Pumpkin???

Hi~~ Saturday morning early, and Thomas ,who usually comes up from the
laundry room after knocking down the recycle cans on the steps [to make
sure I heard him] drags himself up and totally ignores his breakfast.
His tail is at half mast and he lies down as if he was about to pass
away! I had a Mon. A.M. appt. for his yearly checkup so I called to
bring him in right away. They couldn't fit him in , but gave me a number
for an emergency vet.
They gave me an appt. for noon time. My daughter and I took turns
checking Thomas' breathing as he was just lying there. It was the
longest morning of my life!
He turned out to be constipated, so they took an X-ray and found
out that he didn't need an enema. The Vet told me to get a can of
pumpkin and put 1 tsp. in his food for about a week. Has anyone heard of
this remedy?? It seemed to work. as his bowels moved the next day.

Monique Y. Mudama...

Yup. Lots of fiber. I know Winnie has had to do this with Rusty; a
few others, too, I think.

Winnie...

Yup I have been giving Rusty a teaspoon of can Pumpkin every day for
many years
as an hariball remedy. I read it is better than the commercial hairball
remedy. He loves it.

Winnie

When Oscar had diarrhea from her antibiotics, I gave her a bit of
powdered fiber supplement in tuna. (Fiber regulates in both
directions.)

Chakolate...

Oh, that's good to know. Both my guys *love* pumpkin.

jmcquown...

I was told to feed my dog Sampson pumpkin (plain pumpkin, not the "pie
filling" - there is a definite and important distinction) when he had
problems digesting food. It worked but he hated pumpkin and would only eat
as a last resort - i.e. he was starving. I'm not sure what Persia would
think of it.

Thomas is getting along fine, but I'm still in shock.....Never
realized until Sat. morning how much I cared about him. He's my 21lb
furry brat[not obese, just BIG] Hazel
P.S. It cost me $75.00 just to walk in the Emergency Vets door and
$100.00 for the X-ray. How can anyone afford such prices? Especially if
they have more than one beloved animal.

Winnie...

Yes, that was about what I paid just walking in the emergency clinic.
I've been to the
emergency more times than I care to remember, with Rusty's history of
urinary blockages.
But his regular vet will see him right away in case of emergency if
his clinic is opened. One time Rusty passed blood, and the regular vet
saw to him immediately. His fees are
a tad lower than other vets in town.

Monique Y. Mudama...

I'm frankly shocked your regular vet couldn't find time to see you.
My closest emergency vet isn't even open until 6pm; they only operate
during holidays and after hours.

sriddles...

Yes, I've heard of using pumpkin for cats. I'm glad to hear it's
working for Thomas.

Jo Firey...

It does. I've been forced onto the BRAT diet the last couple of weeks and
I'm getting really tired of it.

I've got to find some more interesting options.

This would happen just as my lovely tomatoes are getting ripe. You would
not believe how I've babied these two plants. Right now we are working out
a sibling rivalry issue. They are planted in a spot where I had a tree
removed last year and had the stump ground. They are planted too close
together since I was taking advantage of that mulch. And the cherry tomato
has topped out its own cage and in now wanting to grow down the other cage.

Marina...

LOL! Sibling rivalry among tomato plants! Now I've heard it all!

Jo Firey...

Its a standard treatment (pumpkin).

And the price is about right, or at least customary. Our trip to the
emergency vet with Kayla when we thought she may have been hit by the door
(she wasn't) cost about that for visit and x-ray.

A few sad realities in life are that what things cost aren't based on what
you can afford and what you get paid isn't based on what you need. Cats
make stuff like that easier to bear at least.

So glad Thomas is OK and that the remedy appears to by working. Wonder if
you can freeze pumpkin in ice cube trays to make a can last a while 1 tsp at
a time.

Winnie...

After I open a can of pumpkin, I freeze part of it in a jar. It has
worked well so far.

Winnie