Constipated cat

Hello; I took in a stray kitty that was injured. A couple of vet appointments later, he has a fractured pelvis. The prognosis is good, but he stays in a small room with a soft purr pad to encourage couch potato-ness so he heals.  From the injury he became constipated. The main vet thought it was because the fracture could have narrowed his passage way or caused neurological damage. The vet surgeon said that passage way is good, but his elimination habits need to be watched. He doesn't quite empty his bladder. Her assessment is that it was initially very painful for him to assume the pose for elimination but now he does that pretty well.

I've noticed more pee balls in the litter so that's good. And one day he was a super dooper pooper but back to the one turd twice a day. It isn't the normal cat load, so to speak. Probably less than 1/2.

I've given him a bit of coconut oil to help move things along and that preceded his day of relief.  I'll try the pumpkin that works on the other cats but this one is picky about food texture and type. (no gravy, no seafood) So I don't think the usual baby food with pumpkin that entices my other kitties will work.

I've  seen a couple things about coconut oil as a laxative for kitty and wondered what others' experience might be.

Have you tried Miralax? My 11 year old female became really badly constipated and actually had to have her bowel emptied under general anaesthetic. She had became so badly impacted the vet had no choice. Started her on lactulose which works but trying to give it to her by syringe twice a day was a nightmare. Started mixing Miralax in her food and it has worked wonderfully.

Change him to a mostly wet food diet and add a bit of plain canned pumpkin (about 1 teaspoon per feeding) to help soften and move the stool.  I know Coconut oil is excellent for humans but have no experience with it for kitties. 

How much miralax do you offer? This boy is probably about 9 pounds.

I'll try the pumpkin. I had a cat that loved the pumpkin back in the day. Yes, he gets wet food. When he was a stray appearing for food and healthy I gave him a mix of wet and some dry food too. He's not an enthusiastic water drinker. The rest of my cats seem to enjoy fairly regular water but this one is not so sold on it. 

I stopped offering any dry food since the vet visits because I didn't want to exacerbate the bladder issue with dry food or his constipation. Tonight he got a bit of butter and a bit of milk since that laxative effect. Boy he loved that. I figured it also was a water-ish bonus. After enjoying his wet food meal completely, he got a brushing and a little massage (I figure if he's relaxed it might help move things along) and then he went back over to his purr pad to nap.

I like to mix a little yogurt into their food. That is more digestive maintenance than constipation cure.  My vet suggested a teaspoon of veg oil, but that was for a 13 lb cat.  I would think that one of the vets involved in his recovery might make a suggestion over the phone.  Of course the problem with this or a regular laxative is getting it into the kitty.  This one sounds like he's still fragile so if he takes the pumpkin voluntarily, you might want to continue with it for a while longer.

Milk is not good for most kitties as they can't tolerate it.  You can always add several teaspoons of water to his wet food to make it more like oatmeal and mix in the pumpkin.  If that doesn't help, you can also use Slippery Elm Bark.  I have given Miralax (1/4 t twice a day) previously to my renal failure kitty, but it's really not good for long-term use.

You start off with quarter of a teaspoon of Miralax mixed in with wet food. It's tasteless and odourless so cats can't detect it. You can adjust that amount either up or down if required. Hope that helps!

Agreed. He's had a great day the other day and then back to a couple of smaller deposits two times a day. He's urinating more though so that is very good.

The vet surgeon indicated that he probably has more fractures than what they can see on the x-rays so I totally agree on his fragile state. Interestingly he doesn't act fragile. He's happy to be quiet on his purr pad--which is great. But when I go see how he's doing, he's also happy to chatter and interact. Loves the gentle brushing. I figure if I do that it's soothing and may help in the digestive realm.

He wasn't super thrilled with the pumpkin did eventually eat the food that I had mixed it in.

The vet that I took him to initially was pretty much ready to write him off. She seemed to think that surgery was the only option and that it was an expensive one and so did nothing else, including no vaccinations. Obviously he'll need additional x rays the first of November to see how the bones are healing. I don't want him to develop mega colon. The place I take my cats is a clinic for cats only. I usually see one of two vets. One vet was thrilled that we were willing to keep this cat. The other one didn't understand why we would be willing to keep going with a cat that was not well-known to us. They are both good vets but I end up with the cranky one fairly frequently. 

got some today and put 1/8 teaspoon in his canned food. He ate it up. Hopefully this will do the trick.

SUCCESS!!!!! After 3 days of Miralax at the 1/8 teasp twice a day dose, Boo has successfully produced normal ...er...output. He also is urinating twice a day in what appears to be the usual amount for a cat. So I think that the initial worry about neurological damage may be not the case.

He's resting comfortably in his little room and isn't trying to jump. He would like to leave the little room though. Got a Feliway diffuser today as well. Hope that will help him feel more mellow.

Excellent! Nothing perks you up like a good movement, lol! Be sure to watch for signs of dehydration. We accidentally dehydrated my kitty when we started her on Miralax. Water added to the wet food will help prevent this.
Just in case you don't know how to check: when you pinch the skin along the back, it should immediately spring back into place. If the skin moves back slowly, the kitty needs more water. If the skin stays tented, that means badly dehydrated. Also, check to see that the gums are nice and pink, not pale.
We didn't realize Bob was dehydrated until she was pretty bad off Ever since, I check her regularly (she gets Miralax 2x a week ) and the extra water in her wet food has been enough to keep her hydrated.

Thanks! Yes. I do mix some water into the canned food. He's not getting any dry so hopefully that will be good. He has two water bowls but isn't a sipper. Good reminder to check his skin.

I'm sure he does feel really free. ha.

Didn't see this thread until late. I belong to the Yahoo! feline megacolon/chronic constipation group, and several people there use coconut oil. Coconut oil helps oil the tracks, increases metabolism (keeps the gut moving), and has antibacterial (which will help create the correct pH environmental for bowel movements), antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties, so it is probably very good for your kitty's constipational issues.

Do be careful with the pumpkin. Too much fiber can stretch the colon. If do decide to use fiber, Benefiber is a source of soluble fiber that is odorless and tasteless, although I forget the dosage. For a kitty with a fractured pelvis absolutely stay away from insoluble fiber, which will bulk up the stool and make it harder to pass through a smaller pelvis.

He loves coconut oil. I had given him a bit for a few days but then I stopped since it seemed that maybe he would simply the oil. But I'll give him some as a snack here in a minute.