Trying to pull out poo stuck in rectum?

lvnoah

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Hi,

Warning: might be graphic . . .My cat Noah, who suffers from megacolon, has been suffering from constipation the last few days.  I was just about to call the vet to make an appointment when I noticed that a large, hard piece of poop is stuck right at the end of his rectum.  His anus is dilated and I can see it and feel it with my finger.  Is there something I can use to help pull this thing out?  I squirted some mineral oil around the edges but I don't know if that will help or not.  I also don't know if I should try to break it up with my finger - I don't want to push it further back in by accident.  I also know that this piece of poop was not there yesterday, because I felt inside him with my pinky finger and couldn't feel anything.  So I think the poop has moved down his colon on its own. 

I'm hoping that once the blockage comes out, it will end his constipation issues.  So I know I'm being a little impatient.  I just don't want all the vet offices to close later without him going.  I wish they made a vacuum tool or something!  Any ideas on how to  help this thing out?

Thanks!

Natalie
 

red top rescue

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You can certainly break it up with your finger and extract it in pieces.  You need to slide your finger behind the lump if you can and break off pieces of it from the inside toward the outside of him -- once you get the diameter reduced, he should be able to push out the rest.  One of the problems with megacolon is that the poop pieces are bigger than the anal opening, so if they are hard, they get stuck.  You can also use a baby enema that's just oil as a lubricant by squirting a little of it behind the piece if necessary.  Hopefully you can break it up some with your fingers.  Those masses sometimes feel like they are full of little rocks.  If you are not doing so already, it's advisable to give him cooked pumpkin in with his food.  You can buy it canned or cook it yourself, just make sure it's pure pumpkin if you buy canned, not pumpkin pie mix!
 

denice

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For myself I would probably take him to the vet's office and have it taken care of there but then I am a nervous nellie.  I have probably helped put a couple of different vet's kids through college.  Red Top Rescue is as her name implies involved in rescue so she knows a lot more about taking care of these things yourself.

Have you tried Miralax.  Many people with kitties that have constipation issues use it daily to keep things moving along.  You have to experiment with the dosage to get it right.  Is kitty on wet food?  That helps because it keeps kitty hydrated.  The Miralax is a tasteless powder than can be mixed in with wet food.
 
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lvnoah

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Thank you both so much for your responses.

Red Top Rescue - So it's okay for me to slide my finger behind the blockage?  I wasn't sure how much the anal opening/rectum can stretch and I was scared of perforation.  Also, can I push the blockage against the rectal wall to break off the pieces?  Once again, I'm scared about doing more damage especially since the poo is so hard - I'm not sure if I will be able to break it up.

Denice - I know what you mean about being a nervous nellie.  I'm the same way!  I also always joke that we helped build the new wing of the vet's office.  I wish Noah wasn't so petrified of the car and the vet.  If he wasn't, I would bring him in right away.  I think you're right about the miralax.  He's been on lactulose which I think stopped working and caused this whole mess.  From now on, he is getting miralax instead.
 

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If you can slide your finger (usually the little finger) in beside the lump and a little behind the blockage, you can usually break up the lump by curling your finger towards the opening, not the wall of the rectum, and depending on the size of the lump, which you lubricated, it MIGHT pop out or you might be able to break it up.  I have done this, gross but effective.  Nothing ruptured and I pressed against the lump, not agains the wall.  If you find this doesn't work, then off to the vet you go right away!
 
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lvnoah

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Thanks again Red Top Rescue, I went ahead and did it.  I pulled out a hard poo!  My vet also called me back in the meantime and he said I could try it as well so I figured I may as well go for it.  After I pulled out the poo, I inserted a little mineral oil with the enema bottle to help keep things lubricated.

There is one thing that is bothering me though.  After I pulled out the hard stool, I reinserted my pink finger and couldn't feel any other poo inside.  I thought there would have been a big back up in there.  Could he possibly have more poo that is stuck further up?

Thanks,

Natalie
 

red top rescue

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Since you were able to remove the initial obstructing fecalith, that prevented any serious backup from happening.  That's why there was nothing behind it at this time, because it wasn't stuck long.  Usually the intestine can expand enough to move those things on down (that's what megacolon is, basically, an overly large colon.)  The problem occurs when the colon sends something down that is bigger around than the exit it has to pass through and also too hard to reshape itself and thus gets stuck.  You are now experienced in unblocking a megacolon cat, and you can advise others.  Congratulations! I learned the same way you did, by doing it.  I did have a megacolon kitten for awhile -- someone turned him in as a stray and he had a huge fat belly so I named him Piglet.  It turned out he did have megacolon and was badly blocked.  It took several days in the hospital and several enemas and a vet to get him right again, but he would have died if someone had not turned him in.  After that, my vet told me to add pumpkin to his food, which he liked, so he rarely had any trouble with blocking again.  Hopefully Noah will do as well as Piglet did.
 
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lvnoah

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Thanks Red Top Rescue!

It helps so much to have advice from someone who experienced this.  Piglet is such a cute name.  I nicknamed my kitty "tubby butt" for the same reason lol. 
 
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