3 days down and we are getting lower and lower. Boozle was at 48 twice today and 51 at what would be pre-shot time. We were talking about food at the vet's office and she was saying she didn't want to change a thing because what we were doing was working. I am obsessing over it, of course and thinking about the renal issue. I am thinking of changing his food to something lower in phosphorus, not necessarily higher in carbs. Maybe something a little more fatty too, so we can get some weight on him. I am just curious if there are other things to consider at this point before trying something new. Lord knows I don't want to set off a chain reaction when we have a good thing going.
Wow! Boozle's numbers are looking great! I don't know that I would recommend something with more fat unless the vet says he's under weight. Can you remind us what you're feeding him right now so we don't suggest something you're already using?
Yeah, we are still in shock that he is doing this well. I don't want to do anything to mess him up, but I don't want to be too timid about making minor changes that might help him more. I have him on Sheba pate in Natural juices. I don't think the word "underweight" was used, but he said Boozle had lost nearly 35% (I am pretty sure it was 35) of his body weight when we started this. Then two weeks later he had lost a full pound. Granted he is eating regularly and more each day and she said he had gained nearly half a pound in a week. So, maybe I am just nit-picking. Now, we are dealing with constipation, where he is straining to go with no luck.
You're sure it's constipation and not straining to pee? Straining to pee can be life threatening quickly is why I ask. For constipation, there are different suggestions. I use egg yolk powder to help things keep moving, but if you're in a crisis situation, I think miralax is often used. I can't recall if we talked about constipation before (sorry my memory is terrible!) but there have been a lot of threads on it. If you do a search, you might find some other suggestions too.
Yeah, he is peeing fine. He hasn't pooped in a few days. He isn't acting sick, but I am sure, with the way he is eating, he is getting stuffed up. I'll do a search and see what it turns up!
I'm sure you've mentioned this before - do you add water to all his wet food meals? Would he tolerate plain pumpkin being added? That's used successfully by many.
I do. We haven't tried pumpkin, yet. We tried olive oil, but he said nope -- don't like it. We usually use mineral oil, but I misplaced it (I use it for sealing wood pieces) so we will need to get more. He was having issues before, then we lubed him up with a little greasy gravy during that hypo incident and it cleared him up for a few days. For obvious reasons, I am hesitant to do that.
Might be worth trying plain canned pumpkin. If it helps, you can freeze it in little blobs and take out only what you need. My mom did that for her old guy. She used an ice cube tray.
I second the pumpkin suggestion. Sam is on it right now for the same reason and it always seems to do the trick. My other cat however won't touch it, so I have to use Miralax for him. It's a very mild laxative and quite safe.
I give 1/4t twice per day, and my kitty is somewhere between 11-13 pounds (he goes up and down and I haven't weighed him recently). I started at 1/8t at the vets recommendation, but that wasn't enough for him. ECID and all. (Every Cat is Different). So you might want to try the lower dose first and add lots of extra water to the food.
Just a little update - We took Boozle in to the vet to get some fluids. He has been fighting us, so we figured we would let someone with a little more finesse do it for us. She said she did feel poo in there, but it wasn't hard, so she wasn't too concerned yet. She said if he hasn't gone in the next two days to bring him back. We have been giving the pumpkin and he seems okay with it - so finger crossed. I think I am going to tear up when I finally see a turd. The things that bring me joy. I swear. On a side note he is up another 7oz, for 14oz total since he was going up. Not as quick as he lost it, but it is progress!
Yay for the weight gain! Remember that cats need to lose and gain slowly, so small progress is good progress! And yes, we all understand poop-watch. sigh. I've been noticing this year that it seems to happen more in the winter at my house - probably because the kitties (and I) are less active.
