Bertie's $500 Paper Ball

The last two weeks have been interesting for Bertie, one of my DLH cats.  He's always drank a lot and pee-ed a lot since I got him, but recently I noticed he had lost some weight and was hesitant to eat.  So, since I had to take Wendy to my vet, I took Bertie along to be checked out and have bloodwork done.  My vet examined him thoroughly and felt a large, strange mass in his intestines.  I figured it was paper, since he likes to eat (not nibble) paper.  I know he got into some a few days before the visit -- he ate most of a 9x12 inch envelop.  We both figured it was paper, but like other times, it would pass.

His bloodwork came back fine except that his BUN was 57 and the creatinine was 2.6 (2.4 is the upper end of normal).  He's only 6 years old, so CRF (chronic renal failure) seems very early.  But he's got either Persian or British short hair in his background and both can carry PKD (poly-cystic kidney disease).  So, I'm guessing it is PKD, but he's doing okay and thanks to other cats, I hope I can keep him healthy for a long time.

He came home, ate for a few days, and then threw up.  Then refused to eat.  I figured it was the paper ball, especially since he got into some credit card offers which my husband left by the shredder -- Bertie shredded them instead.  I tried laxatone.  Nothing.  I then tried lactulose.  Again nothing.  I even tried an enema.  Still nothing.

So, I called my vet -- she was on vacation.  I called my back-up vet -- he was on vacation.  Finally I took him to the VCA Hospital.

X-rays showed a large blockage in his lower intestines, about 6-7 inches long.  They wanted to try some meds and fluids on Thursday, and if it didn't work, do surgery on Friday.  So, he stayed over night.  While he didn't poop for them, more x-rays showed it was moving, which then moved any surgery to Monday.  On Friday night, he pooped!  And only cat lovers can understand -- I was doing a happy poop dance!!!  They wanted to keep him until they were sure it was all out.  More poop on Saturday night and he started to eat.  Still more poop on Monday morning, right before I picked him up.  Monday's x-rays showed a clean intestinal tract.

The x-rays also showed his hips are degenerating, which explains why he walks funny.  I need to work on that.

But, I'm so glad that he didn't need surgery and that he's now home, eating and pooping.  And 'his' room is paper free!!!  All this for only $500.  LOL!

Tortie Tot's Not-So-Fun Adventure

For the last week, Clarissa, my miniature tortoiseshell Persian, has had quite an adventure.

It all started about a week ago, when she pooped a lot -- like 4 times.  The pooh was well formed but soft. One got caught in her butt fuzz and had to be cut out. She ate breakfast with a bit reluctance, but refused lunch and supper.  I was mildly concerned.

On Saturday, she ate breakfast and then threw up!  I tried a bit later and again she vomited.  I skipped lunch and wait until supper.  (Fasting a healthy animal which is vomiting is a good idea as it allows the digestive tract to relax.)  So I was hopeful at supper time.  No luck -- 20 minutes after eating, she threw up.  I tried another food and same results.

On Sunday morning, I found a hairball from another cat.  The 'hair' was not hair, but a synthetic fiber, such as the stuffing from a mouse.  So, I got wondering if Clarissa ate the other half and this was now lodged in her intestines.  Given that she threw up breakfast, I decided a trip to the emergency vet was needed, especially since I couldn't take Monday off to get her to my regular vet.

Off we went to Apple Valley, about an hour away.  Initially, they did bloodwork and x-rays, after giving her a mild sedative (as she objected to the vet techs!).  The bloodwork was fine -- a few values a bit close to the extremes of normal, but considering her not eating, it was okay.  The x-rays showed something in her stomach and intestines.  Since she had been throwing up, it couldn't be food.  Maybe hair?  Maybe mouse stuffing?  Maybe...???  They gave her some fluids and then did a series of barium x-rays.  The barium x-rays showed that the 'stuff' had moved.  The vet felt sure she would be fine and sent us home. (The techs, however, we a bit intimidated by her -- 5 lbs! -- so I had to get her out of the kennel.  One person said it took 3 techs and a pair of welding gloves to give her the barium.)

She wasn't given food that night, and I was so hopeful the next day, but she wouldn't eat at all.  She was also very tired and had a truly pathetic look to her.  Monday night, I stopped and got her baby food which she gobbled up!  Over the next few days, she went from baby food to cat food and from tired to full of tortitude!

When things like this happen, I always like to figure out why, ask what I should have done differently, and try to learn what I can.

The why is easy.  Clarissa weighs ~5 lbs.  She had recently been given more food, namely she was fed 1/3 can in the morning, 1/3 can at night, and then 1/2 a small can at noon.  This was too much for her to handle.  So she got soft poohs.  This led to the one in her bloomers which I cut off.  I didn't wash her butt so she groomed herself and gave herself a giant hairball.  This plugged her up so any food she ate had no place to go.  The barium moved it along, so she got rid of it and could eat.

The 'what I should have done differently' is harder.  I think at every step, I made the correct decision at the time.  I'm not sure the hairball would have dislodged on its own.

There are several things I did learn.

1. Don't discount the problems associated with overfeeding a cat.
2. When a cat has a poopy-butt, clip and then wash it.
3. Keep baby food and chicken broth on hand.
4. Try hairball remedy when a cat vomits 15-30 minutes after eating food.