I was so, so worried about Bunny since last night.
After coming home from his enema, he seemed alright, but later, he did not look well at all. He refused to eat and seemed unwell. I was worried that perhaps the enema had taken a stressful toll on Bunny, especially with him being elderly now. His breathing was quite fast and I was monitoring him all night.
The vet advised to give him 1/4 capsule of Omeprazole if he does not eat and to force feed after an hour. I did this and force fed some baby food (Cindy’s blended food) with steamed pumpkin. It wasn’t easy force feeding Bunny as he clearly did not wish to eat.
The vet said to add either psyllium husk, wheat bran or pumpkin to Bunny’s meals as fiber. I decided to use steamed pumpkin. Unfortunately, Bunny does not like pumpkin.
Bunny slept most of the time. Well, at least he could sleep.
But I barely slept all night. I was reading up as much as I could about chronic constipation and megacolon in cats.
By morning, I was really hoping that Bunny would be better. Hopefully, the all-night rest have helped him recover.
I offered his usual Cubgrub breakfast.
I think Bunny just licked a little bit of food and then, he walked away.
No amount of enticement could make him eat. His appetite is simply not back yet. I force fed him later.
This thing about force feeding – I really don’t know if it is the right thing to do. Some say that when a cat doesn’t want to eat, let him be. Some experts even say never to force feed; an animal knows better (than us). On the other hand, if there’s no food, the animal might get gastritis and that adds on more problems. So I really don’t know what is right. I’ll just listen to whatever the vet advises.
I found a small piece of faeces (which looks like Bunny’s), but just one small piece. The thing with Bunny is that he doesn’t use the sandpit and he also doesn’t defecate in a single spot. So, every day, I have to scan the entire back garden to spot his poop. I more or less know some of his usual spots, but still, it can be anywhere.
During the morning, I gave Bunny his B-12 tablet, his Gentle Digest probiotic, 2.5ml Lactulose and some virgin coconut oil (which he refused to lick although he liked it before). All spaced out throughout the morning. I also did a 200ml subcut, as advised by the vet.
By lunch time, Bunny still refused to eat. I added snacks and appetite enhancers to his food, but nothing worked. In fact, he went to hide behind the washing machine again. Oh dear…this is not a good sign. After force feeding him some lunch, I decided to give him transdermal Mirtazapine (it is actually Indy’s but he doesn’t need it anymore). Nothing to lose, I thought. It’s an appetite stimulant, but it did not work on Indy or Pole. It did work on Vincent, though.
I was very worried and wondered what we should do for Bunny. It’s been too long now.
After about two hours, I sat with Bunny. He wasn’t sleeping. Sigh…what else do we have in the house? We have some Greenies. So I took a bowl and poured out 4 pellets, not expecting him to eat. But guess what, he ate heartily!
This was totally unexpected!
So I quickly went to the kitchen to get the only can of Monge Tuna & Chicken that we have (bought for Indy, but he refused to eat it). There’s nothing to lose, just try it on Bunny. I’ve learnt and noticed that we shouldn’t use whatever food that we have used for force feeding; it should be something different.
And….Bunny ate!! Bunny ate!!
He ate up about three-quarters of the can!
Okay, this is a good start. Let’s hope his appetite is really back now.
We are not out of the woods yet, I know. In fact, we do have a long way to go. It’s not just about eating, it’s also about defecating. But having an appetite again is already a big win.
For now, I’ll give you whatever food you want, Bunny, as long as you are willing to eat it. The challenge now is to find THE food that (1) Bunny is willing to eat and which (2) eases his defecation. It’s a two-pronged challenge here. It’s not going to be easy.
Bunny didn’t ask to come out to the patio this morning too. That’s because he really wasn’t feeling well.
But now, he’s out exploring – another hopeful sign!
Although generally Bunny eats more than Cow, over the last one year, Bunny has grown slimmer. He used to be very stout in his heyday. Cow, on the other hand, eats so much less than Bunny but has been able to maintain his stout frame. Well, that’s okay, as long as they are both healthy. Bunny’s weight, however, has been steady at about 5.2kg even though he is much slimmer now.
Baby steps, Bunny, baby steps.