Megacolon

Looking for help with a rescued male cat (Smiley) suffering with consitpation for over a year now. Have been treating him with Enulose, Propulsid for over a year now with no improvement.  The vet put him on Prescription Hills R/D dry food and also still adding fiber to his can food.  Since then he's been in for enemas January 2, February 13 and March 13.  I'm looking to try the opposite of less fiber.  Before this began we had him on no grain dry food and fancy feast can food.  Will not eat the healthy can food.  Has anyone used the Miralax along with the Propulsid and Enulose at the start.  Thanks for any suggestions..

Have you tried him on Little Friskies canned food?  I feed mine the pate only.  It has less grains and by-products than the shreds or bits. I have never had to use Miralax, but I know some others on here do.

Welcome to TCS.

Well, I have never had a cat with megacolon, but did have a cat with chronic constipation, so am very familiar with the use of miralax, just NOT in conjunction with those other items you mentioned (Propulsid and Enulose)  However, I think reducing the fiber, thereby reducing the bulk of the stool is a GREAT idea.  Obviously if he is havng problems passing the stool, the smaller the size, the better, IMHO

OK, I just looked up those two drugs.  I would continue the Propulsid (AKA cisipride), which is sued to help actually expel the feces out of the colon.  However, I would not continue the Enulose if you use the Miralax, as they are both "laxatives", but work differently.  My Sven was on something similar to Enulose, and it stopped working and that's when we switched to Miralax.  That worked SO MUCH better in all ways.  It wasn't prescription, wasn't sticky, could be mixed into his food, didn't gum up , had no taste, and worked differently.  I think of it as a stool softener really, but it's billed as a "laxative".  It literally kept my guy regular after seeing him straining so much he would throw up for years!  The dosage we gave him was 1/8 to 1/4 teas. mixed in about 1/4 teas. water (then mixed into his food) twice a day, every day. 

Here are a couple of threads concerning other kitties here with Megacolon, just in case you want to read more

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/251389/cat-diagnosed-with-megacolon

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245960/help-for-kitties-with-megacolon

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/205398/diet-to-manage-megacolon

Good luck with your boy! 

One of my cats suffers from chronic constipation. He was put on Miralax indefinitely, but had developed a tolerance to it and it is no longer working as well. I keep him on the Miralax, but accompanied it with Benefiber as recommended by my vet, but it didn't work. I compared the fiber content of Benefiber with that of inulin (commonly provided in the form of dried chicory root in cat food) and the inulin had a more concentrated fiber content. So I tried some inulin (Metamucil Clear & Natural, also derived from chicory root) mixed with his wet food and that seems to be doing the trick...at least for now. Perhaps it's a matter of rotating the different treatments to prevent building up a tolerance. A hairball treatment gel, such as Laxatone, also helps with constipation. A wet food diet will help immensely. Constipated kitties need as much moisture in their bodies as possible. Encourage more drinking with a water fountain, cleaned regularly.

What kind of fiber are you using? Do NOT to use bulk-forming fibers (such as psyllium husk). These will bulk up already compacted stools, making them too large to pass through the anus. This is especially important if your cat truly has megacolon, as the thread title suggests.
 

Thanks for the tip on friskies, I might give that a try. 

Thanks, for the info.  I think I will pick up some Miralax just to have it and maybe try it on his food instead of having to force feed him the enulose.

I was using a bulk forming fiber (psyllium husk).  I will stop that for now.  Thanks again everyone...

I am desperate. My cat is a rescue. Only 4 years old. A yellow long hair. He started with the Shackleton 2 years ago. I have had him to the vets about
Every 3 to four months for the past 2 years at a cost of 325 per poop. He has been on cisipride lataloose ,Miramax,and I have even given him
Douglas in combination with all the other. If I had taken all of that I would be on the color for hours. He has,been to the vet 2 times in the past two weeks,HELP
Love this cat .

I am replying to my self. Sorry for the misspellings. My kindle corrected changed words . I really need help. I have invested over 3000 in my friend.

Thanks for your suggestion. suggestioNs cat is only 4 years old.. in the past 2 years I have had him to 're vets to be developed poop at least 110 times.
It is costing so much money for astray Lon hair yellow loving male cat I rescinded. rescindeD have had him on lacatalouse,cisipride,and mirilax,and even douolax,
He has been to the vets two times in the past two weeks. Help

I hate using a tablet . I can not get my message across.

My cat, Freak has had megacolon for what seems like forever. We tried everything!! The vet recommended royal canin fiber response. Its safe for my other two cats and we haven't had to take Freak to the vet for almost 3 months! Its on the pricey side ($40 for 8lbs) but it has saved me a ton in vet bills.

My cat is under anesthesia as I write this. Surgeon will try to obstipate the colon and if that doesn't work she will proceed with the colonectomy.I am confused beyond belief about the diet issue after he gets home. The vet says he will need a high fiber diet while I have read many of you with experience of megacolon in your cats actually think a high fiber diet has not worked for you.We are not sure what we are on for, but OC is only two-years-old and apparently had multiple pelvic fractures before he adopted us. The fractures healed incorrectly on their own (what a brave little boy to have endured so much pain on his own during his first six months) causing pressure and ultimately severe narrowing to the colon which resulted in the back up of feces and now megacolon.Any help to clarify is appreciated. OC's Mommy

barneythecat said:

I hate using a tablet . I can not get my message across.

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I think most of us can figure out what you are saying.  I have not had this problem with any of my cats, so I can't give you any advice, except maybe pumpkin.

OCs Mommy said:

My cat is under anesthesia as I write this. Surgeon will try to obstipate the colon and if that doesn't work she will proceed with the colonectomy. I am confused beyond belief about the diet issue after he gets home. The vet says he will need a high fiber diet while I have read many of you with experience of megacolon in your cats actually think a high fiber diet has not worked for you. We are not sure what we are on for, but OC is only two-years-old and apparently had multiple pelvic fractures before he adopted us. The fractures healed incorrectly on their own (what a brave little boy to have endured so much pain on his own during his first six months) causing pressure and ultimately severe narrowing to the colon which resulted in the back up of feces and now megacolon. Any help to clarify is appreciated. OC's Mommy

Click to expand...

What was the final outcome of your little guy's surgery?  (what's his name, BTW?)  What do mean by "try to obstipate"?  My understanding is that obsipation is a bodily malfunction, like constipation, only meaning they cannot pass the stools ever. 

If he has a narrowing of his pelvis area due to fractures, I would certainly think that bulking up his stools with extra fiber would NOT be a good thing to do.  I would think he would definitely need a stool softener (perhaps Miralax) so that it's easily pushed thru a narrow passageway.  But I'm be no means a professional! 

for your little one

My cat, OC, was named by the manager of a bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans; that is where OC spent the first 6 months of his life. He was brought to my neighborhood when the bar began renovations. He was left outside by his former dad and followed my lab home one night. He has never left. I was told by the former dad, that OC stands for Orange Cat.

He underwent obstipation (vet gives enema and manually removes feces). He did not end up having the colonectomy. He came home with $70 of food that he will not eat. This is my biggest concern.

What do people who have experience with megacolon feed their cats? OC likes seafood, whitefish, tuna, sardines, and salmon. He doesn't eat chicken and the vet sent us home with wet and dry Hills Prescription high fiber W/D diet/chicken.

Thanks for telling me what worked for you. I tried pumpkin, but he also will not eat it. I just ordered one of those water fountains to try to encourage drinking water.

Diet for megacolon/constipation was recently discussed in another thread, so I'm copying what I posted there:

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I have been dealing with some constipation issues with my cat. Here is what I've found through my experience and internet research:

There are two schools of thought on diet for constipation/megacolon. It is a trial and error process, so be prepared for a possible long ride. Old school is high fiber, and it does work for many cats. If high fiber doesn't work, then try low fiber. Also, there are different kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble doesn't bulk up the stool and encourages good gut bacteria growth. Insoluble passes food through faster. Soluble fiber is usually preferred, but sometimes insoluble fiber works. Most food is a combination of both insoluble and soluble. Benefiber = soluble fiber; Metamucil is a combination with more insoluble than soluble.

Read your cat food label! And feed canned, which has the moisture in it needed to soften your kitty's stool. Most canned food has about 1.5% fiber, but some have only .5%; others have 3%.

Typically people find more success with Miralax than lactulose. Plus, Miralax is OTC and cheap. It is dehydrating, though, so you have to watch your dosage.

Cisapride causes heart problems in people, but is well tolerated in cats. I heard this is because there a problems in combination with antibiotics, but cats don't take the antibiotics in question.

KEEP a JOURNAL. Since you're going to be changing and experimenting with different foods, medication dosages, etc., a journal will help you zero in on what's happening and possible dietary causes. It was only through a journal that I was able to remember what initially happened to my kitty and come up with some theories as to why. I record things like time of defecation, estimated stool volume, whether or not there were hairballs and hairball volume (I have a long hair), stool softness. A journal will also help you know if a possible blockage has occurred because you'll see a slowdown in stool volume or passage. Look up "bristol stool scale" so you can rate the stool softness and discuss it with your vet.

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OCs Mommy - since OC has a narrow pelvis, you don't want to use insoluble fiber, as that bulks up the stool and he'll have a harder time passing everything through.

Since then I have also read that aloe vera juice has been used to promote gut motility. However, you must be careful in choosing - the outer layer ("latex") is poisonous to cats. You have to get juice made from the inner fillet. Another member use's George's brand. I asked and was given the following link to the specific product:

http://m.nutritiondome.com/georgesaloe.html

As always, you'll want to run it by the vet. (Although I don't know if traditional vets are familiar with using aloe.)

My vet kept saying I needed to give pumpkin permanently. After Poppy's 2nd enema, though, I got the feeling I wasn't heading down the right path. I've switched to low fiber. Too early to tell if it's working, but the first 3 days have been promising - poop everyday, at approximately the same time! Point is, though, that depending on your vet, you may have to disregard their instructions.

Here's some low fiber canned cat foods if you want to try a low fiber diet. Please check individual flavors/product lines, as I have not sifted through all product lines/flavors:

Wellness, including Core (.5% or 1% fiber, depending on product line)

Newman's Own

Some flavors of Halo

Authority

Friskies Special Diet

Good luck to everyone and Happy Mother's Day! Hope everyone's megacolon/constipated kitty leaves their mom a present!

Thanks for the very informative reply.I will look into Benefiber. How do we get a finicky fellow to eat it?His procedure was only Thursday and I can not get the vet (specialist) to call me back so that I may ask questions. I resorted to a letter and copied the referring vet.

Benefiber is odorless and tasteless. My cat is not very picky, so maybe she is not a good measure, but I would expect that most cats would not even know Benefiber is in their food. Benefiber draws water into the stool, so you will want to compensate for the water loss a little to avoid UTI issues.

Good luck!

When I was not sure whether Toby had lymphoma or a colon issue, I read up on this. Forgive me in advance if everyone already knows what I am writing here. From what i understand, megacolon is thought to be an issue where the colon does not stay in motion properly, and so the colon has trouble pushing stool in regular normal contractions on through. There are different schools of thought for treatment, with some agreement that the colon cannot be overloaded to where it loses whatever small ability it has to push stool. I have read that there are medications that might help to get the colon moving better.

I am not sure if there are standard diets for megacolon but I would guess that it would have to be some combination of food that can easily pass through the digestive tract and not too much fiber as another poster has said.