Sick kitty - worried and scared.

[icarus]

Sick kitty – worried and scared.

Monte had diarrhea so bad Wednesday he missed the kitty box. There may have been blood in his stool, I'm not sure. At the same time he had really bad hairballs, like nothing he's ever had before (and of course, most of his food came up with them). Several times in one day.

Yesterday it looked like he was getting better, that the diarrhea was clearing up, but I'm worried about an intestinal block. Normally he hits the cat box right after he eats, but he hasn't gone to the bathroom since yesterday afternoon. The kitty litter was moved around since yesterday, so he tried.

Advice? Help?



FYI, I'm broke. We just took him to the vet last week, WG was in a car accident, the school hasn't given me the student aid for the last three months and they're already charging me for next quarter so when it comes through there won't be anything left. And the vet doesn't bill.

Comments

[katuah]

if it is a hairball or other form of severe constipation, what our vet said to give was mineral oil. apparently (and probably like the aforementioned paraffin) it won't break down in their digestive tract, so it passes into the colon quickly and "lubricates" the passage of other substances. it worked for our hairballed kitty.

cats can survive a lot. is he drinking water? if he's drinking, he can get by for a fair while without eating. this could give you time to find a vet who will take payments or a group that has pro bono vet services. (if he's not drinking and hasn't since yesterday, that's really bad - you need to get him somewhere ASAP. i'm hoping that's not the case.)

sorry i this approaches TMI, but: bloody stool in cats, much like in humans, is far more troublesome when it is darker, drier, or "inside" the poop, than if it is bright red and on the outside. the latter is more likely an indicator of a lining tear from trying to push too much, whereas the former is an indiction of other more serious internal issues.

anyway, i understand being upset about this. i'm sending some good energy that way. maybe he will pass a big mother of a hairball shortly and all will be well again.