My Cat Has Not Used The Litterbox In ~12 Hours

[madzee]

About 5 days ago, my orange male tabby cat got a pretty nasty cut on his right front paw. after two days, i got my mom to take us to the vet (we had to wait and see if it would heal on its own; vets are expensive for my family)

he was given a convenia injection "for antibiotic therapy administered under the skin" (i am typing directly from the discharge notes the vet gave me)
i was given 60ct phyto CK antiseptic wipes to wipe the wound every morning and night, and after restroom use.
i was also given onisior tablets (3, 1 a day for 3 days), but i have not given them to him yet.
he has a follow up in 5-7 days

after we returned from the clinic (around 5 pm), he peed before i exchanged his regular clay litter for Purnia Yesterday's News (given by the vet), and peed some after i did.

now skip to today... as of 1 AM i havent seen or heard him use the bathroom once. his litterbox is located by the wall outside my room so if he did use the restroom i would hear him dig in his box. so from last night to this night he has not pooped nor urinated.

he's been eating and drinking like usual, and even ate some treats i give him every night. no vomiting either! he's been acting like his normal self.
i have noticed him sleeping a lot today, but to be honest he's quite the napper. he'll sometimes sleep through the night or sleep 2 hours and run around and sleep some more.

my question is, should i be contacting the vet because of this? i know that urinary issues can get very bad very quickly. is this because i have not started his onsior pills? should i wait and see what happens?

 

[madzee]

update: i heard him scratch around in his box, but im not sure if he went pee or not i really need an answer on this, im freaking out

 

[madzee]

update 2: he finally peed, a real long one lol. im very very relieved, now just for him to go poop

 

[tabbytom]

Great to hear that he peed!

Adult cats can hold their pee pretty well. As for the pooping part, not all cats poop everyday. Some every other day and some two days once. It’s good that you are paying attention to to see that if he does his business.

 

[Catlover579]

A lot of cats are picky about their cat litter so it might be stressing him out that you changed his litter. My cat refused to use the litter box when I changed it so I had to go back to what he liked because I was getting worried about health issues from not going to the bathroom.

 

[Tobermory]

It seems like it doesn’t take much to throw them off their schedule when it comes to litter box use. Stress from the visit to the vet, from meds, from the ride in the car, from changing litter types, from some physical issue...all can disrupt them. Twelve hours doesn’t seem too bad to me, but I’m glad to know he peed. He’s relieved, too! I’d be more concerned about the peeing than the pooping. It’s great that you know his habits, though, so you know when he deviates from them and can keep a close eye on him.

Two of mine pee a couple of times a day and poop once a day. That’s their “normal.” The third pees only once a day—I don’t know how she holds it that long—and poops every other day.

Keep watching for the pooping. He may be constipated and need some help.

 

[silkenpaw]

Yay, pee! I bet you never thought you'd cheer about that. Like others said, watch for the poop but don't stress about it. And the different litter may be confusing him.

Thank you for caring about your cat You are the best!

 

[madzee]

thank you all for the replies! its nice to hear other's opinions and experiences instead of ruminating on the problem as i am doing currently.
its now 3:40 am of the next day (i typically stay up pretty late) and he still hasn't pooped. he has been drinking water and nibbling on his food; a little less than what he usually eats, so i do think he may be constipated

i also looked up the side effects of convenia and i have to say i am pretty disappointed in my vet for not telling me the range of side effects and the fact it stays in a cat's system for 2 whole months! its a little on me though for not asking. i didnt think id need to but this is my first cat ive taken care of by myself so live and learn i suppose.

its probably too early to assume but could convenia be one of the reasons he's blocked up?
my boy is a pretty picky eater too. he is a dry food fiend, multiple times ive tried to introduce some wet food but he doesnt go for it. i mixed a bit of olive oil in his food tonight but he disagreed with that too. tomorrow ill try some pumpkin i guess!

how have you guys dealt with constipation issues?

 

[madzee]

oops! forgot to add; that makes about 3 days without pooping :/

 

[tabbytom]

My boy occasionally poops in once 3 days. His last poop was Saturday and he pooped today, Tuesday. I guess it is that the amount of food he has eaten throughout the days and therefore does not have the urge to poop.

It may or may not be because of the medication. As long as you don't see signs of him struggling and straining to poop and nothing comes out, then that'll be a concern.

Make sure he drink lots of water since he's on dry food. You can try introducing other flavors of wet food. Sometimes it's the smell or taste or texture of the wet food that they don't seem to like. Wet food will keep your kitty hydrated if he does not drink water and if he's on dry food, it's bad for him for not drinking water.

 

[madzee]

thank you tabbytom! luckily my guy is a pretty avid water drinker; today we even went out, bought and assembled one of those running water fountain bowls. he hasnt quite warmed up to it yet!

i dont think ive even seen him attempt to poop since the vet visit. he mostly goes into the box to sniff and stir around the paper pellets, then leaves (or pees)
i guess im being hypervigilant because hes usually a pretty regular pooper. but as im typing this right now hes eating some of his food.

when would this become a vet necessary issue? around day 4 or 5?

 

[madzee]

experimentally i pushed my hand down on a spot in his box, and that paper litter is pretty coarse! hes used to plain clumping clay litter, i bet thats much easier to walk on especially with an injured paw. perhaps its the litter thats turning him away?

 

[tabbytom]

It could be the litter but he has been using it before right? Or you can try changing back to clumping litter for him.

Here's an article for your to read :everything-you-need-to-know-about-constipation-in-cats.33339

 

[madzee]

and there was the issue! as soon as i added some non paper litter to the box, he ran over and pooped! i cant believe it. i feel so silly knowing it was just a litter issue, but also so relieved...
ill have to clean his injury a little more than if he was just using paper, but id prefer doing that than rushing to the vet because he didnt go.
thank you everyone for your imput!! it gave/gives me such peace of mind to know there are people on here who are willing to help

 

[tabbytom]

Yea, that's good to hear that he pooped!

Yea, so it was the litter then. Do take good care of his wound and hope he gets well soon.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any and we'll try our best to help