PLEASE NEED HELP

alangolding25 · Jun 25, 2016

Hello
We need some advice as we are getting very frustrated.

Out had has had constipation for a couple of weeks now. She had been at our vet and we were given lactulose which didn't work. We brought her into a vet hospital to get an enema.
They said they would like to keep her in overnight and do 3 enemas as the stool was very hard after a rectal exam.
It's been now 2 nights (today is the 3rd day) and 6-7 enemas later
They said she has been passing small bits of stool but there is still a large hard lump of stool that they want to get out. Today they are performing an X Ray to see how far back the stool goes and if there are any other problems.

Is it me or do they seem incompetant. 2 nights and multiple enemas and they still cannot get the big hard stool out.

We want to see the results of the X Ray but we don't want to keep her another night and have more enemas done.
It seems to me they are adding bills up as much as they can.

Anyone any advice?

alangolding25 · Jun 25, 2016

Update ; they just called back with X Ray results. They said she has a super extended colon ands large amount of dried poop. They are going to do another enema and manually try remove more poop out.
They are closed tomorrow so we are taking her home tonight

They will want her to go back for more enemas and to take the rest of the poop out. Then start her on medication to try improve the muscle movement in the colon as they are not very reactive they said.

They said if everything fails down the line she ultimately need surgery to remove some of the colon.

If anyone has went through this before and has any advice please let me know.
I am hoping to say no to medication and try more natural remedies such as miralax, fish oil etc once and hopefully when the droid poop comes out

catpack · Jun 25, 2016

So, it sounds like your cat has Megacolon. We have a cat in our rescue with this. He got extremely impacted and was sedated and completely cleaned out.

Has your girl been sedated to and had a really good clean out or are they just doing what I call "local enemas" in which they either insert a medication into the rectum or use soapy water. This method can be done without sedating the cat as they do not go up very far into the colon.

There are several members her that have cats with Megacolon. It seems that some cats respond well to being put on a canned-only diet (the moisture in the food helps move things along), some respond well to plain canned pumpkin (fiber, again to help move things along) and others have chosen to feed a raw diet.

We never used Cisapride to great G's Megacolon, though did use Lactulose. That and increasing his wet food has kept him from having any further issues. He no longer gets the Lactulose.

alangolding25 · Jul 7, 2016

Unfortunately we have decided to put our cat down.

After Fiain had been originally in the hospital for 3 nights, doing enemas, having anesthetic needle for manual extraction, tablets, IV etc.

They were able to get half of the poop out.

This is a severe case of Megacolon though so the other half left was quite substantial.

We have FIain a few days break and brought her back into the hospital for another couple of nights for the same thing above. Unfortunately this time they were not as successful. The left over stool was extremely dry and large. They were unable to break it down and manually extract it. Fiain seemed to be in more pain than before too, which makes sense after all that she has gone through so far.

So our vet said we have went through all avenues of getting the large stool out, and the next step would be surgery. A subtotal colectomy.

After discussing the risks, possible complications, possible life after surgery for Fiain we had a tough decision to make.

Given her age, size, severity of the Megacolon we have decided not pursue the surgery and to put Fiain down.

We are devastated but we feel we are doing the right thing for Fiain.

It is great to read about people who have seen success with the colectomy, but still having issues there after etc.

We feel the right thing for Fiain is to put her down. To put her through a risky surgery, that might not 100% fix the issue, that might cause diarrhea for the rest of her life, that might fix the issue temporarily and she might have the same problems again down the road, would be a decision based on our needs and not Fiains. We would be putting her through that so that we can enjoy spending more time with her and it would be for our benefit but for her she would be going through the above which is not fair to her.

Some people might not agree, but we feel keeping her alive at all costs is not the right thing for her.

donutte · Jul 7, 2016

I'm so sorry

This is obviously a very personal decision, and I'm sure no one here would say you are making a bad decision - you are the one with her and making what you feel is the best decision for her. I think most people here have been there, for one reason or another. While we may all have our own opinions regarding treatment, I never have opinions regarding that particular decision.

:hugs:

to you.

Kat0121 · Jul 7, 2016

alangolding25 said:
Unfortunately we have decided to put our cat down.

After Fiain had been originally in the hospital for 3 nights, doing enemas, having anesthetic needle for manual extraction, tablets, IV etc.

They were able to get half of the poop out.

This is a severe case of Megacolon though so the other half left was quite substantial.

We have FIain a few days break and brought her back into the hospital for another couple of nights for the same thing above. Unfortunately this time they were not as successful. The left over stool was extremely dry and large. They were unable to break it down and manually extract it. Fiain seemed to be in more pain than before too, which makes sense after all that she has gone through so far.

So our vet said we have went through all avenues of getting the large stool out, and the next step would be surgery. A subtotal colectomy.

After discussing the risks, possible complications, possible life after surgery for Fiain we had a tough decision to make.

Given her age, size, severity of the Megacolon we have decided not pursue the surgery and to put Fiain down.

We are devastated but we feel we are doing the right thing for Fiain.

It is great to read about people who have seen success with the colectomy, but still having issues there after etc.

We feel the right thing for Fiain is to put her down. To put her through a risky surgery, that might not 100% fix the issue, that might cause diarrhea for the rest of her life, that might fix the issue temporarily and she might have the same problems again down the road, would be a decision based on our needs and not Fiains. We would be putting her through that so that we can enjoy spending more time with her and it would be for our benefit but for her she would be going through the above which is not fair to her.

Some people might not agree, but we feel keeping her alive at all costs is not the right thing for her.

I'm so sorry that you are having to make this decision. You know your cat better than anyone. If your gut instinct is telling you that this is what is best, then it's what you need to do. No one else can tell you what to do. She's your little girl, not theirs.

I agree that keeping her alive at all costs is not the right thing. You will be giving her peace while she still has her dignity. You are giving her what she needs most right now. Unconditional love and friendship and you are putting her needs before your own wants. She will never forget you, she will always love you and when the time is right, you will meet again.

alangolding25 · Jul 7, 2016

Thanks for the support

We are extremely sad to say the least and wish there was an easier solution

She will be in our memories forever

betsygee · Jul 11, 2016

So sorry to read about Flain's diagnosis. On behalf of the TCS Team, we offer our condolences. We'll lock the thread now out of respect for your loss. We invite you to post a tribute to Flain in our Crossing the Bridge forum.

PLEASE NEED HELP

alangolding25

TCS Member

Thread starter

alangolding25

TCS Member

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catpack

TCS Veteran

alangolding25

TCS Member

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donutte

Professional cat sitter extraordinaire!

Kat0121

TCS Member

alangolding25

TCS Member

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betsygee

Just what part of meow don't you understand.

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