This morning was Bunny’s first dose of Cisapride. I already checked and it is to be given at least 15-30 mins before food. So I had to get up earlier to come downstairs to give the dose before their usual breakfast time. This caused an upset for everyone because their “cue” for breakfast is when I come downstairs to open the fridge. Everyone thought it was time for breakfast when I opened the fridge to take the Cisapride…sigh.
I must also add that our younger grandson, Jayden, is staying at our house for awhile, so I’ve been his primary 24/7 carer since midnight Tuesday. It’s been a lot of juggling with the time, caring for the cats and for Jayden. Jayden is going to be three months old soon.
Back to Bunny’s episode today. After the Cisapride and breakfast, I did the usual pooping routine with him (with the song and all), he did defecate – quite a big one too. Just one piece, which is good enough. I measure his poop with my finger (tip of finger nail to first joint – small, tip of finger nail to second joint – medium, tip of finger nail to third joint/knuckle – big, anything bigger is a huge bonus!) and this is recorded daily.
So he did a “big” today. Good job, Bunny!
I had been researching on Cisapride since the vet first mentioned it last July. I am aware that it’s been banned in some countries due to possible side effects like heart arrhythmia and seizures.
Side effects are uncommon but vomiting, diarrhea, or gastrointestinal discomfort may occur. More serious side effects include incoordination, excessive drooling, muscle twitches, agitation, abnormal behavior, increased body temperature, and seizures; these signs may indicate doses are too high.
This short-acting medication should stop working within 24 hours, although effects can be longer in pets with liver or kidney disease.
According to websites, the recommended dosage for cats is 2.5mg. Some even mention a higher dosage.
So I was relieved that our vet only prescribed 0.06ml for Bunny. This is indeed a very low dosage (that’s just 2.4% of the above mentioned dosage). I’m to adjust the dosage as per Bunny’s need too. Our vet said to give in the morning and only if there is no defecation, then give again in the evening. Otherwise just the morning dose would suffice.
So, it worked this morning! I’m glad. I will not be giving the evening dose.
I thought all would be well, but…
At about 9.30am, I noticed Bunny straining to urinate. Oh no…. I quickly started monitoring him and watched him closely. Luckily Jayden was asleep for his morning nap. Bunny got into the squatting position (which could be for defecation or urination) and only droplets of urine came out. I was worried it’s UTI again as Bunny is prone to it. He’s had it a few times.
The first thing I did was to give him a tablet of UTI-Oxi and one piece of Prasozin (a bladder relaxant prescribed to him the last time).
Then, I quickly texted the vet to describe everything. I also asked if UTI could be a side effect of Cisapride, It was the vet’s day off, but luckily she was able to get the messages and replied. I know UTi is always to be treated as a medical emergency in case the bladder is blocked. So far, for our cats, it had never been a blocked bladder (touch wood 3x), but I still will never take any risks. I will treat all UTI conditions as a medical emergency.
In about fifteen minutes, I counted 6 times of straining and only droplets came out each time. The vet asked me to palpate Bunny’s bladder but here’s where I have no confidence at all in doing it. I just don’t know how to do it properly. Or correctly. But the vet said Cisapride does not cause UTI. Okay, what if the UTI is coincidental and has nothing to do at all with the Cisapride? A case of bad timing. Double jeopardy?
But a thought also occurred to me – what if the Cisapride is still taking effect and Bunny is actually straining to defecate some more? But instead of passing stools, droplets of urine came out instead? Isn’t that also possible? A quick search revealed that Cisapride takes 1-2 hours to work. Maybe the Cisapride is only working now? Maybe this morning’s “big” stool wasn’t due to the Cisapride and it’s only taking effect now? Luckily Jayden was still asleep, so I was able to search for information on the internet.
I continued monitoring.
Then, at 10.05am, Bunny went to his special spot and squatted again, but this time, it was poop! A small piece of soft stool came out. Then, as usual, he ran away. Ok, that’s good. This is definitely the effect of the Cisapride.
Next, he went to another spot and squatted again. Oh oh….
But this time, it wasn’t droplets of urine that came out, but a small spray! A spray of urine. Yay! That’s normal. A spray – what a miracle!
So maybe the straining and droplets was due to the Cisapride causing Bunny to strain to defecate but instead droplets of urine came out. Or maybe the Prasozin has taken effect now and relaxed the bladder so Bunny is able to urinate now? I’ll never quite know.
I quickly informed the vet and she told me to continue monitoring Bunny.
So, from then until now, Bunny hasn’t strained to urinate anymore. Yay…! It’s been one-and-a-half hours now.
He is just sitting in his Red Box, grooming and taking short naps.
Let’s hope it isn’t UTI at all and it’s just the effect of Cisapride stimulating him to defecate (but instead, droplet of urine came out). That’s just my theory as our vet did not comment on this. She just asked me to monitor Bunny. I dearly hope Bunny’s drama is over now and all will be well.
Throughout the morning drama, luckily Jayden decided to take a long nap, watched over by his nanny-cat, Tabs.
Tabs has been REALLY good since Jayden came over to stay.
When Jayden first came, Tabs came to look, but did not approach too close. Even at night, Tabs either slept at the foot of the bed (one of her usual spots), or on the floor, or outside the room. Only last night, she came back to sleep beside me and on my pillow and sniffed at Jayden. Ginger has also been acting as a guardian to Jayden.
I’ve published Ryan’s photos on this blog before, so to be fair, here’s one of Jayden’s:
He LOVES to smile and “tell” me lots of stories every day!