Sammy OTJ but now sick-prayers needed

Status
Not open for further replies.
LindaMS

LindaMS

Member Since 2013
Well, I quite literally woke up to a **** storm here this morning. Sammy has Diarrhea, and it is everywhere. It is just running out of her, the poor thing. Everywhere she sat or walked in the house has a drop here or there. I will be steam cleaning carpets and washing floors literally until next year by the look of things.

My husband said he could hear her trying to throw up early this morning too. No evidence of success in that regard.

I have put her in a bathroom with some towels on the floor, a litter box and a dish of water. It is 7:45 am here, so I have to wait until 830 to take her to the vet. I am concerned about her being dehydrated, and she seems to be in pain.

Healing thoughts appreciated. Its going to be a long shitty day. I am just having a coffee now, and will go back up to the bathroom and test her BG in a few and see how that is.. Oddly, I had just tested her yesterday, so I know she was fine 24 hours ago.
 
First, :bighug:. I doubt this is FD related. The first thing that comes to mind is has anything changed over the past few holiday weeks that might have caused Sammy stress? With it being a holiday I would call the vet early. You don't want to risk the need of a visit to the ER. I hope this passes quickly.
 
Let me think.... a certain 21 month old granddaughter here for 6 days? People in and out of the house? yeah, its been a busy time. I realize that FD is not the cause, but being a diet controlled diabetic, i worry about dehydration more. Also I am not going to offer her food until her gut settles.

It could have been something as simple as a bad can of cat food. That does happen occasionally. But I am not going to take chances on it.
 
Stress can also bring on pancreatitis and can pass on its own in a few days and thus no reason for worry or require nausea meds. Try to get her to eat a little of anything and if successful offer more in an hour. What do you feed her? It seems some have had issues with Wellness lately. Not Core but some of the other ones they make.
 
HUGS Linda - what a way to end the year. :bighug: I hope Sammy gets over this quickly. Good call getting her into the vet ASAP.

Have you used a probiotic with her before? Fortiflora is one option. Another one that people here use for kitties is Renew Ultimate. I've seen it for sale in Real Canadian Superstore, in the organic refridgerated section.
 
Last edited:
Please make sure that Sammy hasn't eaten anything like tinsel or poinsettias. This could also be something as simple (but unpleasant) as a GI bug. I think some probiotics (FortiFlora or if you want the bigger guns, ReNew Ultimate) are in your future. The latter is a human product and I've found it at Whole Foods and others have mentioned that GNC may stock it. (1/3 capsule in food twice a day to start.)

ETA: Wendy and I cross posted. It's scary when several of us start to think alike!
 
That is one thing i can say for sure, this was a very kitty safe Christmas. Due to having Busy Lizzie the crazy kitten, there was no Christmas tree. I have no plants in the house at all, and dont leave food out that she can get into . So I am pretty sure she didnt eat anything weird.
 
Sending prayers for Sammy. This is a HUGE longshot, but by any chance did you have a snowglobe that broke, and Sammy got some of the liquid on her fur? I remember reading years ago that some snowglobes basically have anti-freeze in them, which of course is toxic to kitties.

Feel better Sammy....please keep us posted!
 
Well, back from the vet. She has an intestinal "war" going on in there. Lots of signs of bacteria, both good and bad, and mucus which shows that her gut is angry. She is now on Metronidazole 50mg and Fortiflora (assuming I can get her to eat that is!). I fought the good fight and got the pill down her (the cheese trick did not work, which is a huge indication that she really feels awful).

I also had to give her a bath, due to her having liquid poo all over her backside and no interest in cleaning herself up. That actually went well.

She is going to spend the day cooped up in the upstairs bathroom until she eats and stops leaking poop. Her BG was 146 prior to going to the vet, which is not surprising since she feels bad. Her heart rate was quite fast, and he said he heard a systolic heart murmur, which can be due to being ill, or it might be indicative of thyroid problems brewing. But, first things first, get the gut settled, then consider having her heart rate checked again. I might get the other fellow in the practice to do a house call for that, really get a true reading of her in real life that way.

Thanks for the encouragement.

And no, there was no accidental ingestion of poinsonous stuff. I am super careful about not leaving anything out that could harm cat or child. All cleaners are behind closed doors, use liquid laundry soap so it can be closed tightly, etc etc.
 
Sending vines! I hope Sammy feels beter w/ the meds. You said you thought she was in pain? Did they give any pain meds?
 
no pain meds yet. I will talk to him again this afternoon if she doesnt perk up. The pooping has stopped, it seems, so lets see if I can get her to eat and go from there.
 
GREAT comeback!!!
icon_lol.gif


Sending lots of vines and hope Sammy feels better soon!
 
she wont eat. I tried the Go To ... rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. No way. Even brought out the Big Guns ... Temptations treats. Nope. She did allow me to put some crushed ones into her mouth, which I was glad for, since those things are salty. Sure enough, got her to have a big drink of water.
 
How is her hydration? Do you have fluids to give at home, just in case? Did the vet say how long it might take for her to start eating again?
 
chuckling at your conversation with the vet. hehehe

i'm so sorry she's feeling so gross. Punkin had some issues with diarrhea here and there and we've been through lots of metronidazole. It isn't just an anti-microbial, it also has some anti-inflammatory properties. It worked well for him - i hope you see a turn-around very fast.

No rotisserie chicken . . . that's pretty serious. most cats will go for that even if they aren't hungry. How about Oregano (related to catnip) as a sprinkle? warming up the food a little, some parmesan cheese? a different cat food? the fish ones are tempting for many cats.

sending feel better vines to little Sammy. i hope she perks up very soon!
 
I just brought her downstairs and the first thing she did was use the litter box. (yes, I did have one upstairs for her as well). She was actually straining to poop, and produced a small amount. This is suspicious of a partial bowel obstruction, in which case it makes sense she wont eat.

I have had a bowel twist and had to have a portion removed, so trust me when I say I know exactly how she feels. Its miserable. We decided to take our chances with her having more leakage and just let her be comfy down here with us, perhaps then she might eat. She is drinking well.

I just called the vet and gave him that update... or rather his receptionist. They will relay the info and ask him if he thinks I need to bring her in for some fluids. I have never needed to do that before, so dont have equipment or know how... this might be the day I learn, I suppose!
 
Fluids can be fairly easy to give, even if the needle seems really intimidating! Please keep us updated!:bighug:
 
You might want to try baby food (either Gerber or Beechnut Stage 2 -- it's broth and a protein -- no veggies). It's easy to digest, not too problematic for a sore gut, and most kitties really like the stuff.
 
Have you been to Feline Constipation? Lots of good info on the feline GI tract, how it works, what helps when it doesn't.
If she is partially obstructed, she may need an enema or two to clear it.
 
All meat babyfood is not available in Canada - it's not an option we can use. Sending more vines Sammy's way.
 
Well, its been an interesting day. Took her back to the vet for some sub Q fluids since she had not eaten, and still hasnt. But she is not uncomfortable anymore, currently perched on top of my formerly clean jeans that just happened to be on the dining room table She is drinking well. As the vet said her backside feels like she is pooping jalapeno peppers, so no wonder she is not exactly up to snuff. If she is better tomorrow then I will be heading over to VAncouver to see a hockey game, otherwise I will stay home and hubby will go on his own. We were supposed to be there tonight, and when i called to cancel the hotel, I found out they had upgraded us to the Presidential Suite. Damn. Oh well, there was a reason. On top of being here to look after my girl, I met some people at the vet today. They had a big boy Tuxie who they were bringing in to find out hte results of tests taken earlier today. The chief complaint was that he was walking funny on his hind legs. Of course I knew right away, but asked what the vet thought... they said that she said diabetes. I was SO GLAD that I was there, and could look them in the eye and say "It will be okay. You can do this". I introduced them to Sammy, and told them she is living proof. Then I gave them my number, and the URL to this site. There is a reason I was there, for sure.

Happy New Year.

Linda
 
Hi Linda,
Wow, poor Sammy has been through the wringer. I'm glad she is improving and hope that by tomorrow she will be back to normal. The website on feline constipation that BJM cited above is a goldmine of information. Must reading!
Lot of healing vines for Sammy. Happy New Year! Those people you met at the vets are lucky you were there.

Ella & Rusty
 
hoping Sammy is doing better today. That's an amazing coincidence at the vet's - i'm so glad you were there to give those folks information.

by the way, there is a link to the video giving sub-q fluids in the "Where Can I Find?" post if you need it. Look at the second half in the "interesting posts" section. We gave punkin sub-q's for quite a while, maybe a year or so. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes routine just like the rest of this.
 
I'm hoping that Sammy is doing better today. Zener's beans had learn a tummy massage that help a lot when he was having bowel troubles. Maybe they could walk you through it.
 
Sorry I did not update here sooner... its been rather busy around here. Sammy is doing great. Her tummy issues have settled, and she is eating well. Her BG is slowly coming back to OTJ range, and she is perky. I am suspicious that the culprit may have been her dehydrated chicken treats.. they did not smell right. I have since thrown them out, and now that she has found fortiflora (thanks to the vet), she might be hooked on that. At nearly 16... she can have it everyday as far as I am concerned.. whatever keeps her happy and eating well works for me. Thanks for all the support.
 
I'm so glad to hear Sammy is feeling better!

You may be right about the freeze dried chicken. Some brands will also keep the skin from the chicken and it's rather oily. I suspect that the fat could cause the treats to turn rancid.

Most cats do great with FortiFlora. For some other cats, it may make them constipated so just keep an eye on the litter box! (My vet used to refer to FortiFlora as kitty crack.)
 
Punkin loved fortiflora too. You don't have to use a whole packet each day - you can just give a little sprinkle to add the flavor.

So glad that Sammy's feeling good! that's great news.
 
Hi Linda
I'm glad to hear Sammy is doing so much better. Our GA Max had something very similar several years ago. He had taken a quick lick of some pinto bean juice and the bacteria in his gut went haywire. He was one sick little kitty with vomiting and diarrhea but the metronidazole also got it under control.

Glad to hear all is well in Sammyland!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top