Constipation?

hello all my FDMB friends. Things have been going fairly well on this end, so have not been around much lately. Hopefully it is ok to pop in and out and still be able to ask questions and get support.

Here is my current situation- Rex was poking around in our garage on Tuesday night/early Wednesday AM and caught himself a mouse. This is not an unusual situation. He has been doing this since he was a young man. The issue comes in when he ATE the mouse. Again, not entirely an unusual situation- he has done this before. The issue this time though is that I think in his older age his body is not quite as equipped anymore to handle this type of consumption. He is diabetic and CKD. So on Thursday he vomited several times, the last of which resulted in kind of clearish liquid that had a very slight pink tinge to it. Scared the absolute daylights out of me. Wasn’t sure what to do and this was late at night on Thursday so I opted to wait until AM and see what was going on then. Friday he ate very sparingly, but did not vomit again. Continued to drink ok. Wait - did I mention there has been no poop in the litter box since either Tuesday or Wednesday? So Friday, not eating much but drinking ok. Took him outside Friday night and walked around the yard with him thinking maybe that might stimulate bowels. It didn’t. Saturday eating even less and still drinking, but not as much as I would like to see. Naturally on Saturday AM we have many things going on away from our home so can’t monitor as I would like. Late PM I tried to get him to eat ANYTHING and was somewhat successful, but.... not what I wanted to see. On one occasion Saturday afternoon after he ate something he did again vomit a very tiny amount of clearish very lightly pink tinged fluid. So I started researching and found it could be ruptured blood vessel from vomiting, etc. and opted to see if I could get some fluids and food in him and see what happens. I fed him a tiny amount about every hour or two and he kept it down and no more vomiting. I also watered all the food down for more fluids and snuck in some homeopathic remedies. Through the night I continued to get up and try to get him to eat/drink and monitor the litter box. Still no poop. Still peeing however being used to what a diabetic/CKD cat pees, it was less - more like what a normal healthy cat would pee in a day. By this AM he won’t eat ANYTHING,but I have seen him at his water bowls several times . Then - the moment we’ve all been waiting for - he pooped! So now my question is - will this start making him feel better and hungry? If so, how long will it take? If not, do I take him to Urgent Care today? Or ???????

Sorry this got so long.

 

And of course - THANK YOU all for any input and all your continued support.

I really will try to get on this site more often to try and assist anyone in need in the future.

 

My concern is the pinkish color to the vomit/fluid. If it were me I would call my vet and let him know what happened (exaclty what you outlined above) and see if he thinks a vet visit is in order. A ruptured vessel perhaps but maybe something to do with the mousie

Glad he pooped and usually appy returns right away after.

 

I feel like it had everything to do with the mousie! I think the mouse made him sick because he couldn’t digest all that, which in turn led to the constipation, which in turn led to the vomiting, which in turn led to the pinkish stuff (could have been “mouse juice” itself, or I’m thinking maybe scratched the esophagus or stomach lining itself since he does not “debone” the mouse prior to consumption). However, in the back of a ckd/diabetic kitty’s mom’s head is always the thoughts of worsening kidney issues or pancreatitis, etc.

I think you are right, however that I should discuss with the vet. They are not the type of vet though that I can call and discuss - it will be more like I will call and talk to the girl that answers the phone and she will say I need to come in. It is a huge practice with probably like 12 docs. Not ideal, but it’s where we started years ago and really don’t want to switch now, however maybe I really should consider it. Especially now since Rex is regulated diabetically. He is due for some blood work anyway. Just don’t think I want to do the urgent care route today.

Thank you for your reply

 

I think an ER visit might not be needed unless things change. Have you offered baby food? Mine all have liked Gerbers meat only with ham being a hit for all.

I’m confused about your lantus dosing. Jumping from one to two units doesn’t make sense to me. Most go up and down by .25 or even less. I don’t see that you are getting any mid cycle tests which is how the dose is determined. I know that’s not why you posted but I just am throwing it out there.

 

well I think I am going to take him to urgent care. he did vomit again a while ago. thankfully, there was nothing pink in it this time. it was yellow. I am thinking that since he has not eaten anything for a while it might be stomach acid. he still doesn't want to eat anything and I just did the pinch test and he is definitely dehydrated. he was just at the water bowl again but I don't think that is enough. it is a vicious cycle - doesn't feel good because he is not eating/drinking, but doesn't want to eat/drink because he doesn't feel good. I think he might need subcutaneous fluids to jump start him again. not something I want to do, but I feel like it is in his best interest right now. I hate seeing him like this.

as far as the dosing - the whole tedious process of getting him from diagnosis to regulated was long and difficult. I had vet issues for a LONG time - ended up seeing three different vets in the same clinic before I found one that I was at least ok with. and like I said she is just ok. seems to let me call some of the shots a little more or at least hears me out. one of the other ones would absolutely not even tolerate me even asking questions, etc. and one was so lackadaisical I couldn't stand it. and NEVER available when I needed. all three of them suggested different dosages, and none worked. as far as testing - Rex HATES being tested. he would get mean with me sometimes if I did it many times a day or even on successive days. since I work at home I felt it would be better if I just monitored him by physical symptoms instead of stressing him constantly with testing. I do still test occasionally - have been more recently for various reasons. I took the dosing in my own hands too (and contacted the vet to advise her of it - and she approved). she had him on 2 units twice a day. that was too much. I moved him down to 1.25 units which seems to be working great and was still up .25 - like you had said from the original 2 units. when I have tested him he is always in the 120-130 range. if he is any higher, I will give 1.5 or sometimes 2. I am not always good about posting all my results. when I have tested mid-cycle, it is usually right in the ballpark. thanks for your concern on this, and always feel free to voice your thoughts. sometimes I feel like I am going all this alone....

 

Urination gets less with advanced kidney disease. Max was a very sensitive kitty and skittish. He adapted to testing surprisingly well and even daily fluids when I found a treat he really liked. Good like with the ER. I hope you get a smart vet that cares rather than one who gives up without trying.

 

well we are back from the vet. they did give him some subcutaneous fluids and a shot of b vitamins and some antinausea meds. she did send home an appetite stimulant med as well in case I needed. she didn't really make anything of the pink vomit. vomit in general, but not the fact that it was pink. she said if he vomits any more after being on the antinausea meds, he needs to come back tomorrow. so hopefully that will not happen. and believe it or not one of the first things he did when we got home was go to his dish and eat what was in it. Praise the Lord! I only let him have a little bit since he has not eaten in a while, but will give him some more a bit later. right now I feel good about all of it. I just hope it stays that way. he is resting in a sunny spot right now, so I am going to just let him chill.

 

The antinausea medication if cerenia will last about 24 hours. Sounds like it’s helping so you might want some to gave at home. It’s not good to give an appetite stimulant when nauseous because it can lead to food aversions. Giving both nausea and appetite stimulants together prevents that. Great news that it got him eating.