Scare with Smokey

[Chatanuga]

Last evening about 9PM, Smokey threw up a yellowish foamy substance. I checked him over, and he seemed okay otherwise, but when I went to give him and Casey their evening treats, Smokey didn't want them and walked away. I kept checking on him, and he just wasn't interested in them. Around midnight and around 3AM he threw up yellowish foamy substance again.

This morning when I woke up, I saw that Smokey had thrown up again. I tried giving him some treats again, and instead he threw up a fifth time. I hadn't seen him eating any of their regular food, and he barely touched the water when I changed out the water bowl. He was also just acting kind of blah.

So, I called my vet's office and chose the option to get transferred to the oncall doctor. Since she was based in one of the offices in another part of Columbus (Ohio), she advised me to take him down to MedVet on the south side of Hilliard where I live.

His vitals were all normal. He seemed a little dehydrated from the way his skin stretched, and they felt a firmness in his stomach area. They did blood work, X-rays, and ultrasounds, checking him over thoroughly. Everything came back negative, but in the X-rays, there was a pocket of gas in his colon, which was filled with feces. In other words, he was constipated. They gave him an enema and vitamins and got some fluids in him. After about 5 1/2 hours, we're back home. He's got more pep in him than earlier today. He's also getting some meds for the next few days. Two are once a day, and the third is twice a day. We're anticipating a full recovery.

Kevin

[mbsmum]

Good luck Smokey. Get well soon.

[Karen]

Whew, glad it was something fairly easily solved. Hope his recovery is swift and long-lasting!

[cats4ever]

I'm glad that they found Smokey's problem and that he's doing better now.
Constipation can become a serious condition if not treated.

[Chatanuga]

24 hours after getting home from MedVet.

No vomiting since about 1:30 PM yesterday. Off and on active and perky, noticeably better than yesterday.

Haven't seen him eat or drink yet, but he's been curious around the food bowls, and his skin isn't like yesterday when he was dehydrated.

Since giving him pills last night and this morning were quite a struggle, I'm going to try crushing his pills into a powder and mix that with some canned tuna. The water the tuna's packed in will help dissolve the powder and mix it with the meat. He always gets excited with tuna, even just seeing the can. Hopefully this will make it easier at getting his medicine in him (only has to take his pills for a few days) and hopefully get him back to eating if he hasn't already.

Kevin

[phesina]

That's good news that the vomiting has stopped, and it sounds like he's doing better. Here's hoping things are back to normal soon! We're sending along loads of good wishes and warm healing energies.

[Chatanuga]

So last evening, I tried giving him his medicine in some canned tuna, which I thought he would go nuts over. Instead, he kept walking away from it. Around 10:30 PM, he threw up a lot of what appeared to be slimy water with a large hairball (about the size of my thumb) in it. This morning, he was kind of perky, but sometime around 6AM, he threw up a white foamy substance. I tried giving him plain tuna (no medicine in it), and he totally ignored it. He's also starting to get lethargic again.

I've already called off work, and I have a 9AM appointment with my regular vet to have him checked out.

Kevin

[phesina]

I hope the vet comes up with a solution for Smokey and you. Best wishes!

[Chatanuga]

So, they are keeping Smokey overnight at my vet's office for observation. They're waiting for some of the tests to come back, but so far everything looks good. He's still not eating, but they're pumping fluids in him to get him back to normal.

Casey's acting very clingy, and looking around for Smokey from time to time.

I'm trying to keep busy around home to try to keep my mind active and from getting myself upset.

Kevin

[cats4ever]

I'm sorry that Smokey had a setback. It is always an emotional roller coaster having a pet hospitalized, not knowing for sure what's going on.
Sending best wishes to you, Smokey and his housemates.

[Chatanuga]

Called the vet's office this morning. Smokey's still not eating. When they showed me the X-rays yesterday, I asked about the stool that is still in his colon, even though he was given an enema on Sunday at MedVet. The vet said that normally when they give a cat an enema, they don't evacuate the stool (preferring to let it move on its own) since it can cause a cat to get dehydrated. Since that is the only thing that they can find wrong, they're going ahead with another enema and will be evacuating some of the stool to try to get things flowing again.

Kevin

[Chatanuga]

Got a call from the vet a few minutes ago. They've evacuated the stool, and things are moving again. I gave the okay for them to do an ultrasound to make sure nothing else is wrong (everything is still coming back negative). If the ultrasound comes back negative, they're going to give him some fluids to help stimulate his appetite and let me bring him home. They said it is quite possible that he's not eating for them because of his nerves (he hates going to the vet's office).

Kevin

[phesina]

Sending love and good wishes to Smokey and you...

[cats4ever]

It is quite possible that he's not eating because he's in the hospital.
I hope that his appetite will pick up as soon as he gets home.

[Chatanuga]

So, I got Smokey home this afternoon. On the way to the vet's office, I stopped and got a couple brands of canned food for him as well as some extra cans of tuna for him (and me ). He's been quite alert since getting home. He has had a couple bouts of loose stool in the litterbox, but after having an enema, that would be expected. He hasn't eaten anything yet, but I'm about to go down and fix him some of the canned food to see if he takes an interest in it before starting on my dinner.

Kevin