Acute straining in the litter box- Advice?

[pisces7386]

So my 1.5 year old male  cat, Bear, is having trouble in the litter box tonight... the nearest emergency vet is not an option. The local vet opens in 14 hours.  We have been suspecting that he is a little constipated since a vet visit for skin irritation two weeks ago when he got injections of "coniva injectable 0.68" and "Depo medrol 20 Mg/MI" - antibiotic and steroid. (neither list constipation as a side effect) We have been adding water and fiber (phsyllium husk) to  his food to fix it.  Today he got into the litter box around 3:40 and started staining, in position, and stayed there for 20 to 25 minutes.  Produced nothing. He got out and walked around the house, and went right back to the box. repeat.  We gave him some some miralax (1/8 tsp) with about an ounce of food and extra water.  He gulped it down.. and continued his straining and walking. About 20 minutes later he pooped... it was a decent amount, shape and texture, but it smelled weird. He continued walking around with a little less box straining but then he got back in the box and puked his miralax meal in the box while straining.  More walking and straining, I rubbed his belly and he farted **alot**.  More straining, walking and belly rubbing and he peed in one of his 'play time' cardboard boxes while I rubbed his belly... it had a weird little white glob in it that was kind of like paper pulp (mushy almost like playdough but fibrous) . Right after that he walked into his bed, and assumed the straining position so I rubbed his belly and he peed in his bed. No globs. Then he jumped into the litter box and strained again.    It has been 2 hours since this all started.

   Now he is sleeping in the carrier (has been for 20 minutes now). I don't know what to do for him. Can anyone suggest anything?  I will be calling the vet as soon as they open in the morning... but that is 14 hours away.  Side note, I have two other cats, his mom and sister, and they are fine. We have not changed his food. He has always been 'nervous' and took his vet visit very hard two weeks ago... he was a nervous cat and hid for days, but had been acting more normal  for the past few. 

Please give me any suggestions

 

[Columbine]

I don't have experience with *feline* gastric problems but it does sound like something is really not good. I have IBS and the poop and gas sound similar to that...but certainly the gas could have been in part due to increased fibre.

The white blobs in the urine are potentially more worrying to me. See if you can have a feel of his bladder. If it feels hard like a ball you *could * be looking at struvite crystals in the bladder. If that is the case, he needs to be seen by a vet fairly urgently. My cat had crystals and couldn't pee at all. In that situation it becomes a veterinary emergency. It's good Bear is able to urinate, but it's still a big deal.

I don't know what else to say...If it was me I'd be calling the vet now.

Sorry I can't be more positive.

 

[hexiesfriend]

Did the vet diagnose the constipation? Is he peeing without straining? Any noises from him when he's trying to go? As long as he is peeing ok I think you'll be ok until the morning. I don't think I'd continue with the fiber and miralax unless you cleared it through the vet. Looks like it may be causing a lot of gas and stomach upset. There is probably something else going on other than constipation maybe an allergy to something or a patasite. Id get him a heating pad on low for his tummy and continue with the tummy rubs. I'd also try to get him to drink more water.

 

[hexiesfriend]

Just read Columbines response. Did the white glob come from his pee? That's not a good sign...,can you roll him over on his bell and check that area for white granules? My cat tried to pee and threw up when he had urinary a blockage and that's an emergency situation.

 

[pisces7386]

No vet diagnosis of constipation. We do have a feline family history of chicken allergy/ sensitive tummy, but it usually results in the runs. He did wheeze/whimper a few times when he really pushed. The blob in his his urine was about the size of a mini chocolate chip ( sorry for the analogy but it was the only thing I could come up with) and it *may* have been in the box already... I grabbed the box from storage because he was looking for a small space to tuck into.

He did wake up about 30 minutes ago, we fed him a very light and soupy dinner then he went to the litter box and strained, I rubbed his tummy (with a bit of pressure) and he peed again in the box, no blobs that I could see. It was a decent amount... pretty much a normal amount. He went right back to the carrier and is sleeping again. We will be calling as soon as the vet opens in the morning. It was the two hours of pacing and straining that had me so worried. Now that he has stopped pacing and has laid down to rest. I am feeling a bit more calm.. that and the fact that he has pooped, peed, farted and eaten. I'll probably spend the night out here on the couch with him anyway... but he is definitely better than three hours ago.

Should I try to capture some of his pee for the vet? I imagine that they need pee in a cup.. not pee/litter clumps right?

Still open to more advice

 

[hexiesfriend]

As long as the urine is flowing it is probably not a blockage but I would have the vet test his urine in case the blob came from his urine. He may have a bladder infection that the convenia didn't take care of or just the tummy issues as you suspected. I had an older kitty with constipation but most of the time she'd get the poop out on her own with no noise or visible straining just several tries. I'd still rub his tummy and have the heating pad out for him. Hopefully he can get some relief in the morning. He's still a young one ......

 

[pisces7386]

Thank you Hexiefriend.  He is acting much more normal...He isn't wandering around in discomfort anymore and seems like he is wondering where dinner is now ( 5 hours in).  He doesn't seem normal yet, but it is a big step in the right direction. I will be up with him tonight ( it is 9 pm now) and I will update if anything changes. Also I will update with the vet in the morning. 

 

[Columbine]

Glad to hear Bear's managed to settle a bit. Hope things go ok with the vet.

 

[pisces7386]

Bear ate at bedtime and this morning normally. He also peed normally this morning. He has been a bit slow today, but still enjoyed playing when we got his favorite toy out. I spoke with the vet this morning... well the vet's secretary. Of course the vet would like me to bring him in.... but I really think the stress of going two weeks ago got him to this point, so I said I would rather not. She wouldn't give me any other advice other than to isolate him so we could tell if he was peeing or not and told us we needed to bring him in if he had trouble again.  I asked what she would do if I brought him in and said she would feel for his bladder or for constipation. They would possibly want to take x-rays. She wouldn't discuss anything with me ' because we really don't know unless you bring him in'. I decided we would wait and see how he does today.  

I feel like I might be making a mistake in not taking him in right away... but we paid $200 two weeks ago for the first visit ( which I beleive put us in this situation) and we really don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on making the problem worse by strressing him out even more.  He hasn't strained since he peed last night. His breathing rate is 28 breaths per minute ( He is watching birds out the window right now so I don't know if this is good or bad) I felt up his belly and he didn't act like it was uncomfortable at all, I also did not feel anything that stood out to me. 

I'll update tomorrow or sooner if anything changes.

 

[Columbine]

Good to hear that Bear's feeling better. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong , but 28 breaths a minute is only slightly elevated (from memory, up to 26 is normal at rest). Excitement at the birds easily accounts for the elevation.

Your vet really doesn't sound very helpful. If any more straining occurs be sure to feel his bladder like I mentioned yesterday. The other telltale sign of crystals (which was my concern) is that you'll see lots of little bits of pee in the box instead of one bigger one. You know what looks normal for Bear, so use that as a guide.

I'm not surprised he's a bit slow today - so would you be if you'd had a night like he just had! Keep an eye on him, stay away from unprescribed laxatives and maybe stick to a lighter diet than usual...maybe one type/flavour of food only...and trust your instincts.

You're quite right that, if this was a stress reaction, dragging him back to the vet won't help him at this point. He sounds like he's over the worst now :cross:

To be honest, if it was me I'd be looking around for a different veterinary practice! I'd have thought a good vet would be prepared to give a phone consultation, especially with an animal who's greatly stressed by being brought in. My vets will always do a phone consultation. They take the view that the owners know their own animal's 'normal ' better than anyone!

Good luck with Bear. I hope he's back to his usual self soon

 

[pisces7386]

Columbine- I have to admit, I'm glad that you suggested a new vet, this is the second time I have been less than impressed by their level of attention and I have been debating finding a different one. My biggest problem with another vet is that the next closest is a 30 to 40 minute drive... which would just make it worse for Bear. 

I did a little more reading on crystals and I am more and more convinced that is what is going on here. It has been a stressful winter for him b/c my husband and I have had to do a lot of traveling... and we jokingly call Bear 'emotionally dependent' on us. He gets very despondent when even one of us is away for more than a day.  We had only been home from our last trip for about a week when we had to take him to the vet so it could very well be a lot of stress. 

We feed our little guys homemade raw food, they are allergic to chicken and this was the most cost effective method of feeding that we could find. We are going to continue the extra fiber that we have been giving him ( his poop last night was actually a great texture)  and keep adding the extra water, maybe a little more than we have been adding. I am also going to do some research over in the homemade food forum to see what I can do to adjust the food recipe we use.

 

[Columbine]

Good luck with finding a new vet. Maybe spray cat carrier and car with Feliway to help reduce stress on car journeys?

If you suspect crystals be *very* careful. It can quickly become a veterinary emergency. Shadow's bladder was hard and felt about the size of a tennis ball. If he hadn't been cathaterised his bladder would have burst...and probably killed him.


I'm not trying to scare you, but you need to be aware of the dangers. Really hope Bear's case is minor and that he'll be able to pass the crystals himself. There's a link somewhere for a raw food diet by a Dr Lisa someone (sorry, appalling memory). She's done extensive work with and has owned cats with crystals and the diet she lays out is ideal for them.

Can anyone else think of the site/link I'm talking about?

 

[detmut]

Good luck with finding a new vet. Maybe spray cat carrier and car with Feliway to help reduce stress on car journeys?

If you suspect crystals be *very* careful. It can quickly become a veterinary emergency. Shadow's bladder was hard and felt about the size of a tennis ball. If he hadn't been cathaterised his bladder would have burst...and probably killed him.


I'm not trying to scare you, but you need to be aware of the dangers. Really hope Bear's case is minor and that he'll be able to pass the crystals himself. There's a link somewhere for a raw food diet by a Dr Lisa someone (sorry, appalling memory). She's done extensive work with and has owned cats with crystals and the diet she lays out is ideal for them.

Can anyone else think of the site/link I'm talking about?

http://catinfo.org/

 

[Columbine]

Thanks detmut. Hope that site helps you pisces7386

 

[pisces7386]

Thank you for the link. I had read through all of that when I first started making their food and it was the one I was going to look for! I went back through it and unfortunately it seems that all she says about crystals is that cats don't get enough water from dry food.... so not to much help for me. 

Just an update on Bear- He played like normal this afternoon and spent several hours watching the birds.. all normal for him. He ate his dinner a little slow ( I think this may have been because the increased water just took more time). He then wandered into the bathroom, he hesitated, came back out, then seemed to set his shoulders and marched right into the box and assumed the position. He was in there a little longer than I would have liked, but he did produce a normal amount of urine without straining. The litter clump was a little more pancake shaped than the normal round/ball shaped-- I am guessing that means that his flow rate was different from normal... but I also noticed that even the girls are making flatter clumps with this new box of litter (its a very dusty batch). 

I am feeling more confident that he is doing okay. I might give a call to a new vet tomorrow just to see what they say. If I do need to bring him in to the vet (new or old) I think I might ask them for some happy pills for him ... those do exist right? I think that would be the only way I'd put him through a vet visit right now. 

 

[Columbine]

It sounds like Bear is definitely on the mend Good luck with the new vet. Regarding happy pills...A family friend who was a retired PDSA vet used to talk about going so far as to give cats and dogs valium if needed. I'm sure there are weaker options too. For non drug options have you thought of trying flower remedies or cat specific herbal supplements? There was another thread in cat health yesterday from coconutkris who mentioned a herbal calmer for cats that acts very like a lite version of valium. It might be worth finding out what it's called and trying it if the vet thinks its ok.

 

[pisces7386]

I think we are in the clear- this morning he was headbutting for breakfast and peed very nicely in the box. All very normal actions. Also, Last night he climbed into my lap and purred his heart out... just like we used to do everyday-->

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• pisces7386
• Mar 6, 2015

It gave me a chance to really feel him up ( which he loved!) I definitely felt organs... and they felt the same as the girls'. No bulging bladder that i could find. I also took a look at his pee pee and it didn't look irritated... not that I really know what normal looks like. I really had to dig through his fuzz to get to anything, lol.  I am not going to call the other/new vet  at this point. If this happens again I will bring him in without hesitation. I will also look into the herbal options for calming... and for feliway ( I've heard about it but never really looked into it). I am starting to get a feeling that he may need it when times get rough.

I want to give one last HUGE thank you to you folks for helping me through this episode. 

 

[Columbine]

I'm so glad to hear that Bear's back to his usual self

 

[hexiesfriend]

Good luck!! He is sooooo cute!

 

[pisces7386]

So, I'm sad to report that Baby Bear had more trouble in the box last night ( always at night!). We took a midnight drive (actually 1 am) to the emergency vet where they admitted him with a full blockage. They put in a catheter and it turns out his whole pee pee was full of that same white gunk that he passed originally. The vet says he is very small anatomically and will be prone to blockages. On a good note- He handled the hour-long car ride in the dark like a champ! He rolled around on my lap and purred the whole time.

His urine was pretty clean and they are testing a sample, the vet suspected some crystals. He's getting pain meds. They are giving him lots of IV fluids to flush his system and are going to pull the catheter once his 'input and output' match up. They hope that will be 24 hours after it was inserted ( so 3 am tomorrow). Then they will discharge him once he pees. The vet already mentioned turning him into a 'her' if this happens again.