Pumpkin had another weird episode overnight...not sure what to make of this - long post

[dianajune]

Several weeks ago I posted about what a vet thought was some kind of transient stress episode that caused him to get lethargic, drool etc. He snapped out of it and seemed fine, and was recently to his vet again for constipation issues. They found nothing wrong with him and sent him home.

Last last night/early this morning, Pumpkin took his medicine (not willingly, I had to put it on his paws) and he seemed ok after that. He went to the bedroom window and was watching something outside. Suddenly he started this pitiful sounding meow and ran to the living room and hung out in one of his favorite places in our apartment - the top of his couch. He meowed off and on after that and his meows sounded a bit off, so I looked around to see if he threw up. Up to that point he did not but I noticed that Pumpkin had a silent trip to his litter box. I say silent because I didn't hear him do the usual scratching around before and after using his box.

He left a nice size poop in his box, which pleased me to no end. I disposed of it and started to praise him, when all of a sudden Pumpkin got down from his couch, ran to the bedroom and started to throw up. A lot. The vomit looked a little cream colored or whitish and when I cleaned it up it seemed a bit pasty. I wonder if he ate some litter when he was looking for me earlier. I took a shower about an hour before this happened and he came to the bathroom, acting like he was looking for me., Sometimes Pumpkin will eat litter and I never understood why. One of my friends said it could be stress.

After Pumpkin threw up he ran into his play tunnel and just laid there, not wanting to move. Being a helicopter mommy, I got him out of that tunnel and was trying to hold him but he ran out of my arms. I think he just wanted to be alone.

At one point he ran under the bed in the living room and just laid on the floor and was stretched out. I thought for sure he was dying on me. I had to take the covers off that bed, get the mattress off of the foundation and move the frame just to get to him. This was hard because I am in a wheelchair.

At one point I found a wet spot on the carpet underneath him but I checked and it wasn't urine. I think it was from drooling, which he did the first time he had one of these spells.

Eventually he snapped out of the worst part of this spell and he let me keep him on the living room bed next to me most of the night. He woke me up when he was walking over me, not sure what he was doing. Maybe he went to get some water?

I did his dishes and litter box this morning. I found only one pee spot but I'm not concerned about that because he peed pretty good yesterday and if memory serves, he peed just before I emptied his box and scrubbed it like I do every Saturday.

I was so scared that I went to my next door neighbor in this building and woke her up. I was scared of going through this alone and feel horrible that I bothered her. She said she didn't know what she could do, so I let her go back to bed.

I reached out to my brother by phone and Twitter, where we will message each other. I told him what happened but he didn't get back to me until a couple of hours ago and couldn't help either. He's taking care of our father, who's having serious health issues of his own.

It's been about 7 1/2 hours since this happened and I still don't know what to do. Pumpkin just started to eat again so that's a good sign.

I don't know what to do at this point except keep him as comfortable as possible. I use a wheelchair for pain reasons and can't walk w/o physical therapy. I have no car and depend on the bus. What happened last night proves that I am really alone and have no one to help me.

What else can I do? I will call his vet on Monday morning but other than that, I am at a loss. The earliest I could get him to the vet would be on Wednesday because the wheelchair bus requires two days' notice to reserve a ride.

Please help. I don't know what else to do. I wish there was a mobile vet in this area but I can't find one, Thank you. Sorry this was so long.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have not gone back to re-read your other thread, other than I do know your last post suggested this event seemed to warrant a separate, unrelated issue. Maybe that is true, but maybe not when it comes to the constipation part.

Pumpkin could have actually had to strain to defecate and that can cause a cat to vomit. The drooling can be common with that kind of straining and vomiting, It sounds like all of this happening freaked him out as much as it did you. Cats will sometimes hide when something unusual happens, and most times it is best to let them hide for a while to see if they come out on their own before trying to get them out. I don't think - as you now know - anything that happened would be a reason to believe he was dying.

You said in your other thread that the vet visit went well. What did the vet have to say about the constipation? Besides constipation, did you talk to the vet about any of your other concerns?

Maybe what is bothering you most is being alone with no one to rely on if something should really go wrong with Pumpkin. I understand that. It is always a bit scary when one is alone and something is off with their cat, so you are not alone in that regard. But because you do live alone, you need to gauge whether or not you are really dealing with a life or death situation before freaking out. You told us you are a worrier, so remember that when something out of the ordinary is happening, and whether the situation warrants more action than just you trying to quell your worries at that moment.

You may want to reach out to a site like Next Door Neighbor, where you can dialog with neighbors, especially those who are cat lovers themselves - it could lead to a friendship through a common bond. Neighbors can be a great network and may often know of other resources that could be beneficial to you. I am not saying this a guarantee, but it can't hurt to try and see.

 

[dianajune]

I have not gone back to re-read your other thread, other than I do know your last post suggested this event seemed to warrant a separate, unrelated issue. Maybe that is true, but maybe not when it comes to the constipation part.

Pumpkin could have actually had to strain to defecate and that can cause a cat to vomit. The drooling can be common with that kind of straining and vomiting, It sounds like all of this happening freaked him out as much as it did you. Cats will sometimes hide when something unusual happens, and most times it is best to let them hide for a while to see if they come out on their own before trying to get them out. I don't think - as you now know - anything that happened would be a reason to believe he was dying.

You said in your other thread that the vet visit went well. What did the vet have to say about the constipation? Besides constipation, did you talk to the vet about any of your other concerns?

Maybe what is bothering you most is being alone with no one to rely on if something should really go wrong with Pumpkin. I understand that. It is always a bit scary when one is alone and something is off with their cat, so you are not alone in that regard. But because you do live alone, you need to gauge whether or not you are really dealing with a life or death situation before freaking out. You told us you are a worrier, so remember that when something out of the ordinary is happening, and whether the situation warrants more action than just you trying to quell your worries at that moment.

You may want to reach out to a site like Next Door Neighbor, where you can dialog with neighbors, especially those who are cat lovers themselves - it could lead to a friendship through a common bond. Neighbors can be a great network and may often know of other resources that could be beneficial to you. I am not saying this a guarantee, but it can't hurt to try and see.

What surprised me about Pumpkin's pooping was that I didn't hear him do the usual scratching around his box before and after like he usually does. It wasn't covered up at all, which suggests he was in a hurry to get out of his box.

I didn't know that with cats, vomiting can cause drooling. I know that when my IBS kicks in, which is just about every day, I oftentimes get very queasy to the point where I nearly throw up. When this happened last night I was scared because it seemed worse than the last time he had a similar spell. I felt helpless and unable to do anything except wait.

When I took Pumpkin to his most recent vet appt, she said that he was ok as far as his constipation goes and to keep his Miralax dose to where it is - 1/3 teaspoon at a time (it used to be 1/4). She didn't think it was necessary to run any more blood work because he had that done not long ago. He didn't have any other tests either.

I will look up Next Door Neighbor. Thank you!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

As long as Pumpkin doesn't continue to vomit, then I think this is probably a one off. Cats vomit on occasion, just like people do, but probably more often since they do tend to eat things they shouldn't. One thing I would try to do, however, if I were you, is leave him be when he hides, like when he went into his tunnel, then under the bed. I don't know about you, but when I'm not feeling well, I don't want to be coddled, I want to be left alone. Give him time to decompress and come to you when he's ready.

 

[dianajune]

As long as Pumpkin doesn't continue to vomit, then I think this is probably a one off. Cats vomit on occasion, just like people do, but probably more often since they do tend to eat things they shouldn't. One thing I would try to do, however, if I were you, is leave him be when he hides, like when he went into his tunnel, then under the bed. I don't know about you, but when I'm not feeling well, I don't want to be coddled, I want to be left alone. Give him time to decompress and come to you when he's ready.

This is what I am trying to do now, I'm giving him more space today. My first instinct when this happened was to let him know I was there for him and he wasn't alone. i guess that he didn't like it. I am a "helicopter mommy," in other words, I tend to hover.....only because I love him to pieces.

Thank you.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

How is he now...anymore vomiting? Hoping it was just that once.

I know how it is to worry about your furbabies, and I do understand how hard it is NOT to want to scoop them up and hug them when they get sick . He know you are there for him when he needs you

 

[dianajune]

How is he now...anymore vomiting? Hoping it was just that once.

I know how it is to worry about your furbabies, and I do understand how hard it is NOT to want to scoop them up and hug them when they get sick . He know you are there for him when he needs you

Sorry about my late response. It's been a very hard week, mostly due to my health issues. I had a very severe panic attack that almost got me in the hospital.

He's not throwing up but my baby is getting constipated again. I'm trying to figure out how to change his litter boxes to make them more acceptable to him. One is pine pellets, which he rarely uses, and the non-clumping clay litter. I just started another thread about this. Thank you!