Enemas

Hi everyone,

Recently I lost one of my kitties due to Mega Colon and not recovering from the surgery. Just as I thought I was in the clear, my other male cat developed the same thing. He is now at the vet receiving enemas to try to help him. This is his first bat of constipation so they aren't going to do surgery. I also cannot afford to have this happen again. So my question is, does anyone know how long enemas take to work and if anyone has any good preventative ideas that I can do at home once this is all done.

Thanks!

Have you seen this thread which has a lot of good info on megacolon. The first step is to address diet. What is his current diet? http://www.thecatsite.com/t/205398/diet-to-manage-megacolon

I have no read it, I will right now.

He was on a high fibre diet because my previous cat had to be so it was just easier to give it to all the cats. Once Sheldon passed we changed the diet (about a month ago) to a lower calorie diet. 

I'm almost positive it is because of what he was eating in the last month

I would second what I read at the beginning of the other thread.  My cat has constipation problems which haven't went into Megacolon yet.  I'm still giving him a little fiber but the vet said that with megacolon you need to go the other way very low fiber.  I know it sounds counter to the problem but that's what my kitties vet recommends.  It cuts down on the volume in the intestines.  

She also recommends Miralax.  I'm not giving it to Patches daily yet but I can tell when he's starting to get into trouble and I will start giving it to him.  After 8 1/2 years of this I've developed kind of a sixth sense with Patches, I know before he actually appears sick.

I feel so confused! He was on a high fibre diet but that was recommended for another cat who has since passed so we took our other 2 off it and he is now diagnosed with megacolon.

My boyfriend is going to pick up new food today, should it be wet and not high fibre?

If he has megacolon it should be wet and low fibre.  Patches was never on what would be called high fiber the way people are on a high fiber diet.  I would also think about using Miralax.  According to my vet it can be taken daily as a preventative I just don't feel Patches is at the point.  It doesn't work the way a lot of laxatives do, it draws more water into the intestines.  My vet told me to start with 1/8 teaspoon daily.  The dose may need to be adjusted, you want enough to stop constipation but not so much that you have the opposite problem.

That is what my vet has told me is what she recommends for chronic constipation and then if it progresses to Megacolon.  I know the whole diet thing is confusing and frustrating when there are chronic digestive problems.  To further complicate things everything needs to be adjusted for the needs of a particular cat.

Of course, thank you. I'm definitely going to go the wet and low fibre route. We have lactulose left from my other kitty so I used it on Doug ( Mr. Megacolon) just to try to get things working but it did nothing so I will talk to the vet about Miralax. I've heard a lot of good things about it.

Luckily my cats LOVE water so they actually have a fresh water fountain, drinking water has not been an issue but I'm worried that may change with Doug after this incident. 

Do the vets prescribe Miralax?

lorrainem said:

I feel so confused! He was on a high fibre diet but that was recommended for another cat who has since passed so we took our other 2 off it and he is now diagnosed with megacolon.

My boyfriend is going to pick up new food today, should it be wet and not high fibre?

Click to expand...

Hi there, 

Yes the new mostly accepted treatment is low fibre and high moisture so a grain free wet food is a great way to treat this. Cats are obligate carnivores who need to get moisture from their food so a high grain dry food is probably the worst thing to feed them

Here is a great video by a vet on feline constipation:



Here is a great article on constipation by another vet: (http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/constipated-cats/) . And here is a great website run by a vet who knows a lot about feline nutrition that I urge you to take a look at (www.catinfo.org).

lorrainem said:

Of course, thank you. I'm definitely going to go the wet and low fibre route. We have lactulose left from my other kitty so I used it on Doug ( Mr. Megacolon) just to try to get things working but it did nothing so I will talk to the vet about Miralax. I've heard a lot of good things about it.

Luckily my cats LOVE water so they actually have a fresh water fountain, drinking water has not been an issue but I'm worried that may change with Doug after this incident. 

Do the vets prescribe Miralax?

Click to expand...

Miralax is an OTC medication.  It's also used for humans so you can get it in the pharmacy section of any store and do talk to your vet about it first.  I am just telling you what my vet has told me.

Thanks for all your help. Unfortunately Doug did not make it through this

I am so sorry.   I know how bad this stuff can get.  

We lost another cat one month to the date before his passing as well, for the same reason. It's heartbreaking

I am so very sorry for your losses. I can't imagine losing two so close together. Were they brothers? I'm just wondering if there was a genetic component to them developing the same problem around the same time. Hugs.

I am so very sorry!  I read your post in Crossing the Bridge and am heartbroken. For those who would like to write condolences the post is here (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263477/doug)

Thank you, when you don't have children your pets become your kids as I'm sure so many of you know. Sheldon was Doug's dad. It started with Sheldon last summer at 3, Doug just turned 3 at the beginning of August of this year. I do believe it is genetic but I am going to have to research it more. I do know megacolon is more common in males than females as well. 

My kitty with all these chronic issues is male and his started at 18 months.  I do believe that there is a genetic predisposition to these problems and I have also read from several sources that males are more prone to it.  When something starts young there has to be more going on than type of food.

I think so too, my vet mentioned overweight contributing to it as well. The excess weight gets pushed onto the pelvic bone which basically makes it a smaller space for anything to pass through. I don't know if this is the case with you, but mine were both indoor so they were slightly over weight. 

I'd like to express my sympathy on behalf of the entire TCS team. Doug's Crossing the Bridge thread is here, for those who would like to give their condolences. This thread will be closed in a day or so to prevent it from being needlessly "bumped".

Being overweight does add to the problem.  When Patch's problems started he still had the thin gaunt kitten look about him.  He's on a steroid now for the IBD but the vet told me his weight needs to stay down for the reason you described.