Sick Pumpkin :(

About a month ago I found Pumpkin flopped out looking very uncomfortable, surrounded by his own urine and poo (usually very well litter trained), breathing extremely fast and refusing food. I could tell he was in pain so rushed him to the vets. He got fluids and Vetergesic (pain relief) and perked up within a few hours. He was thoroughly checked and we put it down to a slight gut issue. These symptoms occurred again twice and I gave him Metacam and he perked up again both times. I told my vet and she said we'll get him in to do x-rays and full bloods in a few weeks once he was in top form (to handle the sedation).

Today I found him in the same state and did what I had been doing. Metacam, tempting with herbs/grass/pellets and no response. Got worse if anything. Took him to the vets and told them about last time and he got subcut fluids and Vetergesic, I didn't want him admitted (I work at the vets and they know he'll be safe at home with me and there wasn't much else they could do at the moment) so he's now home with me and there's been no improvement. I've syringe fed him a small amount of his pellets (soaked and mashed) but he's only had about 4ml and I'm aiming for 10-15ml. He just stopped swallowing so I had to stop.

There's no point in me taking him back to the vets tonight as they're not going to be able to do anything I'm not doing but of course I'll take him back in the morning for X-rays and bloods if there is still no improvement. What else can we do to diagnose what's wrong with him?

What else can I do? I'm feeling absolutely awful about the whole situation. It's so awful seeing him like this, I've done my best for him since I've had him and I have no idea what's wrong with him.

Any suggestions?

Has he poo'd ?

If not then I would not syringe feed him any more

Did the Vet do a Blood Glucose ?

Last time he poo'd was around 1/2. No they didn't. What do you think I should do?

They also prescribed Baytril but I haven't given any yet as I don't fully understand why. She said something about there being bad bacteria in the gut. Does this sound right? Shall I give him some?

Can you get him back to the vet? He may have a blockage and that requires admission and treatment.
Vibes for Pumpkin. xxxx

How would they determine a blockage?

And thank you x

They'll xray, check his blood glucose (which rises with blockages) and likely put him on iv fluids and meds and monitor input and output. It's not something one can resolve at home.
How is he now?

How is Pumpkin this morning ?

Sorry Jane have been messaging MimzMum. Started to move around more last night and I watched him eat some hay. He still isn't right but is still nibbling hay. I'm now unsure as to whether I should take him to work (vets) and get X-rays/bloods because I'm unsure if it's safe to sedate him when he's so fragile at the moment. On the other hand, I really need to know what's causing this.

I'm sorry to hear Pumpkin has been poorly

Could it be something in his diet causing these episodes? If he eats veg it might be worth cutting them out completely for a while to see if it helps, then slowly reintroducing each thing on its own to see if it has an affect on him.

Also is he moulting? 2 of mine ALWAYS get gut issues when they're moulting

I highly doubt it's diet related as all he gets is hay (he's a good hay eater), less than one egg cup of SS pellets per day, herbs like mint and basil once a week or less and natural forage like brambles, dandelion, hawthorn etc.

He hadn't had any of the fresh stuff when these episodes happen.

He's moulting a little bit and I check his poo because he grooms Pippin a lot and she's very fluffy but all seems fine?

I would get a blood profile done this morning. That may give some clue as to what may be going on. Also some aggressive fluid therapy (IV or SQ) would probably help. Also he will need constant monitoring, so if there would be no-one at home with him whilst you are at work then he will be better off being admitted.

Thank you that's the backing up I needed. Do you think no to X-rays today and just bloods and fluids? X-eats when he's back to 'normal'?

jazxo said:

Thank you that's the backing up I needed. Do you think no to X-rays today and just bloods and fluids? X-eats when he's back to 'normal'?

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I dont know how helpful an Xray would be now as he is likely to be very gassy making Xray views more difficult to accurately interpret. So the risks (of sedation) may outweigh the benefits. A conscious Xray will not provide as much info and may be very stressful for him. Stress will just exacerbate his problems. If he had a full obstruction I dont think he would still be with us by now. I would go with the blood profile first, plus another thorough 'hands on' examination by the Vet.

Might be worth getting a urine sample too

Okay great will suggest all of that. Thanks so much. A cysto urine sample or free catch or either?

He's poo'd now does that mean there can't be a blockage?

Sorry for all the questions but is there anything in particular on the bloods they should look out for?

jazxo said:

Sorry for all the questions but is there anything in particular on the bloods they should look out for?

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Blood glucose level

If they run a full profile then U+Es and LFTs