So frustrated and sad for my kitty :(

Ok, I'll try to make this quick. My cat, Clancey, is the sweetest kitty in the world and he has had a myriad of health problems related to his bladder and colon. The most serious is the chronic constipation. I don't think he has megacolon quite yet, but I feel like that is really close to happening. He had a bladder obstruction from crystals about four years ago. Since then he has been on a prescription diet (Hills C/D). I give him the wet canned food because the dry food makes him obese really quickly. However, he has terrible constipation and it has gotten worse. I've tried yams, pumpkin, psyllium, lactone etc with almost no results. Now I'm thinking of trying to switch him to a RAW diet because I don't know what else to do. I can't deal with watching him suffer anymore and I don't know if I should just throw in the towel and have him put to sleep or what. That would be devastating, but his life sucks right now and it kills me to see it. Any advice???

I am sorry your cat is having health issues. You might want to read some of the threads in the raw diet forum.

http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-home-cooked-cat-food

Unfortunately there is no one size fits all for chronic constipation.  My kitty has issues linked to IBD.  I didn't see Miralax on your list many kitties do well on it even if lactulose didn't work.  I know it doesn't make a lot of sense.  I did read that they work a little differently, lactulose draws water into the colon, miralax retains water in the colon.  I don't know if that makes a difference.  Many people have good luck with slippery elm bark, it coats the digestive tract.  If kitty is on medication there needs to be at least 2 hours between giving the SEB and giving the medication.  Coating the digestive tract affects how the medication is absorbed.

Many kitties also do well when the fiber in the diet is reduced.  That seems wrong also but I think it's reducing bulking fiber that helps.

One thing if you do decide to try a raw or cooked diet you will want to be careful about the amount of bone in the diet.  It can contribute to constipation.  You may want to use eggshell calcium instead of bone.  If you go the premixed route there are premixes that contain eggshell calcium rather than the bone.

I was also going to suggest slippery elm bark.  I have two kitties with IBD.  Their issue is diarrhea and the SEB really helps with that, but it's also used for constipation.  

evaunitross said:

 
Ok, I'll try to make this quick. My cat, Clancey, is the sweetest kitty in the world and he has had a myriad of health problems related to his bladder and colon. The most serious is the chronic constipation. I don't think he has megacolon quite yet, but I feel like that is really close to happening. He had a bladder obstruction from crystals about four years ago. Since then he has been on a prescription diet (Hills C/D). I give him the wet canned food because the dry food makes him obese really quickly. However, he has terrible constipation and it has gotten worse. I've tried yams, pumpkin, psyllium, lactone etc with almost no results. Now I'm thinking of trying to switch him to a RAW diet because I don't know what else to do. I can't deal with watching him suffer anymore and I don't know if I should just throw in the towel and have him put to sleep or what. That would be devastating, but his life sucks right now and it kills me to see it. Any advice???

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I am very sorry to hear about your kitty's condition .. I have a male cat who had been dealing with constipation on and off for about two years, and so know how painful and uncomfortable this can be, for cats, and frustrating for cat parents when nothing seems to work.

It could be that your kitty is not responding to the Hills diet due to the Rice and Oat Fiber content. If you have tried things like pumpkin, psyllium and other types of fiber with no success, then this would be a strong indication that your cat needs to be on a low to no-fiber diet. So in other words, no kibble and wet canned that is grain-free. Does your kitty drink lots of water normally? If not, I would start adding water to his wet meal, and look into another type of wet canned food such as Wellness, Wellness CORE, Nature's Variety, EVO. These foods are high in protein, low in carbs. The raw diet would be fine, but, not all cats take to it right off, and it is wise to get the constipation under control before going to this type of diet.

I have used Slippery Elm Bark with very good results for my male cat. There are other members here who have also used Slippery Elm Bark with good results. I would also suggest that you look into introducing a good probiotic with 10 billion CFU (or live cultures). You can read more about Slippery Elm at Dr. Jean Hofvre's page, here : http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/

So sorry to read about Clancey!

My cat Tim had two very bad constipation episodes, though it was never chronic. He also had struvite crystals with one urinalysis, though he never blocked. Right now, his urine is great and he is pooping regularly as we wean him off cisapride, a medication prescribed by many veterinarians for chronic constipation.

Try another wet food, one without grains and is lower carb. Stay away from fish, as that seems to cause problems with struvite crystals in some kitties. Add water to the wet food to keep him hydrated and his bladder flushed; this may also help with his bowel movements. Read this site if you haven't already: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth.

In Tim's case, eliminating fish from his diet resolved the struvite crystal problem within a week or so; either that, or the urinalysis was a false positive. Improving his digestion seems to be working with his bowel movements, although it's too soon to declare victory. However, I am seeing a lot of signs of improvement.  Tim is eating Nature's Variety Instinct canned food, which is a good-quality food without a lot of fillers, gums, etc. He gets a probiotic each morning. He was getting a tiny, tiny amount (~1/16 tsp) of psyllium mixed with A LOT of water most days in the evening. Now we are alternating with a tiny, tiny, tiny amount of slippery elm and he gets one or the other just a few days a week. We will continue to taper further, as I think small amounts of fiber could be beneficial on occasion, but too much seems to cause problems. If you haven't already, read this site: http://www.felineconstipation.org/.

If the more natural remedies don't work, you could try Miralax. I've read many people have success with that, though I have not tried this with Tim (so far, have had no need). Worst case, you could talk with your veterinarian about cisapride, though this is an expensive drug with some scary side effects, which is why we had to try to wean our cat off.