Brody is Blocked Again

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Michaellh33

Michaellh33

Member Since 2015
This is the 3rd or 4th time he has become blocked. I am afraid I will no longer be able to support him due to my own situation. I thank everyone for the help they have given us but I think this is it. Sigh
 
He is running around trying to poop a lot though and his anus is a bit bloody. Any recommendations to help him with that?
 
I currenlty use MiraLax. It'll will work quickly, just a sprinkling of it in his food and mix it well. Long term if you can get him to eat plain canned pumpkin mixed with his food. You'll just have to try it and adjust as necessary. I'm just using it every other day in one meal per day.
 
@Michaellh33 - Whew! That was too close huh! Be sure Brody gets lots of fluids to help him start passing any backed up poop. If it's bright blood, it's near/at the end of the colon or anus. It's possibly a burst capillary due to straining to move things. I also use Miralax for my civie with chronic constipation issues. 1/8th tsp 2 times a day is the starting dose altho' you can go up as high as 1/4th tsp. It works by pulling water out of the colon to soften the poop thus the reason for needing lots of fluids to support that and help him not become dehydrated. If he doesn't drink much, syringe water as often as you think of it.

Hugs and headbutts!
 
I let his litter box get a little dirty over the past few days so not sure if he held it because of that or what but I am at the university for now so I won't be able to do anything till I get home.

The only issue with giving him the stuff is I have 2 cats and no way to consistently feed them seperately. It mightbe possible if done in the morning.
 
I am going to look into a kitty fountain and a bigger litter box for them. I think this one is too small anyways.
 
I should have included that we have 3 cats that share bowls so I can't put it in Snowshoe's food. I mix it with about 1.5cc's of water (it's tasteless), draw it into syringe and give it to him directly chased by another couple of cc's of water. That way I'm not dependent on doing it while he's eating...

A fountain and bigger litter box sounds like a couple of great ideas!
 
Brody isn't good with syringes in his mouth or begin forced to eat anything. The last time i tried to pill him we got into a physical altercation and he made him self almost puke to get it out of his throat. It was most unpleasant.
 
Might try mixing it in a little baby food and giving it to just him...most cats love the meat only baby food and if you can control who's eating it, that'll take care of that problem
 
Hi Michael. I found this website to be extremely helpful recently.
http://www.felineconstipation.org/acutetreatment.html#HardStool
I would have spent an untold amount of money at the vet if not for their helpful steps. My civvie cat had explosive diarrhea, because of impacted stool. I followed the instructions and gave an enema, and Colace 50mg. I am still giving the Colace ( stool softener) weekly. And pumpkin daily, mixed in food. Maybe something you will find on there will help Brody.
 
Feeding a canned or raw diet, no dry, will be one of the best things you can do to help prevent his urethra from being blocked.
"The solution to pollution is dilution." By keeping him well hydrated, he will be much less likely to block.

Also, distilled water has no additional minerals in it; if that might be in the budget, using that in his water dish and maybe adding a tablespoon to any canned food, will help with the dilution.
 
Michaellh33 said:
Is there something I can add to their food ot help prevent UTI and them getting blocked?
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Can you ask the vet what his urine pH has been in the past? They would know this if they've done urinalyses on him before. If the pH is too high, there are foods you can feed to lower it, which could help reduce risk for UTIs and a certain type of crystal (you don't want it to be too low either though).
 
I can get distilled water fairly cheap at Walmart for a gallon of it but neither of my cats ever seem to drink water when I leave it for them.

The vet where I am currently at has not done a urinalysis I don't think. I would have to call and find out. He was diagnosed with diabetes while in DKA so maybe the vet in Texas would have that info.
 
I think I learned something else as well. I have 3 apartment mates and I think they are being mean to my cats when I am not here. They never leave my room unless I am here when ever they hear one of them walking by outside they couch down and tuck their tail and hide. The litter box was outside of my room but now it is in it. I think that may be why Brody stopped going to the bathroom but I am not 100% sure if they are doing anything when I am not here.
 
Michaellh33 said:
He is running around trying to poop a lot though and his anus is a bit bloody. Any recommendations to help him with that?
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Michael...I had a cat who had a blockage that damaged nerves so badly that they told me to put him to sleep (he was also diabetic and had cardiomyopathy so, all medications that they would use for this, were useless in Topper). I did NOT do it. I did some research and believe this or not...plain old, over the counter Zantac (ranitidine) worked like a charm, along with canned pumpkin, added to his food. The lack of fibre in a high protein, low carb diet will act like it does in humans and result for SOME cats in constipation.

Ask your vet what dosage to give the Zantac (ranitidine) in as well as how much canned pumpkin to give for your cat's body weight. Trust me...even the vets were shaking their heads in total disbelief and now use it in other cats for constipation issues. :) It's solvable now that you've got his bowels moving....it's keeping them moving on a regular basis. Don't let him go more than a day in between movements without at least, giving the pumpkin and add the Zantac when the pumpkin hasn't produced a stool.

ETA: As for the anus...because it's likely a bit raw from a hard bowel movement, you can use plain old fashioned baby wipes to gently wipe or plain water on a soft tissue then...put on some vaseline or even some baby diaper rash cream/ointment like zinc oxide. If all else fails...a tiny bit of Preparation H. :)
 
Michaellh33 said:
I would have to call and find out. He was diagnosed with diabetes while in DKA so maybe the vet in Texas would have that info.
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You can ask them to email the full urinalysis to you and then you post it (just sharpie out the name/address). In terms of coming up with more ideas, it would help us to at least know the pH or the type of crystals he's had in the past.
And yes, I do think that if your roommates are being mean to the cat, that could play a big role. Many cat urinary issues can be stress-related or at least made worse by stress.
 
Michaellh33 said:
Here is the urinalysis for Brody.
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Well, his pH is normal. So, you don't need acidifying foods. I think you just have to try to increase his water consumption and prevent constipation. There are cat water fountains or you can just try a bigger bowl initially. As BJM suggested, you should add water to the canned food and do canned food only, if possible. Louellen had some great ideas above too.
If he's never had actual crystals in his pee (or UTIs confirmed by clean capture urine and culture/sensitivity), he might have sterile cystitis, and if so, stress reduction is really important:
http://icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/feline-idiopathic-cystitis-fic
http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/urinary/c_ct_bladder_inflammation_feline_interstitial_cystitis

Sorry! I was hoping there'd be an easy fix for Brody.
 
No worries, I appreciate the feedback. I don't know what to do about my apartment mates. They are the careless type and don't think how their behavior affects other's living here. I do know my cats are terrified when ever they see them or hear them outside my door.
 
Is it possible to talk to your apartment mates and explain to them the seriousness of their actions to the health of your kitties? They may not understand how truly detrimental to the cats' well-being their behavior is.
 
Michaellh33 said:
I do know my cats are terrified when ever they see them or hear them outside my door.
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Do you want to try some calming stuff? Cat Ma has great ideas on that. There's always Feliway pheromone diffusers, which work for some cats, but not others. Do your kitties already eat wet food? If so, you can call and ask your vet if they'd be okay with you adding Zylkene to it. Or you can give them Rescue Remedy (non-alcohol version). For my kitties, the Zylkene worked okay but the RR did not make a big difference.
 
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