So sorry--but Another constipated kitty

Hi everyone.

I'm a newbie to the site--but not to the threads, articles, etc.  My 8 month old baby boy Kobe has been suffering with constipation well over a week now. Now, I have read a lot of advice on here--and followed some.  A lot of the constipated kitty threads I have read..the kitty won't eat.  Well--Kobe is eating fine.  On Wednesday of this week, we took him to our Vet and he had an anemia, sub fluids for severe constipation which the vet had me feel in his belly.  I'm aware that after an anemia he may not be able to go for couple of days due to being cleaned out.  Well...its Sunday--4 days after.  He did eliminate a little hard one yesterday for which I wanted to do a cart-wheel!  He definitely is not himself (used to be VERY playful)--seems a little depressed.  Heres what we have tried:  Now on wet food 2xday--1 teaspoon of pumpkin 1xday--hes eating a little dry kitty chow and all of his treats.  I paid $12.00 for Metamucil capsules which when mixed with his food he won't have anything to do with.  Is Mirolax different than Metamucil?  Because I will for sure try it.  We've been told that he may have a digestive problem so have been advised to get Royal Canin Fiber Responsive food.  I'm soooo worried about Kobe that its starting to take a toll on me.  Also, he's drinking normally.  Please guys--if there is something that you can suggest that I haven't already tried---I'm all ears!  Thank you for your time.

I would definitely use the Miralax instead of the metamucil as a preventive.  The Metamucil is fiber which bulks up the stool and may add to the problem.  The Miralax draws water into the colon.  As a preventive you could start with 1/8 teaspoon twice a day and adjust the dosage, the idea being to keep things moving without diarrhea.  I have read that it shouldn't be given to a cat that is already constipated though.  You may need to get your kitty another enema.  Not very enjoyable I know but an enema can only go so far in removing stool there may have been some left.  Hopefully it has moved down some so a 2nd enema would finish the job.

Most kitties don't notice the Miralax mixed into their wet food.

I believe Miralax if in powder form should be mixed with a little water first, check with your vet.

What Metimucil capsules did you use? Where did you get them? When one of my boys was constipated, my vet told me to give him it was either 1/4 teaspoon, or 1/8 teaspoon, forget now, once a day, of Metimucil, but, it has to be the unflavored and sugar free one. He only got it for like a week or two, until things returned to normal.  I made the pharmacist pick it out, vet even wrote up a prescription for it, lol, told me to ask the pharmacist.

There is no taste, its the consistancy that they notice, so ya gotta mix it with a good amount of wet food, or baby food.

Another thing you can try, is Petromalt, its a hairball remedy, but yrs ago, when one kitty swallowed a string and it started to come out, he had me dose him twice a day, double the amount, until it passed. Just last week, had a kitten that was passing hard stools. I gave him 2 big does of the Petromalt, and he was fine the next day.

Baby food, like the whole jar, will give them the runs, found that out the hard way, when I forgot to take his food to the hotel, and all I had, was baby food, he ate the whole jar.

Kitties, just like peoples, need water, to move things along. If this is starting to be a habit, its possible, he is not getting enough water in his system. You might want to try just giving him wet, mixed with water, so its like a soup, to get things moving again. 

Mine get wet mixed with water every day, to keep them flushed out, so they don't get urinary issues.

Just some things I thought of. Hope he is feeling better soon.        

Hi there,

Sorry to read about the troubles your kitty is having with constipation. I feel for this situation as our Max (nine year old brown tabby) has been experiencing problems as well off and on in the last 2 years.

Some thoughts here, which may not be in any order : Just like humans, when cats go through the enema process they will definitely not be feeling all that well afterward. The urge to poop is lessened as there is less waste in the system. I would expect that it could take a few days for your kitty to get back to normal.

I think if your cat is eating, this is a good sign as if he was not, or worse was vomiting, the situation would be much more dire, signalling that there could be a blockage somewhere. It does sound like your kitty may have a digestive problem. Rather than go straight to the Royal Canin High Fibre route, I would look into probiotics for your cat to see if this can help him process his food better. Fortiflora from Purina, is one such probiotic, but there are others. The Royal Canin food is full of grains which can introduce other problems down the road. Also, one of the main ingredients in the Royal Canin is psyllium fibre, but this is something you can get as a single ingredient if it is found to be necessary. I had our Max on the Medi-Cal High Fibre food (Royal Canin) and found that while it did help to bulk up and soften his stools, he didn't always poop everyday and I also noticed that he became quite bloated on this food which I attribute to the high grain content.

I would caution against drawing the conclusion that this problem is the result of not getting enough fibre and adding more fibre in the hopes of fixing it. As cats are obligate carnivores, their diet is high in protein and very low in fibre. There may be other reasons your cat is constipated. Being a young cat, he could a deficiency of some kind or food allergy. Something in the food that you are giving him that he isn't processing well. Look at the ingredients of all of your cat food. You mentioned Metamucil which is also a psyllium fibre product and a popular product for constipation in humans, but there are different Metamucil products with different ingredients such as artificial colors which are produced from petroleum which can be detrimental to cats. As mentioned above, if psyllium is found to be something your cat should be taking, you can get this as a product by itself or from some good organic, grain-free dry foods. 

You mentioned pumpkin which is a good natural fibre source to prevent constipation. I give this to both of my boys every two days (my little female doesn't like it so much). Pumpkin can also help to control hairballs. Once a cat is constipated, I don't believe that pumpkin or any other kind of fibre is appropriate to give to fix the problem but rather I think it just adds to the problem.

You mentioned Miralax which is a laxative or stool softener. The Miralax can be helpful to get things going again. There is also Lactulose which worked on our Max with good results to get him pooping. Dosage of either of these products is very important. Giving once or twice a day to get things going, but then backing off to a maintenance dosage (if necessary). Always talk with your vet before giving these products.

Regular fresh drinking water is good as it helps to hydrate the colon. When our Max seemed particularly uncomfortable during one of his episodes, I would give him gentle belly massages, working from the top to the end of his belly which helped to relax him. Ensuring that the litterbox is clean at all times and in a place that is quiet and safe. Our Max is very picky about his litterbox and will not go if he feels it is not clean enough. A few times when Max was holding onto his poop, I thought to change the litterbox even though it was good for at least another day, and voila, he went in and had a bowel movement right after. Increasing the amount of physical activity of your cat, can also help. Playing one on one (laser pointers are good for this), giving your cat things that will help to counteract boredom.

When Max's constipation was deemed chronic, I started a journal to keep track of what he ate, what drugs or products he was given and most importantly when he had a bowel movement and what this was like in some detail. This really helped to track progress in giving clues as to what was working, and what was not. It was also helpful information to share with our vet.

We switched from the Royal Canin High Fibre recently to a nearly grain-free dry that does not contain soy, wheat or corn. Today, all of our cats get grain-free Wellness wet food in the morning and then 1/4 cup each twice a day of dry food that does not contain soy, wheat or corn. So far so good. One of my new years resolutions is to make the attempt to get all cats away from the dry food and maybe onto a totally raw diet. We will see.

I hope something in the above can be helpful to you 3kittycity. Don't despair. There is hope. You will just need to find out what works for Kobe and you will

I feel for your kitty as my cat has had chronic constipation for a few years now. You got a lot of good advice and I really can't add much to this but I did finally break down and am trying the Royal Canin fiber response food. I did and do all those things everyone has suggested but still have a constipated cat. I don't know if this will work but I have been so frustrated and the vet bills are putting a lot of stress on me. I live on a very small amount of money a month. We just started the food and she has had a bowel movement every day. She has always went every 2 or 3 days so I am hopeful it will work for her. I still give her Miralax twice a day and just started her on a probiotic as well.

I wish you the best of luck. I know how hard it is dealing with a cat that does not feel well when constipated.

I too am dealing with a constipated cat, she had an enema last week.  I have been doing a lot of reading and here is what I am doing for her, she is on Miralax 1/4 teaspoon twice a day, Low Fiber diet (under 1.0-1.5%) as it has been determined that Low fiber is best as it helps them have smaller stools which are easier to pass than bulky fiber rich stools.  DeeJay is on an all canned food diet, just getting hard treats every so often.   I would go with the Miralax over the Metamucil and I would cut out the pumpkin as it adds additional fiber.  Miralax is tasteless, and my picky kitty who can pick out ANYTHING in her food has had no problems in taking it.  My kitty had diarrhea stoosl about 24 hours after her enema. 

Hi all = Denise, StephenQ, Flint McCullough, 1andahalfcats, snugglecat, cprcheetah and everyone else--thank you guys so much for your wisdom with this problem. I forgot to tell you when I 1st posted, what the Vet said caused his blockage and I can actually say with all the articles I've read, I haven't heard of clumping litter to be the cause. And it makes since 2 because Kobe is just getting the hang of hygiene. Doc said he got some on him, digested it, instant blockage at the end--gritty he said. I've had too clean him up when we 1st got him. Back Then-it was loose stools. Ok. So I'm thinking only wet food, no pumpkin until he can go regularly, and the miralax. Tomorrow, I'm sure, another anemia @the vets..but we'll see what Dr. Timmy has to say. Kobe is so sad it kills me! @Snugglecat-my goodness! Years now you've gone thru this? Holy cow I'd be a wreck! I also live on limited funds a month especially in the winter so I'm so nervous this will be something worse that I can't afford. Thanks again you guys. I'm goin to take him off all dry except his treats and make sure I can give him the Miralax. Its killing me that he's so depressed. I've got to figure this out.....