired Raintyger when does it end?

Hi siameselove03,

You need to tell the vet about the yellow liquid vomit. Yes, bile can be yellow, but there are many causes, some as simple as eating yellow food, but others have to do with the digestive system. I look at this way: If I were vomiting daily, after about 3 days I'd figure it was time for the doctor, right? Remember to take a picture!

Hang in there, you're past the halfway mark! Yes, things still have to settle down, but you're past the hardest part, the surgery.

Hello Raintyger.....

The vet and I spoke today, I read him my journal of times of everything and descriptions of her vomit and he said he is not overly concerned right now, he said she is still eating and drinking and happy, he also said the vomiting isn't every time it is sporadic and even though its some bile he is not worried right now.

He said we need to focus on what diet we are going to put Nala on what foods are we going to begin to try and he said to monitor her vomiting and if it is continuing after she is on new food then we will bring her in to address it then. He said if she wasn't eating or drinking or acted sickly we would be addressing it now but she is doing all of the above so lets focus on food now see how vomiting does and address it in a week or two if it don't stop...

So once again I am trusting his judgment...I also mentioned the shaking and movement every time she sleeps that wakes me up and he has not heard of it before other than dreaming. He said if I was not able to wake her up from it then there is a problem like a seizure but she wakes up when I tap her. He said not to worry about it as long as I can wake her from it. Yes it does wake me up but your right she is on my pillow to or right where I can hear her and if it wakes me up it does that is the least as long as that does not signify a problem more serious its just strange it started after surgery. The vet also said maybe Nala is now sleeping more deeply because we dream in a deep rem sleep and now that Nala has her diseased colon removed she is now sleeping much more deeper and comfortable....Food for thought....

I called a groomer today who has a company she orders goat milk from that is good to soother the stomach and she also can order me a raw diet blend of food for my cat...I have read on here raw diet is the best for cats esp with my problem so if you have any advise on these things I listed please share with me I would appreciate...

Raintyger you mentioned raw diet to me? The vet is deciding what foods to try I am going to call him about the goats milk and raw food...What flavor food is best or does it not matter because it is raw? Please let me know working now on getting foods figured out...

I am trying to relax it has been a lot on me I just don't want animals anymore it is to much but I know I am just upset right now...Scared to leave my home and her vomit etc...I put her In the laundry room last night without the collar on so I can sleep I was so tired my body hurt so bad with no sleep. I did not put collar on in fear she would vomit and aspirate it so when I got up of course she licked her belly licked off the scab part but it didn't re open just raw so she is prolonging the healing of the outer belly part. Vet said I could bring her back for a few days so I can get sleep but I told him I will think about it she is home has been as stressful as it is....If her belly opened I would  but its just red and starting to dry...