feeding tube and kitty not pooping

mrsgreenjeens said:

Make friends with that Vet Tech and see if you can get her cell number and even call her at home if need be.if you have more problems later.  We actually found a Vet Tech who lives right around the corner from us and she comes over to help us when we have problems (for a fee of course).  But she loves our kitties now, so has reduced her fee for us :high5:  

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Boy would that be nice. I was just thinking about going to school to be a vet tech and then see how one becomes a veterinary sonographer. Hahaha

The vet decided to do an enema. He said that she probably just doesn't have enough energy to want to try to push poop out, so this should help get things moving.

Bucket has been breathing heavier and seems stressed ever since the enema... I feel so bad for my little monster.

katkin9 said:

The vet decided to do an enema. He said that she probably just doesn't have enough energy to want to try to push poop out, so this should help get things moving.

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I don't really understand this, as in your post only 3 yours earlier you said the Vet said no signs of constipation .   Did she produce anything with the enema?  Gosh, no wonder she's stressed after all she's been through.

that she has an uneventful night and can get some rest.   BTW, how did the feeding with the Vet Tech go?

mrsgreenjeens said:

I don't really understand this, as in your post only 3 yours earlier you said the Vet said no signs of constipation :dk: .   Did she produce anything with the enema?  Gosh, no wonder she's stressed after all she's been through.

that she has an uneventful night and can get some rest.   BTW, how did the feeding with the Vet Tech go?

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The vet tech didn't do the feeding with me because they determined it wasn't me doing the feedings wrong, that something was actually wrong with Bucket. The first time she went in her belly wasn't full because I had backed off on the feedings, so maybe that's why they didn't notice it. Then when I took her back in they tried to palpate her belly and it was bothering her. He said he could tell anything and suggested an X-ray... But I didn't have the money so he did an enema to be safe. And he got a little bit of hard stool out, then she had a BM and got a tiny bit more out, but then she kept trying and there was another piece sticking out a little, but she hasn't successfully gotten it out yet. He said the liquid should soften it up so she can get it out, but if it didn't happen to bring her back in for another enema.
She's already traumatized from the first one, I was really hoping I wouldn't have to take her back in.

mrsgreenjeens said:

I don't really understand this, as in your post only 3 yours earlier you said the Vet said no signs of constipation :dk: .   Did she produce anything with the enema?  Gosh, no wonder she's stressed after all she's been through.

that she has an uneventful night and can get some rest.   BTW, how did the feeding with the Vet Tech go?

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Her butt does look kind of irritated now too

katkin9 said:

Her butt does look kind of irritated now too

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poor Bucket! could you apply just a very small coating of plain petroleum jelly on your Bucket's butt? like vaseline petroleum jelly. it's totally safe for cats to ingest, though i doubt that Bucket is able to get back there to lick herself, with her feeding tube and collar on. the petroleum jelly may help to soothe the irritation on her butt.

What's her status now?  Have you tried to feed her or has she passed any more stool?  Did the Vet say it was ok to feed her since she DID have a BM in his office?  Instead of going back in for another enema, I wonder if you could just syringe more water into her tube, OR maybe add some Miralax in with her food?  It takes a little while to work, but it's a stool soffener and works extremely well.  Or maybe there is some other form of Laxative you could actually use that is safe for cats that you can put thru the tube?  It's a fine line, because you don't want to give her diarrhea either .  Poor Bucket. 

What caused her HL in the first place...does anyone know? 

that this all gets sorted out and you can get started on her regular tube feedings.

Squeaks last couple of poops have been hard, we are pushing more water with flushes I added 16mls to one can science diet. Tomorrow going to add a little canned pumpkin to purée. That supposed to help right?

Could you put some water into the recovery to make it even more watery than it is. Maybe that'll go down the feeding tube easier. I was feeding my lotto recovery a couple of months before he went to RB.

I would call the vet's office before adding the pumpkin.  Normally it's fine but with everything that is going on, I would check to be sure it's okay.

squeakyflorida said:

Squeaks last couple of poops have been hard, we are pushing more water with flushes I added 16mls to one can science diet. Tomorrow going to add a little canned pumpkin to purée. That supposed to help right?

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Yes, pumpkin is supposed to help if they are constipated.  Just add about 1 teaspoon in the am and 1 in the pm into her mix for her feeding tube as long as it doesn't clog the tube

mrsgreenjeens said:

What's her status now?  Have you tried to feed her or has she passed any more stool?  Did the Vet say it was ok to feed her since she DID have a BM in his office?  Instead of going back in for another enema, I wonder if you could just syringe more water into her tube, OR maybe add some Miralax in with her food?  It takes a little while to work, but it's a stool soffener and works extremely well.  Or maybe there is some other form of Laxative you could actually use that is safe for cats that you can put thru the tube?  It's a fine line, because you don't want to give her diarrhea either .  Poor Bucket. 

What caused her HL in the first place...does anyone know? 

that this all gets sorted out and you can get started on her regular tube feedings.

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Thanks for the good vibes, I'm sorry I've been MIA. Bucket went back to the vet yesterday after not having a BM. They had me leave her there for the better part of the day. Apparently, on Monday they had took an X-Ray (I had no idea, I choose to do the enema because I couldn't afford the X-Ray and definitely not both). They showed it to me yesterday and her colon was very backed up... I felt so bad. it was taking up the majority of her abdomen in the X-Ray. So I left her there and they called and said they got things moving. I went an picked her up. He suggested adding 1/4 tsp of pumpkin to each feeding to keep things moving. Bucket smelled so bad, I had to give her a bath when we got home. Normally, she would try to kill me during a bath, but I think she knew she smelled and she was thankful because she just sat their in the tote and let me wash her lower half and belly. After that she started to clean herself, something she hasn't had the energy to do in a long time.

The had gotten two feedings in her both 35 ml 20 ml of water and told me to stick with that size for now every 3-4 hours. Her feedings have been going fine as long as she is in a comfortable position and she is getting petted otherwise she's like "if you are not going to pet me, then you don't need to hold me". She seems to have more energy already.

Her butt is leaking a little still and looks like someone did a number on it. Since she can now clean herself, I would worry about the petroleum jelly because it has mineral oil in it and cats have died from ingesting mineral oil. I think it looks worse than it is because she doesn't act like it bothers her any.

I'm not sure when I should expect a BM since they cleaned out her colon pretty much... But I'm praying things keep moving.

Bucket also had some friends stop by and bring her a get well card and gift yesterday and that was really nice.

As far as what caused the HL, we aren't totally sure... I think it was her teeth, but the vet said her teeth aren't bad enough it to be them. They want to do an ultrasound after she is stable to make sure that there's no tumors or anything.

Bucket really likes the cuddle toy her friends brought her... It's soothing and smells like catnip and she can rest her head on it, so the bandage bothers her evens less.

If she was really backed up the constipation could have been the root cause of this.  Kitties will be very nauseated and quit eating when they are constipated.  If they cleaned her out good it could take 2 or 3 days before she has a BM.  It is shedding season and ingested hair may have started all this.  I am so glad that she is feeling better and the feedings are going better.

Denice said:

If she is really backed up the constipation could have been the root cause of this.  Kitties will be very nauseated and quit eating when they are constipated.  If they cleaned her out good it could take 2 or 3 days before she has a BM.  It is shedding season and ingested hair may have started all this.  I am so glad that she is feeling better and the feedings are going better.

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She actually started being sick last October. She just kind of stopped eating as much, acted really lethargic, and would sit there with here tongue sticking out (which is odd for her). I looked at her teeth then and she has two bottom teeth that were a little red on the gum line so I told the vet that must be what's wrong with her. They said they were not bad at all considering her age (11 at the time) and did a bunch of tests and everything was normal. So they gave me some recovery canned food and she got better and was fine until she started eating less and less again. Then I took her to the vet again in early January citing the same issues and that she would occasional sit their with her jaw wide open which was really weird. The vet said it sounded strange and then Bucket did it and the vet was baffled. She checked her teeth and jaw and said that her jaw is fine, but she made eventually need those two bottom teeth pulled because they now had black on the bottom of them. She gave me some recovery food and she started to do better until early February she started throwing up and couldn't keep anything down and became jaundiced. I took her in and we did appetite stimulant, cerenia, fluids, B12, antibiotics, and she recovered within a week she was eating like a champ again. Then in May she started eating less and then started throwing up. We tried doing the cerenia and the appetite stimulant and that worked for a few weeks to a month then she started up again and so we did the cerenia, appetite stimulant, fluids, B12, antibiotics, steroids, antiinflamatories. I tried force feeding her. I tried giving her every food under the sun. And she just got worse and worse, so then made the call to get the feeding tube and borrowed the money from my sister and that brings us to now.

After she is stable and still has the feeding tube, those teeth will get pulled, that way we can make sure she's still down for eating (I don't want to have it taken out and then have to have it put back in). And if she gets appetite back 100% without any drugs or assistance at that point, we will decide if the ultrasound needs to be done.

She could have been backed up and that caused it, but she would have had to of been backed up on and off for quite awhile because she has had both normal poops and diarrhea in that time frame.

The weird mouth open thing still worries me... She doesn't do it anymore. I worry maybe she was having a small seizure? Or maybe that was just nausea face?

Oh my goodness.  Poor baby. She must be feeling SO much better now. 

Love the pictures.  She looks so comfy on her new "pillow"

So....how's everything going?  Is she taking her food better?  Pooping regularly yet?  Still growling during feeding ?

mrsgreenjeens said:

So....how's everything going?  Is she taking her food better?  Pooping regularly yet?  Still growling during feeding ?

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Things are going good as far as the feeding tube and pooping go. She is pooping regularly (she pooped on my toe last night smh). She's finally taking in enough calories and she's starting to nibble in between meals (very little, a teaspoon amount here or there, no more than a tablespoon per day) if I'm at work and no one feeds her for more than four hours (doesn't happen often) or if she thinks I'm taking to long to get the food ready when it's in front of her. She's still hasn't shown any improvement on jaundice.
Maybe I'm being impatient... Or maybe I have no idea how long it should take. I just thought I might see some progress by now. It's a little discouraging because her energy and mood is up and down. So I can't tell if she's getting better. I just pray she is.

It's a slow recovery.  It's different for each kitty but it is never a quick recovery.  It took about a month for my  kitty to start eating normally and longer for his liver enzyme numbers to come back to normal.  It's great that she is beginning to pick at her food a little.  I know it's hard to see no progress but that is the nature of this illness.

Great that she is actually showing an interest, albeit small, in eating on her own!  How much are you feeding her thru the tube now, per day.

As to her color, it will return in time.  As Denice said, this is a very slow process with HL.  Gosh, my guy was on a feeding tube for FOUR months!  Most are not on nearly that long though.