Round belly after "second breakfast"

Traumatized from my experiences with fip, i pay very close attention to my remaining cats and notice every little thing.

This morning my 3 boys were frantic as usual in a hurry to eat breakfast. They're known to beg and even help themselves (i have to kitten proof my cabinets).

So crying and begging while I'm in the kitchen is expected. But they were out of control with it this morning,more so than usual, so being weak as i am, i felt bad and gave them more.

I went out and when i came home about 2 hours later I noticed one of thier bellies slightly rounded.

I also noticed no poop in the liter box all day.

Had I not over fed them I would certainly be freaking out more but it's just not so obvious to me. Hes normal otherwise and not terrible noticeable round. I only see it because well, I'm frantic about them.
My vet has been intouch and thinks the overfeeding makes perfect sence.
Any suggestions?

Hi, sweetie, I think you have been through something very traumatic with Harrison and I am so very sorry for your loss.  I think you are still very traumatized by it, and I understand completely the need to hover over your remaining little ones.  But you have to begin to relax a bit again.  If you've talked to your vet, and he thinks this is all explained by the overeating, please trust him and try to get some rest.  If the situation is the same in the morning, if he hasn't used the litterbox overnight, take your baby to the vet for your own peace of mind.  Your cats are going to pick up on your emotions, for sure, and they can get stressed when we are.  I know you are in mourning.  Are you eating and sleeping okay?  Saying prayers for all of you.  

maggiemay Thank you for the response. I do trust my vet. It's just that as soon as I noticed I go into this "vortex" of anxiety and only see the worst possible. He hasn't gotten bigger and now I feel a little silly because I think he may just be getting fat. Hes always been small and slender so it was shocking to me. Still keeping a close eye but realized freaking out or not will not change the outcome..

I went out and got them 3 diferent kinds of foods closest to thier natural diet yesterday to take to take another step in precautions. Along with lots of new toys to make them happy

I'd say in the passed 2 weeks I myself am back to eating normally and just recently I have finally made it through the night with out waking up at 4 am or having nightmares. I've really been ok considering... yesterday just took me back a little.

Thank you for the prayers

I think you are having a very normal, natural and common reaction to loss.  It's so very hard!  These babies of ours truly become our best friends, our family, and a huge part of our lives.  Please be good to yourself during this time.  I will keep all of you in my prayers.

Belly still not down.. but not any bigger either :/ ... acting fine. Not losing weight or looking thinner as my harrison did.

Does not feel like stool build up when I squeeze and feel around ...but I noticed less poop in the liter box lately and I also saw him in the box earlier and nothing left following...

Tried pumpkin so hopefully it's just constipation... so worried. I can't go through it again..

If he is constipated, you can try giving him some Miralax (unflavored, no-grit powder) mixed into his food.  There's no taste, so he shouldn't have a problem with it.  I don't know his size, but we have a cat going through that and are giving her 1/8 tsp. twice a day.  She weighs 5.5 pounds.  We also gave her some Laxatone hairball remedy last night and again this morning.  There was straining going on in the litterbox, but this afternoon, she did one tiny poo.  I'm sure more will follow. If you've recently changed their diet, that could cause less poop in the litter box too, particularly if the new food is higher protein/fewer carbs.  If he's acting normal, everything is probably fine. Just keep an eye on him and stay calm. 

I actually did change thier diet, but it was the day I noticed the bloat.to high protein.

Before that he was on lots of dry. I hear that can cause constipation too?

Other than that.. how fast can a cat actually just gain normal weight?may Have been over feeding a bit the last month..

Side view

They can put on weight more quickly than you would think.  And it could have been that he was gaining weight and you didn't notice until a certain amount had been gained.  Yes, dry food can cause constipation.  Lots of things can.  Pain medications, dietary changes, stress.  I think he's fine.  Just keep an eye on him.  How much does he weigh?

He is 10 lbs. Maybe 11 ..my home scale is a bit off.


Still eating a lot. No vomiting or dihharea. I still worry though because I know how diferent each case can be. I feel I know in my heart where it came from. A rescue I brought in last summer. I try to think that she got it from harrison, given his history, but the other way around makes too much sence.

HH, ir doesn't sound to me as if there is anything wrong with him, but I know you are feeling some panic.  Some cats don't poop every single day, or they may have an off-day like people do.  I know you are thinking of the swollen belly aspect of FIP and if it would set your mind at rest, have the vet look at him again  When your vet examined him, did he do bloodwork or any kind of test to detect the virus?  As you know, FIP develops from the Feline Coronovirus and those with the weakest immune systems are the ones most at risk - kittens, cats with FeLV and geriatric cats. I don't think your kitty falls into any of these at-risk groups. 

Something that might give you more peace of mind is to boost the immune systems of all of your babies; it certainly can't hurt.  Pet Wellbeing has a product called Immune Sure on their website that has excellent reviews.  It supports against both viral and bacterial infections. It doesn't taste good, though, and can be hard to give to them.  There is a new supplement that also supports the immune system called Spark which seems to work very well.  The vet who formulates these supplements is willing to answer your questions, as well.  Also, they carry the whole food vitamins I give to my own cats, Nu-Pet Feline Granular with Antioxidants, mixed into their food.  To me, this is the best cat vitamin supplement made; it provides a nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants not found in commercial cat food and also provides immune support.  I also give them Animal Essential's Plant Enzymes & Probiotics in the morning.  Once you have determined that your guys are healthy, you may want to add an Omega-3 supplement to their food in the evening.  Just be sure to never ever give any oil to a cat orally, very dangerous.  Either let them lick up their serving of Omega-3 or mix into their food.  Since I don't feed raw at this point, I wanted mine to get the best nutrition possible on their all-wet-food diet, so I added the Nu-Pet Granules and the enzyme/probiotics.  Holistic vets will tell you that the four top feline supplements are Omega-3 fatty acids (I use Nordic Naturals for Pets drops in their food), digestive enzymes, probiotics (both found in the Animal Essentials product), and antioxidants (in the Nu-Pet Granules).  At least these are something that we can give our pets and know that we are actually doing something to support full-body health.

Thank you for the suggestion. I will certainly look into more immune boosting supplements. They have been on llysine thus far and this week has been hectic with the changing of food so I just gave up and got some friskies cans since the wet food I had them on was high protein low carb.

Well be seeing the vet tomorrow ...

On another note, after switching the dry food to blue buffalo wilderness the other day, my youngest had vomited up full formed food. I didn't think anything of it at first because he did eat frantically and then run around like a pshyco and being new food I figured his belly just got overwelmed. IS that something I should be concerned about? He too has a little pot belly but I mean LITTLE like, normal 10 month old kitten that gets spoiled normal.

HarrisonsHeart said:

Thank you for the suggestion. I will certainly look into more immune boosting supplements. They have been on llysine thus far and this week has been hectic with the changing of food so I just gave up and got some friskies cans since the wet food I had them on was high protein low carb.

Well be seeing the vet tomorrow ...

On another note, after switching the dry food to blue buffalo wilderness the other day, my youngest had vomited up full formed food. I didn't think anything of it at first because he did eat frantically and then run around like a pshyco and being new food I figured his belly just got overwelmed. IS that something I should be concerned about? He too has a little pot belly but I mean LITTLE like, normal 10 month old kitten that gets spoiled normal.

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L-lysine is a great supplement.  My cats couldn't eat the Blue Buffalo Wilderness.  That's a very dense food and it just doesn't work for some of them.  If what he came up with was fully formed food, he regurgitated food from the esophagus, that wasn't vomit.  That particular food had never even made it to the stomach, so don't worry about that.  He gobbled it down too fast, that's all.  That one is absolutely fine.  I'm glad you're going to the vet tomorrow.  I know it's so easy to get panic stricken, especially after a great loss.  Cats are beautifully made little creatures, but they can be complex to care for sometimes.

Complex is right. My first cat, Prince, gave me the complete oposite idea. In 12 years he's never had to go to the vet for anything but his annual visits.

The 1 I am worried about now is only 2. So o suppose it would be the right time frame of putting on "grown up" weight, I can only hope. Still not seeing the usal in the litter box.. so fingers crossed.

HarrisonsHeart said:

Complex is right. My first cat, Prince, gave me the complete oposite idea. In 12 years he's never had to go to the vet for anything but his annual visits.

The 1 I am worried about now is only 2. So o suppose it would be the right time frame of putting on "grown up" weight, I can only hope. Still not seeing the usal in the litter box.. so fingers crossed.

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Yes, I was spoiled too by an extremely healthy cat who only went to the vet for wellness exams and lived to be almost 19.  If this baby still isn't using the litterbox, you may have to take him to the vet for an enema.  Don't try to do give an enema yourself, it's easy to cause them real and lasting damage if you don't know what you're doing. What you can do at home is give him Laxatone hairball remedy a couple of times a day (you need a petroleum base) and 1/4 tsp. of Miralax (the unflavored, grit-free kind available over the counter), mixed into his canned food twice daily.  He won't even know it's there, but the Miralax will add water to any dry stool that is causing blockage.  I would not let him go more than 3-4 days without pooping; if it's been that long, take him to the vet.

He has been going, just not as much as usual. I will pick up some miralax tonight and follow your advice. In the mean time, the vet came yesterday and said he does look a tiny bit bloated but she's not leaning towards fip at all. Waiting for blood results just to be sure. And if all comes back good she suggested a stool sample. He still is eating, playing, bullying, and loving the others all the same as usual.for his small frame, the vet says he may be 1 or 2 lbs over weight I feel much better now. Dealing with fip turned my whole world upside down. Before that I felt my cats were the one thing I could control and protect no matter what. I feared cancer for them and my dog but had no idea there was worse, no idea something could take them so young as long as i kept them inside. It's going to take sometime before I don't feel like such a crazy person :/ Thank you for all your great responses maggiemay , and for bearing with a frantic fur mom

HarrisonsHeart said:

He has been going, just not as much as usual. I will pick up some miralax tonight and follow your advice. In the mean time, the vet came yesterday and said he does look a tiny bit bloated but she's not leaning towards fip at all. Waiting for blood results just to be sure. And if all comes back good she suggested a stool sample. He still is eating, playing, bullying, and loving the others all the same as usual.for his small frame, the vet says he may be 1 or 2 lbs over weight

I feel much better now. Dealing with fip turned my whole world upside down. Before that I felt my cats were the one thing I could control and protect no matter what. I feared cancer for them and my dog but had no idea there was worse, no idea something could take them so young as long as i kept them inside. It's going to take sometime before I don't feel like such a crazy person :/ Thank you for all your great responses @MaggieMay , and for bearing with a frantic fur mom <3

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You are more than welcome.  We've all been frantic over our cats from time to time.  This sounds like a healthy cat to me.  If he feels good enough to eat, play, bully and love on the other cats, I don't think there is a thing wrong with him.  I think he overate and that's all it is.  I too have had to learn that I can't totally control and protect, but there are some things I can do to up their chances of a virtually disease-free life.  Number one is diet.  You know that obligate carnivores must have protein, and they don't need many carbs.  When a feral cat eats a mouse, 3% of that mouse is digested carbs, so they do need some.  Animal Essentials Enzyme & Probiotics supplement helps with most digestive issues.  Any animal as it grows older will not produce as many enzymes as a young one.  You just sprinkle a tiny amount on their food.  Lots of rescue operations use this when changing foods; it helps with that transition from one food to another.  

You can normally look at a cat and know without a doubt that he's sick, but they are experts at hiding pain and certain illnesses. My yardstick when gauging whether an animal is ill is if he is eating normally, eliminating normally and grooming.  Is he listless, and does he hide. When cats are really sick, they don't bother to groom, so that's very much a red flag for me, as is a hiding cat.  Until you regain your cat confidence again, go to the vet when you are afraid for one of your babies.  I had much rather be safe than sorry.  

You are not crazy, you have been through a terrible ordeal and it scared you, but you will eventually have faith in your cats' own immune systems, which, if they are fed a species-appropriate diet, is their best defense.  These are indoor cats, which is a huge plus in their favor, and they sound normal and healthy to me.  I have had some problems that two of mine came with when they were rescued - one has had two oral surgeries with teeth being extracted and one had idiopathic blockage of the urethra (he had no crystals but is a former feral and very prone to stress).  I've dealt with those problems as they arose and all seems well right now.  My little female who had the bad teeth is my youngest.  She was rescued from an active meth house so I knew there would probably be some health issues, but felt that she had been through quite enough in her young life and adopted her anyway.  I am boosting her immune system with each meal and hoping that her own body will heal her if given the tools with which to do so.  For both of them, a stress-free, loving home is the best thing I can do for them.  My stressed-out former feral is now demanding love and chin-rubs, so trust goes a long way toward giving them a happy life.  Make sure they get exercise.  I play with mine when I don't want to move.  They have to run and play and "hunt" their toys in order to be happy and healthy and keep all systems functioning well.  When a cat gets bored, it will often eat just for relief from boredom.  

You are doing those things too, and I'm sure the rest of your kitties are and will be just fine.  One other thing I want to mention is to give them only filtered water to drink.  Cat cancer scares me as well, because it is now much more prevalent than it was even 10 years ago.  I believe toxins are to blame, whether from killed virus vaccines containing adjuvants, or from environmental toxins or poor food choices.  Giving them filtered water makes me feel like I'm making a small difference.  I don't drink plain tap water and I see no reason why they should have to.  I also give dry food only as a treat and only in tiny amounts.  Their bodies just can't handle the dry stuff and trying to digest something they weren't created to digest is usually going to cause problems down the road, and/or lead to chronic inflammation.  Most cat foods have an overabundance of Omega-6 fatty acids and not enough Omega-3's.  Rather than the healthy 5:1 Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio, these carb-filled foods (even the high-protein ones with the protein source having been fed lots of grain) can result in a 20:1 imbalance, with far too many Omega-6's.  They do need some, but not 20:1.  Nordic Naturals is a good Omega-3 for cats, and must be licked up or added to food.  Never give a cat any oil orally; if they aspirate the oil, they can rarely be saved.  That's all I can think of offhand, but you know this site is an excellent source of help and encouragement.  Many members have far more knowledge than I do, but these are the things that are working for me with my babies.