Diet to manage megacolon

I feel I owe it to all the people who post on these things as a reference I used to tell my story.  My cat has Megacolon (manx with no tail at all).  At one point over two years ago she was nearly dead from not being able to go.  The animal hospital and almost 3k later and I have learned to manage her care.  We give her wet food in the morning with Miralax and again at night.  She gets cisapride a few times a week and we IV hydrate her about 2 or 3 times a month.  She can not control herself but goes to a dog training pad when she knows it is coming.  She has semi solid waste if we do it right.  It is not fun but she runs like a kitten even at 12 now.  She is alive with maintenance.

Good to know we aren't alone!

My cat Weaver was first diagnosed about 2 years ago - we switched to canned w/d (hills prescription diet), cicapride, miralax and metamucil.

Everything was fine until about 3 weeks ago, she got totally blocked up again.  2 nights at the vet later, she came home with an adjusted medicine formula. The vet had me stop the metamucil and add lactulose.  But things didn't improve and I took her in again this am.  I'll try a lower fiber grain free diet and keep fingers crossed. 

Britt

weaversmom1 said:

 
Good to know we aren't alone!

My cat Weaver was first diagnosed about 2 years ago - we switched to canned w/d (hills prescription diet), cicapride, miralax and metamucil.

Everything was fine until about 3 weeks ago, she got totally blocked up again.  2 nights at the vet later, she came home with an adjusted medicine formula. The vet had me stop the metamucil and add lactulose.  But things didn't improve and I took her in again this am.  I'll try a lower fiber grain free diet and keep fingers crossed. 

Britt

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Wow, this is the first time I've ever heard of a cat on both Miralax AND either metamucel or lactulose.  I've always heard of one or the other.  And typically miralax if the choice, and if it stops working as well, then usually the dose gets increased.  How much of these are you giving your little one?  Have you tried adding pumpkin to her food as well  I know it's added fiber, but from what I understand, it doesn't bulk up the stools.  Someone correct me if I am wrong.

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
Wow, this is the first time I've ever heard of a cat on both Miralax AND either metamucel or lactulose.  I've always heard of one or the other.  And typically miralax if the choice, and if it stops working as well, then usually the dose gets increased.  How much of these are you giving your little one?  Have you tried adding pumpkin to her food as well  I know it's added fiber, but from what I understand, it doesn't bulk up the stools.  Someone correct me if I am wrong.

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All foods with fiber have a mix of insoluble and soluble fiber. Pumpkin is predominantly soluble fiber, so it won't bulk up the stool. However, soluble fiber does slow down digestion. Many owners on the Yahoo! megacolon group go for low fiber.

As of now she's on 1/2 tsp of miralax per meal (so two times a day) and cicapride. (.5 ml morn and night). Based on my own research and the fact that it didn't seem to do a thing for her I've not kept up with the lactulose. The vet switched her to a lower fiber food too. I. Haven't tried pumpkin yet but will. She's only been home from the vets for a little over a day so too soon to tell anything yet.

weaversmom1 said:

As of now she's on 1/2 tsp of miralax per meal (so two times a day) and cicapride. (.5 ml morn and night). Based on my own research and the fact that it didn't seem to do a thing for her I've not kept up with the lactulose. The vet switched her to a lower fiber food too. I. Haven't tried pumpkin yet but will. She's only been home from the vets for a little over a day so too soon to tell anything yet.

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Are you saying you'll try pumpkin now, when she's on the low fiber food? The pumpkin just adds fiber, so doing so would be counterproductive. You should see if the low fiber diet works before trying pumpkin.

Sometimes it takes a lot of experimentation to find out what the best diet and medication regime is. When you're doing this, make only ONE change at a time so you'll know what any response can be attributed to. This means you'll have to move very slow. Some members of the Yahoo! feline megacolon board have been trying different remedies for years before they got to one that worked for them.

Just wanted to clarify that when I said some people have been trying for years it doesn't mean that they had no success until then. By that I meant they tried different remedies for a couple of years and were happy in that they got their cat off Miralax or somehow improved their condition from before.

Thanks for the clarification! That was a little unsettling before then. I'll take your advice and hold off on the pumpkin for now.

I have a kitty who was found under a trailer at about 4 weeks old her eyes and rectum were matted and almost glued shut with fecal matter. I found her and cleaner her up,  to a long story short she either was born with this or due to her initial start in life we found out she has MegaColon. I was taking her to the vet every couple days to be manually emptied.  Then they started masking her down giving her sedation and an enema then again manually removing the fecal matter. On one occasion her heart stopped and they revived her. For her first year of life she was tiny about the size of a 12 week old kitten, most people may have had her put down but she had/has such spirit and fight. Finally I decided to take matters into my own hands. I researched and heard of a RX food by Royal Canin called Gastro Intestinal Fiber Response. Worth ever cent. I tried it and what a difference, Fannie Mae started growing and is now a petite but full size cat. I feed her this diet exclusively with unlimited water. Her stools have changed and are almost rubbery, she passes large stools every couple days. We can tell she's "processing" ,as we call, it because she becomes quiet and strains a little. She has problems with retaining her urine too, so she has a custom 4 story condo (4 large cat cages stacked, welded and carpeted on top of each other to allow her to climb to different levels and move around when we are not home (I think moving around is also important) otherwise she has a room and a tiled bathroom she can stay in just in case of accidents. She plays, gets lots of love and attention and I think has a good life. My husband has had several back surgeries at Stanford and she travels with us, we set up the back of our van with a section for her and I go back and forth from his bedside out to check on her every couple hours if we are going to be gone longer that one day. I hope this helps anyone else who is dealing with this problem.

I'm new to this site and just posted my info today. I use Royal Canin RX food called Gastro Intestinal Fiber Response, it runs about $36 a 8.8 lb bag but it has worked for Fannie Mae. I appreciate all the info on this site I have not tried any laxatives in years but will keep this in mind.

You sound like us we have several cats and 4 big dogs our vet bills are sometimes outrageous. Thankfully we live in the country. I am thinking of taking my megacolon kitty to Davis University here in California has any one heard of any other vets in Northern or Central California who are familiar with this?

You are the 3rd person I've heard recommend royal canin in the last week!

I have heard that Royal Canin works well on the Yahoo! feline megacolon group, but be aware that some have said it worked well for a while, then stopped being effective. Some feel that it pushed their cat from chronic constipation into megacolon status by bulking up the stool.

I too have a cat that suffers from the same thing. I also have found that a high fiber diet  (w/d especially) makes his condition worse. I switched to a grain free wet food and have found (although I am not fond of Science Diet) that the ID formula has worked best. My cat hates it and sometimes won't eat it and then loses weight. Right now he is eating it after I have tried numorous other brands that made his condition worse. . I  think I have tried every cat food on the market but they all seem to make it worse. Having him on the grain free wet (Wellness) and the ID he was stabilized for 6 months. Unfortunately he is an extremly picky eater. He also takes two Cicpride (sp) capsules in the evening along with  one Tylan. Only onbe of each in the morrning. When he has difficulty I give him Lactulose--1 mil twice a day.

I am very new at all things computer, so bear with me. My 8 year old male cat had constipation for two months, had several enemas. Tried different things even cisapride. The next time I took him to my vet he recommended putting him down. I am NOT ready to do that, he sent me to the VCA clinic. She upped the cisapride (X3) and added miralax. He is now having bowel movements. But when I talked to the new vet again she said it is for the rest of his life. What should I do when we go away for the weekend or go on vacation? He hides from the pet sitter and would not get the cisapride. Any solutions for me????

cspangler said:

 
I am very new at all things computer, so bear with me. My 8 year old male cat had constipation for two months, had several enemas. Tried different things even cisapride. The next time I took him to my vet he recommended putting him down. I am NOT ready to do that, he sent me to the VCA clinic. She upped the cisapride (X3) and added miralax. He is now having bowel movements. But when I talked to the new vet again she said it is for the rest of his life. What should I do when we go away for the weekend or go on vacation? He hides from the pet sitter and would not get the cisapride. Any solutions for me????

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Wedgewood Pharmacy compounds cisapride into different forms so it can be administered differently. Transdermally, for instance.

If he won't come out at all for the sitter you may need to hire a professional pet sitter who has experience in administering meds or board him at the vet's office.

Gastro Intestinal Fiber Response by Royal Canon - dry cat food - is amazing food for
Mega colon cats. I have 2 mega colon cats. This food is wonderful. It is best
When it is not supplemented with other dry or canned food. The number for Royal Canon
Is 800-592-6687. You can call and get more information.

My Boy Georgie, a verly large mainecoon 20lbs. (adopted), has just been diagnosed with Megacolon. He experienced all the symptoms that everyone else has explained here, so no need for me to go into detail again.  But my vet is wonderful and right from the beginning she changed his food from Science Diet to W/D, plus everyday he gets the following: Miralax 2x a day, Cisapride 5mg, 2x a day, Lactulose 2ml 2x a day and Capilex 2x a day...I have noticed he is going regularly, his stool is not as hard and dry, and there is less hair in it.  Although this is a very expensive way to go, it's still better than surgery.  We hope that we can keep this going as long as possible.  We are very lucky in a sense that we only have to say, "Special Medicine time" and he comes running.  Actually, it's to the point now that he comes to us and asks for it.  We do have another cat that we adopted at the same time, "Monty" so they would both have company and "Monty" is a VERY finicky eater, and would only eat Science Diet, but as of lately, he has been eating the W/D which is thrilling!  So I think you just have to be consistent with all these items each day and it will work.  Of course, you need to figure out dosage for your cats weight and size, but like I said, it's better than surgery.  My only concern at this point, is will this shorten his life span....The first cats I ever adopted, Casper and Max lived to be 23 and 21...I'm hoping for a long and happy life for these guys too!  Best of luck to you all. 

This is my first visit to this forum .I read so many last night out of frustration with my 11-year-old kitty with megacolon .I took her into the vet again today for yet another enema. I'm taking her off lactulose and putting around MiraLAX with her cisapride ,she eats fancy feast pate, no dry food .I give her a little water with a syringe . My vet left for the day when I went to pick her up and I don't know how much MiraLAX to give her. can I dissolve it in water and give her some by syringe .I'm very frustrated and I'm almost ready get a second opinion from a different vet. I've gone to this vet with other cats for 20 years but anymore he just acts disinterested and I need a vet that cares .I also looked up allergic pets.com anti-constipation program and I am purchasing that to use in the future .what do you think ?any suggestions?

Hi  I know how you feel two years ago my tabby Tigger was vomiting and losing weight he was down to 7lb to the point where he lost half his body weight the first vet I took him to did complete blood work because he was a stray. He was back up really bad on the ex-ray. My Vet said to use grain free by product free. Now I tried all kinds of grain free some work some don't. I use merrick before grain now called bistro I do use miralax  once or twice a day I also found canned pump kin did not work for him. What I did find that works really good gerber stage 2 sweet potato works great to get things moving for him two years later he does have flare up mostly around shedding time he has grown to 14lb.