feeding tube and kitty not pooping

She was mowing down on food when I got home from work even though I got work three hours early and she had just been fed an hour and a half before. She ate a good tablespoon just then. I've noticed she seems to have some good days and bad days, today she seemed good when I got home. As the day goes on, she does get more tired (steroids wearing off maybe?) and less social. Getting an average of 250ML in per day. That's a mix of one 5.5 oz can of royal canin recovery (183 cal), .5 oz of water, a 1/2 tsp of pumpkin. So I figure she is getting about 250 calories per day, which I was told was the minimum she needs to get her body to stop eating itself (but I have read that it could actually be anything from 200-370 calories that she actually needs). I figure 250 is probably good since she is 12 years old, spayed, hardly active right now. Her next check up is on Thursday, so I have lots of questions and I'm not sure what we will be doing next. I'm hoping increase the ML per feeding and then after she is used to that, decrease the number of feedings so she will eat more between, but still be getting enough calories. Right now, I'm doing 50 ML every 3-4 hours and I'm exhausted. But if lack of sleep means I get to keep the love of my life, I'm totally okay with that. 

Her bandage is looking pretty rough, so I may take her in Monday to see if they will redo it, or see if it's okay if I get a kitty kollar and have them clean up the area a little. Her bandage flips up sometimes and you can kind of see the wound and there's some dried blood? or something. Either way, I'm for sure going to call the kitty dollar company and order some o-ring syringes because these rubber stopper ones keep failing and causing food explosions. 

Her bowel movements are very regular now, she was going between every feeding small amounts and now she is going the a normal amount 2-3 times per day... occasionally in the litter box. Her urine seems to be getting to be a better color, it was a very yellow yellow. Now it is still very yellow, but not as bright. I'm hoping that means her bilirubin is dropping. 

She's walking around the house more than she had been and she sat in the front window for a bit today. Lots of little things that make me feel like she is feeling better. But then there's these moments where she just doesn't look herself and it reminds me how serious this is and how far we have to go. For some reason, the past two days I keep having a flashback of this scuba kitty print fabric that I bought when she was a kitten to use a wall paper in the cat tower I designed her and every time it pops in my head, I have a breakdown, I'm so scared of losing her. I've had her since I was 18 and she was this feisty little 8 week old kitten that my Mom found in the caves alone the Deschutes River. She always jokes about how she is a rare Deschutes River Cave Cat. I didn't even want a cat at that point, I wasn't even allowed to have one and Bucket decided she was going home with me... I didn't even ask my Dad. She just came home with me and has been my best friend ever since, There are so many things I wouldn't have made it through without her. 

Just have to keep hope, keep praying, keep doing everything I can. <3 

This sounds really good.  Don't get discouraged, just keep doing what you are doing.

Patches bandage would start looking pretty rough as well.  The vet would change the bandage and that also gave her a chance to check the site and make sure everything was okay.  With a opening into the body there is always the risk of infection so it's good for the vet to check it periodically,

I think the fact that she is eating that much on her own sounds VERY promising, especially this early in the game .

How much did she USED to eat?  Was it more than one 5.5 oz can per day?  How many calories?  As you said, she's a senior, and probably not too active by virtue of her age, let alone that she's sick right now.  How much does she weigh currently?  (My old girl only weighs 4 1/2 lbs, and I am absolutely THRILLED on days when she eats 4 oz, although some days she only eats 2.5 .  She's a kidney cat, not an HL cat though, and she's 15 1/2 years old.  She is NOT on a feeding tube because there is not a cure for kidney disease, so she'd have to be on one for the rest of her life if that were the case.) 

Anyhoo, sounds like Bucket is doing very well to me

mrsgreenjeens said:

I think the fact that she is eating that much on her own sounds VERY promising, especially this early in the game .

How much did she USED to eat?  Was it more than one 5.5 oz can per day?  How many calories?  As you said, she's a senior, and probably not too active by virtue of her age, let alone that she's sick right now.  How much does she weigh currently?  (My old girl only weighs 4 1/2 lbs, and I am absolutely THRILLED on days when she eats 4 oz, although some days she only eats 2.5 .  She's a kidney cat, not an HL cat though, and she's 15 1/2 years old.  She is NOT on a feeding tube because there is not a cure for kidney disease, so she'd have to be on one for the rest of her life if that were the case.) 

Anyhoo, sounds like Bucket is doing very well to me

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Bucket weighs 9.8 pounds, she appears fat, but if you pet her she is bony, you can feel her spine and ribs without pressure. She used to weight about 11.4. She was on dry food mostly before, she would eat 1/2 cup per day. She could put away one of those 3 ounce cans in one sitting. As of now, throughout the day (excluding what I feed her through the tube) it's taken her three days to eat half a 5.5 ounce can.

Her bandage kept flipping up and her tube was exposed, so I decided to just change it yesterday and she seems much happier with it.

She seems to be having a good day, walking around the house more, has the energy to jump up on the bed. I wish I could get her to use the litter box again though. She must know I was going to take out the carpet in my room eventually anyway. :-/

Something I've noticed is that her kidneys seem to be hard still. I pointed out to the vet the lumps I found on her and she said they were her kidneys and they were a little inflamed. They are still like that not as hard, but still easy to feel when petting her... I'm wondering when that will stop or if there's something I could do to help. I know they are processing a ton of water... And her urine is still yellow from the bilirubin. Could that be why? I kind of thought the steroids would make all her inflammatoion everywhere go down.

When you said before you could feel her kidneys I was kind of surprised because we had just taken our old girl to the Vet that day I think, and our Vet even had a hard time finding her kidneys (either one of them), so I'm still not convinced that's what you are feeling.  I KNOW that's what your Vet said it was, but how does he know what YOU were feeling???     Yes, I would think the steroids would help any inflammation too.

Maybe what you are feeling is stool, just like you originally thought

Love her new bow

mrsgreenjeens said:

When you said before you could feel her kidneys I was kind of surprised because we had just taken our old girl to the Vet that day I think, and our Vet even had a hard time finding her kidneys (either one of them), so I'm still not convinced that's what you are feeling.  I KNOW that's what your Vet said it was, but how does he know what YOU were feeling???     Yes, I would think the steroids would help any inflammation too.

Maybe what you are feeling is stool, just like you originally thought :dk:

Love her new bow :bigwink:

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I sure hope it's not her kidneys. Thank you.

Has anyone else had a problem with syringe inconsistencies? So the vet gave me one 60ml syringe (it lasted about two feedings before it got stuck), then I work at a farm store and we have two different options for 60ML syringes... I've noticed they differ from each other by about 5ML... Which adds up... I also measured them both against a measuring cup I had and neither one matched up to the ounce line (one was about a ML off and the other was a few ML off), I'm not really sure which one to believe... One was called a "sure dose" does that make it more reputable?

Okay, so now Bucket is having some urine leakage. She still seems to be going regularly, though he doesn't want to use the litter box for some reason (only the bathroom rug, it's been that way since the feeding tube was put in though). I tried to get her to use the litter box by putting the rugs up and putting litter attractant in the litter box, but no luck. Any thoughts on what could cause the leaking?

Hmmm, that's a new one on me (as usual ).  Even urinating outside the box just because she has a feeding tube is a new one for me).  What you can do though, instead of the rugs is put down some puppy pads.  At least the clean up is a lot easier.

Have you cleaned the places where she has peed with enzymatic cleaner?  If not, she can still smell them and will be drawn to those areas.  I know you said you plan in ripping out your bedroom carpet, so were not too worried about it, but at least in the bathroom, if you remove the bathmat and put down a puppy pad, maybe she won't use it, or, as I said, if she down,then you can just dispose of it and put down another one. 

I have one cat who dribbles when he gets out of the box, but he's always done it.  He just leaps out before he's quite finished, silly guy.  It's annoying as all get out, but that's just the way he is.  Luckily, the box he uses most  is in the bathtub, so his dribbles are in the tub, so easily cleaned up. 

katkin9 said:

I sure hope it's not her kidneys. Thank you.

Has anyone else had a problem with syringe inconsistencies? So the vet gave me one 60ml syringe (it lasted about two feedings before it got stuck), then I work at a farm store and we have two different options for 60ML syringes... I've noticed they differ from each other by about 5ML... Which adds up... I also measured them both against a measuring cup I had and neither one matched up to the ounce line (one was about a ML off and the other was a few ML off), I'm not really sure which one to believe... One was called a "sure dose" does that make it more reputable?

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I don't know if size would make a difference but the vet gave me 30 ml syringes and I gave two of those at each feeding.  I don't know if the difference is the size or the type of syringe but I didn't have any issues.  I think the vet gave me six when I started and they were all still usable at the end.

katkin9

Have you checked out this site? The o ring syringes work great and last multiple uses.

http://kittykollar.com/our-products/about-our-products/syringes/

squeakyflorida yeah, my plan was to order one when I found out if I could use a kitty kollar. I just met with the vet and she gave the green light. So I'll probably order if I ever have money again.

So Bucket's appointment was good and not so good.
Not so good: The vet doesn't like that her jaundice hasn't improved at all. Her abdomen is still very tender. The vet wants to do an ultrasound incase it's pancreatitis or a tumor. Those are $365... Which might as well be a million dollars. I have a job interview today, I hope I get it so I can get Bucket the care she needs. The vet wasn't sure why she would be leaking urine.
The good: Bucket has gained 9 ounces! The vet was happy to find out she is eating some on her own. Lungs sounded clear, digestion good, kidneys good!

I was sent home with some prescription liver supplements, so hopefully those will help.

In other news Bucket can now jump on the bed (Hollywood frame, box spring, pillow top - so it's pretty high). The increased energy is good. She is also cleaning herself regularly and looks a lot better.

denice

Did you do an ultrasound? Or did you just wait it out with Patches?

So did he think it's her kidney's you are feeling?  I didn't realize her abdomen was tender...though she LIKED it when you rubbed her tummy

mrsgreenjeens said:

So did he think it's her kidney's you are feeling?  I didn't realize her abdomen was tender...though she LIKED it when you rubbed her tummy

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She does like it when I rub her belly. The past two days she hasn't wanted me to touch her belly though, but she hasn't wanted me to touch her at all during the feedings... So I didn't think much of it. The area she was feeling when she said it was tender was right before her ribs.
I forgot to ask if those where her kidneys, but the vet felt all around in her abdomen and then said she has never had any kidney problems and her kidneys are good because I asked about electrolytes and the leaking urine.
She also said that people often get ultrasounds and it doesn't tell them anything. I'm trying to figure out what would be different in the treatment plan if the ultrasound can back with liver or pancreas inflammation...? I mean I think the plan would be the same. And as far as a tumor... I don't know. I guess maybe it was really explained to me why we should do an ultrasound.

I think you need to have a heart to heart with your Vet and find out what good the ultra sound would do...what treatment would change IF this or that were discovered and go from there. 

With our old girl, she's developing liver issues (some raised values, but NOT H/L type), and they suggested an Ultra Sound, but we asked "to what end"?  She's 15 1/2 with kidney disease, so we would not perform any invasive surgery, she is impossible to pill, so cannot put her on any medications that cannot be compounded into injectibles, etc, etc, etc.  So we all basically agreed it would be useless to do it.  All we might end up doing is worrying more than we already do

I didn't realize with Bucket you hadn't ever started on any liver supplements...not even any OTC ones like Vitamin E or Milk Thistle?  I'm so glad you got some prescriptions for something now

mrsgreenjeens said:

I think you need to have a heart to heart with your Vet and find out what good the ultra sound would do...what treatment would change IF this or that were discovered and go from there. 

With our old girl, she's developing liver issues (some raised values, but NOT H/L type), and they suggested an Ultra Sound, but we asked "to what end"?  She's 15 1/2 with kidney disease, so we would not perform any invasive surgery, she is impossible to pill, so cannot put her on any medications that cannot be compounded into injectibles, etc, etc, etc.  So we all basically agreed it would be useless to do it.  All we might end up doing is worrying more than we already do

I didn't realize with Bucket you hadn't ever started on any liver supplements...not even any OTC ones like Vitamin E or Milk Thistle?  I'm so glad you got some prescriptions for something now

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Those are good points. I'll talk to my vet about what the ultra sound would mean.

I did start Bucket on Marin which is milk thistle and vitamin e. The vet said to stop that and use what they gave me ($60, but it's a 60 day supply and it's b vitamins, taurine, licorice root, SAMe, vitamin e, and some other stuff... No milk thistle though). I hope it helps. She acted like it upset her tummy when I gave it to her today (have to give on an empty stomach). And I think where bucket's tummy is the most tender isn't really her tummy it's more her side/back on the left just behind the ribs. She growls if I pet her there. I'm not sure what is there in cat anatomy, but it's not good.

You can just google "cat anatomy" and see pictures of what's where.  Here's what I got when I did it, IF it comes across: http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=130&detID=3418

Yes Patches had an ultrasound but every kitty and every  kitty  owner's finances  are different.   An ultrasound is only as good as the person's skills  who is giving and reading the ultrasound.  It is, in skilled hands, a good picture of the soft tissue inside, it can  pick up on inflammation and obvious masses. 

mrsgreenjeens said:

You can just google "cat anatomy" and see pictures of what's where.  Here's what I got when I did it, IF it comes across: http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=130&detID=3418

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It's really hard for me to tell from cat anatomy pictures, it could be anything in that area her liver, stomach, kidneys, adrenal glands, spleen, even her pancreas (though I think maybe that's a bit too low).

I guess I just need to figure out what doing the ultrasound would change.

She's not on any specific pain killers or anti inflammatories right now... So I'm wondering if it might help her get better if inflammation was brought down. Right now she is on Orbax (antibiotic), Predisolonone (sp?), cerenia (pill), cyprohexidine, and then today they added the SAMe LQ.

Prednisolone is an anti-inflammatory.  It is the steroid that is usually given for IBD.