Those of you who follow us on social media probably heard last week that Pierre got to visit the vet last week. He wasn’t really thrilled about the whole thing.
Pierre: I’m being CATNAPPED!
This was an urgent visit despite Pierre’s protests. His constipation, usually controlled with the addition of some pumpkin to his diet, had gotten worse and was causing vomiting outside the litterbox when he tried to go.
Ashton was due for her wellness visit, so she accompanied him for the trip to the vet.
Ashton: This is NOT funny. You’re in so much trouble for making me do this, Pierre.
Pierre and Ashton sang the song of their people all the way to the vet. We’re fairly sure that even with the car windows rolled up, drivers in the surrounding cars heard them at every stoplight. (If the video doesn’t display below for you, you can visit it directly to hear their song.)
At the vet, Pierre really wasn’t interested in coming out of his carrier to be examined.
Pierre: I’m fine right here, thanks. Just punch my round-trip ticket and let me go home.
He was diagnosed with constipation and scheduled for an enema. The vet suggested that he stay with them for a few hours since the results were usually pretty messy, and that he would be able to go home later in the day.
Ashton: Can’t you keep examining Pierre so that I don’t have to come out there?
Ashton had her annual exam, which was uneventful except for the vet warning that her bladder was kind of full. Worried about Pierre, we didn’t pay too much attention to that comment. As we carried her carrier back in the door, Ashton’s bladder couldn’t wait any longer. The dense humans, without a cat’s keen sense of smell, didn’t realize this until we opened the carrier and out sprang Ashton, the fur of her whole back end wet.
There are no photos of the chase over all of the furniture in the house that ensued, so you’ll have to use your imagination. It was, however, epic.
One of the awesome things we love about the Sleepypod carrier is that it’s not just super-plush for the cats, it’s also easy to clean. The innards of the carrier went right into the washer with the bed comforter and other things that suddenly needed to be washed, and they came out April fresh.
By the time cleanup was mostly done but Ashton was still hiding under the bed, the vet called to say that Pierre had gotten his enema, but he was refusing to use the litterbox at the vet. The vet suggested he would be more relaxed at home and would use his own litter box.
Pierre looked very glad to see a familiar face at the vet and went right into his carrier. We set out for home and were nearly there, only a few blocks away, when Pierre couldn’t wait for the litter box any longer. Unlike when Ashton went in the carrier, there was no mistaking what had just happened. Pierre, ever the tidy cat, tried to rearrange the incontinence pad we had added to the bottom of the carrier for just this situation, trying hard to bury the evidence. So when we got him the last few blocks home and into the house, he went into the bathroom carrier and all to assess how much mess there was.
There are no photos of this part of the story, either. In his effort to be clean, he had managed to get it all over his feet. So in addition to all of the other indignities he had suffered, Pierre had to have his paws washed before he could be allowed back into the house.
Pierre: You’re not going to publish a picture of my wet paws for people to see, are you? So humiliating!
Afterward, he had a little bit to eat and then went to hide in his kitty kozy.
Pierre: I never want to go through any of that again.
Neither do we, Pierre.
The good news is that Pierre feels much better now, and we have a plan to help him keep feeling that way.
Lessons Learned
This whole experience taught us that it’s important to always know how often your cat is using the litterbox. When you have three cats, it’s sometimes difficult to know who leaves what, so you have to keep an eye on them. In our house, Pierre is the only cat not eating raw, so we can usually tell which ones are his at scooping time. When we stopped being able to tell them apart, we suspected there was trouble.
PetMD lists these as additional symptoms of constipation:
- Straining to defecate with small or no fecal volume
- Hard, dry bowel movement
- Infrequent or complete lack of defecation
- Small amount of liquid stool with mucus in it – sometimes with blood present, produced after prolonged straining to defecate (known as tenesmus)
- Occasional vomiting
- Lack of appetite
- Depression
- Large intestine (colon) filled with hard, compacted fecal material
- Swelling around the anus
If you think your cat is constipated, see your vet both so that your kitty can feel better and so that your vet can try to identify the cause of the constipation, since it could signal another underlying condition.
We recognized the “Song Of The People”. But we think those carriers are better than ours (we gotta get TBT ta look into that). We are lucky that TBT is often down in the basement where our litterboxes are (we have 4 fer the 3 of us), so he sees that we are havin no problems there. But it is good ta know he would.
OMC, you two really made your humans work for getting you both off to the vet! Pierre, I’m glad you are feeling better. Binga takes lactulose daily for her constipation, but I hear there are actually better remedies, and my human plans to discuss them with the vet next time she goes in for a checkup.
Oh Pierre! We feel so sorry for you, poor lad. Such indignity and upset BUT we are glad you feel better!
We feel very sad that Pierre’s bladder fullness had to “express” itself before he got to his litterbox. But we suppose “Pee-Are” had to happen.
We are so sorry if you hear loud laughing as our Mum is helplessly giggling about your vet visit Pierre. We bet Ashton wasn’t too pleased to be included either.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
Ugh! I had to have one of those enema things and I can tell you, no cat should ever be subjected to that! I was a mess when I came home. And I think there’s still some poop under the bed where I headed afterwards. 😉 Pierre, I hope you’re okay now. And Ashton…I’ve been known to pee in a carrier, too. ~Zoey
Oh boy! This sounds like a terrible, messy experience. When I tried to use the pads in my kitty’s carrier to help keep the mess down (he has FLUTD and can’t go long without using the litter box, so it happens every single time he travels), he shredded the pads and got little bits EVERYWHERE in the carrier and stuck to his fur, so I can definitely feel your pain! Glad everyone got cleaned up and settled back in at home.
Oh, that was a Very Bad Day indeed! Not only for Pierre (and Ashton too), but for the humans. Our biped couldn’t help but laugh (just a little) — it wasn’t funny, but it was, if you know what we mean.
Anyway, we’re glad Pierre is okay now, everyone and everything is clean, and things are settling down.
Purrs and peace.
Poor kids. It does sound like a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
You poor babies!!! (And Mom…) I’ve had kitties go potty in their carriers *many* times and it’s never a fun experience…either for the cat or the humans! One time Angel Tara even got sent to the back of the vet’s office to the tub!
that was WAY more eventful than Tommy and Daiquiri’s trip to the vet – there was just some shots and blood draws…..and lots of singing
Oh, you poor, poor kids! What a terrible way to spend the day. We’re glad THAT’S all over, as we’re sure you are!
We have never had bathroom accidents to or from the cat fix-it place, for which my mom is eternally grateful. And in fact, only Izzy is a constant car screamer. The rest of us might yell briefly at Mom but then settle right down. (This is *not* to say we enjoy car rides!)
You two could start you very on Acapella group you have a very professional sound.
Oh dear me Pierre..my human sissy’s first cat, Cali, had what was called mega colon. Once she was staying with us while her peeps were on vacation. She became impacted..mom had to rush her to the ER vet. It was pretty scary.
We are so glad all that is over.
Hugs madi your bfff
My cat also hates going to the vet. It must be a very stressful situation for them, but unfortunately it’s necessary. I hope Pierre gets rid of that constipation soon.
Oh no! We’re so sorry you guys had trouble in the carriers. Pierre, I get constipated, too. So far I’ve been OK, but Mommy is always looking at poop in the box. She has a hard time telling who pooped.
Oh dear Pierre and Ashton that was horror of horrors….we send you our deepest purrs for all you endured.
Wow, what a traumatic day for both kitties and humans alike! Glad Pierre is feeling better. When they were singing in the car, my Sophie recognized the song of her people and came over to investigate.
guys….we R most sorree ya had two go two de place oh eeeeeeevil, even tho de
ree sultz came bak aye oh kay in yur favorz…..pleez ta knot feel bad bout usin yur carrierz aza ….meenz……we haz all done that two N de carrier waz non de werse for wear… afturr a bit oh kleen up ….& dood….we think yur toez look feerce…like lion kinda feerce !! ♥♥♥
p…ess…we forgetted ta say grate moovee…. & may bee ewe wood like sum plain yugurt dood….itz grate for stuff like that ~~~~ 🙂
I’m glad to hear that Pierre is feeling better. We all have those little embarrassing moments when we just can’t wait for the bathroom. In my opinion, if cleaning up a little potty stuff is the worst thing that happens when a vet visit is needed, you are doing great. 🙂
Yes this is for sure “important” Cody had to be “expressed” once….since then, I am obsessed with how much he goes. He only has a problem when he is on Pred. I am also super lucky that he never sings in the car!! (or at the Vet!) Glad everyone is fine.
We’re glad to hear that Pierre is feeling better. We’re so sorry for both of you : PTU flooding and wet paws is no fun at all. Purrs
Whoa! You guys enacted your revenge in a YUGE way! Sorry you had to get all messy though. TW has begun to suspect I may be a bit, you know, that C word even though I get pumpkin soup every day. Sometimes before I do my stuff, I go in and out of the box several time but the result is usually a good texture or so TW says. Really, I’m just softening up the litter. I’m glad you guys came out of it healthier.
Sounds like it was a bad day all round, not just for Pierre. I am glad the enema worked though and he feels more comfortable now.
Yikes… that IS a bad day, Pierre. Sorry, dude! Glad to hear you are feeling better though!!
I think your folks had a worse day having to clean you both up. Glad you are feeling better.
Oh Pierre, we’re sure glad everything came out okay. Keep things moving pal, it’s much better that way!
“There are no photos of the chase over all of the furniture in the house that ensued, so you’ll have to use your imagination. It was, however, epic.”
Thank you for that ‘visual’ it made me smile.
I’m so sorry Pierre.. but I think your little wet feet are adorable. Purrs that this doesn’t happen again.
OMC what a day you all had! We loved hearing you sing the song of our people!
The Florida Furkids
*shudder*
Just …
*shudder*
Seriouslies, Pierre, you shoulda warned us that today’s post was gonna be a Horror Movie!
(we’re glad all has calmed down now!)
That does sound like a horrible day.
Raven gets MiraLax twice daily to prevent constipation and I note on a calendar every time she poops. It’s easy having only one cat. With multiples, it’s harder to tell who has done what, but sometimes everyone’s litter box deposits are identifiable (size, stinkyness, etc)…..oh the fun of being a pet owner….but it has to be done.
Oh my goodness… what a day!
Isn’t it funny how they hate their carriers on the way to the vet, but they don’t want to come out once they get there? Switcheroo time!
Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie