No poop since Weds

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Lanerd

Member Since 2021
Oh boy…this has been a hell week. Last Friday I brought Kitty Mao for a routine anal gland expressing but she had been vomiting for the last 24 hours so the vet ran her blood work and found that her kidney levels were elevated and that she was dehydrated and her bg was 70. They kept her overnight on an IV, gave her two antibiotic shots for her kitty herpes/chronic upper respiratory infection and I was able to bring her home on Saturday. They basically said that her kidney levels were elevated above 70, she had a pancreatitis flare up and to make sure that she eats. We have been on a steady diet of hills science diet K/D wet and dry. She had stopped wanting to eat any of that, so I did some poking around on the forums here and found that the weruva cat food was a good option. On Monday I went and purchased some of that along with some Tiki cat senior mousse that she adores. She ate like a horse that evening and the next morning (tues). My bad was that I didn’t test her blood sugar before giving her her insulin other next morning, but she had been stable. Around 12 or 1 o’clock she began trying to hide under the couch and we flipped. Tested her BG levels and they were 20. We made a sugar water concoction, rubbed it on her gums and then we rushed her to the vet which luckily got us in right away. Her blood sugar was 22 and they took her in, gave her an IV of dextrose and got her levels up to 363. Told me not to give her any insulin that night and test her in the morning. I tested her in the morning, her level was normal and they told me that’s good, no insulin today, test her tomorrow and let us know, her levels were normal again so now she’s been off insulin since Monday 9am. Today I had a horrible time testing her BG levels, and I still haven’t been able to do it. She’s been eating intermittently, I got her some fancy feast pate that she enjoys. She’ll drink water every few hours, but the thing is is when she gets down off the couch she will walk and then lay down for a while. Then get back up, go to her litter box, pee, scratch like a maniac as she always does, come out and lay down again. She can jump up and down off the couch just fine, her gait is a little off. But she has not pooped. I don’t know if I should wait until Monday to try to get her back into her normal vet or if I should try to take her to the emergency vet which is going to cost an arm and a leg, but I can’t let her suffer. She is peeing about once or twice a day, I had told my vet previously about how hard and dry her stool was, but she didn’t seem to pay much attention to that. So now that she’s not pooping, I am worried that she’s going to develop megacolon and that she’s in pain. She doesn’t seem to be, but she’s also sleeping a lot and I have her in her little warm heated bed that she loves. She’ll get up, lay on my chest, purr, fall asleep on me sometimes and then go back to her bed. I an struggling with the idea that we may be close to the end of life stages and I just don’t know what to do. I can’t even find her IDEXX lab results from her overnight stay to attach them to my spreadsheet, I’m floundering and I just don’t know what to do..any advice at all will help me greatly.
 
A teaspoon of plain canned pumpkin and splash of olive oil mixed into his food really helped my Chucky when he was backed up.
He went within hours after not going at all for a couple of days.
If you can get her up and running around, that should also help.

I hope next week is much smoother, and that you get a chance to celebrate no more insulin!
 
I know you're worried about your cat. The suggestions above are worth trying. Miralax is also an option. It's gentle laxative. Are you adding water to your cat's food? That will also help.

I want to make some observations. It is critically important to test EVERY time prior to giving an insulin shot. It is the only way you will know whether it's safe to give insulin. In all likelihood, the only reason your cat was not in a severe hypoglycemic crisis is that you are giving Kitty Mau a high carbohydrate food. If numbers kept sliding down, your cat could have died. You did a great job with regard to catching the drop in numbers. Please consider testing. It is critical. (And yes, I am trying to scare you. We value your cat's safety almost as much as you do.)

In looking back to your first post, one of the other members suggested that you look at Weruva foods. If you prefer to not use that brand, this is a list of canned foods that are available. You want to select foods that are below 10% carbohydrate. Most caregivers here give their cats foods that are in the 5% range. The K/D canned food is between 27 - 30% carbohydrate. It is very high in carbs. The dry version is even higher in carbs. If you are serious about getting your cat into remission, you should consider switching to a low carbohydrate diet.

You first posted in June/July. We would have urged you to follow one of the approaches to Levemir dosing. That would mean getting pre-shot tests and at minimum, one additional test during both the AM and PM cycles.

Please let us know if we can help.
 
I appreciate your input. As of right now she’s not had insulin for 5 days. I had been taking her into my vet for weekly checkups for the first month and did not use this message board because she seemed to be doing fine. My vet urged me to stay on the k/d diet only because of her kidney values. I understand that she was wrong but I was so scared to try another food because that seemed to be the tipping point for her diabetes diagnosis I am not feeding her that any more, she’s getting weruva and a small amount of fancy feast. My main concern is that she isn’t having bowel movements now and I’m feeding her a different diet again. I’m adding water to her food as well. I will try the Miralax today. As for testing, should I be testing 2x a day regardless of her not having insulin? I’ve only been testing in the a.m. thanks again for your help, it means so much.
 
I would keep testing. If numbers start to rise outside of normal range, you'll know sooner rather than later. If they stay within a normal range (50 - 120 on a human meter), after 2 weeks your cat would be in remission -- which means she would be diet controlled.

It's possible that with a change to a cleaner food, your cat is pooping less. My guys eat a partially raw plus high quality canned food diet. They poop every 2 - 3 days.
 
I would keep testing. If numbers start to rise outside of normal range, you'll know sooner rather than later. If they stay within a normal range (50 - 120 on a human meter), after 2 weeks your cat would be in remission -- which means she would be diet controlled.

It's possible that with a change to a cleaner food, your cat is pooping less. My guys eat a partially raw plus high quality canned food diet. They poop every 2 - 3 days.
I will definitely keep testing. I found the sweet spot today and I used a little warm water vial that she didn’t mind. Tested at 105:cat:She seems alert, she’s eating when I present her with wet food and she’s drinking water. I’m just getting worried that her laying down after walking a bit is a sign of discomfort. When I hold her I massage her hindquarters and hip bones and she raises up like she does when her anal glands are full, but since she had them expressed last week I know that’s not the issue. Going to grab the miralax and some more types of weruva wet foods now.
 
glucosamine is good too-my boys lived til 22 and I started them on adequan at about 13ish before arthritis had set in to slow it as much as possible. At 22 they still jumped on the couch and played. It isnt cheap but after the loading dose it isnt too bad.
 
So her BG is still in the normal range, called the vet today and she seems to think that she’s in remission and to only test every three days and call with the results. I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like we’re completely out of the woods yet, so I will continue to watch her levels every 12 hrs. She’s got her first dose of miralax down and has been sleeping peacefully ever since, so I think I might be able to rest for a while. I was SO afraid over this weekend. I know that her time is coming but I just don’t think we’re there…not yet. She’s enjoying her new foods, especially when I present it to her warm and smelly. Weruva food is an amazing product, she loves it! Thank you all for your kind words and support. I will nap now with a lotttttttt less anxiety:kiss:
 
So her BG is still in the normal range, called the vet today and she seems to think that she’s in remission and to only test every three days and call with the results. I’m sorry, but I don’t feel like we’re completely out of the woods yet, so I will continue to watch her levels every 12 hrs. She’s got her first dose of miralax down and has been sleeping peacefully ever since, so I think I might be able to rest for a while. I was SO afraid over this weekend. I know that her time is coming but I just don’t think we’re there…not yet. She’s enjoying her new foods, especially when I present it to her warm and smelly. Weruva food is an amazing product, she loves it! Thank you all for your kind words and support. I will nap now with a lotttttttt less anxiety:kiss:
Hi Lanerd,
I saw your post and wanted to share that I also have an older cat with bad arthritis which led to his chronic constipation. While his arthritis is doing better after supplements, he still has constipation. He's 18 and we have a regimen of Miralax 1/8 tsp 2 x day every 3 days, it does great at keeping his stool soft. This was after we got him "moving" again... It took about two days to get him to go. We were able to avoid megacolon. Good luck!!
 
Hi Lanerd,
I saw your post and wanted to share that I also have an older cat with bad arthritis which led to his chronic constipation. While his arthritis is doing better after supplements, he still has constipation. He's 18 and we have a regimen of Miralax 1/8 tsp 2 x day every 3 days, it does great at keeping his stool soft. This was after we got him "moving" again... It took about two days to get him to go. We were able to avoid megacolon. Good luck!!
Thank you!!! Which supplements are you giving him and at what rate, if you don’t mind me asking? My vet told me 1/4 tsp miralax 2x a day until she goes, so we’re approaching the 2nd dose in a couple of hours. Fingers crossed for the best outcome!
 
Either an 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon twice a day.
I give Tyler an 1/8 of a teaspoon twice a day maybe every 2 days
You have to see what works for Mao, if it's too much cut back, just be sure to add a nice amount of water to his wet food when you add the miralax to it.
You can buy the store brands also Clearlax ,etc it's much cheaper , it's the same thing as miralax
 
Thank you!!! Which supplements are you giving him and at what rate, if you don’t mind me asking? My vet told me 1/4 tsp miralax 2x a day until she goes, so we’re approaching the 2nd dose in a couple of hours. Fingers crossed for the best outcome!
Hi there,
Yes keeping my fingers crossed Miralax works for your Mao! And I agree with Diane, it doesn't have to be brand name to work. ;)
We use Cosequin for Casper our older guy's arthritis. No additives, which I liked, and I can get in on Chewy or Amazon pretty cheap. They come in capsules you can open and sprinkle to mix in their wet food, I do one a day (half in the am and half in the pm) since he's a smaller kitty. We saw improvement within a few weeks. BUT be careful, as this supplement (regardless of brand) can also cause loose stool, so if you start using it just watch his BMs. That's why we cut back a little on the Miralax with Casper.
I really hope this helps!
 
Houston…we have been blessed with the poop :D She went about 30 minutes after her dose of miralax this morning, so I’m assuming that she won’t need it tonight unless she doesn’t go for a couple more days? Ohhhh I almost started crying, I was sooooo happy!! Thanks for all the support, picking up some cosequin today!
 
Houston…we have been blessed with the poop :D She went about 30 minutes after her dose of miralax this morning, so I’m assuming that she won’t need it tonight unless she doesn’t go for a couple more days? Ohhhh I almost started crying, I was sooooo happy!! Thanks for all the support, picking up some cosequin today!

YAY! Lol who knew we'd get so happy over this kinda stuff? :D
Maybe see how she does the next few days. Before starting Cosequin, I usually would give Casper a dose if he didn't go in that time frame.
So happy to hear she went # 2! :bighug:
 
Houston…we have been blessed with the poop :D She went about 30 minutes after her dose of miralax this morning, so I’m assuming that she won’t need it tonight unless she doesn’t go for a couple more days? Ohhhh I almost started crying, I was sooooo happy!! Thanks for all the support, picking up some cosequin today!

Who among us hasn't thanked our cat for a most generous donation of poop.
I'm glad things are moving again and hopefully, her BG stays in the right place as well.
 
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