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8 week old female kitten not defecting properly….several days. My 21 year old daughter (away at college) just got a kitten last Tuesday. She noticed the kitten wasn’t pooping but the kitten was trying but either nothing was coming out or a piece was stuck in and hanging of her rectum. Sometimes my daughter returns to the room where the kitten is and finds smears of poop. he took her to the ER and they gave the kitten an enema… which sort of worked a bit and the kitten did go on Friday (the day after). They wanted to do more such as an X-ray and give fluids but the cost was so high my daughter didn’t want to do that. Since then, the kitten is trying to go anywhere and everywhere but nothing coming out. Occasionally some poop smears are found. Thus far the kitten has been in decent spirits…. playful a bit and eating wet food (with a little aded water). Of course, I’m sure this will change fast. Last night the kitten tried to poop while sitting on my daughters lap. 🙁
We have an appt. on Tuesday afternoon at a local vet whom I use for my cats and I trust….. I’m worried we can’t wait til then to get her checked. Any suggestions on what could be going on? I’m worried its something more serious. Thank you so much for your consideration!!!
how can i best extract bowels from my injured cat? she is not using the litter box, but there is some leakage. she has no tone in her anus and most likely is healing from nerve damage. i have figured out how to extract her bladder. she is still eating and lively. more details of her condition and our process to support her below.
moonstone is about a year old and showed up at our house 4 months ago brave and spirited. she disappeared for a week and came back with a serious injury. we took her to the er because she was leaking urine and had a limp tail and left hind leg. we learned that her bladder needed to be urgently expressed and that her bowels were backed up. we also learned that she had a tail avulsion and a fracture in her left femoral joint. they expressed her bladder and bowels and sent us home with pain meds and anti-inflammatory medication. we went to aspca the next day hoping to get treatment for her fractured bones, but they suggested nursing her at home and learning how to express her bladder and bowels to see if she could regain control and tone in her anus. they said that maybe in a few weeks she could regain feeling and be able to use the bathroom on her own, and then they would consider amputating her tail and treating her leg. we have quickly learned how to express her bladder, but are struggling to get her to poop. please help us keep moonstone alive!
Hello
I’m sorry to hear about your cat.
I think that you need to find a veterinarian or a veterinary technician who can show you how to do this. I would also recommend you start gentle physical therapy and feed canned food to keep the feces soft and able to pass more easily.
My female sealpoint siamese cat, Lika, has been constipated. She is 16 years old and has historically eated Science Diet dry cat food. She turns her nose up at canned foid; I have tried many. I have tried putting mineral oil on her treats and she would sometimes eat them but now will not, at all. She is still eating and she drinks a lot of water. She is active, bright, and seems to usually be in no distress. Her abdomen does not feel hard or distended. She vomits on occasion after which she sometimes poops. For the past two weeks she has been straining as if to poop but nothing comes out. I gave her an enema 4 days ago and it was successful. She had not pooped since, so I gave her another enema today, with success but with not as much poop obtained as there should have been after 4 days. Her stool is very hard. I would like to know if I can give her liquid docusate sodium , which I can buy in the grocery store and if so, how much can I give to my 5 lb. cat. How do I administer it? I would not want her to aspirate any medicine I’d give her. I am trying to avoid large vet bills because of my financial situation and bevause Lika is an old cat and I prefer to avoid any major costly intervention(s).
Hello.
A few suggestions to help with her bowel movements… try introducing different type of wet food. Often kitties aren’t fond of certain smells/flavors. You can also try adding water into her dry food to moisten it. If able, try adding small amounts of wet food into the dry food. Softening up the food can help form stool easier and make things less stressful.
Please reach out to your vet if this continues to be an issue as she may have more going on than we can tell.
My cat just started yowling. He had a soft stool this morning, and tonight he is in pain. He has soft stools slowly oozing out, there is some blood. He vomited a few times. He is drinking when I bring him water. It seems like anal gland inflammation or intestinal?
I would guess intestinal. Please get him to the vet first thing this morning.
Our mobile vet was able to come to the house. She noticed he was a little anemic too. Two fluid injections, expressed anal glands, blood draw, nails clipped, various other shots and medicine and appetite stimulants…he is better, but so grumpy about it all!
Oh I’m SO relieved to hear that! Our cats do get dehydrated quickly – I’d probably invest in a fountain or two to encourage more water consumption.
My 9 yr. old Megacolon cat Eli wasn’t able to poop. It happens sometimes. He’s on Cisapride and Merilax daily, but he still get’s backed up. When he started vomiting after not being able to BM and jumping out of the litter box I took him to the vet. They did an enema on June 20th. He’s still backed up! I can’t afford 1k plus to have a vet manually extract the feces (this is Washington, DC area – everything is very expensive!). He hasn’t started throwing up again, but he’s not eating much and I need to find out if there is something I can do more at home to get him through this emergent time. I can’t just watch my cat suffer. I have Pedi lax, but don’t know if that would help or hinder at this point. I watch videos on palpitating the colon to try and break up the feces. I know there are specific enemas to give cats at home. Is it too late to try this? My vet is frankly bad and too busy to bother, so she said to just go to the emergency. It sure seems like there are other steps that can be taken ,,,at least I hope so becuase I just don’t have that kind of money left with the cost for caring for my hospice Husky, Loki. Help!
Hello,
For these cases I talk a lot with owners about trying to identify the underlying cause. Often it is poor diet and sedentary life but there are also diseases and illnesses that can contribute. If able start to learn how to palpate your cats colon and feed watery wet food and use the fiber supplements and laxatives. Exercise is also very important. For these cats we start training in a harness to go outside for walks. I feel that if you don’t increase environmental enrichment and stimulation they won’t start moving.
But before all of this you have to remove the obstructive feces. This often needs a vets help. Call rescues and shelters and keep asking for affordable help.
My dog is having soft stool. Giving her Forti Flora in her food with chicken and dry food. Was wondering if I can give her Pepto Bismol
I wouldnt. I dont think it helps. Forta flora helps helps replace bad bacteria for good, kinda like probiotic yogurt. Id give her plain boiled chicken and rice for a day or so, and slowly add her dry food back in. Avoid any table scraps and offer plenty of water. Also check online for any recalls in her dry food.
Anyone know what could cause horribly smelly cat poop? I know what normal cat poop smells like, and this is not it! Buford has always had this condition. To make matters worse, he doesn’t cover it, so the smell quickly permeates through the whole house. OMG!!
When I first got him about two years ago (he was a feral adult), I had his poop tested for all parasites including giardia, and it all came up negative. He seems healthy otherwise.
Thanks.
Hello,
Has your veterinarian sent the fecal sample to the lab for analysis? Have you spoke to your vet about this? I would start there. There are numerous things this can be but a vet visit is the best and first place to start.
Hi Dr. Magnifico. Thanks for your response. I should have said that he’s been to the vet about this but she didn’t have a clue, since the fecal sample didn’t turn up anything.
Hello,
Thanks for the reply. Did you talk to your vet? In these cases I always advise three serial negative fecals before I rule out parasites. Then I do a maldigestion profile and bloodwork. After that I do a series of treatments to see if any help. Like tylan, panacur and even a steroid in some cases. But diet change is also important to consider. Let us know. Good luck.
I just recently changed my 14 month old cat’s dry food but she hasn’t been eating as she used to. Then yesterday i saw there was smear in her bottom and it was brownish orangy i was not sure if there’s blood. Her poops are formed and brown though as usual. This morning poop is the same. But this afternoon she was on my lap and checked her bottom and a small dot of water came out. I wonder if she has diarrhea. She’s been having brownish discharge for about two weeks now too. Also, she’s been shedding since two months ago not sure if thats normal when cat age. What could be wrong? She doesn’t look sick.
Good morning???? Is your cat spayed? It could possibly be related to the change in food, but if she isn’t spayed it could be something more than diet. Either way- I think I would collect a stool sample and get an appointment with the vet to be safe. I would let the vet know the dietary changes recently. If your cat is not spayed, please consider it. Have a great day????????
Yes she is spayed. I was wondering if this is normal in transitioning to a different food brand (couldnt find the one shes used to so i bought a different brand-i feed her grain free). As a younger cat she wasn’t as picky. Also she’s indoors only no other cats.
If the diet change wasn’t gradual, I would assume she’s having a hard time with it. Cats aren’t as flexible as dogs when it comes to food and changes really need to be gradual.
She was not picky before that’s why i didn’t expect this. I did mix the food though it’s just that i have less of the old food because I couldn’t find it anywhere in store and online so it took time to buy food and was forced to buy a different one :-/
Hi, my cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism about 2 weeks ago and our vet put her on Methimazole 5 mg liquid. Yesterday my cat started trying to urinate frequently (every couple of minutes) and defecated outside of her letterbox several times. I searched up to see if these were the symptoms of the medication and was unable to find anything online. So i just wanted to run it by you guys and double check. Today my cat seems to be doing well, she is not urinating every few minutes, however, I’m still a little worried. Thanks so much!
Hi there- I agree that your cat is trying to tell you something with this litter box behavior. Have you phoned you vet to let them know? I would definitely start there. I know that my vet would want to know any changes in behavior right away and be kept up to date on the patient…. I would call your regular vet before they close and speak with them. I hope things are ok????????
Hello,
Please follow up with your vet about your cat. I don’t think the medication and the litter box issues are related but litter box issues should always be followed up ASAP. Also I have not had much luck with the transdermal medications so please follow up with your vet on the thyroid level checks too.
Hello,
I think that every 21 year old college person needs to rethink such a young pet. I also think that you should regard yourself as this kittens parent until she is spayed and fully vaccinated. Kittens, and anything this young are inherently fragile and vulnerable and need constant supervision and immediate veterinary care from the first days of adoption.
As far as being able to wait until Tuesday I cannot answer that with anything other than what I wrote above. The minute you fear there is a problem you should be at a vets office.
I hope she is ok