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What is wrong with Barney?

18K views 513 replies 36 participants last post by  BarneyBobCat 
#1 ·
Suddenly he has become unfriendly. He is sleeping a lot, with his back to us and in places out of reach. When we can get near him he cries if we touch his stomach. He has eaten little over the whole day. We think he was fine until lunchtime, although he was very sleepy leading up to lunch.

I think his tummy is sore - he makes a noise when i press on it. No signs of anything untoward happening in the house so Im very confused. Any advice?

I realise this is a bit vague sorry.
 
#4 ·
As much as I want to save you money and say wait until tomorrow to see if he gets better I don't think that I would - although it's very difficult to judge by text how serious you feel it is. I mean is this the equivalent of you or I getting the runs and not feeling so good so we have an early night? Or is it appendicitis type symptoms?
 
#5 ·
I'm trying not to overreact. On one hand you could say he is just tired and unsociable. He had eaten well until lunchtime, and he has been out in the garden the afternoon for a wander. But I know he is not quite himself. No vomit, no toilet troubles at all. In fact I might say he could be bunged up. It's confusing.
 
#7 ·
I will take him to the vet if I think he definitely needs to go. Im not bothered about the out of hours charge - I have insurance anyway, although I have never claimed before. I just don't want to waste anyones time unnecessarily. Interestingly though Barney is currently wolfing down some food which is the first time he has ate properly in about 12 hours
 
#9 ·
Personally I would be at the vet with Barney,he sounds as though he is in pain and obviously unwell.
Cats are masters at hiding illness so if you can see he isn't right it has most likely gone beyond "a sore guts"
He could have a blockage .
 
#19 ·
Glad you know what was wrong, hope he heals soon.

Jack for the first time, did the far leap from counter to top of fridge yesterday.
I was going to put a high stool for him to hop down on when he was ready but OH took him off, worried he would hurt himself jumping down.
Jack did not want to leave the fridge but did ;)
 
#20 · (Edited)
Glad you know what was wrong, hope he heals soon.

Jack for the first time, did the far leap from counter to top of fridge yesterday.
I was going to put a high stool for him to hop down on when he was ready but OH took him off, worried he would hurt himself jumping down.
Jack did not want to leave the fridge but did ;)
You can't take you're eye of them for a minute! Barney heard finally just done a poo (which was quite firm) and is now racing about - currently trying to eat the front room blinds
 

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#25 · (Edited)
So things have got worse. Barney has been very quiet again and just generally out of sorts. His crying when touched returned so back to the vets today where he has been admitted into their care. The vet thinks he is constipated, severely dehydrated and very ill. He needs to be put on a drip, bloods taken, and then an X-ray. I have rang his breeder to see if any others of the litter are poorly but he said not and was very concerned about Barneys health. My wife and I are very worried about our little boy. :(
 
#26 ·
Oh Barney, I'm so sorry to read you've been admitted - but it's the best place and hopefully they can figure out what's going on very soon. You can be pain free too, whilst they work it out. So sorry BBC :( Thanks for the update.
 
#32 ·
Thanks! Yes we need to review his diet. Ive been trying to follow the advice on this excellent forum but he simply doesn't like the higher quality food suggested. I have managed to get him settled on Applaws broth based pouches / cans so I thought dehydration wasn't an issue. More thinking required!
 
#34 ·
He may need to have more fibre added to his food. One of my girls (aged 5) sometimes misses a day of having a BM and even when she goes every day her stools are often hard and dry. I am now adding a teaspoonful of mashed cooked squash to her food; even added to only one of her meals a day it helps her have a slightly bulkier BM and ensures she goes once a day.

I think there is not much fibre in those Applaws broth pouches.
 
#35 ·
Sorry he's so poorly, hope things will improve for the little fellow soon. I don't think any of the Applaws foods other than the pate are complete foods so they aren't ones to feed regularly. As the Applaws ones are flaky, have you tried Thrive or Seriously Good from Pets at Home. You could give the Applaws Chicken and Pumpkin every so often to help the constipation problem.
 
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