Vomiting, pooping, and acting bizarre...

Alright, this is a long story, as it has been going on for 2 months now. I know everyone is going to advise me to bring her to the vet, which I intend on doing. There's not a whole lot I can do with her right now since I'm at work, so I'm just hoping that someone might be able to give me some insight.

My cat Bailey has always had a tendency to puke. I've had her for almost 3 years, and she's done it pretty much regularly while still being in good health. She gets regular check-ups and everything. Anyway, 2 months ago (almost exactly), she puked in the laundry room on a Wednesday, and it looked different than it normally does. Usually, it's either a hairball or just regurgitated food, but this time it was all mushy looking. I didn't think anything of it, since it was just that one time. The next day, I got home and she wouldn't even look at me. I found several spots of a foamy, saliva-like substance around the house. I noticed it didn't look like she'd eaten (she has been eating the same dry food only for a year and has never had any problems with it). I tried to eat her some wet food, but she refused. That's what I called the emergency vet (I swear, this cat ONLY gets sick when her vet is closed). While on the phone with the vet, Bailey kept squatting on the floor as though she was going to poop. I lifted her tail and noticed that her anus was considerably swollen.

I brought her to the emergency vet, and they discovered that she was mildly dehydrated and constipated. She stayed overnight, they gave her 2 enemas and tested her for every sickness under the sun, and sent me home with a bottle of lactulose (I was supposed to give her 2ml twice a day). This was on Friday.

After about 5 days, she still hadn't pooped once and would ONLY eat wet food. I brought her to her usual vet that Friday (1 week after her emergency vet visit). She was constipated again, so he gave her another enema and also said that she may have a perineal hernia, but that if she did, it was borderline. He advised me to start giving her 3ml of lactulose twice per day and continue feeding her wet food if it was all she would eat. I did this for about 3 weeks, and then I didn't give her the lactulose for about 3 days. Her anus started to swell again, so I started giving her the lactulose again brought her back to the vet and had her checked out. He said he still couldn't quite tell if she had a hernia, but to just keep giving her the lactulose for now. At that point, we decided that I was only going to give her 3ml per day, since it's such a battle giving that to her, and it's difficult for me to have time to fight with her every morning.

I continued to do that, and she eventually started eating dry food again. For the past 4 weeks, she has been eating only wet food, and I haven't given her the lactulose in a couple of weeks. She has been pooping regularly and seemed to be doing fine without it. I've been checking to make sure her anus isn't swollen, and it hasn't.

However, my roommate informed me that Bailey pooper in the livingroom this past Monday. This is COMPLETELY unlike her and I am as positive as I can be that it's not behavioral. On Tuesday, she wasn't acting like herself, so I decided to start giving her the lactulose again (I have been giving it to her nightly for the past 3 days). On Wednesday, she pooped in my bed. Lovely. Last night, she puked all over the floor (which would've been the bed if I hadn't moved her in time). Today, my roommate called to inform me that she puked in the kitcken and pooped in the bathroom and that she's hunched down really low and crawling on the floor.

Alright, does anyone have any ideas as to what is wrong with her? It seems as though she's not constipated if she's able to poop all over the house. I guess it's possible that she might be, since her poop has been pretty solid poop, but I don't get why she's not pooping in her litterbox like she has for the past 3 years that I've had her. I just don't know what to do with her. I don't like bringing her to anyone but her regular veterinarian, because he knows her situation better than anyone else. Of course, she has to get sick on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, so I'll probably end up having to bring her to the emergency vet anyway.

I just don't understand how she could be doing perfectly fine and then all of a sudden start puking and pooping all over the place out of nowhere. I pay very close attention to her, and I've done everything that I was supposed to do. I'm getting frustrated, because I live in someone else's house, and now I'm going to have to keep my cat locked up in my 11x13 room all the time, because I can't let her roam free if she's going to be doing this.

Has anyone had any similar experiences or advice? I'm sorry to sound so aggravated in my e-mail, but I'm just so frustrated, and it's even more frustrated to hear that she's all messed up at home when I'm at work and can't do anything about it.

If anyone has any advice or information to share, I would GREATLY appreciate it.

Thanks!
Jen

Why did you stop giving her her medicine so many times without the vet's advice?
It sounds like you are doing the best you can taking care of her aside from that. Has she been tested for anything or is your vet clinging to the "might have a hernia" story... I'd be at a new vet by now, personally. These symptoms aren't really the type you just guess at and then shrug.

She's not using her litterbox because she's sick. In cats that always use the box properly, inappropriate elimination is basically like saying "Mommy I need to go to the doctor!" and also it's been associated with pain now what with the swollen rear and possible hernia and such. She probably doesn't want to go at all and is waiting until she absolutely has to, and by then its too late to move.

I hope everything works out at the vet this weekend!

I was wondering the same thing, it is REALLY important to continue to give the meds no matter how much better she looks. Do not stop it. If you just give partial doses and stop and partial doses and then stop and keep this up the they will become immune to the medicine and it won't work.

Keep Bailey in your room while you are at work and lock the door so nobody can accidentally let her out. It is my impression that she may be eating something toxic in the house. Remember to put litterbox, food, water and cat toys for her. Cover your bed with plastic or tarp just in case she has an accident on it. See how she does after a week or more. If she gets well, then it is very probable that there is something endangering her health in the house, especially when you are away.

I know you are taking her to the vet and I'm sorry that this just seems to happen on the worst possible day. I don't have experience with these symptoms so I can not even give an educated gueses but I would be taking her to another vet for a second opinion.

That makes sense, but what she's been taking is a stool softener. I don't believe that starting, stopping, and starting it will cause her to become immune to it. If anything, taking it consistently and regularly would probably cause her to become immune to it, since her digestive system would adjust to constantly having that substance in it. It's just a thought, but I'm pretty sure that's how it works at least in humans when it comes to stool softeners and laxatives. I believe an immunity can be built up after taking it consistently over time.

Wow, I didn't even see all the replies! Thanks everyone!

She has been tested for illnesses, and all of her bloodwork came back normal. She was also x-rayed at her emergency vet visit, and they ruled out ingestion of a foreign object.

This is part of the reason why her regular vet thought she may have the perineal hernia. He also felt an abnormality when giving her rectal exams which confirmed the possibility. However, since it was borderline, that's why we've been trying to treat it with the stool softener rather than go the surgery route.

I really, really like her regular vet and feel confident that he knows what he's talking about. Pretty much everything has been ruled out, other than the possibility of her ingesting something poisonous (thanks for mentioning that Yayi). I don't really think that's it, but she's going to be kept in my room from now on anyway since my roommate doesn't seem too thrilled about the puke and poop everywhere.

I know, I know, I shouldn't have stopped giving her the lactulose. It is just SO DIFFICULT to get her to take it, and I'm not home everyday to be able to give it to her. When I was away for a weekend and didn't give it to her at all, she seemed to be fine. I closely monitored her for any symptoms of illness, and when she continued to do well, I figured she may have just gotten better. I don't like having to torture her by squirting that stuff down her throat everyday. She hates it and freaks out (and my entire carpet is sticky because she sprays it all over the place). I know it may sound like I'm making excuses, but I realy do feel bad to have to do that to her EVERY DAY.

I definitely think she needs to see a vet, even if it is a holiday weekend. Just like people can have diverticulosis or something, she seems to have something wrong. Whether it is the hernia or something else, it could have flared up and gotten even worse. And since her symptoms are worsening, it seems she should see a vet. In fact, in the future, she may need to see the vet whenever she restarts the inappropriate pooping or puking.

Once she is through this "acute" phase of her illness, and back to the "chronic" issues, I would suggest adding pumpkin to her diet. Whether a kitty is constipated or has diarrhea, pumpkin is supposed to help. It tastes better than lactulose, too. Just be sure you get plain pumpkin, with no spices added. I don't remember the amount, but a search of this forum should find some ideas.

I hope she feels better soon. Poor girl, sounds like she is having a time of it!

i would suggest you ask your vet to refer you to a feline specialist. Stopping medications without your vet's okay interrupts the cycle the drug has started. Unless there is a life or health threatening reason to NOT take the drugs, I would keep the cat on it until the drugs are gone.

I give my cat both Lactulose and pumpkin everyday. I mix the lactulose and the pumpkin in with her canned food and she eats it without any problems. You might give that a try instead of trying to give it to her with a syringe (if that's what you're doing).

The vet told me on my last visit with Callie that she's got an inactive colon which makes her stools hard and dry.

Hope you get the problem solved quickly. I know it's not fun cleaning up kitty barf and poop. Been there...done that!

Stephanie

Thanks for the advice, everyone. You all gave me some valuable information, and I really appreciate it!!

Bailey is doing very well. She was fine when I got home last night and went to town on a can of wet food. She hasn't had any accidents since yesterday and has been acting just like her usual self today. I'm just going to continue giving her the lactulose daily since it seems to help her. I'm also going to buy some pumpkin and try that out (thanks to those who suggested it). I did get a tarp to put on my bed when I'm away, since that seems to be her favorite place to barf

I talked to the vet this morning and let them know that I was going to monitor her over the weekend and call them Tuesday if necessary. I think the problem was more than likely that I'd stopped giving her the lactulose. Even though I started giving it to her again last Tuesday, maybe she had some hard poop built up that was difficult to pass, which might have been why she pooped all over the house.

Anyway, I'll keep updating with any developments. Thanks again everyone!!

My Trixie displayed many of the same symtoms with fatty liver syndrome. Now that she's been diagnosed with diabetes-if her blood sugar is not right she gets terribly constipated and dehydrated. The first bout of constipation cost me $310 because they kept her overnight! Now i grind half of a gentle laxative if I see she's having trouble. And she get 2 shots of insulin a day.

I think feeding canned pumpkin regularly is a good idea, I hear it helps both with diarrhea and constipation, so it should keep her regular.

And never use any human medication on her... but I'm sure you already knew that.
I'm glad to hear your cat is getting better!