What else can I do?

My cat Norris who is 6-7 years old, nurtured male has been hospitalized twice this month for not going poo.


There has been a few changes to my home, we took a wall down in our restroom and had roommates move in. During the construction one of my cats urinated on my bed, we start shutting the cats off to this room as well (we have opened this room back up this week). We also have him groomed for the first time due to having diarrhea the first time he came home from the vet.

The first trip to the vet he had a blockage.

The second trip the vet found blood in Norris' stool but felt it was just from the constipation.

Norris just recently returned home this past week, I changed his food to a high fiber dry food. I've also been giving him calming and probiotic treats, I even purchased a thundershirt (that he hates and gets mad when he wears it). He is also on a laxative and antibiotics.

He is on his 2nd day of no BM and my vet bills are starting to add up.

What else can I do?

chelseameow said:

My cat Norris who is 6-7 years old, nurtured male has been hospitalized twice this month for not going poo.



There has been a few changes to my home, we took a wall down in our restroom and had roommates move in. During the construction one of my cats urinated on my bed, we start shutting the cats off to this room as well (we have opened this room back up this week). We also have him groomed for the first time due to having diarrhea the first time he came home from the vet.

The first trip to the vet he had a blockage.


The second trip the vet found blood in Norris' stool but felt it was just from the constipation.

Norris just recently returned home this past week, I changed his food to a high fiber dry food. I've also been giving him calming and probiotic treats, I even purchased a thundershirt (that he hates and gets mad when he wears it). He is also on a laxative and antibiotics.

He is on his 2nd day of no BM and my vet bills are starting to add up.

What else can I do?

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Hi,

I assume he's eating ok?  Was he diagnosed with anything besides constipation like megacolon?  Did he get an enema at the vet?   If not this might be the way to go.  You could also add canned pumpkin to his food to loosen his stool, and some people use milk as a laxative as cats are lactose intolerant. 

StephenQ said:

Hi,
I assume he's eating ok?  Was he diagnosed with anything besides constipation like megacolon?  Did he get an enema at the vet?   If not this might be the way to go.  You could also add canned pumpkin to his food to loosen his stool, and some people use milk as a laxative as cats are lactose intolerant. 

Click to expand...

He has received an enema twice now at the vet. I changed his food to a high fiber diet but I'm worried his behavior maybe behavioral.

2 options. ACV very carefully? Use a dropper and less of it than water shake and give but make sure he knows mommy knows its yucky. Other cure so its both options, this ones for bowels. xlax or similar. Go easy and never put it in water. Enemas are cruel and harsh. You should see him poopy in the jitter box in no time. ACV helps everything? Hope this helps

With constipation, high fiber is sometimes a bad thing. It depends on what is causing the constipation, and really, on the individual. The idea behind high fiber diets is to add bulk to the stool and that is supposed to help the body push the stool out. If the body does not move the stool out, you just end up even more constipated with an even larger poo stuck in there. Many vets advise a high fiber diet for constipation, and unfortunately, often times it just makes matters worse.

It is good to start with canned pumpkin and the natural remedies first (like milk or fish oil), and move up from there. Each kitty is different and sometimes you have to try a few different remedies before you find the one that works for you. I had a cat with chronic constipation issues and the only thing that helped her was Miralax, the over-the-counter human constipation med. We actually used the much cheaper generic version from Walmart, and it was like a miracle drug for her. If you enter 'Miralax' in the Cat Site search bar, tons of threads about proper dosage, constipation, different remedies, and megacolon will pop up (I cannot remember the dosage off the top of my head, Kitty Bob passed a couple years ago-cancer, not bowel related ) . There is lots of good advice and suggestions on those threads as well. I hope you can find the solution you and your cat are looking for!

Edit: I just looked it up and the generic Miralax from Walmart is called Clearlax and is under the store's Equate brand. It has exactly the same ingredients as the brand name at a much lower price. Also, if you do use this, be sure to mix some extra water onto your kitty's canned food. The Miralax draws water into the colon to make the stool pass through more easily, so extra hydration is a must. In general, the more moisture in your cat, the better. Many chronic constipation cats need to have a canned food only diet, and sometimes, this diet change alone can make a world of difference.

Has your vet said the blockage is gone? I had a kitten who had this and it turned out to have eaten thread. Could he have gotten into something during the renovation? Are there any other behaviour changes. Inappropriate urination is a sign of a physical problem not a behavioural one. I would also feed only wet food. You want to get as much water flowing through his bowels as possible. Cats just don't ingest enough water from the bowl and need to get moisture with their food to promote healthy bowels and urinary systems. Dry food could further the issue and doesn't work as well with the laxatives. I also agree that high fibre may not be the best idea. Good luck and I will be hoping your kitty gets better