How long to leave constipated cat before taking vets?

[Prehfoan49]

I've had my Male cat for 6 years and he has always been in perfect health. Never had any issues. He was neautured years ago, is short haired, very vocal and very loving

For the last 2 days he has been struggling/ straining to go to the toilet and hasnt been himself at all. Right now hes in the kitchen in his bed, hidden away where as usually he would be in here with me, all over me and chattering away

The first day I noticed somthing was wrong he was crying everytime he attempted to go to the toilet,

At first I thought maybe he had a UTI so got him some cystaid. After a bit of online reading I wondered if he maybe had worms so also bought some worming tablets and some probiotics for his tummy.

So he had the cystaid, worming tablet and probiotics yesterday, today he seems a lot more relaxed, isnt crying when attempting to go to the toilet ( but he is still attempting and nothing is coming out )

Aside from taking him to the vets tomorrow what else can I do to make him comfortable?

I ended up down a rabbit hole with cat symptons and now I'm worried he might die, I've read all sorts about is it megacolon? And cat IBD ect

He doesnt have a swollen stomach, will let me stroke, rub and pick him up without any complaints ( only picked him up to give him the medicine)

And does anyone have any helpful advice I could do to relieve the constipation at home?

I have watched him drinking water ( I put the cystaid in his water ) havnt seen him eat though, he wasnt tempted by the cat treats or the slices of beef, only thing I've seen him eat is the probiotics I put on his paw. His ears are cool to touch and he doesnt feel hot anywhere,

Hes normally so active and happy, it's horrible seeing him lay in bed not interested in anything

Also ---- my cat has only behaved like this since having a flea tablet so I have wondered if this is an adverse reaction to the flea tablets? ( johnsons )

I think I'm just hoping someone will come along and say their cat was like this and was back to their normal selves within a few days

Constipation shouldn't be left very long in cats so I would book a vets appointment. My cat had this after we moved house and he didn't agree with the move. I fed him sardines in oil though and thankfully that loosened him up in time

Have you seen him urinate? If he hasn’t urinated in the last couple of days this is an absolute emergency and he needs to see a vet ASAP (I’m a vet.) if he’s urinated a reasonable volume so that you’re sure this is constipation it’s not quite so urgent.

Try feeding him tuna in spring water. It has a strong smell so it is tempting for a cat to eat. Vet tomorrow morning.

I would take him asap. The sooner you take him, the more likely a glycerine suppository / enema will work.

I had a cat that was constipated, he ended up having to stay at the vets for several days, have ultrasounds etc, and had to be knocked out so they could forcefully massage his tummy to make it come out. It was awful, he was really distressed, and it cost about £4000 10 years ago.

If he hasn't had a pee (rather than constipation) this is life threatening. Emergency vet today.

Sunflowersinthewind
I have tuna, do you think tuna oil would help him? 100% I'm going to take him to the vets tomorrow,

WhiteArsenic

Yes he's definetly been urinating and its 100% a bum issue as ( this sounds awful ) I've had a look at him after him attempting to toilet and you can tell Its his bum hes having an issue with,

I'm 95% sure its constipation,

Liquid paraffin always used to be good for treating constipated cats. Don't know if you can still buy it?

Sardines are oily themselves as well so it's like double lubrication but tuna in oil may work

Are you sure he's trying to poo? Has he definitely had a wee? If not you need to take him to the emergency vet.

Sorry cross post.

I think you need to ring the vets, someone will be there and ask them.

Please don't leave him any longer. He should have seen the vet before now.

In other words - he needs to be seen today.

I’m afraid this may upset you but I have lost an older cat to mega colon. Please take him to the vet as soon as you can. There are treatments available if that is the cause, although I chose not to for my elderly girl. I hope it proves not to be the problem for your boy though.

Do you have any insurance that covers an online vet consultation?

Call the emergency vet now.

Now, my cat was the same and cost over £1000 due to tests and enemas.

Thanks everyone,

After some of the comments I didnt want to risk leaving him any longer and I've taken him to an emergency vet.

Hes currently in cat hospital as he had a bladder blockage and needs emergency treatment. Hes going to be in hospital for the next 2 days and then I will know what the next steps are for him

You did the right thing - bladder blockages can be fatal.

I’m so pleased you took him - the symptoms did sound very suspicious of a blockage. Cross fingers all goes well with his treatment.

I'm glad he's been seen to. We lost our old cat to mega colon and I wouldn't want to see any other pet of mine go through that. It was really distressing and we probably would have had a couple of more years with her if it wasn't for that.

Hi @Prehfoan49 any news? Fingers crossed for a good outcome!🤞🐈

Pudmyboy

Hi,

Aw it's been horrible. Hes back at home with me right now but I'll be taking him to the PDSA tomorrow as he needs help

He was in hospital for 4 days after having the blockage removed. He had kidney stones stuck in his uretha. He had his bladder flushed several times, had a catheter in for 3 days, had xrays, scans, multiple blood tests. He still has stones in his kidneys and they said he needs emergancy surgery.

PDSA receptionist was really unhelpful on Thursday and told me I needed to get my vets to email the PDSA so they could decide if it warranted their help? But hes struggling to wee again today so I'm just going to take him there tomorrow morning because I literally cannot afford to pay the vet fees again. It cost an absolute fortune for his stay in hospital and I have no money left at all 😭

Indont need anyone being horrible about him not being insured, I have severe memory problems and its somthing I always meant to get round to and just kept forgetting. Lesson learnt because it was absolutely horrifying to think that if I hadnt of had almost £1000 he would of died and it would of been my fault.

I'm eligible for help from the PDSA so I'm going to take him there tomorrow morning,

I got him from a rescue 6 years ago after I'd moved areas fleeing DV. Hes been my rock all these years and the bond we have is like no other. Hes been with me since the begining of my new life.

When I picked him up from the vets he started yowling and frantically rubbing himself against the carrier trying to get to me. When we got home he came and slept on me for around 6

What makes it all so much worse is my first baby died 2 hours after he was born because of severe RPD, he had a blockage in his bladder which had caused it to swell and his kidneys had failed. I couldnt save my human baby, I couldnt help him at all, but I can get my cat the help he deserves and needs. I just need him to hold out for the next 22 hours or so

He is just weeing very small droplets now where as when he first came home he was weeing a decent amount

I'm sorry to have just word vomited all of that, I'm so upset and stressed and the guilt is eating away at me

When our boy had this he was in and out of the vet for a few weeks, frustratingly mostly emergency appointments as during day time visits we were fobbed off, although we knew something was still wrong so ended up with out of hours.

Vet showed us how to help him empty his bladder at home (try looking up on YouTube to help your cat today) and literally we had to do this every couple of hours.

If your boy isn't passing urine you really can't leave him until tomorrow.

The cause of ours was a sudden change in food as we'd run out so just bought cheap go kat biscuits. It was also a stressful time in the house but the food triggered it.

Growingoutthegrey

On Thursday and Friday I was syringing water/his medicine directly ( gently and slowly ) into his mouth where as I havnt done that yesterday or today, I've put his medicine in his food ( watered down ) and hes barely drank any water by himself so I'm really hoping the small amounts of wee are due to the low water intake. I'm wary of giving him water in the syringes now incase he does have another blockage and I make it worse

PDSA arnt open on weekends and I literally have £50 in the bank, it's not enough for the vets, its taxi money for the hospital tomorrow. I'm going to watch some YouTube videos and give them a try. Thank you for that as I had no clue I could potentially help him have a wee

Growingoutthegrey

I fear that's the cause with my boy, multiple stresses and changed foods. I got a puppy 18 months ago and he has never liked the puppy. Will tolerate him sniffing at him for a few seconds and then will swat him. And I got 2 kittens 5 weeks ago and he hates them. I changed his food around 6 months ago from GoCats to Breederpack as I had read Gocats was really bad for them 🤦‍♀️

I got him from a rescue alongside another adult cat and theyve always got on, will sleep together, clean each other, play ect so I naively assumed he would be okay with other animals but he just doesnt like any of the newcomers