Luna: constipated and vomiting after change in diet

[Kirsten]

I'm a bit worried about Luna at the moment. As I posted earlier, she's on a Hill's s/d diet from last Monday on, because struvite crystals have been detected in her urine, and the new diet is supposed to dissolve them. This means, she isn't allowed to eat the food she's used to, and this is causing problems.

Luna already had problems with constipation in the past; when she was one year old, she got two enemas to make her bowels move again, and since these days, she was eating Hill's Hairball Control respectively Hill's Indoors, plus Hill's Oral Care, and things worked fine. There haven't been any problems with constipation since - until now.

First of all, Luna doesn't like her new diet food very much; she eats a bit, but obviously only as much as necessary, and she often seems to be hungry. Wakes me up at night and when I get up, she would rub my legs and purr, as if she's expecting some yummy treats - heartbreaking!

As soon as she started the new diet, she got constipated again, and yesterday (Friday), she got an enema which helped her pooping, but that was yesterday morning and she hasn't pooped again since.

But she has vomited two nights ago and today, no food, but a yellowish-green liquid (sorry for the details :o), today, there was also a hair ball in it, it was the first hair ball she ever puked in her life (usually, she barely vomits). Last night, she desperately tried to get into the bathroom where I have a bamboo plant which she likes to eat (she's not supposed to), so it's very likely that the hair ball was already bothering her. But in combination with the constipation, the vomiting is worrying me, even though she did not vomit her food.

Too bad that these things always happen at the weekend when the vet isn't available. I will call her on Monday and ask for Hill's s/d canned food, it has the same effects (reg. struvite crystals) and I hope Luna likes it better, it also might stimulate her bowel movements again. To prevent constipation, the vet has already given me paraffine oil to be poured over her dry food, but Luna refuses to eat it.

Has anyone experiences with this subject? I'm feeling so sorry for my poor Luna, her diet really seems to upset her, and she often seems to be hungry. She's also extremely attached to me today, I'm sure she's not feeling too well!

Kirsten

[kimlovescats]

Have you ever tried Laxatone for her hairball treatment? It's available at most vets offices and may be at PetSmart as well(?).
Some cats will eat it directly from the tube .... if not, you can smear it on her nose or front paws and she will clean it off!

Those hairballs can cause vomiting and constipation both! :(
Poor baby, Luna! I hope she gets feeling better really soon!!!!

[Kirsten]

I have a malt paste called Petromalt against hair balls which is available here in Germany. Luna doesn't like it (unfortunately, she's VERY finicky), but sometimes I smear it on her nose so she has to lick it of. I'll try to give her some today, but she will hate it! :eek:

Kirsten

[jenluckenbach]

See if you can find a hairball remedy (like petromalt) in a fish flavor. They like that better.

[Randi]

Poor Luna! I was so hoping she would get better! I know what you're going through. :( If only you could get hold of the vet and ask advise. Is there an emergency you can ring?

I suppose, all you can do now is give her what you have, even though she doesn't like it - it may help. I hope she'll like the wet S/D! If not, perhaps the C/D will be good enough. Give her small portions at a time!

Give her lots of cuddles (I'm sure you do already) and see if you can get her to drink!

I'll be thinking of her - and you and sending positive thoughts. :)

[Kirsten]

Jen, thanks for the advice. It's definitely worth a try! I hope it's available over here!

Thanks Randi! I'll cuddle her from you and I'm sure she'll appreciate it. :) Luckily, she's drinking a lot, and she hasn't puked anymore. So I really think it was because of the hair ball, at least I hope so. Just in case she'll vomit again, I'll call the vet emergency, if not, I'll wait till Monday and call Luna's vet. Have to ask her for the wet s/d food anyway.

I think she is supposed to eat the c/d after the s/d diet, to prevent a new developing of struvite crystals, at least this is what the vet has told me.

Thanks for your support!

Kirsten

[jenluckenbach]

YES, it is s/d first then c/d for life. Mine are all on c/d. they eat the dry, but the wet might be a good choice in Luna's case. Or mix them together so she still gets the "crunch" of the dry food.
Has Luna had a complete blood count work-up? Constipation can definitely be caused by teh hairballs, but it could be more serious as well, Maybe when you ask about the canned food you should ask their opinion on the CBC.

[Kirsten]

No, she didn't have her blood tested this time. I know, it's a standard in the US, but in Germany, the vets usually don't do it. :( I will ask her though...

I actually tend to believe she's constipated 'cause she's not eating her Hill's Hairball Control anymore. She never had problems while she ate that. But now with the s/d, she doesn't seem to do very well.

Kirsten

[Cheshirekatt]

Maybe you could talk to your vet about a different brand of prescription food? I always had better luck with CNM rather than Science Diet. My oldest, Amadeus is on CNM-UR for bladder crystals and he's done really well on it. I'm not sure if they have specialized ones for different crystals. :confused: Or maybe it might be an idea to see a holistic vet? I've never seen one, so I don't know much about them.

Good luck.

[kohala]

And poor you, too, Kirsten - the only thing worse than cleaning up kitty vomit is watching the poor things go through it. When Grasshopper was vomiting, I thought, like you, it was hair. However, the presence of so much liquid was not typical of tossing a hairball, at least not for her. They did do a blood panel, which is why she is now on anitbiotics. If she's hanging in there and you can wait to go to your regular vet, you might request they check for infection. My vet also put her on small doses of Pepcid, an antacid med available over the counter here for humans. That has done her a lot of good. Perhaps along with diet changes there might be some supplement you can give her to maintain a healthier stool.
I'll be thinking of you and praying all turns out well.
Headbonkies to Luna from grasshopper - Ko

[moosmom]

Kirsten,

Constipation can also be from not getting enough fluid (water). Try giving her some water via a syringe. Another suggestion would be to give her some pumpkin. That always works on constipation.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear that Luna isn't feeling well. :( I sure hope that it's only a simple case of hairballs but I'd call the vet just to make sure. Hopefully the vet can suggest something to help her with her new diet. Prayers and positive thoughts are on the way.

[Kirsten]

Thanks everyone for your support and advices! :) I will definitely call the vet tomorrow and ask for another diet, and I'll tell her about the vomiting.

Luckily, she did not vomit again and...

YAY, she pooped this morning!!! :)
But I have to admit that I gave her a spoon full of Sheba and a bit of milk yesterday :o which cannot be a long term solution. I really hope things will work better with the canned s/d food or another diet.

Anyway, Luna seemed to feel relieved after she pooped, minutes later, she got one of her toys and started happily playing which she hasn't done for days! :)

Kirsten

[smokey the elder]

She was surely thinking, "That was a load off my mind! ;) " Seriously, though, I hope you can find a diet for her that will be suitable for both liquid and solid waste management.:p

[Miss Meow]

You only ever appreciate your bowel when it's not working! I'm glad she went to the toilet, and fingers crossed that a more suitable diet can be found for her :)

[Kirsten]

Yes, she's still VERY upset with her diet and doesn't eat much. I talked to the vet's assistant this morning and I'm supposed to call back later, they'll try to find another solution for Luna.

Kirsten

[Kirsten]

I called the vet today and they now gave me pills for Luna which are supposed to dissolve the crystals, Ethylendiamin. Luna can eat her "normal" food again which she likes and which helps her with her bowel movements, so I hope things will finally work for us now.

Kirsten

[Randi]

Kirsten, I'm glad the vet found another solution. I hope these Ethylendiamin will do the job! :) I've never heard of them. Luna must be SO happy to get the food she likes again. :p

Best wishes and nosescritchies from us! ;)

[Kirsten]

I think diet food is just more popular and easier in most cases!

However, Luna was MORE THAN HAPPY when she got her food this evening. When she's done with her medicine, I have to have her urine checked again to find out if the treatment has to be continued.

Kirsten

[Denyce]

I just tried doing a yahoo search on Ethylendiamin and was only coming up with foreign websites...nothing in English. I will have to ask my vet about this but she is about to go out on maternity leave. My mom has a cat that is constantly getting crystals and cycstitis. Anymore information you might have on this medication I would appreciate.

Denyce

[Kirsten]

I was just doing the same, and did not find anything helpful either.

All I know is - according to my vet - that it will be taken "off the list" in Germany now, which means it is no longer available in the future, and that she has to find another solution for Luna if still necessary.

I was trying to find some info why it's no longer produced (to be sure that there isn't anything wrong with it), but I did not find anything. The Comapny that produced it is CP Pharma in Germany.

Kirsten

[Denyce]

I found a link with this drug to a cat food called Precept. I did a search on Precept and found a web site in English. I sent them an email asking about their pet food and recieved this email in response this evening.


Hello Denyce,



Thank you for your email. Our Precept brand of pet foods is sold only abroad. The same food is sold domestically as Precise pet foods. It does not contain ethylenediamine dihydiodide. We used to use that as our iodine source in the canned foods but do not any longer. I am not aware of any studies that substantiate this substance has any affect on struvite crystals. I would be very interested in learning anything I can about this characteristic of ethylenediamine dihydriodide if you have any information. I hope this helps you and thank you again for your email. I have included a link to the Precise pet foods below.



www.precisepet.com



Best regards,

Lisa R. Drapela, D.V.M.

Staff Veterinarian


So this is all I know so far. It doesn't seem as if it would be harmful to Luna. I too however wonder why it is being discontinued. That doesn't always mean it is harmful or does not work. Sometimes it is just too expensive to continue to produce. I will be interested to know how Luna does on it.

Denyce

[krazyaboutkatz]

Kirsten, I sure hope that the new pills will help Luna. Prayers are still on the way. Please take care.

[Kirsten]

Denyce, thanks for the info, that is interesting!

So they think that substance might not help her? The instruction added to the package I've got says it's exactly for that, struvite crystals and urolithiasis in cats and minks, it's creating an acid ph value in the bladder.

Anyway, I did some internet research myself and only found links to chemical pages which sounded very complicated (most of them in German and Danish), but I did not find a single info about this substance being harmful or dangerous.

I also saw the list with medicaments no longer produced, and it's been on it, but it doesn't look like there have been any risks, maybe it hasn't been profitable enough.

Luna, however, seems to be very happy with her "normal" food! She's more playful and active now (she was probably so hungry that she didn't have much energy left for playing during her diet) and she also seems to be over her constipation now. :)

So, let's hope these pills will have the desired effect on her bladder!

Kirsten

[Denyce]

I am very glad to hear she is doing better. That is always the most important thing. Who knows why they are going to stop making it. Remember also that the vet that replied to me is in the US not Germany so this may be something that has never been explored here in the US. Doesn't mean it doesn't work like they say. Just that you all in Germany may have found a use for this that the Americans haven't. I plan on emailing her the information you just gave. Could be that the expense of producing the chemical is more than the company was making from it.

This is what I always enjoy about message boards like this is the exchange of some very interesting information we never would have known about.

Denyce

[Kirsten]

Yes, you're right, this is what makes the internet so interesting! :) You hear about so many things by talking to people from different nations!

I've actually told my vet a couple of times : "Well, the Americans do this or that in a case like this", and she was like "Ah, okay, so let's try it!" :)

Kirsten