Hello cat lovers,
I am looking for an opinion about my cat's constipation. I have a 3 and a half year old Tomcat, no specific breed. A tuxedo cat to be more precise. Let me start by saying he is an indoor cat. I found him on the street when he was 3 months old and has been kept inside since then. Occasionally I take him outside just so he can take a small walk. He is vaccinated and neutered. I have no other cats in my home.
Almost two months ago he started pooping very small amounts of blood. I must say that I never checked his poop before so I have no idea if it was first time. It was the first time I noticed. It went on for a few days with small streaks of blood and mucus. I took him to the vet and took some blood tests which came back just fine. Took some stool samples and it came back negative for parasites or bacteria. Did a test for calprotectin which shows colon inflammation and it came back negative.
The vet put him on a special diet with food with low residue and some fiber. I feed him 120 g of canned hills digestive per day and dry food from the same brand. It took some time and it seemed that no more blood appeared in the poo. Now unfortunately his bowel movements have lessened and lessened. Sometimes he poops two and a half days apart. His stool does seem a bit hard, but no discoloration, no blood. He does not seem to be in pain, he seems active and eats. He still likes to play fetch with his ball as usual. He pees 2 two times a day, and drinks water. But I must mention that he was never a huge fan of drinking water. He seems to have lost 200 g in 3 weeks but I guessed it was because of the food. Before the bloody poo I used to give him dry food for sterilized cats.
I am desperate (I was diagnosed with depression some time ago and this cat is everything to me). He is my best friend and I cannot imagine him disappearing from my life so early. I read about megacolon and now I am scared he developed this illness. I feel guilty that perhaps his constipation went along for much longer, but maybe it got to a point of him developing megacolon because I was not good at picking up the signs.
What could be happening? The vet says it might be psychological because I kept disturbing his litter box right after he pooped to look for blood and take pictures for her to see and maybe he has some mental blockage. However, he does go to the litterbox to pee (I have changed its spot by the way), so it can't be this. My mom says maybe he is sensing my anxiety and it's making him feel worse. I am so lost. At night I cry with him in my arms, scared that I will lose him too soon and I am dreadfully thinking of the many procedures and operations that he may need in the future and the pain and fear that I cannot protect him from. Or worse that I might have to put him down. I will take him on Tuesday for an ultrasound and maybe I can get the vet to approve a colonoscopy. She says she does not recommend it due to it being invasive and to just try to switch to other and other diets. I have given him 2 ml of lactulose lately, but it had no effect until now.
I feel like I am losing precious time. Can you please tell me if any of you encountered this? Or at least offer me some insight. I am honestly looking for answers or just any ideas that can help.
I am sorry for the long message, I just needed to tell the whole story. For those who read all of it til the end, thank you. Looking forward to hearing from you guys.
Lots of love to your fur balls
PS: I am not from the US, so I am not able to go any clinic in the States, in case I get a recommendation from any of you.
I am looking for an opinion about my cat's constipation. I have a 3 and a half year old Tomcat, no specific breed. A tuxedo cat to be more precise. Let me start by saying he is an indoor cat. I found him on the street when he was 3 months old and has been kept inside since then. Occasionally I take him outside just so he can take a small walk. He is vaccinated and neutered. I have no other cats in my home.
Almost two months ago he started pooping very small amounts of blood. I must say that I never checked his poop before so I have no idea if it was first time. It was the first time I noticed. It went on for a few days with small streaks of blood and mucus. I took him to the vet and took some blood tests which came back just fine. Took some stool samples and it came back negative for parasites or bacteria. Did a test for calprotectin which shows colon inflammation and it came back negative.
The vet put him on a special diet with food with low residue and some fiber. I feed him 120 g of canned hills digestive per day and dry food from the same brand. It took some time and it seemed that no more blood appeared in the poo. Now unfortunately his bowel movements have lessened and lessened. Sometimes he poops two and a half days apart. His stool does seem a bit hard, but no discoloration, no blood. He does not seem to be in pain, he seems active and eats. He still likes to play fetch with his ball as usual. He pees 2 two times a day, and drinks water. But I must mention that he was never a huge fan of drinking water. He seems to have lost 200 g in 3 weeks but I guessed it was because of the food. Before the bloody poo I used to give him dry food for sterilized cats.
I am desperate (I was diagnosed with depression some time ago and this cat is everything to me). He is my best friend and I cannot imagine him disappearing from my life so early. I read about megacolon and now I am scared he developed this illness. I feel guilty that perhaps his constipation went along for much longer, but maybe it got to a point of him developing megacolon because I was not good at picking up the signs.
What could be happening? The vet says it might be psychological because I kept disturbing his litter box right after he pooped to look for blood and take pictures for her to see and maybe he has some mental blockage. However, he does go to the litterbox to pee (I have changed its spot by the way), so it can't be this. My mom says maybe he is sensing my anxiety and it's making him feel worse. I am so lost. At night I cry with him in my arms, scared that I will lose him too soon and I am dreadfully thinking of the many procedures and operations that he may need in the future and the pain and fear that I cannot protect him from. Or worse that I might have to put him down. I will take him on Tuesday for an ultrasound and maybe I can get the vet to approve a colonoscopy. She says she does not recommend it due to it being invasive and to just try to switch to other and other diets. I have given him 2 ml of lactulose lately, but it had no effect until now.
I feel like I am losing precious time. Can you please tell me if any of you encountered this? Or at least offer me some insight. I am honestly looking for answers or just any ideas that can help.
I am sorry for the long message, I just needed to tell the whole story. For those who read all of it til the end, thank you. Looking forward to hearing from you guys.
Lots of love to your fur balls
PS: I am not from the US, so I am not able to go any clinic in the States, in case I get a recommendation from any of you.
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