Constipated cat! Help!

My cat Lily is constipated. We took her to the vet on Sunday because we thought she had a UTI. She does have one but she is also very constipated. They gave her an enema and she didn't go until Monday. Though only a little bit and not nearly as much as she should have gone. She went again on Tuesday (again a very small amount). On Tuesday night I gave her some pumpkin. Not much.. I gave her some in a syringe and she probably got only 1/4-1/2 teaspoon, but she seemed like her stomach was upset all night and had diarrhea the next morning. But even then it wasn't a lot. I'm getting worried.. What should I do? I heard miralax can help so I mixed some in with her wet food today and she refused to eat it. Help!

How old is Lily What do you feed her? Is she on antibiotics for UTI? Did the vet perform any blood tests to check for kidney function?     Mirilax   should be tasteless, but only works on newly forming stool.  Did you ad enough water with Mirilax ?

Lily is 7 years old. I usually feed her friskies.. I know that it's not the best, but it's what Ivan afford right now.. She's in clavamox for the UTI, and the vet didn't do any blood tests or anything. I tried giving her the miralax again with a different flavor of food and she ate it, so I'm guessing she just didn't like that flavor

Sorry I didn't get back right away. The Miralax needs to have additional water mixed in with food. It takes awhile for Miralax to work, as it softens the newly forming stool. Pumpkin can work either way, as a bulking agent (fiber) or can cause a looser stool. Cisparide  causes the colon to contract, stimulates bowel movement. The reason for blood tests, especially because your cat is approaching "middle age" is to determine her kidney values, thyroid, diabetes etc. Vet also should test urine, which the vet should try to get for a cleaner catch. I would say to keep using the Miralax, add water or broth to food. It will take a few days for Miailax to start working. Increase dose if need be,and maybe that pumpkin helped, now that you have opposite results. She may have just had something blocking her, hairball?  The UTI  could have been causing stress to her system, and now she is antibiotics, so probably causing  runs. You might try some sort of probiotic, or something to balance her gut flora. Good luck, it's so hard to see them straining.

so, the vet gave an enema but didn't recommend or prescribe anything? well, anne gave good info and advice. but if the miralax doesn't work, you can ask your vet to prescribe something like lactulose or cisapride. 

Also look into slippery elm bark. It I supposed to soothe the colon. I believe you make a tea out of it, use it mixed with her food.

She went twice today, not sure if it had anything to do with the Miralax or just a coincidence. I've noticed that she's not really eating though. I've seen her go to her food bowl a few times, but she only ate a few pieces. Since she's been on the antibiotics she doesn't always want to eat, but she would always eat treats. She won't even look at the treats or anything now. I'm getting worried.. Could this be side effects of the antibiotics? Should I call the vet again?

princess7807 said:

She went twice today, not sure if it had anything to do with the Miralax or just a coincidence. I've noticed that she's not really eating though. I've seen her go to her food bowl a few times, but she only ate a few pieces. Since she's been on the antibiotics she doesn't always want to eat, but she would always eat treats. She won't even look at the treats or anything now. I'm getting worried.. Could this be side effects of the antibiotics? Should I call the vet again?

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i would since the constipation is easing. it could be nausea caused by the antibiotics. if so, the vet could prescribe anti-nausea meds.

Why not try an old formula from the days before vets - good old fashioned extra virgin olive oil - kitty may not like the taste but if you can get someone to hold the mouth open and use a tablespoon that should help loosen things up. Mix with a little warm water.  Works for humans too!! Humans need 4 tablespoons and can mix with honey to sweeten the taste.

My wife and I maintained Bart Bart with lactulose for years. Occasionally he would need a edema(vet, not human!!. Human edemas can kill a cat).

If she had an episode of diarrhea after she defecated post-enema, Miralax should be withheld for 12 hours to let that diarrhea resolve.

Miralax is usually only recommended by a vet if a cat has a repeat episode of constipation, is prone to low thirst and not drinking enough, which contributes to a packed hard stool without enough water in the colon to keep it normal moist consistency, or in cats that had a first episode that was very detrimental, needing sedation, deobstipation, and multiple enemas to evacuate the colon. Cats with a morphologically tiny pelvis, megacolon, or a neuro deficit contributing to poor movement of stool are automatically placed on it.

When it is recommended, only 1/8tsp once to twice daily is needed to keep stool consistency formed and moist at the same time.

Some folks get gelcaps, and fill these with the powdered med they need to get down their cat, when a cat refuses to comply when you "slip him a mickey" or lace his food. Works great for those that pill their cat by hand, down the throat, and chase with water to ensure swallowed and not stuck in the esophagus.

On antibiotics, Lily may have GI side effects common to cats, and this caused the diarrhea. What is her urinary behavior now? Straining in the box, frequent urination, small volumes many times, etc? She may not need it, or need to wait to continue until her current colitis resolves, aka no more diarrhea and gut flora has returned to normal.

Bladder infections are very very rare in cats. Their urine just doesn't grow bacteria the way dogs and humans' urine does. When they aren't urinating normally, we worry more about inflammation (cystitis) that can be brought on by holding the bladder and not urinating too long, dehydration, or stress. Also, in female cats less so than male cats, crystals or stones in the bladder can lead to partial obstruction, or blood in the urine, leading to less urine production despite a big bladder, and straining. Blood from the crystals cutting into the bladder wall can eventually grow bacteria, but this would be after many days of abnormal litterbox behavior. Girls tend to get cystitis; boys tend to get obstructed urethras, the tiny channel from bladder to penis. It's more likely Lily has cystitis than an infection, and discontinuing her antibiotics, even temporarily, is worth discussing with her vet while her colon recovers.

Hope Lily improves, stays hydrated, and eats better. If avoiding food, she may be suspicious it's laced again, so trying a different stinky wet food flavor of the brand you prefer to feed her that hasn't been tried with the meds mixed in yet is a good idea to get her eating. Food avoidance due to a negative association may last a while with a particular flavor/consistency with our overly intelligent, suspicious felines.

Sorry I'm late to reply. We finished the antibiotics and Lily is eating normally and acting more like herself now. But yesterday after going twice a few days ago she didn't go (as far as i know.. she might have gone in the other litter box that my other cats use as well) for two days and then had diarrhea yesterday and she threw up. The throw up was pretty much all undigested food. She hadn't gone to the bathroom today, but went in the litter box a few minutes ago and sat there for a few minutes straining and there ending up only being one tiny piece.. I feel like I should take her back to the vet, but I've been holding off because I don't know if I can afford it.   Now that she's eating normally she will most likely eat the wet food again, so I'm probably going to start giving her the Miralax again tomorrow. Also, how often should I give her the Miralax? Last time I gave her 1/8 teaspoon. Should I give it to her twice a day or is once fine?