Species: Cat Breed: Persian and Manx Mix Age: 11-15 years
Hello, My cat has Mega Colon and is being treated with CisaPride 5mg/ml suspension. I give 1 and 1/3 ml twice daily or about 1/4 tsp twice daily. I also give a simple enema of only warm water about twice weekly. This past Friday night he went to the bathroom many times during the course of about 4 hours. There was also blood in his urine. This continued thru late Saturday. He has not had any blood in the urine since then and is only started the Cisapride again this a.m. and only gave him 1 ml and I did give him a small enema as he hadn't been to the bathroom since early Sat. a.m. He seems to feel o.k. but is constantly trying to pee or peeing in his litter box. I feel helpless. I have some presdisolone 5 mg and some ZeniQuin 25 mg left from a prior infection but I don't remember what type of infection this was used for. It is about 9 months old. The instructions on the presd. bottle is 1/2 tab twice daily and on the Zeni it is 1 tab daily. Can I start him on both of these or either until the vet opens tomorrow a.m. or is there anything else I can do for him. Thanks, Ray
Dr. Marie replied:
Hi Ray, and thanks for your question.
It is often very frustrating dealing with cats with constipation issues! What you have described with Scooter has me concerned though.
It is possible that Scooter has a urinary tract blockage which can be a life threatening condition.
A urinary tract infection does not normally go along with constipation issues though. Another possibility is a condition called interstitial cystitis. We don't know why cats get this but they get severe inflammation in their bladder which make them feel like they have to urinate all of the time. Interstitial cystitis is usually brought on by stress. So, we can sometimes connect it to constipation as the stress of not been able to have a bowel movement can be enough to bring it on.
Blood in the urine is always a condition where I recommend an emergency visit to the vet. If he has a urinary tract blockage, or partial blockage and it is not treated some cats can die within hours. If he has interstitial cystitis he is very uncomfortable and needs medication to help relieve his discomfort.
Unfortunately neither of the medicines you mentioned would be safe to give him at this time without knowing exactly what is going on. Zeniquin is an antibiotic. While there is a small chance he has a urinary tract infection, infections are much less common than blockages or interstitial cystitis. And an antibiotic will not do much for either of these conditions. The prednisolone is a steroid which could potentially relieve some inflammation. However, pred can have some side effects and if there is any type of infection it could potentially make things worse.
I really wish I could give you some advice on something that would help! But, without seeing some urine from your boy it is impossible to know what is going on. I know an emergency visit is expensive, but this is a case where it really sounds like it is necessary. Your vet will get a urine sample and determine what the cause of the problem is. They should be able to give medication that should give him some relief. It is also possible that he may need surgery in order to relieve a blockage if it is there.
I really hope he is ok! If I can help you some more, let me know.
Dr. Marie.
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Disclaimer: Although Dr. Marie is a qualified veterinarian, the information found on this site is not meant to replace the advice of your own veterinarian. AskAVetQuestion.com and Dr. Marie do not accept any responsibility for any loss, damage, injury, death, or disease which may arise from reliance on information contained on this site. Do not use information found on this site for diagnosing or treating your pet. Anything you read here is for information only.
Customer reply:
I certainly appreciate your response. Knowing that he is much improved today in that no blood is being discharged and he just had a natural BM on his own, do you think I should take him to ER or can I wait until tomorrow a.m.
Thanks, Ray Price
Dr. Marie replied:
You're very welcome Ray. If he is still having any difficulty at all with urinating then I would recommend an emergency visit. I am much more concerned about the urination than the BM. While not being able to have a BM is uncomfortable it is not nearly as serious as not being able to urinate.
I really hope he is ok!
Dr. Marie.
Customer reply:
Dr. Marie, One more question, please. What would they give him to make him more comfortable? If it would be in the line of hydrocodone I have that on hand and have a pill cutter whereby I can take a lorcet 10 mg tab and cut it into many small pieces. I also have Zydan 10 mg, same thing except not as much tylenol. It is brand name drug. I can cut it into small pieces to make like 1 mg or 2 mg etc. If this is what they would give him for pain how much should he get at once. I'd like to give him a small piece because it will take me a couple of hrs. to get to the er clinic for animals here. Thanks, Ray
Customer reply:
zydone , not zydan
Dr. Marie replied:
Not a problem, Ray...although I'm not sure if I can help you with this question as I cannot legally advise you to give any medications without having examined your cat.
What the emergency vet would do is first of all, feel his bladder to see if it is full or not. This is a difficult thing to do (i.e. not something you could likely do at home) but it will tell the vet whether Scooter is blocked or not.
If he is blocked they may put a needle into the bladder to relieve him of some of the urine.
If not, they will likely either squeeze his bladder and obtain urine or take some out with a needle and look under the microscope to see if there are signs of infection, crystals or interstitial cystitis.
The medicine they would give depends on what they find.
We do sometimes give narcotics for pain, however hydrocodone is not one that we would use for pain. The zydone is actually toxic to a cat, so that would not be good to give.
I hope that helps a little. Unfortunately there are no over the counter drugs that I consider safe to give cats for pain.
Dr. Marie.
Customer reply:
Thanks so very very much. It's odd, when I bring him in the room with me he doesn't try to pee. He stays in my lap as normal.
Dr. Marie replied:
You're very welcome. Cats are strange creatures! I don't know why God made male cats have such a small urethra...they seem to often have urination issues!
I'd love to have an update when you find out what is going on with him.
Dr. Marie.
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Veterinarian, Dr. Marie created this site to be able to provide quick, accurate veterinary advice online. She would love to help with your pet's problem!
Dr. Marie is a veterinarian who practices in a busy animal hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. She created Ask A Vet Question as a resource for good, accurate veterinary advice online. Dr. Marie treats dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rats. She has been a vet since 1999.
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