2/20 Purrdy AMPS 184 +3 137 +5 142 PMPS 139 increase +2 97 :) +3 94

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purrdydolly

purrdydolly

Member Since 2014
Yesterday

Recap
AMPS 187
+3 158
+6 176
PMPS 176
+3 130


So I still have all toes intact, although Purrdy has taken to nibbling them when I pop into his space first thing for the loo :rolleyes::smuggrin: it's kind of cute!

Patience pants are splitting at the seams again but he's got his one last chance to turn green in today's cycle - not holding my breath for that though! I do wonder about holding the full 10 cycles with him since he's not a bouncer.

Interesting times with Vyktor yesterday. Some of you may recall back on 12/1 when I took him to the vet for suspected blood in urine (that turned of to be some red clay in the kitty litter) only for them to discover he was constipated. Interesting because he had still been pooing, although his diary did show he had missed a few days in a row a couple of weeks before, and the consistency of his poo was good. They gave a suppository and apparently a fur filled poo as long as him came out. Since then I have been brushing at least 5 times a week and putting him at the back fence at least once a day to force him to get a little exercise walking back in.

Following the vet visit and up to 28/1 he had been pooping at least every second day but since then he'd started to skip regularly so mostly he was going every third day. On 2/17 it was just a small one and although he did a good one on 2/18 on that evening he made several trips to the lb with no action (urinating fine) so I gave him cat lax. Saw footprints in the lb again yesterday and gave more cat lax.

His tummy was hard and the spot on the flanks btw tail and ribs was very sensitive so I gave the vet a call. It was decided that with Vyktor's vet hating temperament the best thing was for me to try giving a suppository (microlax) at home :nailbiting: Long story short with that is that we managed. My boy is just amazing :joyful: I didn't get enough in with the first one but on the second one we had instant action. However, there didn't seem to me to be enough poo to have been causing him all that trouble (10 large grapes - good consistency). It does seem to have done the trick though because the spot on the flanks is no longer sensitive.

Does this sound like a 'normal' older cat constipation issue? I'm wondering if the real problem might be gas or something else? He did do a little burp in my face after eating the other day but I haven't noticed any gas from the other end.

His appy has also been off since just before the vet visit. It has been extremely hot so mine's been off too but I don't ever recall his being off for so long. Some days he's been eating at the lower end of his normal but there's been a few days when he's only had 100-150g, on the other days he's been somewhere in between.

Looks like this might be becoming a regular problem for Vyktor so all poo tips appreciated. I guess we start with pumpkin or squash. I gather steamed or boiled then pureed. Skin off for pumpkin but can I leave the skin on for squash (I'll be trying the little yellow ones)? I'm seeing some wild variations in how much to give too - what do you guys suggest?
 
How cute with Purrdy nibbling on your toes. I hope he gives you green today.

Sorry about Vyktor's poo problems. When I've given Furball pumpkin, I've bought the canned pumpkin and just mixed a teaspoon in her breakfast and a teaspoon in her dinner. I've never used a real pumpkin.
 
I've been giving Noodle Vets Best Hairball Remedy for a long time now and it doesn't seem to have any ingredients that would affect her BG (no change if she has it or doesn't). It has psyllium and slippery elm bark, it's the only thing that helped with hairballs and seems to have helped her get regular after her hospital stay, too.
 
I'll leave the dosing advice for Purrdy to the experts- but I can sure relate to busting out of the ole patience pants...been there...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Re:Feline constipation- this I have learned a little bit about :rolleyes: If someone had told me a year ago I would be sitting here chatting online about feline constipation, I would have said they were nuts! :rolleyes: Hard balls of poop are definitely a sign of constipation and not good. The suppository you gave Vyktor was probably needed to get him unplugged but now you need to make sure he is hydrated and possibly give him a pre-biotic such as pumpkin or squash- can you get that in Australia? Over here, we buy canned Libby's, but not pumpkin pie filling. Start slowly- it could cause GI upset if you give to much at first! I started by adding 1/4 t twice a day to Tiger's food, we are now up to about 1/2 tsp. and she is doing a whole lot better. This link is like the Tanya's Website for Constipation :rolleyes: : What Goes Wrong. I would at least let the vet check Vyktor out thought before I started any home remedies though, you want to rule out something really wrong before you assume it is just old age constipation. Elise @tiffmaxee has successfully used Miralax for her Max, and my vet has just confirmed she prefers Miralax to other methods like Lactulose (which has sugar) or psyllium husk(which can cause blockage in a cat who is not drinking enough water already.

Edit: the yellow things you are describing sound liek what we call summer squash, that isn't really effective it doesn't have enough fiber. You need a winter type squash, they have a hard skin and lots of fibrous goodies inside, one variety is Butternut.
 
The poo after the suppository wasn't hard at all, none of them have been except sometimes for one little plug in an otherwise healthy poo. Good to know our squash is no good so I guess we'll try the butternut pumpkin. I've never seen tinned pumpkin here but we have butternut, Kent and jap pretty much all year round. I've been reading elsewhere that some people use coconut oil too. He doesn't tend to like anything oily but maybe worth a try.

One good thing is that he does drink a lot of water by himself. Blood work at last vetty visit in Jan was all good. The vet can't examine him without gassing him as Vyktor gets horribly stressed and goes bananas so we try and avoid it if we can though the vet did say if his appy doesn't pick back up he'll need to see him. Makes it a bit of a problem for the vet to check for tender spots etc.

Vet suggested lactulose if he misses for two days but is happy for me to try pumpkin. Not sure if we have Miralax here but I have heard of people giving their kitties Metamucil which might be a similar thing - designed to keep humans regular.
 
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Hi Serryn,
You can use squash baby food, too. And you could try a probiotic: FortiFlora (available online or at your vet), or one of the human ones (Pearls is one I've seen mentioned here.) Plain yogurt with active cultures would also work. Does Vyktor eat dairy?

Does Vyktor "scoot" along the floor? He may need to have his anal glands expressed.

Hope Purrdy comes down to the lagoon soon.

Ella & Rusty
 
Serryn, Metamucil is psyllium husk(at least in the US) ; it can have either sugar, or even worse, aspartame, which is not good for anybody IMHO! Try to find plain psyllium husk, read the labels!

Constipation can definitely cause nausea and vomiting.

From Tanya's Website, scroll down to the end of the page; apparently you can get MiraLax in Australia.
 
Neko gets pumpkin daily, cause she's also on daily bupe that is constipating. I've given her both canned and baked/pureed.

Tell Purrdy he needs to get his tail in the lagoon pronto, or he's getting more juice.
 
I've never seen squash baby food here, never found any baby food that's ok for diabetics here and I went looking pretty hard at one stage.

Never heard of Forti Flora being available here, will ask the vet and look into getting online, but I may have trouble with our import restrictions :( ETA - hmmm have been looking into it and it seems this one is for diarrhea

Never given him dairy but can try some plain yoghurt and see what he thinks - how much per day?

No scooting :) although maybe that should be :( as I gather that problem is not hard to fix

No Metamucil then and it's good to know that the Miralax is available here, I want to leave it until last to try if nothing else works though.

Vyktor was tested for hyperthyroid about a year ago

Has anyone tried coconut oil, I've been reading that could be okay?

I'm still wondering if constipation as such is the real issue though, as mentioned he doesn't have hard poo.

@Wendy&Neko how much pumpkin do you give? do you just bake it in the oven without oil or anything? I was thinking just to steam and mash
 
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I've used coconut oil before, especially for hairballs. I stopped giving it to Neko cause it can also add a little weight - which she does not need. :oops: The civie will get a little in the worst of the hairball season. I've seen both coconut oil and olive oil in some hairball meds. I give 1/4 tsp of pumpkin twice a day.

ETA: Neko does get occasional bits of unsalted butter, which she goes wild for. If Vyktor has never had dairy, he may not be able to handle it. Another option is goats milk yoghurt.
 
I just scoop the pumpkin, cut in pieces, put on a tray with a little bit of water on the bottom and let it bake. Then I take the skin off, and cut into smaller pieces for freezing for pies and scones. And now for Neko too!
 
Good luck with the dose increase for Purrdy. Maybe this will be "the one".

I also hope you can sort out Vyktor and he starts eating.
 
Thank you Carla, Patricia, Ruth, Ella and Wendy for all your great poo tips. I've got a bit stuck with a newbie on health so haven't had a chance to get out for pumpkin yet but I did have coconut oil here and he licked it straight off my fingers. Quite surprised as any oil I've tried to put into his food before he has turned his nose up at, of course he may still do that when I add it to food :rolleyes:. No weight issues for Vyktor - except that I'd like him to put a little more on so if he'll take it coconut oil is something I can give regularly. I'm still keen to try the pumpkin too though, also since we've been talking about it so much I have to get some for myself, I'm thinking a nice coconut milk curry :)
 
Serryn, I've been giving Cinco about a half teaspoon of baby food squash (mixed in his breakfast) for the past year or so and it really has helped to keep things moving. Do you have Gerbers or Beechnut there? Also, I have put coconut oil in his food when he was constipated, about 1/2 tsp, and it helped, too. I've also given Miralax, mixed in the food, and it helps, but I think the squash has been better, all the way around.

Sending good poo vines for Vyktor and Work that Joos vines for Purdy. Better order a new pair of patience pants right away - you don't want to be without them!
 
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