I am hoping to get some help and ideas here because my Nemo is not doing well 
Here is some info, hold on to your seats because it is going to be long!
He is a neutered 10 years old cat who has always lived indoors. 4 years ago we got him a little sister and things went well between them. He is a gentle but anxious and easily scared cat. He would throw up on a regular basis pretty much from the start. We were always told (by vets) some cats throw up, that's just the way it is. Last year the vomiting became more regular up to several times a week. I have food allergies that went undiagnosed for a long time because everyone thought "that is just the way it is"; so I thought what if it is the food that makes him throw up? I researched online and found the raw diet. Over the next few months, patiently and gently we made the transition from dry food to canned food to raw food. Nemo wasn't thrilled at first on the canned food but once on board he loved the raw food. Guess what? The vomiting completely stopped! He lost the extra weight he was carrying, he was super lovey dovey, he had great energy and played a lot. That was in February.
Little by little I noticed that sometimes he would act as if pricked by something on his side, sometimes he would strain a little in the little box. I decreased the amount of bone content in the food but no change. The other cat wasn't constipated or having issues. In July one day he started running around the house like crazy, crying and squatting here and there trying to poop. I took him to the vet where they did ultrasound, x-rays, blood test and urine analysis. Everything came back fine except for a little mass in his intestines that the vet flushed out with an enema. It was a mass of hair that was stuck but did not block the transit. We decided to remove even more bone from the food and see what would happen.
When we came back home Amber did not recognize him and was mean to him for several days. She followed him around and stared at him non stop; she would hiss if he came near her. So he hid and stayed in his hidden spot all the time. We thought they were going to snap out of it and just let it be and after 4-5 days she left him alone.
A week later, Nemo was having this full blown episode of peeing as he was walking around and pooping in several spots around the house in the middle of the night. I cornered him in my guest bathroom, gave him a litter box, food and water. Next day we went to see the vet again. More x-rays showed that his colon was full of air or gassy. We had seen that on previous x-rays but had not investigated this. We changed his food to Science Diet ID canned food which thankfully he loves. The vet sent us to a specialist: We first saw a neurologist as no one could find anything wrong with him. The neurologist did not find neurological issues but another ultrasound led to a diagnosis of megacolon (enlarged colon). So she referred us to the internal medicine specialist and told me to add 1 teaspoon of psyllium powder to his 2 daily meals. The psyllium bulked up the stool and it is now moving easier through his system. The IM specialist is running another GI blood panel before we decide whether to do endoscopy/colonoscopy. All this time he has been living in the guest bathroom, separated from Amber. He is consistently peeing in the 2 litter boxes he has in there but almost always poops outside of the boxes. This past weekend we hit a home run 3 times in a row in the box so I was elated but since yesterday we are back outside of the box. We gave him a second litter box several weeks ago but last week we changed the litter in the second one to Cat Attract to see if it would make a difference (he goes in the 2 boxes with various brands in them so no issue there). The boxes are all low to the ground so he doesn't have to climb in them, they are uncovered, etc.... He has happy to live in "his" room and we go visit and spend time with him there several times a day (good thing we work from home). However he can't live in my guest bathroom forever and the pooping needs to take place in the box. My husband is starting to lose patience and it breaks my heart to see my Nemo like this.
The IM specialist and I think there is a behavior component in this equation. He had a valid medical issue but Amber's behavior made it worse and created other problems. He got scared of going into the litter box because she was always following him around so it made his gut issues worse and he got truly miserable. She wants to send us to a behavior specialist but doesn't know one around here as she is new in the San Antonio area so she is researching.
In the meantime, does anyone have any other ideas? Anyone knows a behavior specialist in the Austin/San Antonio area? Thank you in advance for your help!
Here is some info, hold on to your seats because it is going to be long!He is a neutered 10 years old cat who has always lived indoors. 4 years ago we got him a little sister and things went well between them. He is a gentle but anxious and easily scared cat. He would throw up on a regular basis pretty much from the start. We were always told (by vets) some cats throw up, that's just the way it is. Last year the vomiting became more regular up to several times a week. I have food allergies that went undiagnosed for a long time because everyone thought "that is just the way it is"; so I thought what if it is the food that makes him throw up? I researched online and found the raw diet. Over the next few months, patiently and gently we made the transition from dry food to canned food to raw food. Nemo wasn't thrilled at first on the canned food but once on board he loved the raw food. Guess what? The vomiting completely stopped! He lost the extra weight he was carrying, he was super lovey dovey, he had great energy and played a lot. That was in February.
Little by little I noticed that sometimes he would act as if pricked by something on his side, sometimes he would strain a little in the little box. I decreased the amount of bone content in the food but no change. The other cat wasn't constipated or having issues. In July one day he started running around the house like crazy, crying and squatting here and there trying to poop. I took him to the vet where they did ultrasound, x-rays, blood test and urine analysis. Everything came back fine except for a little mass in his intestines that the vet flushed out with an enema. It was a mass of hair that was stuck but did not block the transit. We decided to remove even more bone from the food and see what would happen.
When we came back home Amber did not recognize him and was mean to him for several days. She followed him around and stared at him non stop; she would hiss if he came near her. So he hid and stayed in his hidden spot all the time. We thought they were going to snap out of it and just let it be and after 4-5 days she left him alone.
A week later, Nemo was having this full blown episode of peeing as he was walking around and pooping in several spots around the house in the middle of the night. I cornered him in my guest bathroom, gave him a litter box, food and water. Next day we went to see the vet again. More x-rays showed that his colon was full of air or gassy. We had seen that on previous x-rays but had not investigated this. We changed his food to Science Diet ID canned food which thankfully he loves. The vet sent us to a specialist: We first saw a neurologist as no one could find anything wrong with him. The neurologist did not find neurological issues but another ultrasound led to a diagnosis of megacolon (enlarged colon). So she referred us to the internal medicine specialist and told me to add 1 teaspoon of psyllium powder to his 2 daily meals. The psyllium bulked up the stool and it is now moving easier through his system. The IM specialist is running another GI blood panel before we decide whether to do endoscopy/colonoscopy. All this time he has been living in the guest bathroom, separated from Amber. He is consistently peeing in the 2 litter boxes he has in there but almost always poops outside of the boxes. This past weekend we hit a home run 3 times in a row in the box so I was elated but since yesterday we are back outside of the box. We gave him a second litter box several weeks ago but last week we changed the litter in the second one to Cat Attract to see if it would make a difference (he goes in the 2 boxes with various brands in them so no issue there). The boxes are all low to the ground so he doesn't have to climb in them, they are uncovered, etc.... He has happy to live in "his" room and we go visit and spend time with him there several times a day (good thing we work from home). However he can't live in my guest bathroom forever and the pooping needs to take place in the box. My husband is starting to lose patience and it breaks my heart to see my Nemo like this
.The IM specialist and I think there is a behavior component in this equation. He had a valid medical issue but Amber's behavior made it worse and created other problems. He got scared of going into the litter box because she was always following him around so it made his gut issues worse and he got truly miserable. She wants to send us to a behavior specialist but doesn't know one around here as she is new in the San Antonio area so she is researching.
In the meantime, does anyone have any other ideas? Anyone knows a behavior specialist in the Austin/San Antonio area? Thank you in advance for your help!
