Megacolon Kitty

[gmccool2]

I would like to ask if anyone has any suggestions for a spayed,
approx 3 year old, black female cat with Megacolon.

She was brought here about 2 years ago as a feral, very poor
condition, starving, covered with lice and deer ticks. Her left hind
foot turned under (radial paralysis or injury not known) causing her
to walk on the top part of her foot rather than the pads. The hole
this created was very deep. She was kept in a splint and treated
homeopathically. This condition healed and she walks fine now.

March 2001 found to have pyometra, during spaying. No symptoms
apparent prior to that. Given an antibiotic by vet and treated with
Puls 200. Intended to use Cimic but she seemed fine after the Puls
and did not use it.

March 2002 she became lethargic, refusing to eat/drink, straining at
stool, at one attempt at stool (straining) she vomited clear, pale
yellow, thin liquid, not foamy. During the next 10 days, Bell 200C,
Lyc 6C and 200, Nat M 3D and 30C, Nux 6C and 200, Sulph LM1, all in
dilution. She was given gel nutrient/vitamin replacements, enemas
(acidophilus/chlorophyll, lemon juice, oil.tried them all) Vit C and
things like psyllium/acidophilus plus regular cat laxatives. Several
times she would be able to pass just a small amount of stool, in
balls, not particularly hard or dry but dark. She remained in very
good spirits, was friendly and sought attention in her normal
fashion. After 10 days, she began to strain at urine. Was taken
immediately to vet for deobstipation. (Miserable, nasty woman
advised putting her down because "look at her, she's thin, oily [from
enemas], probably has FIP, FeL or whatever, she's ugly, it will just
happen again and again.....she should just be put down". That's
another story!)

Vet advised, after deobstipation procedure, that kitty
has "megacolon" that is very much complicated by pelvis deformity
that causes a narrowing of the area beyond the colon. (Her blood
tests came back negative for any of the diseases the vet was sure she
had.) The reason she couldn't pass urine was that the colon was
expanded, blocking the bladder, exasperated by the pelvic deformity.

She has been doing very well since. She is on a strict diet of
premium/natural canned food (will not touch raw which I still try to
encourage) mixed with plain psyllium in water, FOS and bran flakes,
three times per day. Her daily stool is narrow, dark on the outside,
lighter inside, quite firm but not dry/hard, knotty. Evacuates
without strain. Eats very well, eagerly. Never drinks water.
Coat/skin lovely. She has blossomed into a bouncy kitten, which she
never had the chance to be when young. Mannerly and friendly house
kitty. Gained weight to perfect for her size, solid weight, not
flabby. She is an exceptionally small cat.

Current problem: Two days ago she stopped eating, sought heat,
withdrew, angry at being handled. The day before refusing food, her
stool was diminished to one small lump. She vomited some food mixed
with some hair (not a hard wad type hairball) and several live round
worms. (That was a shock.) Gave 2 doses Nux V 6, in water,
succussed. No improvement. Next day gave Nux V 1M in water, 2
doses, four hours between. Also gave her about 100ML's Ringer's
fluid sub-q. Shortly after the first dose NV her attitude reverted
to her normal happy-go-lucky manner and she ate well. No more remedy
but did continue to give cat Laxatone. 24 hours after first dose NV
1M (yesterday/Sunday) she passed good amount of stool, effortlessly,
that was as her normal stool but about twice as big in diameter.
Ate with enthusiasm.

This morning, ate little. She usually will lick her dish clean. She
has passed no stool since yesterday, now 24 hours. She is becoming
quieter.

I don't know if the pelvic deformity and the original foot problem
was from an injury or from such terrible malnutrition. She looks
like her neck comes out of her shoulders at a lower spot than would
be normal, as though her shoulder blades are set higher than the
beginning of her neck. She actually looks "neck-less". Her tail,
when well, curls over her back, touching her spine, making a complete
circle, like a teapot handle. The hip deformity is obvious looking
at her from above.

Other symptoms: her ears, on the first day of this episode, had
some black wax, sensitive, itchy. Next day, after Nux V6 they were
discharging bloody/brown odorless matter that matted on her hair
below ear opening. The following day, no discharge but remain very
itchy/sensitive. Slight red gum line. Shedding profusely but don't
know from illness or because it is that time of spring.

I am so sorry this is so long. I would like to have guidance if
there is anything that can be done homeopathically to restore a more
normal pelvic opening. And also, any suggestions for how to proceed
with her now. I'm very concerned about avoiding another round of
deobstipation. Would it be advisable to give another dose Nux V 1M
(succussed)? She had two doses total, two days ago. Should I go up
in potency or use LM1? Or has anyone a thought what might be a
better remedy? Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thank you,
Georgianna

[Dr. R. Swift]

Georgianna,

It seems most likely that a pelvic deformity is from trauma, esp. with the
history of the nerve problem. It seems a vet could determine this with a
fair amount of certainty by exam/x-ray. If the cat has gone nearly two years
without a bowel problem, I would think she could go a lot longer. It is
unlikely that the deformity would get worse. Has anything happened recently
that could have triggered this new problem? Vaccination, topical therapies,
emotional stress?

Interesting the itching ears with the constipation, makes one think of
dolichos. I think we need more physical generals, temperament, etc.

be well

russell swift, dvm

[gmccool2]

Dr. Swift,

Thank you sincerely for your interest.

Judy (cat) is about 3 years old, black with white spot on chest, very
small but now solid flesh. When she was brought here as a feral but
not *wild*, she was terribly emaciated, very weak, made no attempt to
remove the lice and ticks. She was compliant to all that was done
with her. She seemed to not feel her pain nor object to anything.
She was very easy to work with and amenable to any circumstance. She
was kept removed from all the other cats for weeks after arrival.
She never complained or acted disturbed by anything. I soaked her
wound and re-bandaged it several times a day. She would lie on my
lap, stick out her injured foot for treatment. She never attempted
to remove the splint. (The vet had recommended amputation of the
limb as she thought it was radial paralysis.)

Judy, when recovered from her foot problem, joined the gang of
cats. She blended right in with absolutely no problems. Unusual.
With the large group of cats, it is hard to keep track of what each
is doing, other than obvious signs of not eating or withdrawal. (We
have a several large "cat proof" fenced yards. The cats are free,
using a cat door, to roam these areas at will all day.) When she did
not eat, she was brought in and kept secluded in order to observe
what was wrong. That turned out to be the first bout of constipation
approximately 2 months ago.

She is now living with us in the house full time and is loving every
minute of it. She has no desire to go outside unless she goes with
me for a walk. She is not demanding in any way. She is full of
life. She never meowed before but seems to have found her voice.
She was even heard purring once. She is free in the house except
for eating and sleeping, when she has her own bedroom. She does what
ever you tell her to do......unbelievable, really. She is neat,
clean, uses litter boxes faithfully, neat and eager eater normally.
Likes to be near us but not needy, demanding or pushy for attention.
Enjoys being talked to. Seems to really listen. I am not accustomed
to cats that seem to appreciate things! It just cut me to the core
that the vet said to put her down because she was homely. She is a
bit deformed looking, stunted, eyes a bit close, ears a bit
flattened, head a little low set, "neck-less", might be called
a "hunch back", tail curled over back, but she has a lovely
personality. She sits very quietly and gently next to the caged,
injured squirrels in the house and they seem to like her. They have
no fear of her.

The (miserable) vet who did the deobstipation said her pelvis was
deformed, narrowed. I don't believe an X-ray was done but that she
came to this conclusion from the procedure. She also said Judy would
be back in two weeks with the same problem and discharged her with no
recommendations at all for aftercare.

She normally seems to not seek heat or cold, has never taken water to
the best of my knowledge. Refuses raw meat. Seems to only want
Precise canned food, now that she isn't allowed kibble. She would
love to have the kibble but has accepted what she is allowed to have
and eats very well.

She has had no vaccinations since spaying when they insisted on
distemper. At that time she had the antibiotic because they found
she had pyometra. I did not give any additional antibiotics. I can
think of nothing that changed in her life other than we had very
strange weather, extreme heat for late winter followed by cold. She
was always able to be in air conditioning or heat, however. She has
never had any treatment for anything since spaying, not anything
topical, other than calendula for her foot 2 years ago.

I don't know what else to say. Please ask what I've left out. I do
very much appreciate the interest.

She has, since I posted about her, had a very nice bowel movement. (
I am embarrassed at posting so early in her troubles but I was
fearful of letting her go very long without passing stool.) I don't
intend to sound anything but extremely grateful for the chance to
have all these non-humans in my life but it is very difficult to
maintain a cat that has to have her every bowel movement, food intake
and urine output monitored. Her misfortune to have landed in such a
large, multi-species household. Homely as she is, she is about as
nice as they come.

Thank you again,
Georgianna
--- In minutus@y..., "Dr. R. Swift" wrote:
with the
with a
two years...................

[Dr. R. Swift]

Georgianna,

Thirstless, not complaining, constipated, mildness - puts Opium at the top
of my list so far. I also agree with other comments on giving sub Q fluids.
That is often very helpful. Again, since she has done well for over 2 years
in terms of bowel movements, I don't see where she can't improve
significantly with the right remedy.

good luck

russell swift, dvm

[isali ben-jacob]

If you would consider an herbal formula to add to her wet food I would suggest Ma Zi Ren Wan (TCM). It moistons the stool and promotes parastolsis.

gmccool2 wrote: