Bambam

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shawngibson
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Bambam

#1 Post by shawngibson » Mon Dec 28, 2015 8:05 pm

Hey guys,

I'm not religious, nor do I believe in prayers, or miracles for that matter. Bambam has been sick for several days, not pooping at all. I've tried lots of liquids, psycillium husk, fish oil, everything.

Was basically told he needs to come in for surgery, which I can't afford.

Bambam and his sister (Pebbles) have been my children since they were 6 weeks old in Oct 2009, so this is hard on me.

Blah.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bambam Gibson...I hope he has the fight to survive.
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shawngibson
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Re: Bambam

#2 Post by shawngibson » Mon Dec 28, 2015 8:22 pm

One more...
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zzffnn
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Re: Bambam

#3 Post by zzffnn » Mon Dec 28, 2015 8:49 pm

I am no GI doctor or vet, but I did research on colorectal diseases for a few years, so I will try to help.

First, if Bambam is really treated as family, then try to get him ultrasound or CT. Ultrasound may not provide definitive diagnosis but it is not expensive.

Did you see a vet? The vet said get him surgery, but why? Cancer? Twisted gut (mechanical obstruction)? Or what?

If you insist on not seeing a vet, I would at least feel his belly. Is there lots of fluid or solid? Is there severe pain? Fluid can be ascites, which could be caused by cancer or infection. Solid could be poop or cancer.

Did Bambam go outside by himself? Did he eat anything bad?

If it is an infection or simple inflammation, you should let a vet treat him. That should not cost much and won't be difficult.

You would have a difficult decision to make, if it is cancer.

If it is just poop that does not come out, you may try giving him food oil via mouth AND rear end. For oral delivery, you can infuse oil with salmon, soak that oil up with bread, then feed him the oil-soaked bread. For rectal delivery, use an infant nasal aspirator or something small and soft, draw up olive olive and give to his rear end.

shawngibson
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Re: Bambam

#4 Post by shawngibson » Tue Dec 29, 2015 10:49 pm

Thanks ZZ. I have been giving him psycillium husk for 3 days, wet food with water and per your advice last night, I gave him an emima.

I just got home from work and there was still no movement in the litter box. But he was in good spirits, purring and playful. I played with him for some time and kept massaging his tummy/underbelly. He didn't like it, but he wasn't in pain, more like discomfort (if past experience with cats having abdominal pain is any clue).

Long story short, just literally 2 minutes ago he dumped half a log cabin. Clearly, based on the smell, he consumed a bridge troll a few days ago and it just took a few days to digest...

One thing I noticed, since I moved into this new apartment last year, they (he and his sister) consume a lot less water; I thought "they're cats, they know how much they need to drink". I think they dislike the tap water, so I will buy them bottled water from now on - and continue feeding them both a bit of wet food with water to ensure they are hydrated. I might in fact switch to wet food completely, but I want to consult with a vet first. I was erroneously raised to believe that indoor cats need little fat, hence I only feed them dry food (as I've done for 30 years of being owned by cats). I've learned a lot since then, and in fact I wish I'd started them on a real meat diet as kittens.

Obviously I have to monitor him for a few days, but he is right now running around the apartment like a crazed 2 year old.

I guess Christmas came a few days late this year:)

Shawn

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Crater Eddie
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Re: Bambam

#5 Post by Crater Eddie » Tue Dec 29, 2015 11:03 pm

Beautiful cat, glad the crisis seems to be past. They certainly do become family, I understand that.
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Dale
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Re: Bambam

#6 Post by Dale » Wed Dec 30, 2015 9:07 pm

Is he more orange than the photos depict? Beautiful photos too.
I was dying until I got to the end of your post. What is a 'bridge troll'?
Are they outdoor cats?
I am just now taking my cat to a vet dentist to be evaluated for a root canal to save
a canine tooth. The only diff i see between mine and yours is mine is more orange,
and has a freckled nose.
Dale
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gekko
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Re: Bambam

#7 Post by gekko » Thu Dec 31, 2015 7:32 pm

A really wonderful Christmas present. Glad everything worked out. Cute cat, and, judiging from the pictures, Bambam's dad is clearly an excellent photographer.

shawngibson
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Re: Bambam

#8 Post by shawngibson » Thu Dec 31, 2015 9:59 pm

Hey Dale, he's an orange tabby. All of his colour is orange, but mostly creamy orange with darker orange stripes. I've heard that such cats can only be male, and that they are always a handful, both in terms of behaviour and health.

Pebbles and Bambam are both indoor cats, never been outside since I got them when they were 6 weeks old.

I hope your cat doesn't need a root canal:( Keep us up to date, wishing him/her well.

One of the reasons I only feed my cats hard food is their teeth.

But that seems to have backfired. I don't think Bambam would have got so sick if I'd been feeding him wet food. Moisture is so important to cats, it seems, especially because of their kidneys. I learned the hard way. Now I feed them both a small amount of wet food which I add about 25% more water to, along with dry food which has been imbued with water, and I give them water. They eat the wet food, and drink all of the water in the dry food, but don't touch the water or the dry food. Interesting.

At least I know between the saturated wet food, and the drowned dry food, they are getting what they need. I hope:)
Dale wrote:Is he more orange than the photos depict? Beautiful photos too.
I was dying until I got to the end of your post. What is a 'bridge troll'?
Are they outdoor cats?
I am just now taking my cat to a vet dentist to be evaluated for a root canal to save
a canine tooth. The only diff i see between mine and yours is mine is more orange,
and has a freckled nose.
Dale

Definitely best XMas present ever. The other two times I've dealt with pooping/abdominal issues, it didn't go well. First was Wendyl, who swallowed XMas tinsel when I was a kid, cost my mom about $2000 to fix, and Pumpkin, when she was 16...in both cases they were in a lot of pain so I knew something was wrong. In Pumpkin's case, it was clear she had had all of life she could handle, but she was about 16 years old. Took her to the vet, tranquilized her, spent a few moments with her before the vet put in the drug which let her gracefully pass. It was very hard on me, but she passed quietly. Blah.
gekko wrote:A really wonderful Christmas present. Glad everything worked out. Cute cat, and, judiging from the pictures, Bambam's dad is clearly an excellent photographer.

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