New Kitty - Litter Box Activity Question

[annar]

Hi,

I used to post here about my cat, Butternut. He had diabetis for 10 years. We gave him insulin shots twice a day until he passed away in April, 2011 at 13 years old. He was a happy cat who loved to play with his "springs". I still miss him terribly.

2 weeks ago we added a new kitty (Slate) to our household. The animal shelter told us he is 3 years old, fixed, and he has had all of his shots. He was rescued from living on the streets. We have had him for just over 2 weeks. We are keeping him indoors only.

When we first got him his bowel movements were huge. They are smaller now, but still larger than our other cat's. We are feeding him Purina One Inside formula which I know isn't the best food.

This morning I happened to be present when he used the litter box. He sat for a minute or two - not upset, or straining. He only peed a tiny bit. Then he moved to a new location in the box and had a bowel movement. After the BM - he had a good sized pee quite quickly.

We will be taking Slate to our vet this week for a checkup.

I'm wondering if his large BM's and his inability to pee until after his BM might be indicative of something? Is there anything else that we should be looking for that the vet might ask us?

Thanks,
Anna

[Traci]

Anna, I am so very very sorry to learn about Butternut, my heart goes out to you. He was such a very special kitty, you took such excellent care of him. (((((HUGS)))))

As for Slate, what you describe in the litterbox may just be his normal routine - as some cats do weird things in their litterbox. But, that said, it is good you are getting an appointment to have him seen - it's always a good idea to have a newly adopted cat or kitten seen immediately by your own vet because shelters don't always have excellent record keeping skills, let alone health history.

The volume of stool could be due to food, actual intake of food, his physical size, and even due to food changes before, during and after his stay in the shelter. If the shelter never stated or produced a record if Slate was dewormed, please ask your vet to deworm him. Some cats have GI tract issues or food sensitivities (or ill health such as IBD, pancreatitis, etc) that might cause large stools or large volume of stools, but if Slate is otherwise healthy, it is unlikely he has such issues. I would of course, discuss his prior and present diet with your vet, get him dewormed, and take it from there (a urinalysis may be in order if you feel he doesn't normally produce much urine, but it sounds like he actually does produce normally, discuss this with the vet to determine if a urinalysis may be necessary).

Please let us know how it goes, and congrats on your new addition!

[annar]

Hi Traci,

Thank you for your calming words. I tend to worry about every little thing. I will let you know how his appointment goes.

Slate was given Milbemax on January 10th by the vet at the shelter.

Anna

[k9Karen]

Hi Annar,
I guess you can call me a lurker since I don't have a cat (only dogs - shelties), but I like to follow what's happening on the board. Just wanted to say I'm truly sorry to hear about your loss and also offer contratulations on your new addition. Hope all turns out to be OK when you see the vet.

[annar]

Hi,

We just got back from seeing the vet.

We are going to switch over to a food that is higher in fibre to see if that helps with his BMs. He hasn't had a BM in over 24 hours. There is a chance that he might be suffering from megacolon. Slate will need an x-ray in order to be diagnosed with megacolon. We will keep our eye on his BM's for the next little while. He needs to have a tooth removed so we may get an x-ray done at that time.

Thanks agian Traci -

Anna

[Traci]

Anna,

Slate is pretty young to have megacolon, it usually affects older cats (that's not to say a younger cat can't develop it, it's just unusual in young cats).

A high fiber diet is an excellent approach and hopefully the issue will clear up quickly. Just remember, you don't have a full health history for him, so it is entirely possible that he has had several different types of foods over some time and he may just be transiently dealing with that now. (shelters tend to feed whatever they can afford cheaply or whatever may be donated).

Please keep us updated, here's hoping Slate is in excellent health!

[annar]

Hi,

Slate BM update:

We are feeding him a t/d dry food diet (high in fiber). I also give him 1 tablespoon of wet food mixed with water - just to get some more liquid into him. He has had a BM 2 days in a row (yeah). My fingers are crossed for another one tonight.

Slate has a strange habit. He likes to use the litterbox when I am in the room.

Anna

[Traci]

He was seen by the vet on February 22nd but only in last two days he's had regular stools?

Ask the vet if he would suggest canned pumpkin (not pie filling), maybe add a tablespoon into his food every day or so - or some type of fiber supplement like Metamucil sprinkled on the food (this has to be a very light dose), please ask the vet. Another trick you could try is giving hairball remedy once a day until he seems more regular (I would suggest Laxatone for Cats).

[annar]

Hi Traci,

Slate seemed to be having large BM's every other day. We slowly switched his dry from the Purina One Indoor formula to the T/D food. As of 2 days ago he is on 100% T/D food.

Thanks so much for the pumpkin and hairball remedy suggestions. We will definately talk to our vet about trying them if the new food doesn't consistantly produce daily BM's

Anna