could she just be constipated?

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jewelsmom

jewelsmom

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about a month ago, jewel was having litter box problems and i thought she was constipated, turns out she had a bladder infection. she got medication to clear it up and retested after to make sure it was gone and it was.

now she seems to be having problems again, but i dont know if its the same thing cos this time it seems different. with the UTI, she would repeatedly go in and out of the box and only let out a tiny bit of pee, or she would pee on the floor, or in her cat bed. and she was in obvious discomfort and pain, laying on the floor all hunched up and meowing.

3 nights ago, i noticed she would go dig around in her box, squat, do nothing, meow really loudly, then hop back out. an hour later, she would be back in there doing the same thing, excect she would just stay in the box and lay down in it. a few hours after that she was standing in front of the box just looking at it, meowed and walked away. the next morning, i saw her go in and she did a big poop and was fine, no meowing or apparent discomfort, but then that night, she was doing the same dance as the night before! 2 nights ago, same thing. last night, same thing!

so this morning i woke up to the sound of her puking and jumped out of bed and found her squatting on the floor and pooping. looked in the litter box and there was one small poo in there.

as im typing this, shes gone in the box and done nothing, meowed and left.

she is still peeing the normal amount, as in large pees a few times a day, rather than frequent trips and subsequent drops of pee when she had the UTI. shes still eating normally (canned food only) and ive been putting a little extra water in her food just in case. her BG levels are stable and not too high. she still plays around with her toys. shes not hunching over in pain. shes acting pretty darn normal.

so i dont know?? could it just be constipation? i'm hesitant to bring her to the vet again cos she has had ALL the tests imaginable done already, so i know theres no other problem. im not sure what to do.
 
I have a cat with chronic constipation in fact he is on Lactulose 3cc twice a day for it. It does sound like she may be constipated. They will puke as well when constipated as the poop is not passing through no where for the food to go except back out the front. I would take her back to the vet to rule out a UTI and they can x-ray her to see if she is full of poop. She may have to be put on a little Miralax maybe. I would not suggest Lactulose for a diabetic cat but the vet can advise you on that. They will also poop in places other than the litterbox when constipated, caught mine the other day trying to poop in the cat tent I got for the kitten.
Also you might want to rule out bladder stones as well. I think an x ray can pick them up, they will cause the very same symptoms.

Terri
 
jewelsmom said:
she is still peeing the normal amount, as in large pees a few times a day
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Sounds like dehydration to me. Drinking water and large pees are diabetes symptoms. Poop loses its moisture and becomes as hard as hockey pucks. When that happens, it is hard to expel. Give the cat 1/8th tsp Benefiber dissolved in something twice per day. You need to take him to the vet to check for dehydration.

Lana
 
What I've noticed with my kitties is a different posture depending on what they were trying to do in the box. They all squat lower when peeing, and higher when pooping. Have you seen that with her?
When Bob was switched to low carb canned only diet, his poops became "harder". Even now, past the hydration troubles he had for a long time and OTJ for 3 months, they're still that way. Never seems constipated, leaves me buried treasures daily, but not as loose as they were when he ate dry food a lot.
 
i got this tonic lax stuff from last time i was at the vet but i didnt really want to give it to her cos it made her poop really weird. but maybe i'll try adding some fiber to her food instead

@Lana & Yoyo shes not peeing excessively large, i just meant larger in comparison to the drops of pee she would let out when she had the UTI. she only seems to pee 2 or 3 times a day and theyre normal sizes (not like the super huge pees she used to do before she was diagnosed with diabetes. good grief that was alot!) and now that shes on wet food only and her diabetes is under control, she drinks virtually no water from the water dish. i've been adding extra water to her food though cos i wasnt sure if she was getting enough liquid from just the wet food.

@carlinsc its definitely the 'poo squat' lol and she has this weird thing where she pees on one side of the box and poops on the other side. always! i never see pee on the poop side or vice versa. she had her butt facing the poop side, so that must be what shes going for. i'm wondering too if it could be the change in food. she always ate dry food before and i now know how bad that was for her and why it made her poop so much more.

well she had a nice big poop this morning without straining or meowing. hallelujah! and so far this evening, she hasnt meowed at her box, so hopefully whatever it was has passed. i'll continue to watch her tho. she always makes me so nervous now!!
 
jewelsmom said:
well she had a nice big poop this morning without straining or meowing. hallelujah!
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Good news.

In another post, Vicky & Gandolf says she adds a little pumpkin for bulk without blood sugar repercussions. Perhaps that might also help Jewel.

Lana
 
Yes, some people use pumpkin to bulk the stool. Also hydration is very important to combat constipation.

Please see this website for a complete explanation of constipation.http://www.felineconstipation.org/

I would also like to caution everyone about using stool bulkers to aid in constipation. Gandalf has a bowel obstruction and in those cases a stool bulker is NOT recommended and can make matters far worse. It is best to have vet evaluate to determine a cause of the constipation or inability to pass stool. There is a difference between the two and even if there is an obstruction they can still pass some stool, so it is difficult to assess cause without professional guidance.
 
I would take her and get her x rayed just to be safe to make sure she does not have constipation or bladder stones for instance or as Vicki said perhaps an obstruction.

Terri
 
she had xrays and an ultrasound about a month ago and everything look totally normal. there were no blockages or obstructions then. but is it possible that something could have developed in the last month?

i 'inspected' her poo after she went this morning and it did seem to be a bit dry. but she did this whole dance of going in the box, standing there, letting out a meow, then hopping out. 5 minutes later she was back in there but just dug around, then hopped out. both those times she didnt even squat or anything. then 5 minutes after that, she was back in and that time she pooped. but at no time did she appear to be straining or in pain or discomfort.

im almost wondering if it could be somewhat of a behavioural thing as well. or perhaps im making her nervous cos i'm watching her for signs of straining??
 
Nope that sounds to me like constipation. But I am not a vet for sure. But my cat will do strange things like that when he is constipated. Go in the box try to poop, then he will strain poop a tiny bit then will most often go poop somewhere else besides the litterbox. He has pooped in cat beds, on the floor, and most recently in the kittens play tent.
Could you perhaps make a call to the vet and tell them what she is doing and see what they think? I would almost take her in though. How old is she? My cat did not have a problem until he was older and heavier.
Also dry poop and hard poop can indicate constipation. When mine can`t poop and finally does its like rocks.
The straining and meowing would concern me.

Terri
 
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