8/17 Ruby AMPS 179/+2 128/+7 118/+9 44/+9.75 53/PMPS 58/+2 73/+3.5 87

I’m at the oncologist office and just had a long visit with her. Ruby hasn’t pooped in many days and she feels a lot of hard poop in there so she is going to give me the tools I need to give her an enema at home. Might have to start Lactulose and every other day subQ.

I am really dreading this as I will have to lock her in the bathroom with her litter box. Any one got any good enema tips?

Other than the constipation, the doctor thinks Ruby is good. I sent her Ruby’s spreadsheet and she says I am handling her insulin dosage really well and I should come in to help with her other diabetic cancer patients. Bloodwork results will be available tomorrow and no change to prednisolone right now.
 
Hi dear Katherine and Ruby. Sounds like good news overall, except for the constipation. If I were you, I'd immediately start with the Lactulose, then continue, tapering off.
I like that you will be able to try the enema at home. Something I might also do is massage/rub her belly downward to help, if she'd allow, and exercise her as much as she likes . . . before and after giving the enema. That might be a lot to expect, lol.
It has been a year since Tina had to have a manual extraction, after two failed enemas at the doc's office with an overnight stay. I pray you have success and if the doctor believes the enema will work, all the more reason for hope that it's not a huge problem.
I may be wrong somehow . . . but I still use Miralax and fish oil and egg yolk powder. Of all those, miralax works best/ likely carries the load. The fish oil and egg yolk powder are good for other things too, so I still use.

:bighug::):cat::cat::):bighug:
 
Last edited:
One of our boys may or may not have megacolon. His bloodwork is always fine, everything is fine until a rock hard poop gets stuck right under his tail. It's very painful.
He will probably be on PEG the rest of his life. He's a very private eater and always knows if there's any meds in his food but he has a weakness for dairy. I mix the PEG in with probiotic yogurt, put in on a dark dish so he can see it better and up on the counter he goes where the other cats won't bother him.
If I had to choose between surgery and this the answer is obvious. Hope you have the same luck.
 
Katherine it sounds like overall good news on her present treatment. Sending prayers for Ruby's enema to go smoothly, poor sweet girl. I hope you get some good advice that makes it less stressful for you both. I hope this will be the only time you both have to go through this. Sending big loving hugs :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Good afternoon Katherine and Ruby! I'm happy to hear of the mostly paws-itive oncology visit today! Pearl deals with the constipation too - thankfully I have avoided her getting backed up, but sometimes not by much. She won't tolerate the pumpkin anymore, so I do the sub q every 2-3 days and it REALLY helps! Hope it will help you too!
 
Hope this doesn't sound like I'm discouraging you from doing the enema thing at home. Like most of us I've been elbows deep in the litter more than once, dog poop in wet grass etc. You might want to check out the cement mixing plastic tubs at hardware stores for the mess. Last time Daniel had an enema the tech was wearing a vinyl apron, gloves to the elbow and a face shield, just glad that wasn't me. You do what you have to do.
Wait until your doctor mistakes you for another patient and sends you for the colonoscopy you never asked for. My BIL thought he would go to work the morning after he drank "the juice". Nope, buy the 48 pack of toilet paper and get ready. :banghead: :blackeye: :( :oops:
 
Tina Marie and Jan said:
Hi dear Katherine and Ruby. Sounds like good news overall, except for the constipation. If I were you, I'd immediately start with the Lactulose, then continue, tapering off.
I like that you will be able to try the enema at home. Something I might also do is massage/rub her belly downward to help, if she'd allow, and exercise her as much as she likes . . . before and after giving the enema. That might be a lot to expect, lol.
It has been a year since Tina had to have a manual extraction, after two failed enemas at the doc's office with an overnight stay. I pray you have success and if the doctor believes the enema will work, all the more reason for hope that it's not a huge problem.
I may be wrong somehow . . . but I still use Miralax and fish oil and egg yolk powder. Of all those, miralax works best/ likely carries the load. The fish oil and egg yolk powder are good for other things too, so I still use.

:bighug::):cat::cat::):bighug:
Click to expand...
Thanks for all of the tips, Jan. I've never given Ruby an enema before so I'm a little freaked out about it. Will have to go and get another litterbox so I can keep her in the bathroom so that the regular litterbox can stay in its usual place for Olive. Placed a call to her vet tech cat sitter to see if he can come to help me with it later as maybe he has experience doing it, plus she also is less likely to pull any funny stuff while he's around. :rolleyes:

Since constipation is a chronic problem with Ruby, I'd tried literally everything. All fibers, egg yolk powder, fish oil. A little too much Miralax and she gets diarrhea. A little too much Lactulose and she gets diarrhea. Too little of anything and it does nothing. It is very difficult to strike the right poop balance with a cat with lymphoma, diabetes, and kidney disease. I can set my watch to my other cat pooping, while with Ruby it's a whole different story. The only thing I have not tried is regular subQ fluids, since Ruby won't let me do them on her, I have to get the vet tech to do it. @Margaret (and Pearl) I got a new administration set from the hospital to give her subQ fluids every other day as advised by her oncologist and I will ask the vet tech to do it when he comes to test her while I am at work. I hope you're right and it does the trick!

@Noah & me (GA) I really hope to avoid megacolon. The last thing I need right now is to add yet another thing to Ruby's list of ailments. :(
 
I have had one experience with an enema and I am happy to report there was no Level One Code Brown:rolleyes:. It was all very civilized. T used a litter box and he had a BM & then another BM. He was not covered in it & thankfully, neither was I :). The vet asked me if it would be ok if he came into a room with me because he would be more comfortable and more likely to go & that worked out well. I know that he didn’t go crazy with the amount he used. Some vets can be a little liberal with the rubber tube they often use at the vet vs home and I can see how that might cause a liquid mess :nailbiting:.

I will send up prayers that you have an uneventful & tidy enema experience. However, given what people have shared, puppy pads might be helpful so you can simply toss them as they get dirtied & put new ones down so she doesn’t get in it if there is an issue.

The other thing I would definitely do is have the vet tech who is going to help you give Ruby a nice clean hygiene shave before the enema to be safe…a lot easier to clean vs thick fur.

Hope it goes well. Congrats on the wonderful news from the oncologist :bighug:
 
Tested Ruby a few minutes ago and she fell to 44. Fed her some MC and will test her again shortly. She was panting the whole ride home from the hospital so once she settled in at home her BGs decided to plummet even though I fed her as soon as we arrived.

Got her bloodwork back and everything looks great. There were a few higher than reference range items, like protein, globulin and albumin that the oncologist has chalked up to dehydration. She got subQ fluids while she was at the hospital so that is good, and I'll make sure to add more water to her food while the weather is still so warm.

@Tomlin I have a shaver but I have yet to use it and it's corded, so I don't know how we will maneuver this in the bathroom. We don't have a tube for the enema, just the syringe that looks like a glue gun with the enema fluid, so I went out and bought fragrance free wipes and waterless shampoo. I am really hoping that Ruby's experience will be as neat and tidy as Tomlin's. I even bought some of the old World's Best litter for her to use for the occasion in case it brings back positive poop memories. :p Vet tech is coming over to help, so that makes me feel better. More soon! :woot:
 
Oh my, Katherine...
You are a brave, brave, woman.
I am looking forward to the post poop report... some how I think there's going to be a story there.
Good Luck!

Toeby had an enema once at the vet.
He wouldn't "go" at the vet after getting the enema, because he was so stressed there, so they called us to come get him.
They passed us the carrier like it contained a ticking time bomb, which, essentially, he was... lol.
We live minutes from the clinic so we got him home and he got to his box with no accidents or mess, thank goodness.
Fingers crossed for you and Ruby.
 
Laurasboyz said:
Oh my, Katherine...
You are a brave, brave, woman.
I am looking forward to the post poop report... some how I think there's going to be a story there.
Good Luck!

Toeby had an enema once at the vet.
He wouldn't "go" at the vet after getting the enema, because he was so stressed there, so they called us to come get him.
They passed us the carrier like it contained a ticking time bomb, which, essentially, he was... lol.
We live minutes from the clinic so we got him home and he got to his box with no accidents or mess, thank goodness.
Fingers crossed for you and Ruby.
Click to expand...
The oncologist didn't want to send us home afterwards because my commute to the hospital takes an hour and who knows what would have happened in the carrier. Thanks for the good wishes!
 
Oh Katherine, what a day you and Ruby are happening. And if Olive is like any other cat I know, on top of everything else she'll be scratching and yowling at the bathroom door thinking she's "missing out"! Hope all goes successfully and without too much Jackson Pollock-style brown artwork in the bathroom.
 
I hope you told Ruby about all the responses you’ve received and if she needs help deciding which way to go @Tomlin or @Laurasboyz seem to be the cleanest and most comfortable options. :p I have to tell you this has been a good read :joyful: unfortunately, it’s about the possibilities Ruby, you and the tech will soon be experiencing live :nailbiting: Good luck, I hope Ruby reports that it wasn’t so terrible and wants to know what all the fuss was about :rolleyes:. Big, big hugs Ruby-doo and Katherine.:bighug::bighug:
 
Oh, my goodness...good luck with the enema! I've not been there, but I'm sure if anyone can do it, you and Ruby can! Maybe the SubQ's will help with everything?

Great news about the labs and the onco visit. :cat:
 
Enema done. The worst of it is over, the clean up not so bad, but I'm worried right now about how Ruby feels. Ruby threw up the food she ate when I was trying to prop up that 44, and I gave her insulin when she was 58 and now she is not eating. Tried medium carb, high carb, and low carb kibble and shows no interest. Gave her a Cerenia with her pred. Hoping something kicks in soon. Freaking out a little.
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
Enema done. The worst of it is over, the clean up not so bad, but I'm worried right now about how Ruby feels. Ruby threw up the food she ate when I was trying to prop up that 44, and I gave her insulin when she was 58 and now she is not eating. Tried medium carb, high carb, and low carb kibble and shows no interest. Gave her a Cerenia with her pred. Hoping something kicks in soon. Freaking out a little.
Click to expand...
It just never ends with these kitties, always something to worry about.:banghead::banghead: I hope and pray she eats something for you Katherine and is able to keep it in her belly where it belongs. Hopefully the Cerenia will kick in very soon. :cat: Sending prayers and hugs :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Our Dolly Girl said:
It just never ends with these kitties, always something to worry about.:banghead::banghead: I hope and pray she eats something for you Katherine and is able to keep it in her belly where it belongs. Hopefully the Cerenia will kick in very soon. :cat: Sending prayers and hugs :bighug::bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...
I’ve never been good about giving insulin when Ruby’s number is so low. In two weeks, Ruby will be officially a long term diabetic and I still am very nervous to give insulin when she doesn’t eat.
 
My poor girl crawled into her poofy bed and is now napping. I have tried everything to get her to eat, including smearing some HC gravy on her lips but she only wanted to get away from me after. :( I'm leaving her alone for now and will test her again in a bit.
 
Oy.. hang in there Katherine!
What a day you've had!
I hope Ruby eats something for you, soon, be it some treats or whatever, so you can unwind a bit.
Come on, Ruby!
 
Ruby ate a mixture of mc, hc, and raw food after I gave her ondansetron and cyproheptadine in desperation. Her numbers came up a bit, but will test her again as I don't know how much of the rise is due to food. She's leaking the enema fluid all over the place and has stepped into the litter box a few times without doing much. My poor girl. Hope she will perk up tomorrow.
 
smorgasbord said:
Oh, good, you got some food in her. Do you have to be on poop patrol all night?
Click to expand...
The poop crisis may be over. I'm chasing after her with wipes to try to clean off her tush but that's the worst of it. A LOT of poop came out. I have instructions from her oncologist on managing with a smidge of Lactulose and subQ fluids if she doesn't poop again by Friday.
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
The poop crisis may be over. I'm chasing after her with wipes to try to clean off her tush but that's the worst of it. A LOT of poop came out. I have instructions from her oncologist on managing with a smidge of Lactulose and subQ fluids if she doesn't poop again by Friday.
Click to expand...
Why is it when you are armed with wet wipes, they just KNOW.
 
I wouldn't want to eat much if my bottom end was active and cramping. Hope the appetite stimulants do the trick. You both must be …
Running on empty
Running on, running on empty
Running on, running blind
Running on, running into the sun
But I'm running behind
 
Well done Katherine, you are a brave woman. I think Tanya @thebigfuzz might have done home enemas too. Hopefully that’s one and done now. Have you tried a tush dip in warm water? That sani shave sounds like a great idea if you need to do this again.

Two out of three of my SCL kitties tended to constipation too, but thankfully it didn’t get to enema being needed and resolved with the combo of steroid and chlorambucil.
 
I understand!

Hope Ruby came up for you (I see she did a bit but I don’t know what happened after that!). Remember if she will not eat, you always have karo (short term fix, I know - not optimal).
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Running on empty
Click to expand...
People stay
Just a little bit longer
PerfumedCatMom said:
Keep those poop jokes coming
Click to expand...
I once thought I could avoid the semiannual "scrape to the bottom" of the boxes when we had nine cats. Kobiashi weighed 28 pounds so that was like having a goat in the basement. Off I went to the car wash never thinking I'd need a face shield. Yech, I need a shower just thinking about it. :blackeye:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top