It’s looking good…finally!
No diarrhoea today too.
But…yes, there is a “but”. After breakfast today, Bunny tried to defecate but nothing came out.
So I think the chronic constipation may have returned again, which isn’t surprising since Bunny does have chronic constipation since July this year. The motility in his gut is compromised, probably due to aging.
So now, I would need to restart him on Cisapride and Lactulose again. But it would have to be done very, very carefully as we do not want the diarrhoea to come back.
I palpated Bunny’s gut but I did not feel any stools. However, I’m not a vet so I might be wrong. Bunny only tried to defecate once today. Other than that, he’s been asking for food which is a good sign.
These are Bunny’s photos taken this morning. He looks SO much better today compared with the past 3 weeks when the persistent diarrhoea just wouldn’t go away. He looks brighter.
Bunny’s appetite also has improved now. I weighed him today (being not a subcut day as fluids would increase the weight) and he was 3.9kg, which is good.
I’m so glad that the diarrhoea is gone now. Let’s hope it never comes back again. It actually started as soft stools which I thought was “good” since Bunny has chronic constipation. I also thought that soft stools is still better than no stools or being constipated and requiring enemas. But the soft stools became pasty stools and from then on, it became watery. Bunny was losing so much weight and he had a sunken demeanour as well. Those were such worrying days because of the massive weight loss and loss of appetite. I was prepared for the worst.
Bunny is FIV+ and has outlived many milestones. When he was 3 years old, I offered him as a blood donor for a little kitten who needed surgery because Bunny was our biggest and most robust cat. The clinic needed a blood check first and that was when it was discovered that Bunny was FIV+ and hence, could not donate blood. At that time, the advice was to put FIV+ cats down. Of course I did not do that. The vet also told me that Bunny might not live past 8 years of age. At one time, Bunny caught the flu. Actually everyone did (that must have been a cat flu epidemic or season). Everyone recovered quite quickly except for Bunny who was down and totally weak for 2 whole weeks. But he eventually recovered.
Since then, Bunny has been through many, many milestones and he is 16 years old now. Bunny was also diagnosed as a chronic kidney disease patient more than 3 years ago but somehow his kidneys are now able to concentrate his urine again and his readings are normal. We don’t know what happened but it’s definitely good. Bunny gradually became blind over the past few years and has a dry eyes problem now but he has a good supplement for this.
This latest diarrhoea was a huge challenge and it really took its toll on Bunny. He looked so incredibly frail and weak.
I’m so, so glad it is over now.
It does not matter whether we are in the pink of health or we are sick. One day at a time is all we have. In fact, moments are all we have.
Make the best of every moment.