Jackolyn
Lairian
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2018
- Messages
- 16
- Points
- 14
Hello there!
This is going to be a LONG story, but alas, it still doesn't have a conclusion. I hope that this might help someone else out there, or if anyone has experienced something similar, please let me know.
**I will be sure to keep this updated as new information arrives.**
----
I picked up my little girl, Aurora, at 13 weeks of age from our breeder on the 7th of August - the most exciting day of my life! I had been warned beforehand that she had constipation issues, and was on a Laxative treatment of Restoralax - 1 TSP a day, 5ml in the morning, and 5ml at night. She was also on wet food with added water mixed in to help her along as well. She was eating a full can of Friskies Pate' a day, the food that the breeder was giving her . Half a can in the morning, and half at night.
A final check-up paper and this information was all of the medical history I was given upon pick-up.
She was pooping perfectly fine with the breeder, and was pooping perfectly fine with us, and the treatment seemed to be working well with her - no issues at for the first couple of days, just a happy, healthy, curious little girl! Our little snuggle bug!
Then 3 days later on the 10th, I noticed that she hadn't pooped at all throughout the day. I had been closely monitoring her the entire time (to the point of being the ultimate helicopter mom) to keep track of her movements, but when nothing had happened by 6pm, I became nervous and called the vet. They told me to give her a bit more laxative and wait it out - and sure enough, she had diarrhea everywhere, but she pooped! Hooray!
Cut to the next 7 days of me trying to find a happy medium of Laxative mixture (I had settled on 1/4 TSP) and food/water ratio. I was chasing her around the entire week, wiping her but and cleaning up poop drips everywhere around the house - she would leak poop all day and then at the end of the day she would let loose and it would all come out at once. Also worth noting that she began to scoot her butt across the floor after every attempt which - with diarrhea days, was NOT fun.
Friday the 17th I took her into the vet. I hadn't been able to find a happy medium that didn't result in either constipation all day, diarrhea all day - or one extreme to the other within the same day, so I took her in and they gave her some new food to try along with her routine vaccinations. Royal Canine Gastrointestinal - a bag of dry, and a few cans. Was told to feed her 1/2 can of wet, and 1/4 cup of dry a day, so I did that.
Still had diarrhea issues that night, but she had just been put on new food so I wasn't expecting an immediate difference.
The next day on Saturday the 18th, she was constipated all day, but no signs of runny diarrhea or drips to clean up, so I was thankful for that. Later that evening she had a MASSIVE bowel movement. It was basically all of the food from the day coming out at once, but for her, the poop looked super healthy. A bit soft, but it held it's shape, colour looked great, and I was so relieved - the food seemed to be working!
Sunday the 19th comes around and I'm hoping that the new food is working its magic - I'm hoping for 1-2 bowel movements that looked as good as the night before/if not better. She's drinking well, eating well...and then nothing. Nothing all day...and that turned into nothing all night.
She made several attempts in her litter box, but nothing at all was coming out - not a drop or smear. She was still scooting on the ground after her attempts, and began to vocalize very loudly. I can tell she's in pain whenever she tried.
Monday the 20th rolls around and I call the vet first thing in the morning. They ask me to bring her in and inquire about her vaccination/deworming history. I don't have any papers on hand, just the word of the breeder that she was vaccinated and dewormed, but no paper proof outside of her telling me what it was via text.
They asked to keep her all day and monitor her, so once I got home I called the veterinary clinic that the breeder had been taking her to and had them fax her history over.
When I get a call back later that day to pick her up, her file is now filled with papers of medical history.
I am told that her history is very checkered with apparently, a LOT of intestinal issues that I was NOT made aware of by the breeder. (And the final check-up paper makes no mention of ANY of this).
The only thing I knew of when I got her was her constipation issues, and the only medical treatment I was ever aware that she had was the Laxative I had been giving her.
I should remind you all that she is only 15 weeks old at this point.
According to my vet during this visit, she had indeed been dewormed and vaccinated (thank god), but she had also received multiple enemas starting at 6 weeks of age, including one done at home by the breeder (!!) and was apparently on other medication for her digestion issues at the time - which is now the major cause for concern.
They gave me 4 doses of 0.05MLS of Gabapentin to help manage the pain with her attempts, and 5 doses of a broad spectrum dewormer, Panacur, to administer once a day over the next 5 days.
They also told me to only administer her laxative by 1/8TSP split into 4 doses every 12 hours to try and ween her off since 1/4 - 1/2TSP is what they give to adult cats. (She had been on 2TSP a few weeks before I picked her up, and 1TSP when I had her!!)
That night was absolutely horrendous. I gave her 2 doses of Gabapentin over the evening to manage her pain, and between 12
0am and 12:45am she was constantly attempting to pass. She hadn't pooped since Saturday evening, and it was all still backed up in her but nothing but little bits of wet, yogurt like consistency poop was passing, and it was very minimal (but enough to make a mess all over our carpet whenever she scooted).
She also threw up her food from the day, just adding more problems to the equation.
First thing on Tuesday the 21st, I call the vet and they give me the option to take her in for an enema to clear everything out and "reset her intestines". I take her in, wait all day, and pick her up. She is noticeably skinnier, her bloated belly now gone, but she is all cleared out and reset.
What I'm told, is that it's not constipation that's the issue - there's no hard poop in her that's blocking anything - her poop is all soft.
The issue - from what they can feel, is that it's not at the end of her intestines, or a buildup of food, but rather her intestines are all irritated/inflamed and that is causing her the pain - which is then causing her to back herself up since she can't pass anything because of it.
I'm told that for now, patience is key and to finish her Deworming medication and to see if managing her pain helps any.
Cut to today - Wednesday the 22d, and she hasn't pooped since her enema at the vet yesterday.
I am keeping close notes on her, marking the times when I am feeding her, giving her medecine/laxative/pain killers, and noting the times that she attempts and what happens - if anything.
She has had 2 doses of her Deworming medication so far, but we have used up all of her pain medication for now, so I'm hoping that they give me more since - it doesn't stop her from vocalizing during her attempts, but it does help her a bit.
She is eating 4 times a day - she eats well, is drinking water, and there are no issues peeing whatsoever.
She makes multiple, very loud attempts during the day to try and pass, but nothing has come out, not even a wet bum afterwards, and her scooting is dry.
Her weight gain has also been put to a halt since the day I picked her up, with no increase over the past few weeks - despite her eating well this entire time (and the worry that she will actually lose weight looming over her.)
This is a very long story so far just to say that...we're having some serious issues with our little girl right now.
The breeder is telling me that she has no idea why any of this is happening, and that "she was fine when she was with me", but she's dancing around my questions of why I wasn't given any knowledge or paperwork of her previous medical history.
Aurora is my first kitten, and despite over 7 months of research on everything I could possibly think of before I got her, I am absolutely at a loss for what to do.
I was prepared to deal with constipation when that's all I thought it was - and if it was that simple, her new food would have been the solution.
I am hoping that my breeder is being honest with me, and that - at the time when her issues began to arise at 6 weeks of age - the vets truly DID believe that it was just a simple constipation issue and aggressively treated it to clear her out. I am hoping that my breeder didn't sell her to me with the knowledge of a more serious issue at hand and didn't tell me anything about it...which is, unfortunately, what I'm being lead to believe by all of the evidence that has come up.
My vets are telling me that, because of these aggressive treatments that she was given so early on, this could be the cause of whatever she is going through right now, and whatever it is - a normal digestive system for Aurora is something that we're going to have to fight for until we figure out what the issue is.
I just wanted to share my story so far with you all in hopes that someone out there has gone through something similar, or has any advice to give.
She is the sweetest girl I have ever known, and even though I have only had her for a short amount of time, I love her more than anything, and it has been so difficult for me to watch her go through this and being unable to do anything to help her.
If you have read this far, thank you so much.
I will be sure to keep you all updated as things develops further.
This is going to be a LONG story, but alas, it still doesn't have a conclusion. I hope that this might help someone else out there, or if anyone has experienced something similar, please let me know.
**I will be sure to keep this updated as new information arrives.**
----
I picked up my little girl, Aurora, at 13 weeks of age from our breeder on the 7th of August - the most exciting day of my life! I had been warned beforehand that she had constipation issues, and was on a Laxative treatment of Restoralax - 1 TSP a day, 5ml in the morning, and 5ml at night. She was also on wet food with added water mixed in to help her along as well. She was eating a full can of Friskies Pate' a day, the food that the breeder was giving her . Half a can in the morning, and half at night.
A final check-up paper and this information was all of the medical history I was given upon pick-up.
She was pooping perfectly fine with the breeder, and was pooping perfectly fine with us, and the treatment seemed to be working well with her - no issues at for the first couple of days, just a happy, healthy, curious little girl! Our little snuggle bug!
Then 3 days later on the 10th, I noticed that she hadn't pooped at all throughout the day. I had been closely monitoring her the entire time (to the point of being the ultimate helicopter mom) to keep track of her movements, but when nothing had happened by 6pm, I became nervous and called the vet. They told me to give her a bit more laxative and wait it out - and sure enough, she had diarrhea everywhere, but she pooped! Hooray!
Cut to the next 7 days of me trying to find a happy medium of Laxative mixture (I had settled on 1/4 TSP) and food/water ratio. I was chasing her around the entire week, wiping her but and cleaning up poop drips everywhere around the house - she would leak poop all day and then at the end of the day she would let loose and it would all come out at once. Also worth noting that she began to scoot her butt across the floor after every attempt which - with diarrhea days, was NOT fun.
Friday the 17th I took her into the vet. I hadn't been able to find a happy medium that didn't result in either constipation all day, diarrhea all day - or one extreme to the other within the same day, so I took her in and they gave her some new food to try along with her routine vaccinations. Royal Canine Gastrointestinal - a bag of dry, and a few cans. Was told to feed her 1/2 can of wet, and 1/4 cup of dry a day, so I did that.
Still had diarrhea issues that night, but she had just been put on new food so I wasn't expecting an immediate difference.
The next day on Saturday the 18th, she was constipated all day, but no signs of runny diarrhea or drips to clean up, so I was thankful for that. Later that evening she had a MASSIVE bowel movement. It was basically all of the food from the day coming out at once, but for her, the poop looked super healthy. A bit soft, but it held it's shape, colour looked great, and I was so relieved - the food seemed to be working!
Sunday the 19th comes around and I'm hoping that the new food is working its magic - I'm hoping for 1-2 bowel movements that looked as good as the night before/if not better. She's drinking well, eating well...and then nothing. Nothing all day...and that turned into nothing all night.
She made several attempts in her litter box, but nothing at all was coming out - not a drop or smear. She was still scooting on the ground after her attempts, and began to vocalize very loudly. I can tell she's in pain whenever she tried.
Monday the 20th rolls around and I call the vet first thing in the morning. They ask me to bring her in and inquire about her vaccination/deworming history. I don't have any papers on hand, just the word of the breeder that she was vaccinated and dewormed, but no paper proof outside of her telling me what it was via text.
They asked to keep her all day and monitor her, so once I got home I called the veterinary clinic that the breeder had been taking her to and had them fax her history over.
When I get a call back later that day to pick her up, her file is now filled with papers of medical history.
I am told that her history is very checkered with apparently, a LOT of intestinal issues that I was NOT made aware of by the breeder. (And the final check-up paper makes no mention of ANY of this).
The only thing I knew of when I got her was her constipation issues, and the only medical treatment I was ever aware that she had was the Laxative I had been giving her.
I should remind you all that she is only 15 weeks old at this point.
According to my vet during this visit, she had indeed been dewormed and vaccinated (thank god), but she had also received multiple enemas starting at 6 weeks of age, including one done at home by the breeder (!!) and was apparently on other medication for her digestion issues at the time - which is now the major cause for concern.
They gave me 4 doses of 0.05MLS of Gabapentin to help manage the pain with her attempts, and 5 doses of a broad spectrum dewormer, Panacur, to administer once a day over the next 5 days.
They also told me to only administer her laxative by 1/8TSP split into 4 doses every 12 hours to try and ween her off since 1/4 - 1/2TSP is what they give to adult cats. (She had been on 2TSP a few weeks before I picked her up, and 1TSP when I had her!!)
That night was absolutely horrendous. I gave her 2 doses of Gabapentin over the evening to manage her pain, and between 12
0am and 12:45am she was constantly attempting to pass. She hadn't pooped since Saturday evening, and it was all still backed up in her but nothing but little bits of wet, yogurt like consistency poop was passing, and it was very minimal (but enough to make a mess all over our carpet whenever she scooted).She also threw up her food from the day, just adding more problems to the equation.
First thing on Tuesday the 21st, I call the vet and they give me the option to take her in for an enema to clear everything out and "reset her intestines". I take her in, wait all day, and pick her up. She is noticeably skinnier, her bloated belly now gone, but she is all cleared out and reset.
What I'm told, is that it's not constipation that's the issue - there's no hard poop in her that's blocking anything - her poop is all soft.
The issue - from what they can feel, is that it's not at the end of her intestines, or a buildup of food, but rather her intestines are all irritated/inflamed and that is causing her the pain - which is then causing her to back herself up since she can't pass anything because of it.
I'm told that for now, patience is key and to finish her Deworming medication and to see if managing her pain helps any.
Cut to today - Wednesday the 22d, and she hasn't pooped since her enema at the vet yesterday.
I am keeping close notes on her, marking the times when I am feeding her, giving her medecine/laxative/pain killers, and noting the times that she attempts and what happens - if anything.
She has had 2 doses of her Deworming medication so far, but we have used up all of her pain medication for now, so I'm hoping that they give me more since - it doesn't stop her from vocalizing during her attempts, but it does help her a bit.
She is eating 4 times a day - she eats well, is drinking water, and there are no issues peeing whatsoever.
She makes multiple, very loud attempts during the day to try and pass, but nothing has come out, not even a wet bum afterwards, and her scooting is dry.
Her weight gain has also been put to a halt since the day I picked her up, with no increase over the past few weeks - despite her eating well this entire time (and the worry that she will actually lose weight looming over her.)
This is a very long story so far just to say that...we're having some serious issues with our little girl right now.
The breeder is telling me that she has no idea why any of this is happening, and that "she was fine when she was with me", but she's dancing around my questions of why I wasn't given any knowledge or paperwork of her previous medical history.
Aurora is my first kitten, and despite over 7 months of research on everything I could possibly think of before I got her, I am absolutely at a loss for what to do.
I was prepared to deal with constipation when that's all I thought it was - and if it was that simple, her new food would have been the solution.
I am hoping that my breeder is being honest with me, and that - at the time when her issues began to arise at 6 weeks of age - the vets truly DID believe that it was just a simple constipation issue and aggressively treated it to clear her out. I am hoping that my breeder didn't sell her to me with the knowledge of a more serious issue at hand and didn't tell me anything about it...which is, unfortunately, what I'm being lead to believe by all of the evidence that has come up.
My vets are telling me that, because of these aggressive treatments that she was given so early on, this could be the cause of whatever she is going through right now, and whatever it is - a normal digestive system for Aurora is something that we're going to have to fight for until we figure out what the issue is.
I just wanted to share my story so far with you all in hopes that someone out there has gone through something similar, or has any advice to give.
She is the sweetest girl I have ever known, and even though I have only had her for a short amount of time, I love her more than anything, and it has been so difficult for me to watch her go through this and being unable to do anything to help her.
If you have read this far, thank you so much.
I will be sure to keep you all updated as things develops further.
