help! i have a cat with severe megacolon

Hi!

I am hoping that someone can help me or give me some advice.  I adopted the sweetest cat annie about 2 years ago (in march.) The foster couple had given me annie with fiber pills.  i continued to give them to her but this past summer I noticed that she was pooping outside the litter box and she was straining and it was rock hard.  my heart broke for her.  I took her to the vet and they had to keep her overnight and use an enema.  this happened about once a month to now 2 times a week!!!!! I will do anything for her bc she is my everything and I will not put her through the surgery bc she is 10 and there are way to many complications!  I owe my vet a lot of money bc I have to keep taking her in every week sometimes twice a week.  she is literally not going at all in between enemas.  they have her on the max dose of cisapride-2 in the morning and 2 at night with 1ml twice a day of lactulose.  she is still not going and has not gone since I picked her up on Friday from the vet after having yet another enema.  I only feed her canned food-she wont eat hard food which is good I guess.  I give her science diet.  I don't want to lose her......I cry everyday and pray.  I have been reading that people have had great success with miralax.  if so, can you tell me how much I can give her bc I am desperate and will do anything to make her comfortable and keep her in my life......thank you!

to TCS!

I don't have any experience with megacolon, but perhaps these threads will help while you're waiting for responses from people who do:
http://www.thecatsite.com/newsearch?search=megacolon

You should post this in the health section of the website. I've seen a lot of people posting their stories of megacolon treatment on there.

start with 1/8 of a teaspoon of Miralax. if that doesn't work after 3 days, increase to 1/4 of a teaspoon. 

if cisapride isn't working, other colonic prokinetic drugs can be tried, such as ranitidine (Zantac) or nizatidine (Axid).

Miralax worked wonders for my cat Poppy. She couldn't go at all and ended up having to have enemas under anaesthetic. Tried Lactulose which did work but was very messy. Miralax just gets mixed into their wet food and is tasteless and odourless. They don't know they're getting it so I would definitely give Miralax a try.

You need to get on or join the Megacolon  website. When my Lloyd was diagnosed with early kidney decline (CRF/CKD) he started having constipation issues. I took him in several times for enemas, once for a big clean out, which is hard on an older cat (under anathesia) The people on that site have all kinds of things they give to their constipated kittys. Olive oil, coconut oil, Miralax is a big one, cispiride etc. Sometimes you have to watch out for too much fiber. Also check the label on those prescription foods. I think they may have a lot of carbohydrates. And I don't think food with vegetables is the answer either. Pumpkin added to food can go both ways - constipation or so called fiber to stools. I think Soulistic brand (Petsco or Petsmart's brand, made by Weruva) has a chicken with pumpkin gravy. I was going to look into Soulistic as rotation in diet.

I just fed my 3 kitties the Soulistic Chicken with pumpkin and the Good Karma Chicken dinner in gravy. They enjoyed the Good Karma, but the Pumpkin gravy was a real hit! I feed the littlest one seperatly from the other 2, and I have never seen a cat lick so fast! So this stuff seems pretty good. It is made by Weruva for Petco.  I read the reviews on several cites, but the only negative review was about 1 ingredient that the person stated was bad and Weruva had gotten in trouble with. The chicken is small shred. The pumpkin seemed to have more water, therefore a teaspoon less of chicken than the Good Karma. It's not real cheap, and only has 8  cans per flat,(5.5 oz )  The one thing mentioned by a reviewer, was that the phosphorus was low, which is good for CRF/CRD kitties. All I can say is that I have never seen my kitties eat anything that fast!

poppysmummy said:

Miralax worked wonders for my cat Poppy. She couldn't go at all and ended up having to have enemas under anaesthetic. Tried Lactulose which did work but was very messy. Miralax just gets mixed into their wet food and is tasteless and odourless. They don't know they're getting it so I would definitely give Miralax a try.

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I did miralax with mine I just had to experiment until I found the right dosage to give here.

Please get on the Feline Megacolon website. You may just have to to your vet where they can possibly give kitty an in office enema. If your cat is horribly blocked with very hard stool, they may either give a series of enemas, or under  anesthetic do a dig out. You really need to get to your vet! you posted over 3 days ago. Did you have any luck with kitty pooping? Miralax can work, but actually more so after kitty is cleared out, and then with food at least 2 times per day with, or actually prior to meals.

The problem with any of this is that if the cats poop is hard and cat is constipated the bowel is not absorbing water to keep the stool soft. No matter what you give the cat to go to the bathroom you run the risk of dehydration. It's hard to hydrate a cat at the best of time. No matter what you must always weigh the risk. If the vet emptied the bowel the cat probably wouldn't go for a couple of days anyway, it takes time to fill back up etc. the big question is why the bowel is not absorbing enough moisture to keep things moving.

Please don't try any kind of treatment without discussing it with your vet first. I realize you're already spending a lot of money with that vet. I think they should at least talk to you over the phone and give you their opinion on using Miralax or any other drug, OTC or otherwise, changes in dosage or anything else, without charging for a phone consultation. 

@meemchops Enough water is a huge factor as far as constipation.  I know that getting some cats to drink enough water is really hard.  You said that you feed Annie wet catfood.  Mix water in with that so it's kind of soupy.  If she doesn't go for that then try a little less water. 

I agree with keyes on the water being added. Also you might review what Science Diet puts in their food. Per a review website I was reading, SD uses a lot of corn, possibly soy and carrageen. To me the food is lacking in nutrients, proteins such as meat. I know that a lot of vets suggest these diets, but if you take a look at Lisa Pierson DMV website, you will see what cats really need. She also has a list canned foods. Has your cat been tested for kidney values. A lot of cats with kidney issues become constipated. I know how expensive vet visits can be - I have 4 cats!

Anne with Cats said:

You need to get on or join the Megacolon  website. When my Lloyd was diagnosed with early kidney decline (CRF/CKD) he started having constipation issues. I took him in several times for enemas, once for a big clean out, which is hard on an older cat (under anathesia) The people on that site have all kinds of things they give to their constipated kittys. Olive oil, coconut oil, Miralax is a big one, cispiride etc. Sometimes you have to watch out for too much fiber. Also check the label on those prescription foods. I think they may have a lot of carbohydrates. And I don't think food with vegetables is the answer either. Pumpkin added to food can go both ways - constipation or so called fiber to stools. I think Soulistic brand (Petsco or Petsmart's brand, made by Weruva) has a chicken with pumpkin gravy. I was going to look into Soulistic as rotation in diet.

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What website are you referring to?

K kittycort it's the yahoo group for megacolon