Megacolon & Old Fractured Pelvis Advice!

[bethneebabe]

I am the proud cat mommy of a 4 year old tuxedo little guy named Xenophon, or Xen. For my birthday, we adopted him from the local SPCA. We knew he had been an outdoor cat and had been surrendered because of, as we were told, an intestinal infection. We fell in love with him and he's been a member of our family for 6 months now. About 3 weeks ago, we noticed he wasn't pooping and we took him to the vet who did x-rays, and enema and various tests. Turns out that long before we met, he broke his pelvis and it fused back together improperly. He was okay with some lactulose and i/d over thanksgiving when a friend watched him (he didn't get any lactulose for a week because the prescription was only for a week.) We came back and within a day he wasn't pooping. Took him back this past Friday for another enema. He came back and had diarrea but by Sunday, he wasn't pooping again. Took him in today and now the vet thinks he has megacolon and the pelvic problem.

Xen is in so much pain from this and is trying really hard. We can't afford to do both surgeries and it seems like it would be a lot on his little system. We were thinking of just doing the megacolon surgery the next time he backs up. I'm worried that because of his pelvis problem, it won't help a lot. I don't want to put him through a lot of pain. I love him sooo much and he's such a great cat. He's gone through soooo much in his short life and I want him to live for a long time.

Any advice? Anyone had to deal with megacolon or a poorly healed pelvis?

Thanks!

 

[lionessrampant]

Bethany-

I found these links for you, and I was going to just IM them to you but you aren't online. Maybe reading these would help. The third one is details about the surgery.

http://www.internetvets.com/articles...in_the_cat.htm

http://www.petshealth.com/dr_library/felconstip.html

http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/megacolon.htm

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00118.htm

Hey guys! This is my friend Bethany! Be nice to her! Give her lots of good advice!

 

[bethneebabe]

Thanks for the links! Hopefully Xen will come home today fully cleaned out and ready to be medicated. Any other advice or tips is always welcome. Thanks again.

 

[jenny82]

Sorry I have no experience in this area, but please let us know how he's doing! Hopefully someone with more knowledge will come along...

 

[crazyforinfo]

I don't have any experience & just want to send some vibes. What vet are you taking him to? I know my vet will work with you on the bills. Lucky was at the vet for 3 weeks from blockages. They gave us huge breaks on the expenses and we made payments when we could. It was about $1000 when we were done with the surgery and all.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Dear Beth and Xenophon:

Gosh. No, I have not had any experience with either problem but a friend of mine -- who has since dumped me, sadly -- adopted a little guy who couldn't eliminate due to the organ being improperly formed. Surgery was performed and he has been great ever since. I would go with what you feel and what you are able to do -- get the surgery if the vet thinks it is indicated. You may want a second opinion if you are able to get one, before booking him. Sure hope other posters to this forum can be of more help! Praying for and thinking best thoughts for Xenophon and you.

 

[kittymommie]

My 11 y/o cat Sebastian has been struggling the last 4-5 years with constipation and he's gone through so many expensive and stressful enemas. I'm so sorry I put him through this & I truly regret it. He got so bad and was diagonosed with Megacolon. This condition is no joke and I can't tell you how much money I've already spent on the poor guy. Finally, it was either get the subtotal colectomy surgery or he would eventually die. I went for the surgery & it's been just a month. I have to be honest, I am very frustrated because now he has diarrhea and he is confined to the laundry room. I tried to let him out, but all he does is poop all over. He's not even going in the litter box. But today was the first day he did go in there. My vet said that you have to be patient because the recovery could take up to 3 months before the stool gets normal. I'm not trying to scare you or anything, but if your baby is suffering, I strongly suggest that you keep on top of his pooping habits. Don't let him get backed up to the point where the vet has to put him out and manually give him surgical enemas. If he's not that bad, you can maintain his condition with medications (lactulose & cisapride) and a good diet. I see that a lot of people recommend pumpkin (I never tried it myself, but it sounds wonderful). My Sebastian just got worse and these medications did not help anymore, so I had no choice. The operation is very expensive ($1500) and it is major surgery. If it comes to making a decision for an operation (I hope not) just make sure that you have a good vet and he runs the proper blood tests to make sure he is healthy enough for the surgery. My vet kept him on fluids for a couple of days before the surgery just to make sure. I know that there is a lot of success with this operation. Sebastian seems to be fine (except when he has to poop) and he's purring & playing when I visit with him. Like I said, it's only been a month after surgery & I'm sure it will get better. If I would have known how many times I had to take Sebastian in for enemas, I wish I did the surgery sooner. I wasted a lot of money, plus put my poor baby through hell. I'll keep you posted on Sebastian. But more importantly, I will pray for Xen & your family. He deserves a life without agony. If you have any other questions, I'll gladly help. Good luck with Xen.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Wow, that is really too bad about what Sebastian has had to go through. Thanks for sharing this educational information with all of us, though -- it may help others make informed choices sooner, rather than later. Thinking best thoughts for Sebastian, and for Xen, too.