3/3 Billie AMPS 211 +4 209 - Vet visit (acting off/appy issues)

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Deanna & Billie

Deanna & Billie

Member Since 2014
Hello!

Last condo: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/2-26-billie-amps-239-5-80-pmps-251.133787

Something is up with Billie. The night before last, she was scooting. She had some poo stuck in her fur, which is not unusual since she has long hair. I cleaned her up and she seemed fine. The next morning, she was scooting again after she got out of the litter box, and she had more poo on her bum. Ever since, she has been grooming her rear pretty obsessively, and I am still smelling a poo odor on her at times even though I gave her thorough butt baths. Of course, poo is a tough odor to get out, so maybe the smell is just stuck in her fur and she's grooming so much to try and get rid of it. All the poo has been solid - no diarrhea.

Also, her appy has been off. Today and yesterday, she licked at her regular food but would not eat more than a couple bites of it. She came running every time I opened a can or shook the Fortiflora packet, so she was acting hungry, but she wouldn't actually eat her Instinct. I got her some ham, which she loves, and she devoured most of that. So I don't know if she's just sick of her food or what. It has happened before - she got sick of Weruva after loving it for months.

I brought her to the vet today because I was worried. She was about due for 6 month bloodwork anyway, so we did that. I should have results on Thursday. The vet expressed her anal glands in case they were bothering her, but he didn't think that was the problem. He got a urine sample in case she has a UTI, so we'll see. Everything in her physical exam was normal. Maybe it was just a poo coincidence/Billie deciding she's done with Instinct. I hope that's the case.

Also, she weighs 9 lbs on the dot today, and she was 10 lbs on the dot when the vet last weighed her in October. He seemed concerned about the weight loss which makes me nervous. Should I be worried about that? 10 lbs has been her stable weight as long as I have known her. She went down to 8 lbs over the course of 6 weeks last April, which was the red flag that led to her diabetes diagnosis.

I am all freaked out but keeping in mind that she has been acting really great lately - lots of playing, lots of purring, lots of kisses. Thanks for listening to me ramble! Any thoughts are much appreciated. I hope everyone is doing okay. Sending vines to all the kitties and beans needing vines!
 
i think it's good you took her in - the blood work and urine test will answer some of your questions about whether or not there's something going on, I have 2 butt-scooters - it drives me crazy but i can't break them of doing it. No answers there, either.

but i'm sending you lots of mental support! As far as the weight - i'd let her eat more if she wants it and try to help her regain it. Maybe you could run her by the vet's next week and they could let you just borrow the scale for a moment to recheck her.
 
Vyktor scoots when there's poo left behind in his pants - he leaves lovely poo zig zags across the floorboards :rolleyes: Hoping Billie was just having a couple of off days and her appy picks up.
 
I have a Salter baby scale that I use to weigh Max I got it from amazon and they are around $50. I think it's worth it to be able to check at home. Vines for good blood report tomorrow. Acting well is a very good thing. What is her ideal weight?
 
I just want to send along vines for good BW results as well as appy and good poop vines for sweet little Billie!
 
A sanitary trim - trimming down the fur to maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch around the anus, including the related underside of the tail - can reduce accumulation of "dingle berries".

If the feces are very firm, perhaps constipation is an issue. Pop over to Feline Constipation to do some reading explaining the feline GI tract, and options for managing it when it doesn't work well.
Also, in cases of the opposite problem of diarrhea, a pinch of plain psyllium powder helps give the stool some form, making it less messy.
 
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Skooter is doing battle with a bout of constipation himself right now, so I agree it was an excellent idea to bring him in. Did they by chance do any xrays to see if there was anything "stuck" up there?
 
Thank you all so much for the visits, kind thoughts, and ideas! I really, really appreciate it.

Elise, I think Billie's ideal weight is 10 lbs. That's what she always weighed before FD, and it seems like a healthy weight for her. After she lost weight initially, she got back up to 10 lbs after a couple months on insulin. Julie, maybe Billie does need to eat more. She has access to her wet food almost all the time, but she is a grazer, so it's hard to tell how much she is really eating. I'll try to get more calories in her and see if that makes a difference. I think I may need to retire the Instinct, because she really has no interest in it. I just offered her some Hound & Gatos lamb and she ate maybe 1/4 of a typical portion, which is more than she was eating of the Instinct. It has duck liver in it and when she was having food allergy problems, I eliminated duck, so I'm not sure if it will work as a longterm option. I am going to try to get some Ziwipeak.

Thank you for the suggestions about constipation! I hadn't thought about that, but it is a possibility. She has been pooing regularly, but maybe they are hard. I'll have to investigate more closely next time. The vet didn't mention that or take any xrays. I can try giving her a bit of Vaseline - for some reason, she loves licking Vaseline, and that helped a while back when she was constipated. I do think I should start trimming her fur back there if she'll let me, because she is so fluffy that it's easy for things to get messy.

@MollynSkooter , sorry to hear that Skooter is struggling with constipation. I'm sending vines that he feels better soon!

Thank you all again :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Deanna, so sorry to read Billie had a bad day. Cinco just did the scooting thing, both in the box and out of it. No marks on the carpet, but a little later I found a couple of nuggets on the carpet in a different area, so I guess he got it out. He doesn't act constipated - is eating like a horse, and usually constipated kitties don't eat well, as they feel full.

I'm glad you took her in, and I hope the vet will have some answers for you after all the results are in, and that those answers are something easily treatable. Sending good appy and poo vines.
 
Vyktor went to the vet a couple of months back because I thought he had blood in his urine and he was off his food. They took an X-ray and discovered he was stuffed with poo. He was still pooing (although when I looked back through his diary there was a 4 day period a couple of weeks before that he hadn't gone for) and his poo wasn't hard. Nevertheless he required a clean out.
 
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