Need good thoughts/prayers for sick kitty

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
Our sweet, loveable Mandy isn't doing too well right now. She has had several health problems in the last two weeks. First I brought her in to the vet for routine vaccinations, and she was examined and they found her to have a pretty bad skin infection due to fleas. I thought the fleas had gone away for the winter, but apparently I was wrong. The front office assistant pointed out several fleas crawling on her while we were there. I hadn't noticed them on my own. What was supposed to be a $33 visit for vaccinations ended up being a $133 for medications and blood tests.

Shortly after the skin infection diagnosis, Mandy began meowing relentlessly day and night. Turns out she was in heat. She is ten months old, and I didn't think a cat was mature enough to have a heat cycle until at least one year. I was wrong again. She was driving the whole family nuts. None of us could sleep. Several people in my cat group on Facebook warned me that getting her fixed in the middle of a heat cycle was risky and most vets won't do it until the cycle is over. I waited about ten days and her incessant meowing seemed to have stopped.

I went ahead and scheduled her for what I thought would be a $50 spay. When I got to the vet's office, they informed me that she was seriously dehydrated, most likely due to the skin infection, and she would need IV fluids in order for the vet to do the surgery. Normally IV fluids are optional, but the vet insisted it would be mandatory for Mandy. The fluids cost me an extra $35. They also discovered that she was still in the middle of her heat cycle. I thought for sure she was over it but turns out not so much. The vet charged even more money due to her being in heat. I thought I would be spending $50 for a spay, and ended up walking out of there paying $195. Yikes!

The surgery seemed to have gone well. She was a lot more tired than usual but I assumed that was typical due to the after effects of the surgery. It's going on ten days now since she got spayed, and she still has very little appetite. Even when I give her the wet food, which is her abosolute favorite, she eats maybe two bites and walks away. What's more worriesome is she is straining to poop and nothing comes out. She stops in the middle of the floor, squats, and strains for several minutes at a time frequently throughout the day.

I called the vet, and they advised I feed her pumpkin with her food, which is a natural laxative. I mixed it in with the food and she refuses to eat it. Still no bowel movement. I hate to say this, but another trip to the vet is necessary. I am taking her on Thursday. It's more money I don't have to spend, but I have to do it for her sake. Hopefully the constipation is easily fixable. My Mandy is the sweetest kitty I've ever owned, and we would all be devastated if anything happened to her. If you could all send positive vibes our way for a good outcome, I'd greatly appreciate it.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
I took Kitty to the vet yesterday and they said she had a bunch of stool backed up in her colon. Poor Kitty had to get an enema. They also gave me some Tuna flavored laxative to give her once a day, which I haven't used yet. Kitty has been pooping non stop since last night and leaving nice little presents all over the house cause she can't make it to the litter box. Her appetite has come back, which is good. It's nice to see her feeling better,but I'm hoping her non stop runs don't last too long. It ended up costing me $96, which is a good thing cause all I had to spend was $100. Had they needed to take take x rays it would have cost a hundred dollars more. Yikes! Thankfully they were able to feel her impacted stools manually. So all in all she's doing much better, but my apartment will continue to get little poop presents for the next 24 to 48 hours.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I'm glad your kitty is doing better. Animals are expensive when they are ill. I have a special credit card just in case ours get sick. The dogs also have insurance. It is also heartbreaking to watch them suffer. They so don't understand.

Keep us updated and prayers sent for your furbaby.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
CB. Female kittens can come in heat as early as 5 months of age. Male kittens can be fertile at that age as well. The constipation issue needs to be watched closely. It's a wellknown problem in Manx cats and can start young. Not treated properly, it can turn into a life threatening condition called "megacolon" where the impacted colon stretches and damages the nerves responsible for motility and control.

It's related to the nerve abnormalities that go along with what is really Spina Bifida. There is something called "Manx cat Syndrome" that is characterized by constipation and gait abnormalities. There is also an increased likelihood of bladder infections with the condition.

Instead of the tuna flavoured laxative, which is mostly mineral oil or petrolatum, ask your vet for Lactulose. It is a prescription laxative that is safe, gentle, and effective. It is dosed by weight, given through a dose syringe according to vet direction and is not expensive.

Tough cases are treated with Cisapride which increase motility, but that's not something you would start out with unless an x=ray shows substantial dilation of the colon.

You can also ask your vet about Royal Canin's diet for constipation/megacolon cats. It is your best bet in avoiding problems in the future.
 
C

Confused

Guest
Im praying for kitty and glad shes doing better :) GoingNorth is right, so I cant add much but my very first cat ( not a Manx) when I was a child would get constantly constipated and was really ill, they ended up doing exploratory surgery finding he had a rare disease that made him to easily get and stay constipated, so a strict wet cat food diet of fancy feast twice a day with a tsp.. I think a tsp of mineral oil in it to keep him " regular". Overall, he did really well after that.

I do like GoingNorths advise on the prescrip laxatives and that food! I wish we had that back then, I def would of tried that!
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
How's it going with your furbaby?

My vet gave my doggy Royal Canin when his stomach was bad. He was a sickly little pup, but is a healthy dog now. Keep us updated!
 
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