Alice 4/17 PMPS 224, +3.75 120, +6 54, +7 73 long time no post, vet visit for constipation today

AliceMeowliss (GA)

AliceMeowliss (GA)

Member Since 2019
Hey all. I’ve been so tired and run down. Alice’s SS is awful and I still need to fill in about a month of gaps. I have misssd test and shot cycles multiple times this year due to illness and fatigue.
Just covering that basic.

here is a copy of a post made on an IBD group, I would like FDMB thoughts!


“Hi all! Has anyone had issues with constipation from either ziwipeak lamb or fortiflora?
History:
My 13 year old has diabetes with a history of mammary cancer (removed last June with clean margins).
She had an infection of nonspecific origin treated with antibiotics towards the end of last month.

We are at the vet, getting fluids (but she drinks a TON of water, especially when her blood sugar is running high as it has been lately). Lactulose, and mirtazapine transdermal are being prescribed. I am also picking up more Cerenia for as needed.”

She had meds earlier today, she has eaten some, she looks uncomfortable, and I have noticed since switching her to the ziwipeak lamb for her probable IBD that the circumference of her poops has been larger, so I guess the constipation isn’t a huge surprise. I’d like her to go tonight!

comments on IBD group were mostly “bones cause constipation” but I need a daily recommendation for how to prevent this. Pumpkin perhaps? If so, how much?

oh also she has lost some weight as the result of her infection in March (there was also an infection at the end of January) and this loss of appetite etc.
She has had Imuquin and then fortiflora plus Cerenia for nearly a month, most days.

We already receive assistance for her care and I am paying out of pocket so so much for her food each month while trying to feed three to four other cats with weird various needs. Housing is uncertain/temporary and I can’t easily look for work again in the current climate and with my various unofficially disabling health conditions.

I should honestly keep up with her SS and post more here again, I know that we do a better job with Alice’s health when I come here every day. In the meantime.... please help me make my poor baby more comfortable. So I can use my energy for more good. Thanks. <3
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hi, good to hear from you again. :bighug: A couple web sites for you: https://felineconstipation.org/ All you ever wanted to know and more!

What is the reason you are giving Fortiflora? Not the best probiotic. https://www.ibdkitties.net/supplements/probiotics/

The Ziwipeak contains a bit of bone, but it's the 9th ingredient on the list, so can't be much.
Click to expand...

she has had two courses of antibiotics and she had those foul horrifying poops. Months ago before switching food my vet had given me some Imuquin but no one on here knew the carb content so I waited to use it. Switched foods in start of February or so. In March and April she has gotten packets of Imuquin and fortiflora separately and in small quantities, in part because I think it helps her smell the food with her periodic congestion. Sometimes that fresh lamb isn’t smelly enough for her. After spending 5 days in a motel with 5 cats and a bunny in mid-February, Alice was jealous too of the friskies pates every other cat gets so for awhile I had to convince her to appreciate her ziwi lamb again.

Fortiflora has been recommended on here and without much info on Imuquin I decided I would try that instead but have gone through very few packets.

So essentially using it because
1- antibiotic treatments
2- worried that may be part of her problems, maybe it would make digestion easier or healthier
3- didn’t think there was any harm, worth a try

I’m curious if the Imuquin was actually more helpful for her.

And thanks, on a good mental-function info-absorbing day I love a good conversation/read about animal poop and the digestive system. Haha.

It is not my best brain day though. Any quick recommendations to help her? Will lactulose affect her blood glucose levels?

As I am able, I will continue to research her current issues. FDMB has become one of my most trusted kitty health resources though because this is the place I know people love their cats enough to try all that they can and to learn from their experiences etc.

thank you so much for responding. I hope you are well.

On the bright side Alice feels well enough that she’s not just hiding in her closet basket like she frequently does. I think she is just uncomfortable, less hungry, and at risk for ketones/weight loss right now. :\ I already had a $150 vet visit, would like to prevent further expense if I can.
 
“Immediately after the chyme enters the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, the acid from the stomach is neutralized by a buffer, a bicarbonate, delivered from the pancreas via the pancreatic duct. Only the stomach is designed to handle its strong gastric acid, not the esophagus nor the small intestine.”
Source: https://felineconstipation.org/gut102condensed.html

in a cat with what is obviously an impaired pancreas, how would this affect her.... hmm.
 
Lovely to hear from you Cassandra. I was only wondering about you and Alice the other day.
I’m sorry you have not been well. I hope you feel better soon:bighug:
And I hope you can get Alice’s constipation issue sorted.....I can’t help you there really as I have been lucky enough to have not had to deal with any serious constipation in cats.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Lovely to hear from you Cassandra. I was only wondering about you and Alice the other day.
I’m sorry you have not been well. I hope you feel better soon:bighug:
And I hope you can get Alice’s constipation issue sorted.....I can’t help you there really as I have been lucky enough to have not had to deal with any serious constipation in cats.
Click to expand...

Hi! Nice to hear from you as well, hope you’re staying safe and healthy. What I would give to try some good old roo meat for Alice’s IBD! (I have a friend near living Hervey Bay who feeds kangaroo and tells me about it.) :)
 
She’s 54 @ +6.... fed a small snack of her regular ziwi sprinkled with water and then she went and tried to use the box... nothing. She looks SO uncomfortable. How long does it take for lactulose to help? (I’ll go and google for the answer too.) she’s laying sort of stretched out longer rather than curled in a ball, lying on either her right or left side sort of, never on her belly, and she just looks awkwardly not her, uncomfortable.
That helpless feeling is there a little with every new issue we face. :nailbiting:

In the past I would have steered her up a little (after so many highs lately) with some mid carb but we don’t keep gravy foods here anymore, even the civvies eat pate low carb. And she only gets ziwi lamb, & corn syrup for emergencies.
Since she still can’t poop I don’t know how much I should be relying on actual bulky food to keep her sugar up, now.....
 
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I feel relieved she isn’t hovering on that lower 50s edge now, but I still just don’t know how long to wait for her to poop. If she doesn’t go by AM shot time should I skip it? How much can she eat? And is mirtazapine really even a good idea, forcing her to feel hungry when she can’t eat because her system is literally FULL.... oh my sweet girl.
 
Uncomfortable cat :(
 

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