Thinking possible intestinal problems/old age?

[athenacp]

This is in reference to this: viewtopic.php?f=45&t=136595

I didn't want to post under this thread again as it may not be an emergency situtation (hopefully) I gave Digger a bath yesterday after he has been sleeping for the past 2 days in his cat carrier. He went to the bathroom as usual, it was long but normal (I know hes supposed to go to the bathroom before he decides to sleep but he goes every 5 to 10 days so we let him be)He wanted to sit in the window so we set him up. After about an hour he had his black beard back and the white body and then about 10 mins later he went to the bathroom again, it was yellow, so of course cleaned him off, the log, etc. He just sat there with the black beard so about a half hour of this we decided to set him up on the chair, with his head elevated as he put his head up on the window. Got the heating pad from under his carrier, wrapped it up real well put him on top with his head elevated like he had it and left him alone. He only moved himself up a little. Later we put him back to bed in his carrier and when I looked at him this morning he had moved up again but was still the same color.

The last time this happened, he was like this for 2 days, so I am thinking that maybe he had a painful bm and like a human it bothered him?
He is 8 years old and I had taken him to the vet when this all happened before and the vet could not find a reason why. No change in food or set p but just this. Could this be old age?

I am just wondering

 

[Goonie]

Oh Mary, I'm so sorry to hear that Digger is black bearding again.
From what you'd posted during these past few months, I have to say that perhaps he's having difficulty passing poop/urates, that perhaps his system is no longer strong enough to push that hard.
Had his urates been the same or had they been more on the chalky side?

Give Digger a hug/kiss for me. That poor boy

 

[athenacp]

Hi Gina,

Urates are the same, what got me is that there appeared to be no strain, he wiggles his tail a few times, as normal, and it shot out.
I am thinking the same thing too, his system is just slowing down, I asked the hubby to see if he would eat baby food and he said he wasn't gonna try to feed him, Digger is stumbling a little while walking and he seems weak, though he does have his head up. Last time he was like this it lasted 2 days and his poops prior to the last time he didn't do this.

I will give him a hug & a kiss, I feel so bad for him.

I will have to upload a photo tonight via facebook uploads, just tried now from here and since they updated the email server it's not working, sigh. I will have to try from work tonight, his body is white and his beard is black but his head is up.

If it goes away again in 3 days, its gonna have to be baby food and no butter worms, sigh.

edit: I think I got it to work:

 

[Goonie]

Does he like waxies? They seem to be softer and less dense than butters.

 

[athenacp]

I never tried waxies, he is a very picky eater, I am lucky he eats the butterworms as he won't eat greens, crickets, silkies, horns (insert anything here)

 

[Goonie]

Is it because of the red color? If so, color the waxies in red food dye and see if he'll eat some :dontknow:

 

[athenacp]

I don;t know he goes after the pink butterworms more than the red...here is a pic from today also:

 

[Goonie]

How's the Dig man doing today?

 

[athenacp]

I will have to IM the hubby and find out, I did start another post on here about an idea he had sent me earlier, at that time he told me his color was better, but that's the last I heard