Moved to new apartment, cat having trouble pooping

fish stark

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We just completed a multi-state move to a new apartment with our three-year-old rescue cat, Scout, who we've had for a year. 

We left on Tuesday morning and got to our new apartment Wednesday afternoon. When she hadn't had a bowel movement by Friday afternoon, we called a local vet who gave us a laxative and said to bring her in on Sunday if she didn't have a bowel movement on Saturday. We gave the laxative to her three times: once Friday afternoon, once Friday night, and once late Saturday night. She did poop on Saturday afternoon, but hasn't since. Normally she poops about every day. 

We know that it is normal for cats to have trouble pooping after a move. (The last time we moved with her, she wouldn't eat for a few days.) But we are worried that if she holds it in for too long, bigger problems will result. As students, we'd prefer to avoid an expensive vet visit if possible, but Scout's health comes first. 

Should we take her to a vet today? Give her another day? Any home remedies you recommend for constipated cats who are stressed following a move? To reiterate, she is eating regularly and is her normal, playful self. 
 

molly92

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Ah, I'm sorry, but with constipation, the longer you wait, the more expensive the vet visit gets, so I would take her in now. If the laxative isn't working, she was probably too blocked up by the time it got into her system for it to do any good, and I think the only thing left is to go to the vet and get an enema. Hopefully they won't need to do an x-ray. If you wait too long, she can get dehydrated and feverish and it's also even harder to ease the constipation and get her pooping schedule back on track. To keep this from happening, feed wet food to keep her well hydrated, and continue adding Miralax to her wet food twice a day (not the generic brand). When her stress has subsided you can try cutting back on the Miralax, but if she goes back to being constipated or her stools get hard and dry keep her on it. You can also try adding soluble fiber like canned pumpkin to her food in small amounts if Miralax just doesn't do it for her. Exercise is also helpful, and daily brushing to keep her from swallowing too much fur. Hopefully this episode is just a one time thing, but if it does continue, probiotics were the key to solving my cat's constipation, and there are a couple other remedies out there as well.
 
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