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- Feb 24, 2021
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Here I am again... Apologies for the long post but I don't want to leave out any possible leads. I leave a short summary here:
Boogie (11M, neutered) has been the healthiest cat I've ever met for 10 years and now this year has gone thru some digestive system related health scares, with literally no answers after thousands of dollars doing tests and exams (his numbers are all great). it started with repeated large hairball vomits during a month, followed by diarrhea/not eating and low energy/lack of affection. when I thought he was dying, he magically got better overnight. Vet and I are baffled and complete loss after doing every test including ultrasound.
Fast forward to October where a bad batch of his usual food may have caused smelly constipation/soft stool issues with red blood. After getting a good replacement batch, the stool no longer smells as bad but he is still having slightly soft stool with some blood. I have to catch and wipe him after every poop as it dirties his bum hairs. In the middle of that he got conjunctivitis which was fixed after eye drops. During this 2nd wave he still behaves normally and has lots of energy. Posting to asking for others insight in case there's something the vet and I might have missed. Thanks everyone in advance.
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Full detail:
May-July 2021:
I learned cats shouldn't be throwing up every few months (he is Longhair). Vet gave me hairball pastes and also suggested wet food which just cannot work for him. Long story but trust me when I say he will rather die than eat the many textures and brands I've tried on him. One event that started the summer health scare was multiple vomits in a month, with big hairballs each time. He also started having soft stools. I was practically going to the vet every week. X-ray, fecal exam, even a specialist coming to give him ultrasound showed literally nothing. It got so bad in July that he started showing no appetite. He would run excited to food and then just sniff and walk away. This is the food that a month ago he would gorge on. He ate so little and lost so much weight I thought he will die. Then one night before another appointment he just magically started purring, eating and back to his old self. At the vet appointment we were both baffled at his sudden recovery and thought maybe he just got over whatever that was. He slowly gains back the weight and happily plays with my other cat since mid July.
Fast forward to late October 2021:
I bought a bag of the same food he's been eating all year but noticed the kibbles seemed different. He was also less interested but still ate them. A week or 2 later I noticed be was pooping less often, and his poo was a mix of extremely smelly constipated and soft stool (no diarrhea) with a little red blood. I checked recent reviews and many long time customers seem to echo the same issue with the latest batch. I contacted the company and they immediately send over a replacement and made sure it was from a different batch. The new bag is the old texture and smell again and he is interested in eating it. However his stool issues remained for a month to now. There is no longer bad smell or constipation but the logs seem to be a little soft in spots if I squish it, and it still leaves soft smears on his butt hairs. He has no behavior changes, still plays like a maniac with my other cat, has great appetite and drinks water like usual. He got conjunctivitis 3 weeks ago but with eye drops it went away quickly. I have to basically stand guard watching when he poops so I can wipe his butt clean because I worry if him grooming his dirty butt caused him the eye issue.
My other cat is perfect in health and they are both indoor only. There are 0 behavior changes in either of them. I just dropped off a fresh stool sample again, and will bring him to the vet this Saturday.
Please help!!!
Boogie (11M, neutered) has been the healthiest cat I've ever met for 10 years and now this year has gone thru some digestive system related health scares, with literally no answers after thousands of dollars doing tests and exams (his numbers are all great). it started with repeated large hairball vomits during a month, followed by diarrhea/not eating and low energy/lack of affection. when I thought he was dying, he magically got better overnight. Vet and I are baffled and complete loss after doing every test including ultrasound.
Fast forward to October where a bad batch of his usual food may have caused smelly constipation/soft stool issues with red blood. After getting a good replacement batch, the stool no longer smells as bad but he is still having slightly soft stool with some blood. I have to catch and wipe him after every poop as it dirties his bum hairs. In the middle of that he got conjunctivitis which was fixed after eye drops. During this 2nd wave he still behaves normally and has lots of energy. Posting to asking for others insight in case there's something the vet and I might have missed. Thanks everyone in advance.
----------
Full detail:
May-July 2021:
I learned cats shouldn't be throwing up every few months (he is Longhair). Vet gave me hairball pastes and also suggested wet food which just cannot work for him. Long story but trust me when I say he will rather die than eat the many textures and brands I've tried on him. One event that started the summer health scare was multiple vomits in a month, with big hairballs each time. He also started having soft stools. I was practically going to the vet every week. X-ray, fecal exam, even a specialist coming to give him ultrasound showed literally nothing. It got so bad in July that he started showing no appetite. He would run excited to food and then just sniff and walk away. This is the food that a month ago he would gorge on. He ate so little and lost so much weight I thought he will die. Then one night before another appointment he just magically started purring, eating and back to his old self. At the vet appointment we were both baffled at his sudden recovery and thought maybe he just got over whatever that was. He slowly gains back the weight and happily plays with my other cat since mid July.
Fast forward to late October 2021:
I bought a bag of the same food he's been eating all year but noticed the kibbles seemed different. He was also less interested but still ate them. A week or 2 later I noticed be was pooping less often, and his poo was a mix of extremely smelly constipated and soft stool (no diarrhea) with a little red blood. I checked recent reviews and many long time customers seem to echo the same issue with the latest batch. I contacted the company and they immediately send over a replacement and made sure it was from a different batch. The new bag is the old texture and smell again and he is interested in eating it. However his stool issues remained for a month to now. There is no longer bad smell or constipation but the logs seem to be a little soft in spots if I squish it, and it still leaves soft smears on his butt hairs. He has no behavior changes, still plays like a maniac with my other cat, has great appetite and drinks water like usual. He got conjunctivitis 3 weeks ago but with eye drops it went away quickly. I have to basically stand guard watching when he poops so I can wipe his butt clean because I worry if him grooming his dirty butt caused him the eye issue.
My other cat is perfect in health and they are both indoor only. There are 0 behavior changes in either of them. I just dropped off a fresh stool sample again, and will bring him to the vet this Saturday.
Please help!!!