# Cosmo can't poop!!



## braedan51 (Dec 4, 2006)

This is a heck of a way to introduce yourself on a forum, but as the subject says my cat Cosmo can't poop.

I only figured out the problem a few minutes ago, but he has refused to eat for about a week. He is about 8 years old and up until a month ago he weight 16 pounds.

I weighed him a week ago and he was 14.1 pounds, today he is 13.6 pounds.

In the past he has had problems with Kidney stones.
His 'wet' food is Hill's Prescription diet c/d and his dry food is (currently) Purina Friskies Feline Favorites.

Does anyone have any experience with these foods causing constipation?
Does anyone have any home remedies for cat constipation?

I was thinking of prune juice, but I'm unsure...

please help, he looks like this in his catbox:

(push)(push) 8O  :x  8O  

thanks for the help!!


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## morea (Feb 8, 2005)

I'd call the vet, just to be safe. Especially since he hasn't eaten anything in a week. That kind of weight loss sounds serious! 8O


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

If he hasn't eaten in a week he is overweight, then he is at significant risk for hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease), dehydration, starvation etc. In addition if he can't poop at all then there's a good chance he's blocked and may require surgery. 2.5 lbs weight loss in a month is a lot of weight to lose...there may be some underlying disease that is causing his issues, not the food. 

I don't think you have time to mess with home remedies...he needs to get to a vet today, whether your regular vet or an emergency vet.


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## braedan51 (Dec 4, 2006)

I have a call into my vet but the doctore will not be back for an hour.
He has been drinking water and urinating but you may be right about a blockage.

Thank you for the advice.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Well, sorry it's under these circumstances, but welcome! A lot of members, including myself, joined because we needed advice. :wink: 

Please let us know how things turn out. I'll be thinking good thoughts for you.


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## braedan51 (Dec 4, 2006)

*UPDATE*

We just got notification. My cat has Fatty Liver Disease and the vet says the treament costs $1300, and more than likely he won't survive.

I don't have the money. I would be overextending myself by spending $700.
I don't know what to do....

I've read about how some people can nurse their cat back to health - please help with advice, I can't bear for him to be in pain, and I'm going to have to put him down because he is starting to become jauntice.

He doesn't deserve this


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I've sent you a PM. 

Fatty Liver IS jaundice. I had jaundice this past summer and it was TERRIBLE. I could not believe a person could feel so miserable and still live. You can recover from it. 
Cats get it from their liver not being able to process the fat thier body tries to utilize when they don't eat for a period of time. I got it from chemo medication. I don't have cancer, but chemo is being used to treat my medical problem. I was just being given too much, so we stopped treatment until I recovered and am now on a lower dose.
Cats need to EAT so their liver stops trying to process its own fat.

*You CAN save your cat yourself! * 
It takes dedication. I feel this is hard on owners because you have to force the food into the cat and do it many times during a day. No one likes to make their animal do anything, especially repeatedly and something the cat finds unpleasant.

I think the $1300 sounds excessive. 
My vet offered treatment for Malibu as cheaply as she could, and it would have run about $3-400. The treatment for Malibu would have been IV fluids, antibiotics and a stomach tube which she would have been fed through every 2-3 hours, round the clock.
Vet said it would be about 3-5 days of treatment. We still couldn't afford it, as we'd just spent $225 on car parts (hubby doing installation himself and not paying a mechanic) and $225 on Malibu's vet visit and blood tests. We had to make the house payment with what was left and eat cheaply until the next payday. Animal foods are always purchased before our own groceries.

There is EXCELLENT prognosis of recovery, IF you can get food into the cat!

If Cosmo is not vomiting whatever you feed into him, that is GREAT. Malibu never vomited. And chances are, his constipation is due to him having nothing to poop...he hasn't eaten in quite a while, right? Malibu did not poop for quite a few days. It was at least 3 days of syringe feeding before I found one teeny, tiny turd in the litter box. She would tinkle once a day, and about the 3rd or 4th day of syringe feeding, I found 2-3 tinkle clumps and larger poops.

You and Cosmo can do this. Hepatic Lipidosis (fatty liver) is NOT a death sentence. 
However...if you know you will be unable to get the required amount of food into him that he needs to have, I think you would be better off saying goodbye to him and letting him go with humane euthanasia.
I am not saying this to be cruel, but people have responsibilities (_home, job, family, whatever it is that takes us out of our home and unable to give the care that is needed_) and if you cannot do what needs to be done and are only able to do a partial job...then the chances of recovery will be slim.

I don't work. I have health issues that keep me at home. I only sleep about 6 hours a night and take a nap in the afternoon, so I was available to feed Malibu often. I think a fatty liver cat can still be saved by someone who has to work full time, but it will be a sacrifice. A sacrifice of sleep by force-feeding in the AM when you wake, again when you return from work and at least 2 more times before bed and possibly once more during the middle of the night. 

You have my full support. PM or email me (in my PM to you) if you need an ear or a shoulder.
Heidi


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## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

Since there is a newer update thread on Cosmo, I'm going to lock this one up to keep the discussion to a single thread :wink: 

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=37508


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