Bad poop days.

My cat has increasingly been having accidents in his litterbox. At first I did not know what was going on, just that I would find him coming out of the bathroom dragging long streaks and lots of poop on his butt. It was quite a mystery to me, but after this happening about four times in two weeks, I actually had opportunity to observe him in the act. He was pooping, and at the last moment dropped is butt down right on his poo.

I have since learned that diabetic neuropathy is the culprit. I am fortunate that my cat loves to be in the shower, because it makes cleanup so much easier. He usual goes in the morning before I go to work, so there's time for a bath if there's an accident. I've even been lucky enough to be nearby at the right time to 'assist', gently holding the sides of his legs to prevent him from dropping on his poop.

What is heartbreaking is to come home to find he has messed himself--and worse yet, realize that he had been that way probably for hours. Based on all the dragging that went on based on streaks and poop on towels laid out for that purpose, I already know his anus is very much inflamed (and it usually is). A bad poop day indeed.

The vet advises that the diabetic neuropathy may go away once his diabetes is under control--something I very much look forward to. If I'm home when he poops, all is managable (any sound in his litterbox is like a burglar alarm to me and I'm on it). Granted, there are some good poop days (any day I see intact stool in the LB), or if I get home and he hasn't pooped yet.

I've tried looking for tips about this on the internet but found nothing. I know this can't be a unique problem. Any advice will be welcome news.

 

Order Zobaline! It works miracles! Little spendy, but sooo worth it! https://www.amazon.com/ZobalineTM-D...27&sr=8-1&keywords=zobaline for diabetic cats

 

The neuropathy might improve or go away if the diabetes is 'controlled'.
Zobaline (B12 methylcobalamin) is certainly very helpful & you should perhaps get right onto that.

Is his poop otherwise normal?

You will see from Tyler's spreadsheet that I deal with almost daily poop issues & I don't mean me or husband.

Have a read of what JeffJ has written about this.

@JeffJ

 

Poop is fairly normal. Thanks for sharing Ty's spreadsheet. I should count my blessings. Just ordered Zobaline to try it out.

 

Are you testing at home? The best way to get your cat regulated is to know day to day what the numbers are. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

 

Good move. I can't get it but used similar and it made a difference. Also good news that the poop is normal. Not sure about the drag marks but quite understand the weak wobbly gait for pusscat and his having to sit down often, pooped bum or not.

Have a read here , especially Jasper.

Home testing is the way to go to get the diabetes regulated.

Perhaps also start a spreadsheet . This helps people to help you.

 

I had the same type of issue when Lucy was first diagnosed. Neuropathy in her hind legs caused all sorts of balance and strength problems in the litter box. I was always following her around with a wet wash cloth(which she hated). Once I got her diagnosed and on Insulin the neuropathy cleared right up.

In the meantime I did several other things to try to help her out. I switched to a larger litter box, one with lower sides, and I started put a lot more litter in the box and scooped everytime she went. Also making sure everything gets covered up before they can step in it sometimes helps.

 

I just got an AlphaTrak 2 delivered today from Amazon. Still waiting on the zobaline. Just tested cat before feeding before evening dose. Meter reads 480. Also just created spreadsheet. Not sure how to interpret results, though the spreadsheet says it's high.

 

Great job getting that test! See if you can get a before bed test tonight so you can start to see the drop.

 

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/
The colours on the spreadsheet allow you to see very high, high, moderate, good and low BG numbers at a glance. You'll learn to look for clusters of a colour as it relates to how he's doing.

 

Got a little bit of data started. So far he's not caused a fuss, so I won't bug him too much. I don't want this to become a negative experience. I'm wondering if you can piece together a curve over several days to find the nadir? For example testing 0+ and 4+ on one day then +2 and +6 another day, +5 and +7 another day. I'm sure a curve in one day is ideal, but I don't think I can subject him to that right now. I feel lucky as it is to get the three results so far without issue.

 

Actually, we recommend doing just that. It's better than doing a curve. Two tests that we will always recommend are the pre shot tests AM and PM. Withhold all food at least two hours before each. These tests are to know if the BG is high enough (with no food influence) to be able to give the planned dose safely. There are many stories we could tell about people not doing these tests and giving too much insulin for the (unknown) BG level.