[Harley_W]

I have a male cat of approximately 15 years of age who has been experiencing bowel issues for the past 24 hours.

He is currently constipated and has been passing small amounts of slightly bloody fluid. The fluid he is passing is watery with a light pink color. He passes between a table spoon and a tea spoon per attempted and has made numerous attempts both inside and outside of the litter box.

This is not urine as I cleaned the litterbox last night and I can see three spots where he has urinated and those areas are light yellow in color and distinct from the small pink patches in the litter.

He is passing the fluid less regularly and the color has changed from hot pink to almost clear, but he still has not made a bowel movement of any significance.

He has technically defecated three times. One yesterday was pile a small, hard (but not dry) pellets about the size of vitamin pills. One yesterday was a small mushy mound, about the size of a Mound/Bounty bar. Today was a small, hard, and dry irregular shaped piece of feces (best compared to maybe the shape of a thorn) that he passed about an hour after I got up.

He has also vomited three times in the past 24 hours, although I think this is probably the result of gorging himself since his appetite is not effected in the slightest and he is a heavy eater. Twice occurred yesterday upon onset of symptoms and once occurred approximately an hour. All have occurred after eating, but he has eaten several time before and after without issue.

He became lethargic for a period of about 30 minutes after he vomited and I found that concerning, but he is back to his cheerful friendly self at the time of this writing.

I have feed him several times with wet cat food (specifically selecting cans with a lot of gravy or liquid), I have given him olive oil (which is when he vomited for the second time yesterday), I have given him a feline laxative almost 6 hours ago, and I have almost mixed pumpkin puree into his canned food.

He is slightly overweight, but not obese and outside of a nearly fatal bout of urine crystal about 9 years ago; he has had no other health issues.

 

[marie73]

Wow, that's a lot of issues. At age 15, things can go downhill quickly. If he only had one or two problems, I could understand waiting, but with all this going on, I'd take him in. I know that's the last thing people want to hear, but there's a lot going on with your little guy.

One tip I could offer is to feed your cat smaller portions. My Charlee Marie is a fur-covered Hoover so I give her several small servings spaced a few minutes apart.

And a bit of advice I'll be taking from this - don't be eating a candy bar while reading posts.

 

[Harley_W]

Wow, that's a lot of issues. At age 15, things can go downhill quickly. If he only had one or two problems, I could understand waiting, but with all this going on, I'd take him in. I know that's the last thing people want to hear, but there's a lot going on with your little guy.

One tip I could offer is to feed your cat smaller portions. My Charlee Marie is a fur-covered Hoover so I give her several small servings spaced a few minutes apart.

And a bit of advice I'll be taking from this - don't be eating a candy bar while reading posts.

It's primarily his age that is making me concerned about this.

My main concern is the lack of a significant bowel movement and the associated fluid. Although the fluid has gone down in both volume and is now a much lighter color (almost clear).

I'm not really concerned about the vomiting because that is not uncommon if he eats a lot in a single sitting (and once it occurred after being given olive oil), so it's really only the two issues.

At the moment, he is acting fine (energetic even) and has been asking for more food, but he still hasn't had a bowel movement yet.

I will probably get someone to take him into the vet if I see no improvement tomorrow. I am just reluctant to do so at the moment because it's past 9PM on a Friday (I live in Australia) and his condition has not worsened and to some extent has even improved.

PS: Sorry about the candy bar comparison, but it was literally the only thing I could compare it to in size and shape.

 

[Harley_W]

Wow, that's a lot of issues. At age 15, things can go downhill quickly. If he only had one or two problems, I could understand waiting, but with all this going on, I'd take him in. I know that's the last thing people want to hear, but there's a lot going on with your little guy.

One tip I could offer is to feed your cat smaller portions. My Charlee Marie is a fur-covered Hoover so I give her several small servings spaced a few minutes apart.

And a bit of advice I'll be taking from this - don't be eating a candy bar while reading posts.

I have included two pictures taken of him recently (post-symptoms) as well as a picture of the bloody discharge (taken about 24 hours ago).

As you can see, his eyes aren't sunken in nor is he obese.

You can also see the consistency and coloration of the fluid. It actually looks slighter darker in the picture because of the shadow.

 

[marie73]

It's so frustrating when they display something abnormal, and then all of sudden they're acting fine. Like when you take your car in and of course it won't make that noise that concerned you. He's absolutely adorable, love the tuxedo coloring.

Oh, duh, I just re-read your original post and it's been 24 hours not a few days. It might take a little longer for the pumpkin and cat laxative to work.

Completely off topic, I spent 3 weeks during the holidays, mostly in Adelaide and Melbourne, the year before the fires. I had the best time ever.

Good luck with your little guy and please keep us posted.

 

[Harley_W]

It's so frustrating when they display something abnormal, and then all of sudden they're acting fine. Like when you take your car in and of course it won't make that noise that concerned you. He's absolutely adorable, love the tuxedo coloring.

Oh, duh, I just re-read your original post and it's been 24 hours not a few days. It might take a little longer for the pumpkin and cat laxative to work.

Completely off topic, I spent 3 weeks during the holidays, mostly in Adelaide and Melbourne, the year before the fires. I had the best time ever.

Good luck with your little guy and please keep us posted.

He just made a small bowel movement.

It was pile of pellets about the size of a walnut and the largest in 24 hours.

No signs of bleeding or changes in behavior afterward, so I think his condition may be improving.

I will keep you posted.

PS: I have never been to Melbourne or Adelaide, but I have heard mostly good things.

 

[Harley_W]

It's so frustrating when they display something abnormal, and then all of sudden they're acting fine. Like when you take your car in and of course it won't make that noise that concerned you. He's absolutely adorable, love the tuxedo coloring.

Oh, duh, I just re-read your original post and it's been 24 hours not a few days. It might take a little longer for the pumpkin and cat laxative to work.

Completely off topic, I spent 3 weeks during the holidays, mostly in Adelaide and Melbourne, the year before the fires. I had the best time ever.

Good luck with your little guy and please keep us posted.

Before you continue reading; he has recovered and is doing very well.

What happened was he seemed to getting better until he started acting sick again; I looked closely and realized that he wasn't passing blood while trying to defecate; he was actually passing bloody urine (which was odd since he urinated several times without any blood). Once I noticed this I immediately took him to an emergency vet. It was 3AM at the time.

So they examined him and ran some tests. Turns out he had/has a urinary tract infection. I was advised the infection had about a 50% chance of resolving itself and about 50% chance of leading to a worse outcome (such as long-term kidney issues or even death). They gave me a series of painkillers, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatories for him and he is now on his last day of medication.

He appears to have made a full recovery with passing clear urine and he is not longer constipated.

It was a potentially close call, but he is doing great and is his normal bubbly self.

 

[marie73]

Great update!

Of course it was 3 a.m.

After Cali broke two toes on Thanksgiving I had a long talk with her and I think it went well. We agreed that:

1. She could need emergency assistance in the future - no matter the day or time.
2. I will take care of her every need - no matter the day or time.

Yes, she always won arguments and got the last word.

Your guy is so lucky to have someone who will go the extra mile and always be there for him. Our cats need us to be their advocate, their voice, and their protector.