Lactulose and Impacted Bowel Recovery

Is this normal? Any recommendations? Thinking of stopping Lactulose dosage.

This is his first time with this issue that I'm aware of. I adopted him and his sister in February.

The situation:
Last week, Boots (8 years old, male) was taken to the vet after being sick all weekend.
It started out with him licking and swallowing all night on that Friday. Saturday morning he threw up right after eating breakfast - 3 different times. I took him in to the vet and they gave me Laxatone to help him pass what we thought was a hairball. I brought him home. He was even more lethargic throughout the day. No interest in food, but he would drink. He threw up 4 more times that day, and again at 5am on Sunday. Then I noticed him straining when trying to poop. That night, he kept meowing like he wasn't feeling well, so I took him back first thing Monday morning.

They gave him a radiograph, determined he was "backed up" and kept him overnight for an enema and anal gland expression. Tuesday evening, I brought him back home. He wasn't himself, but I was told that was normal. Still just sleeping a lot. Also drinking a lot - but he was eating. He threw up once on Wednesday and hasn't since. The vet also gave him Lactulose - 2cc once per day as needed. He has gone to the bathroom more regularly, and I was told he had been entirely emptied out before coming home.

He's now been on the Lactulose for a week (the vet said at least 3 to 4 days when she gave me the bottle, I just wanted to be sure he was okay). Last night he did the same licking and swallowing thing that he did the very first night. I have him his medicine this morning, and he did drink some water. No interest in food that I have been able to see (although I am at work during the day). I went home during lunch, and he had moved around and even went out for some fresh air on the patio. Still licking and swallowing. He has not thrown up though.

I have noticed that his breath has gotten bad - which I hadn't noticed before having to give him medicine orally.

Poor Boots! He must be so uncomfortable.

What does he eat?

I have read more success stories from those using Miralax over Lactulose. I also use Miralax for my old boy (Boo) with chronic constipation. If you're from Canada, it's called Restoralax.

They were raised on 9Lives Indoor Complete dry food.

I ended up taking him back to the vet for a recheck. She determined that it was a toothache that may have caused the whole thing - his gums were bleeding a bit, he was drooling, etc. She gave him a shot of antibiotics and anti inflammatory medicine, and I was told to call back and give an update on Thursday. In the mean time, I'm seeing if he will even go for wet food. The vet sold me a few cans to try, and he did eat some of it when we got home yesterday.

She said with his teeth hurting, and the enamel being attacked by bacteria, that it could be that he didn't chew his dry food as well as normal. Which made the food a little harder to digest, leading to him being backed up. And we wouldn't have noticed his breath going bad without having to give him an oral medicine, where I'm forced to be closer to his face and make him open his mouth.

If the shot doesn't work, she said we will talk other treatment options. One possibility being that we remove the tooth/teeth that are being attacked by the bacteria and causing the pain.

I'm not a vet and I understand anything's possible, but I would personally question such frequent vomiting being a result of a toothache.

Licking, swallowing, and drooling are also signs of nausea in cats. That coupled with the vomiting and lethargy really raise red flags for me that something else might be going on.

It's common for kitties who have chronic constipation problems to experience nausea and what we humans would call heartburn.  Just like if you have problems with constipation, you can develop heartburn and your tummy just doesn't feel well.  It's the same with kitties.  The lactulose should help him keep things moving.  You can also add plain canned pumpkin, about 1t twice a day, to wet food, mix, and serve.  The pumpkin will help make stool softer and help it pass easier.  Be sure to use plain pureed pumpkin, not pumpking pie filling.  Also, talk to the vet about giving him an antacid such as Pepcid.  That will help settle the tummy and he'll feel more like eating.  Also, warm up wet food in the microwave for a few seconds to enhance the aroma and entice him to eat.  Sometimes, plain meat baby food (chicken or turkey) is also good for ailing kitties.

Yes, I totally agree. It could be signs of other things. My nerves are definitely a little more handled - I feel better knowing that it's something that we can treat and knowing that I'm doing what I can to help him get better.

He hasn't vomited except for one time since being home, besides passing a hairball.

He went for the wet food yesterday evening and this morning. He managed to keep it down, and judging from the dry food bowl, he helped my other cat out some today. He's not too interested in the wet food that I put down this evening. At least until I put a few pieces of dry in it just now.

Since he's been going for running water, i also went ahead and bought the pet fountain that I had been thinking of getting before any of this started. He's been a lot more willing to drink running water the past few days, and he's already drinking from it and lounging beside it. Maybe this means I won't be woken up by requests to turn the bathroom sink on. His sister, Socks, has checked it out as well. I'm not sure how she feels about it, but I'm leaving a regular bowl down too, just in case.

Tomorrow I am supposed to call the vet with an update, so we're hanging tight for now. Hopefully we have an idea of what to better expect next after the talk tomorrow, and know what else needs to be done or needs to happen. I'm ready for my Boots to feel normal again. It breaks my heart seeing him not feel good.