| RESEARCH ON PURRBY |
| 7/16/2003 ASTHMA The symptoms of asthma can mimic other diseases, such as heartworm, pneumonia and congestive heart failure. A diagnosis is reached by using chest x-rays, a complete blood count, a feline heartworm test, and a techniques to sample cells from the lower airways (transtracheal wash, bronchial wash, or bronchoalveolar lavage). Chest x-rays may be normal in some cats with asthma, while others will have signs of bronchial inflammation, collapse of the right middle lung lobe, and over inflation of the lungs. MEGACOLON Some cats pass liquid stool around the obstruction. The diarrhea may contain blood or mucus. Often, cats can become significantly dehydrated. Abdominal palpation usually reveals a hard, full colon, while a rectal examination shows an empty rectum. Performing x-rays will confirm a full colon and rule out any tumors. Treatment The treatment of constipation involves four basic steps: Restore electrolyte and fluid balance. Remove or alleviate any underlying causes. Administer laxatives or cathartics. Give enemas. Enemas for constipation requires tranquilization and can be dangerous ????? Retention of fecal material can have a very detrimental effect on the cat. Digested food that stays in the intestine too long will begin to “spoil” and “rot.” When this occurs, the bacterial and toxins produced by the rotting food may then be absorbed into the bloodstream making the cat very sick, sometimes resulting in death. Usually, a medical approach is tried first, with surgery reserved for unresponsive cases. A medical approach involves the use of laxatives, stool softeners, colon wall stimulants, and high fiber diets. These do not correct the underlying cause, but they do allow fecal material to pass so the cat does not become constipated and ill. |
| A mildly constipated cat can be helped by giving a laxative. Oral liquid paraffin and palatable paraffin pastes are the most widely used preparations for mild constipation. They tend not to do much to soften the feces itself but provide additional lubrication to coat the firm feces and help it on its way. In more severely constipated cats we need to soften the feces themselves rather than just lubricate. A number of different preparations are available. Most of them can be mixed in with the food and they work by “binding” water thus keeping the feces soft even when they reach the bowel. Badly affected cats can also be given a syrup containing lactulose, an artificial sugar. This sugar can’t be digested by the cat and when it reaches the bowel again draws water towards it. If we have a severely constipated cat it’s virtually impossible to relieve the problem with oral laxatives or fecal softeners. The patient has to have an enema. A heavy sedative or a light general anaesthetic is administered and once our patient is relaxed the initial aim is to try to determine why he or she developed constipation in the first place and rectify that (eg anal gland problems). The feces usually have to be softened by introducing a water solution into the rectum and gently manipulating the feces through the body wall to break up the faeces. The feces soften up and are removed piece by piece from the rectum. This is very often possible just with fingers (very heavily gloved) but occasionally we use surgical instruments such as whelping forceps to help clear out the feces. Sometimes we find there is just a small plug of feces to remove but some cats have enormous columns of feces that have accumulated over weeks so an enema may take a considerable length of time. Although enemas are not the most glamorous job in the world they do require a certain amount of experience to ensure that no damage is being caused to the bowel wall. Ideally, cats should defecate at least once every other day Feline megacolon is a bowel disorder in which the colon is chronically enlarged or dilated. There are many possible causes, which may be congenital, acquired, or idiopathic (cause not known). Congenital megacolon is believed to result from a congenital lack of certain colonic nerve cells, leading to motility problems and bowel obstruction. Congenital megacolon occurs relatively infrequently in cats. |
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| Megacolon |
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