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Hi everyone, I wonder if anyone can provide some insight and give me some sort of relief from the sleepless nights.
My beloved tuxedo cat, Arlo (1.5 years old), has been struggling and not quite right for almost 3 weeks now. It started with refusal of food, then he didn’t produce a bowel movement for a couple of days. This was over the weekend, I spoke to an emergency vet who wasn’t too concerned and took him to the usual vet first thing Monday morning. Arlo was otherwise fine in himself and they couldn’t feel much stool, they wondered if it might be dental although when looking in his mouth, they said it looked healthy. They gave him an anti-sickness injection and sent us away. The next day he still hadn’t used the bathroom though was eating a little bit. I took him back to the vets and they gave us lactulose to try, at a very low dose. 0.5ml three times a day. His eating got better and he produced a BM (hard, not a healthy one) every two days. It got to Wednesday and it had been 3 days without a BM, he was eating as normal at this point and I was adding water to his wet food and withholding dry food. I was still really concerned about him, I called the vet the next morning and brought him straight there. The vet did a physical exam and could feel lots of stool, they sent us straight to a veterinary hospital in another town and mentioned megacolon. I was absolutely beside myself with worry and went straight there, Arlo was there all day and received blood work (result - fine, nothing untoward, red blood cell count slightly on the high side) an x-ray (result - totally impacted with faeces, no blockage from a foreign object and no fracture etc.), IV fluids and an enema under sedation. I’m told there was a LOT of hard stool. They sent us away with antibiotics and a very high dose of lactulose, 3ml 3x a day. They instructed me to keep adding water to his food, and reintroduce the dry food.
That evening when we got home he was RAVENOUS. He ate a pouch of wet food, a mackerel loin, some dry food with added water and was still looking in the bins for more!
The next morning, he had a BM around 9.30am and it was very loose - which I’d expect following the enema and all the lactulose. He ate as normal, was in great spirits. I would mention that I tested positive for COVID this evening.
The next day, Saturday, another poop in the morning around 10am, this one very healthy. Smooth, normal healthy colour and quantity. The day after that (now Sunday), he had another poop again around 10am, this time a little darker and more textured but still soft/mushy and healthy. Eating fine. Monday came around, another poop (hoorah!) but not until 4pm ish. Same texture and consistency as the previous day. Tuesday came around. He refused his breakfast when I put it down. I continued with the lactulose in the syringe as normal and also some water in a syringe since he wasn’t eating or using the bowl/fountain/glass. No poop whatsoever. He eventually went back to his food and over the course of the day ate around 2 pouches of wet and a handful of dreamies.
Wednesday has came around, no poops as yet, he’s refused his breakfast this morning but did go back to it 20-30 mins later and eat 3/4 of it. Continuing with the lactulose. I would mention the past couple of days he is urinating quite a bit - 3/4 times daily.
I’m worried he’s becoming impacted again. I am going to phone the vets this morning, as they instructed me to if he doesn’t produce a BM for two consecutive days as he is at risk for megacolon.
Does anyone have any advice, insight, words of reassurance? What should I ask at the vets this time? (I’m still COVID positive so someone else would need to take him). Any advice is welcome. I am absolutely beside myself with worry, and want my lovely Arlo to be healthy and well.
My beloved tuxedo cat, Arlo (1.5 years old), has been struggling and not quite right for almost 3 weeks now. It started with refusal of food, then he didn’t produce a bowel movement for a couple of days. This was over the weekend, I spoke to an emergency vet who wasn’t too concerned and took him to the usual vet first thing Monday morning. Arlo was otherwise fine in himself and they couldn’t feel much stool, they wondered if it might be dental although when looking in his mouth, they said it looked healthy. They gave him an anti-sickness injection and sent us away. The next day he still hadn’t used the bathroom though was eating a little bit. I took him back to the vets and they gave us lactulose to try, at a very low dose. 0.5ml three times a day. His eating got better and he produced a BM (hard, not a healthy one) every two days. It got to Wednesday and it had been 3 days without a BM, he was eating as normal at this point and I was adding water to his wet food and withholding dry food. I was still really concerned about him, I called the vet the next morning and brought him straight there. The vet did a physical exam and could feel lots of stool, they sent us straight to a veterinary hospital in another town and mentioned megacolon. I was absolutely beside myself with worry and went straight there, Arlo was there all day and received blood work (result - fine, nothing untoward, red blood cell count slightly on the high side) an x-ray (result - totally impacted with faeces, no blockage from a foreign object and no fracture etc.), IV fluids and an enema under sedation. I’m told there was a LOT of hard stool. They sent us away with antibiotics and a very high dose of lactulose, 3ml 3x a day. They instructed me to keep adding water to his food, and reintroduce the dry food.
That evening when we got home he was RAVENOUS. He ate a pouch of wet food, a mackerel loin, some dry food with added water and was still looking in the bins for more!
The next morning, he had a BM around 9.30am and it was very loose - which I’d expect following the enema and all the lactulose. He ate as normal, was in great spirits. I would mention that I tested positive for COVID this evening.
The next day, Saturday, another poop in the morning around 10am, this one very healthy. Smooth, normal healthy colour and quantity. The day after that (now Sunday), he had another poop again around 10am, this time a little darker and more textured but still soft/mushy and healthy. Eating fine. Monday came around, another poop (hoorah!) but not until 4pm ish. Same texture and consistency as the previous day. Tuesday came around. He refused his breakfast when I put it down. I continued with the lactulose in the syringe as normal and also some water in a syringe since he wasn’t eating or using the bowl/fountain/glass. No poop whatsoever. He eventually went back to his food and over the course of the day ate around 2 pouches of wet and a handful of dreamies.
Wednesday has came around, no poops as yet, he’s refused his breakfast this morning but did go back to it 20-30 mins later and eat 3/4 of it. Continuing with the lactulose. I would mention the past couple of days he is urinating quite a bit - 3/4 times daily.
I’m worried he’s becoming impacted again. I am going to phone the vets this morning, as they instructed me to if he doesn’t produce a BM for two consecutive days as he is at risk for megacolon.
Does anyone have any advice, insight, words of reassurance? What should I ask at the vets this time? (I’m still COVID positive so someone else would need to take him). Any advice is welcome. I am absolutely beside myself with worry, and want my lovely Arlo to be healthy and well.
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