Any advice on Constipation and Miralax?

crystalluvscats · Apr 6, 2016

I just gave my cat a 1/4 teaspoon of Miralax.. She is back and forth to litter box but no results for her. How Long does it Take Miralax to start working? Its been about 20 minutes since I gave her first dose. She spent the weekend at vet cause she was so blocked she pushed her rectum out of place.. So they put her under and cleaned her out and she has been home two days and hasn't used litter box. She started going to litter box last night and been trying to pass a bowel but nothing yet .. Saw this site and read about the Miralax so giving it a go .. Any advice is greatly appreciated .. I do not have the funds to keep bringing her to vet so praying this works.. She has a litter of newborn kittens also .. I didn't think about it till now but will this get them sick through her milk with her having taken Miralax?

molly92 · Apr 6, 2016

Miralax will only work for stool that's been "created" since the miralax was given. It can't reach harder stool that is already blocking up her colon. You can try adding some soluble fiber, like canned pumpkin, to her food to help push the stool along. If she was really thoroughly cleaned out at the vet then the not going for 2 days might be okay, but the straining is a sign she's starting to have problems again. Make sure she's getting as much water as she can. Wet food with added water, kitten milk replacer might also be good because she's nursing and can use the nutrients. I am not sure how much Miralax would affect the kittens. I assume it would be fine, as it's a pretty safe medication most of the time, but I don't know for sure. That might be a question to call and ask your vet about.

catpack · Apr 6, 2016

You need to contact your vet. Unsuccessfully trying to have a bowel movement since last night is a very serious thing. Did the vet mention anything about an obstruction or Megacolon?

crystalluvscats · Apr 6, 2016

Thank you for your response

The Miralax worked. She just went to litter box and did some business.. So relieved.. No there wasn't anything like that.. She just was not drinking enough water we think.. and her bowels inside was dry there was no moister there.. On top of that she was ready to deliver babies and the pushing of labor on top of constipation cause her rectum to push out of place.. The vet wanted me to come back and get an enema but i needed something that will help her all the time not just one time.. obviously she is suffering from this over and over again so maybe this Miralax is the answer I am looking for.. It worked and thats so great!

I read on here that Miralax draws water to the colon so it just made sense to try it.. I am so glad i did cause it worked.. This site really helped so much with the info I was able to gather and also saved a lot of money for me.. Just spent hundreds over the weekend .. Hoping this will continue to be the answer for her ..

catpack · Apr 6, 2016

Yes, Miralax was worked great for many members here. Just make sure she is getting wet food daily to help with her water intake. You can also mix in some warm water with her canned food if she will tolerate it.

Also, diluting low sodium chicken broth or tuna juice with water is a great way to increase fluid consumption as well.

Glad your girl is doing better!

crystalluvscats · Apr 6, 2016

Thank you so much for the tips/info, I can surely use all of the info I can gather cause I felt so helpless for her .. Didn't know what to do to help her and now I came across this site and I am most defiantly getting the knowledge I need.. So grateful.. Thank you..

crystalluvscats · Apr 6, 2016

Thank you for responding.. Yes they cleaned her out really good.. she had a some build up I could feel that was right by her exit area this morning.. And I figured she couldn't be backed up in her colon again that fast with the little she had ate.. With this happening again it just led me to investigate on-line and see if I could find any info on her getting constipated and how to help prevent it and or help her in some way without having it cost over 300.00 every time cause this is obviously going to be a problem for her in the future.. It seemed to have worked really well for her .. I am just so very Blessed and thankful I found this site with all you guys on here.. Its very helpful in giving me the knowledge I need for her.. Thank you so much.. Any tips and info I very much appreciate..

crystalluvscats · Apr 6, 2016

I actually was wondering about the kitten replacement milk cause i had to feed her babies over the weekend while she was at vet and was wondering if it would constipate her more if i gave her the rest of it.. Good to know.. will give her the remainder of that milk ...

molly92 · Apr 6, 2016

Wonderful that she's feeling better! Hopefully this constipation bout was a one time thing brought on by the stress of labor and other factors, but it's going to be very important to stay on top of this and watch her closely for a while. Not having a bowel movement every day is not normal for most cats. If your home remedies stop working, a vet visit sooner rather than later will be much better for her and your wallet, because constipation can get very serious if left too long.

I am going to rain on your parade a little bit just so you're aware. If her constipation becomes a common occurrence, Miralax often loses it's effectiveness over time. Soluble fibers, like canned pumpkin and acacia fiber, work similarly by absorbing a lot of water and making stool softer, but they also don't always work in the long term for whatever reason. My kitty has chronic constipation. The vet has decided that a bowel movement every other day is her normal, but I have to try a lot of things to keep it that way. She gets only canned food mixed with a lot of water. I will add Miralax and acacia fiber powder to her food every now and then, but she's grown pretty tolerant to those so I find they work best when she hasn't had them for a while. I tried slippery elm bark a couple times, and it definitely worked but she was very distraught so I don't use that anymore, but it's something else you can try. One thing that did seem to improve things to the point where she now consistently uses the litter box (when she was in pain she would avoid the litter box) is probiotics added to every meal. I also have become very strict about brushing her very thoroughly every day, which is a struggle because she does not like being brushed in many places, but it has made a HUGE difference because she's not ingesting nearly as much cat fur when she grooms herself. All that cat fur was making its way into her colon and making everything more uncomfortable. Her stools are still drier than average and don't happen as often as I'd like a lot of the time, but it's manageable and she's healthy overall. I'm always looking for new constipation solutions! The next thing I think I might add to her food are enzymes.

crystalluvscats · Apr 6, 2016

Thanks for the tips and info.. I need them cause I only know so far what I am reading today on this site.. So will be very helpful for future incidents she will have. I will try these solutions that has worked out good I see on here for sure.. Time will tell how this goes and I plan on staying on top of her litter box visits.. I have too cause this is horrid to see her go through that! So painful for her.. And also very expensive! So any info that could be useful to prevent these episodes of constipation is so greatly appreciated.. Thank you again.. I am so very grateful..

crystalluvscats · Apr 6, 2016

Molly92 said:
Wonderful that she's feeling better! Hopefully this constipation bout was a one time thing brought on by the stress of labor and other factors, but it's going to be very important to stay on top of this and watch her closely for a while. Not having a bowel movement every day is not normal for most cats. If your home remedies stop working, a vet visit sooner rather than later will be much better for her and your wallet, because constipation can get very serious if left too long.

I am going to rain on your parade a little bit just so you're aware. If her constipation becomes a common occurrence, Miralax often loses it's effectiveness over time. Soluble fibers, like canned pumpkin and acacia fiber, work similarly by absorbing a lot of water and making stool softer, but they also don't always work in the long term for whatever reason. My kitty has chronic constipation. The vet has decided that a bowel movement every other day is her normal, but I have to try a lot of things to keep it that way. She gets only canned food mixed with a lot of water. I will add Miralax and acacia fiber powder to her food every now and then, but she's grown pretty tolerant to those so I find they work best when she hasn't had them for a while. I tried slippery elm bark a couple times, and it definitely worked but she was very distraught so I don't use that anymore, but it's something else you can try. One thing that did seem to improve things to the point where she now consistently uses the litter box (when she was in pain she would avoid the litter box) is probiotics added to every meal. I also have become very strict about brushing her very thoroughly every day, which is a struggle because she does not like being brushed in many places, but it has made a HUGE difference because she's not ingesting nearly as much cat fur when she grooms herself. All that cat fur was making its way into her colon and making everything more uncomfortable. Her stools are still drier than average and don't happen as often as I'd like a lot of the time, but it's manageable and she's healthy overall. I'm always looking for new constipation solutions! The next thing I think I might add to her food are enzymes.

I am new to this site I just noticed I have been replying to everyones post the wrong way.. So sorry.. Here is the reply I thought I was sending to your response

.. Thanks for the tips and info.. I need them cause I only know so far what I am reading today on this site.. So will be very helpful for future incidents she will have. I will try these solutions that has worked out good I see on here for sure.. Time will tell how this goes and I plan on staying on top of her litter box visits.. I have too cause this is horrid to see her go through that! So painful for her.. And also very expensive! So any info that could be useful to prevent these episodes of constipation is so greatly appreciated.. Thank you again.. I am so very grateful..

crystalluvscats · Apr 6, 2016

I am new to this site I just noticed I have been replying to everyones post the wrong way.. So sorry.. I hope I didn't confuse anyones responses..

talkingpeanut · Apr 6, 2016

Glad you found something that worked! Do you plan to have her spayed? I would think that the stress of labor and delivery is not ideal for her.

crystalluvscats · Apr 6, 2016

talkingpeanut said:
Glad you found something that worked! Do you plan to have her spayed? I would think that the stress of labor and delivery is not ideal for her.

Oh yes.. Most definitely will have her fixed .. You are so right about that.. She can not handle that again..

talkingpeanut · Apr 6, 2016

Glad to hear it. She can be spayed when the kittens are 8 weeks old, and can get pregnant any time between now and then. It's important that she stay inside and completely away from intact males until then. She can also get pregnant even if she doesn't go into heat.

Please keep us updated!

Any advice on Constipation and Miralax?

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