Low potassium & dehydration in a cat - any ideas, the Vet is reading about causes

[katymac]

She is a bit confused & is going home to read up about it

We have no idea how to fix him; any suggestions?

Any ideas/vets in the house?

My vet is flummoxed & the last thing she needs right now is a complex case

Diarrhoea and vomiting?

Constipation & vomiting & dehydration (only occasional vomiting) for 8 days

But we don't know why

How old is the cat? And is he/she on any medications? Any other clinical signs? Inappetence? Weight loss? Drinking? Any sickness?

The most common cause in older cats is Chronic Kidney Disease. I would have expected your vet to know this though, and there should be other obvious changes in the blood results.

The blood test has apparently ruled out ordinary diabetes but there is a different type it might be

Massive weightless 25% which he put back while on the drip & lost again within 48hrs of no drip

We think he is 7 (siamese rescue)

Eating & drinking until the constipation gets too bad
He is on loads of mess right now but normally nothing he has sensitivity control food but that's all

She doesn't think kidney because of the bloods

Bumping for vets. I know there are some on here.
Wishing you and puss well katymac.

I would be looking at the sodium:potassium ratio as a starting point. Combined with the vomiting for 8 days there are things that spring to mind.

He is only really sick when the constipation gets too bad

The vet mentioned something about sodium but only that it was odd (can't remember which way)

Poor lad.

How are his teeth?

He lost 3 canines before we got him (fighting) last time she looked they were 'amazingly good considering'

Could they be causing the dehydration/constipation

The vet told me to give him milk as that would work with the lactulose & laxapet; but he only drank a tiny bit

He is drinking loads of water & weeing loads - we thought kidney at first but the bloods said no

|e is also on kaminox,metronidazole &prilactone

My lad has just been diagnosed with CKD and I know dehydration and low potassium levels can be a problem.

Ask the vet is there any more test he can have in the meantime? Also, if there's anyone else in the practice who can cast an eye over him.

She is the lead vet - she had a death in the family last week & yet she is still off researching to see what it could be.

There is a test they sent off & the results will be back on Wed pm everything else (inhouse & external) has come back ok

Oh his blood pressure is low - 126

What's the reason for the reason for the spironolactone, the others I can understand.

Sorry that is prilactone.

Low potassium is easily caused by a lack of eating in cats - so could simply be down to the vomiting/diarrhoea/constipation.

The low potassium would be due to a combination of diarrhoea, lack of eating, combined with the fluids which further dilute natural potassium stores.

What is he eating at the moment? It sounds as if he's struggling to maintain hydration - is he producing faeces - or could he be impacted? increased urination and drinking may all be due to the low potassium

Did she take a urine sample to rule out CKD? Also a systolic blood pressure of 126 is not low its within normal limits though at the lower end.

They did an enema & some vegetation came out (last week) so the thought then was he'd eaten something to upset him tried to get rid of it by eating grass, failed & got constipated, then dehydrate , then diverticula (I think)

But then after being cleared out & rehydrated again (late Friday) he was in the same state again by mid monday

He generally eats sensitivity control dry food but he has been on recovery since he came back

He is eating really well - I don't know specifically about a urine test I can't remember, sorry

On another thread someone mentioned refeedng syndrome could that happen in cats?

Has he actually passed any normal faeces since? It might be worth an X-ray to check for obstruction

I think the vet thought that the vegetation was the blockage

He had another enema today & passed loads - sunday night he did 2 tiny hard poosbut I am on poo watch!

He sounds like he may be blocked - the vomiting would be due to his obstructed guts and the diarrhoea is where the blockage has backed up in his system and the early-stage liquid poo is seeping around the impacted poo. Hopefully the most recent enema has done the trick but if not he may need to be sedated for a soap-water enema - the small enema tubes that you squeeze up the bum often don't reach far enough in severe impaction.

If not improving, X-ray would help to see how far the obstruction goes.
The low potassium would be a side effect of the blocked guts and lack of eating.

He hasn't been sick since Wed so that is good I guess

This might be useful
icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/constipation-cat

Thanks I'll read it

Megacolon is a possibility here with fluid control issues due to vomiting/diarrhoea episodes which can deplete the potassium easily. IV fluid replacement with potassium supplementation is needed. Megacolon can be managed but does take some effort to get right. Cisapride is a useful drug to use and careful dietary management +/- lactulose if this does turn out to be the diagnosis.