Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 5/8/2011

Question
QUESTION: I was wondering on your opinion to keep my mind at ease. My soon to be 13 year old Persian cat which is in Italy with my parents yesterday started meowing, hissing and hiding under the bed. Later, when she came out, she was walking oddly, -my mom told me over the phone-. They took her to the vet which did x-rays and the vet noticed a lots of feces in the colon. She prescribed meds to make her go (levosulpiride)and my mom said she did finally go and then started walking normally and even jumped on her favorite chair and ate after wards.

She is acting a bit like she wants to be left alone today, but my mom said she has not urinated since yesterday. She did drink a bit today..I am not too alarmed as she has done this before when sick or stressed from being at the vet..so have two questions:

1) was wondering if the fact she is walking normally now and the fact the vet did x-rays can these two instances rule out the possibility of a thrombus? In Italy vets are not up to date as here, and therefore I am worried if they may have missed a thrombus..

2) how long is too long for a cat not to be urinating? this has happened before but not sure if this is a concern or not..

Thank you for your time, I am aware of all your disclaimers, just asking your opinion, her re-check is scheduled for monday.

ANSWER: Saddle thrombus in cats is a very serious side effect of heart disease normally.When they develop this, they become paralyzed in the hind end pretty quickly and are in a lot of pain. The prognosis for a saddle thrombus is not good.
Here is an article on it for you:
http://www.metro-vet.com/reference/saddle_thrombus.php

You must have read up on it so you know that it is a blood clot that lodges in the aorta and cuts off blood flow to one or both legs. Since your cat is walking normally and feels better, she could have issues with a dry colon, which is a simple way of saying that as a cat ages, sometimes they start to have problems with passing stool because it dries out and then it is harder for the cat to push it out.

Some cats will develop diverticulitis (a pocket) in the intestines which can become quite serious if the stool collects in one of these or they rupture.

I had a cat with a problem like yours. He had stool that was harder to pass so I started feeding him canned pumpkin, which cats actually like. I only gave him about two teaspoons a day with some canned food and that helped him a lot.

You can also buy psyllium caps at the vet to sprinkle on the food as well.
I would explore these possibilities before I would think that she has a ST. She sounds like she is in good health, so start her on some pumpkin, (or your parents can) and see how she does. You might want to put her on a food that has more fiber as well, such as Science Diet hairball formula, which can help pass the stool easier by adding fiber to the diet along with some really optimal nutrition. That alone can help her out.

I hope this helps. Please let me know how she does.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Please answer me question number 2 as well about how long is too long for a cat not to be urinating ,after wards I will rate. Thank you for your time.

Answer
A cat should wait longer then 24 hours to go I would think. I don't know how any cat can hold it that long, but what we find is that the cat might not be using the litter box and is using the tub or the bathroom sink.

Upon careful investigation, this is what most owners find is happening. If the cat is indeed not urinating after a 24 hour period then she might need the vet to feel her bladder and see if she actually has a urinary tract infection.